Chapter Fourteen: Pokémon

Teitan Elementary School, Class 1-B

"Ding! Congratulations on successfully signing in with Sumiko Kobayashi. You have been awarded 2 points of mental energy. The host may claim this reward at any time."

Unexpected gains right upon arriving at school—how delightful!

Haruaki Suzuki pretended to accidentally brush against his homeroom teacher's leg as he walked to his seat with a beaming grin. With these two additional points, his mental energy had reached fourteen. This meant he could now summon two huskies and, simultaneously, summon a new random pet dog.

"Haruaki-kun, you're here!"

"Where shall we go to play after school today?"

"Haruaki-kun is so lucky, why don't we go treasure hunting? Maybe we'll find some real treasure, and then we can become super rich!"

Seeing Haruaki arrive, Ayumi Yoshida and the others immediately swarmed him, already lost in fantasies of a bright future.

"Ring, ring, ring..."

As the class bell rang, the chatter in the classroom vanished instantly, and all the little children scurried to their seats.

"Class, we have a new transfer student joining us today. Let's give him a warm welcome!"

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Led by Sumiko Kobayashi, Haruaki and his classmates clapped their hands, turning their eyes toward the classroom door.

*Sigh...*

Wearing a miniature blue suit and a red bowtie, the shrunken version of Shinichi Kudo let out an internal sigh. He walked slowly into the classroom and introduced himself in a childish voice: "I am a transfer student, Conan Edogawa. Please treat me well!"

No sooner had Conan finished speaking than Haruaki enthusiastically raised his hand: "Teacher, there's an empty seat next to me! Let Conan-kun sit here!"

*Why on earth does a high school detective like me have to attend elementary school with these brats?* Seeing Haruaki's familiar, smiling face, Conan felt like screaming internally. What a nightmare!

"Conan-kun, why don't you sit next to Haruaki-kun for now?" Sumiko Kobayashi was quite pleased to see Haruaki being so welcoming to the new student.

Little did Sumiko know that the main reason Haruaki was so enthusiastic was that being deskmates would make it much easier to bully Conan Edogawa. Haruaki was not a person who held grudges; he preferred to settle scores on the spot rather than stewing over them for years.

"Conan-kun, please take care of me from now on."

"Oh... sure, likewise."

Whether it was his imagination or not, Conan felt that Haruaki’s smile seemed to harbor a hint of malice. It must have been his imagination... right?

"So boring..."

Less than ten minutes into class, Conan was already feeling restless. Elementary school lessons were simply too juvenile. After all, he was a high school detective; being forced to read textbooks and solve basic addition and subtraction with these children was truly a trial.

*Scratch, scratch, scratch...*

While Conan was boredly spinning his pen, a faint scratching sound caught his attention. He instinctively turned his head and saw Haruaki sketching with a pencil.

"Huh?"

To Conan's surprise, a creature that looked like a fox, but with patches of fluff around its neck, was quickly taking shape under Haruaki's pencil. After sketching the strange creature, Haruaki didn't rush to color it, but instead wrote a few lines beside it.

Name: Eevee
Form: Basic Form
Evolutions: Water, Fire, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Dark, Ice, Fairy

"Little... Haruaki-kun, what is this thing you're drawing?" Conan couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Haruaki smiled. "It's called an Eevee, a special kind of Pokémon. In a while, you should be able to see it on television."

"Pokémon?" Conan tilted his head, feeling puzzled.

Haruaki didn't intend to explain in further detail, continuing to sketch the eight evolutionary forms of Eevee with his pencil. Before his system awakened, Haruaki had assumed he lacked any special advantages, so he had planned to use the memories of his past life to demonstrate his worth.

Ever since he turned four, Haruaki had intentionally showcased his talent for drawing. Although he had only been a third-rate painter in his previous life, his skills were actually quite excellent; his failure had been due to a lack of opportunity. Unlike other professions, painting requires not just talent, but someone to help manage and promote the work. Otherwise, no matter how exquisite a painting is, it is difficult to achieve fame or sell for a high price.

Vincent van Gogh was the classic example; his works were considered worthless during his lifetime, only gaining acclaim after his death, when a single painting could fetch tens of millions of dollars. Haruaki wouldn't dare compare himself to Van Gogh, but with his level of skill, replicating the masterpieces of his past life was quite easy.

Restricted by his current age, Haruaki didn't dare attempt overly profound works, so after much deliberation, he chose to recreate the "Pokémon" franchise. In the world of "Detective Conan," there was no such thing as "Pokémon," so he didn't have to worry about being accused of plagiarism.

"Pokémon" itself was a child-oriented franchise, and the various creatures were so adorable that they were perfect for merchandising—like Pikachu dolls and trading cards. More importantly, Haruaki was now the heir to the Suzuki Group. As soon as he introduced "Pokémon," the Suzuki Group would surely promote it vigorously.

The influence of "Pokémon" went without saying; in his previous life, it was a global phenomenon. If "Pokémon" could replicate that level of success, it would be enough to cause the value of the Suzuki Group to skyrocket, allowing them to naturally expand their business interests across the globe.

Beyond "Pokémon," Haruaki’s mind was filled with various excellent children's animations, such as "Digimon," "Tom and Jerry," and "SpongeBob SquarePants." Once he was older, he could introduce shonen hits like "Naruto," "One Piece," and "Bleach."

Therefore, even without the system, Haruaki was confident that his memories alone could elevate the Suzuki Group to become a corporate titan capable of influencing international industries.