Gacha Pulls; New Clues

'Shiny pokémon possess more than one ability and are blessed by Arceus? I guess I'm not too different from them in some ways, huh?'

Gunne thought for a moment, shifting his focus to what he felt was more important.

The mission rewards.

Sure, the added boons of a shiny were important, but could that truly compare to the satisfaction of unknown gacha pulls?

The existence of loot boxes thrived for an obvious reason.

'Open the Gacha function,' Gunne willed the system, a vivid scene abruptly appearing in his mind.

There were numerous vending machines of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Each one was filled to the brim with various capsules, their contents a secret.

Just when Gunne felt his heart beating in anticipation, he felt a bucket of cold water wash over him, reading a nearby sign.

[Ten Gacha Pulls: 2,500 Poké Points.]

'It costs... 2,500 Poké Points for just a measly ten pulls? I only have 2,700, so that would be about everything I have—'

Gunne paused as he realized a problem with his current train of thought, berating himself.

'No! I shouldn't be discontent! I'm fortunate enough to be in this situation and I should appreciate what I have.'

Once again, he offered his thanks to Arceus before selecting to use the ten free pulls he had been rewarded from the system mission, activating a nearby vending machine.

It glowed up green, blue, pink, and a multitude of other colors and shades as mechanical-like noises bellowed from its inner workings.

The mechanisms turned as the bottom latch opened up, a capsule on its way out, Gunne's heart skipping a beat as he watched in expectation.

Pop!

A small green capsule, emanating with light, shot out from the vending machine. It gently hovered in front of Gunne.

Nine more followed in rapid succession.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

'Let's see what I got—'

Bzzz!

A buzzing rang out, making him jump while the system voice reverberated, [A bonus key item will be rewarded.]

Pop!

An eleventh capsule, pure silver as opposed to the other ten which were colored, glittered brilliantly in front of him.

'I'll save that one for last,' Gunne decided, opening from first to last.

• 5x Poké Balls

• Silk Scarf: Boosts the power of normal-type moves.

• Quick Powder: Slightly raises Ditto's speed. (Consumable)

• Camouflage (Normal Type Move) - Temporary alter typing according to the current environment. (Warning: User is unable to use different typing moves just because they alter their typing. However, the user will gain resistance based on its temporary typing.)

• 3x Great Balls

• Metal Powder: Slightly raises Ditto's defense. (Consumable)

• Evanescent Stone: A stone that allows a Pokémon to switch between their evolutions. Only allows evolutions that have already been reached.

• 2x Ultra Balls

• 1x Unown Dimension Visitor Ticket: Grants one visit to the Unown Dimension.

• Quick Powder: Slightly raises Ditto's speed. (Consumable)

After opening the first ten, Gunne paused to sift through the rewards.

'Consumable? Those would be the easiest to use, I guess I'll give them a try.'

With this thought in mind, he reached out as three small sacks appeared in his hands.

Opening them, he found that two of the sacks were filled with a light blue powder; these were quick powders. The other sack was the metal powder, pale pink in color.

'Absorb.' he commanded, the three sacks directly fusing into his body.

The crackling of bones rang out followed by the strenuous cries of his muscles. His entire body's cellular structure was reconstructing itself much stronger than before.

This wasn't the same type of reconstruction as changing to a different form. Instead, the individual cells were changing their base structure in a much more complicated manner, empowering their very essences.

After a short minute, the entire process ended.

Gunne clenched his fists, feeling a slight but noticeable difference,

'If I continue to use such strengthening materials in the future... just how strong could I become?'

His thoughts ran errant before realizing there were still several other items to examine.

'Silk Scarf? It will boost the power of my normal type moves? Guess I'll wear this.' Gunne smiled, wrapping the warm scarf around his neck.

He gave a concise glimpse at the pokéballs, putting them away.

The difference was pretty standard, with Poké Balls being the lowest tier, Great Balls a level above that, and Ultra Balls even higher.

And with the Poké Point System, Gunne felt there was no need to worry about ever running out of pokéballs. There would be plenty of methods to restock.

The Evanescent Stone and Unown Dimension Visitor Ticket were likewise straightforward. In the same manner, Gunne had no use for them at the moment as he left them in his bag.

'Okay, last of this ten. A new move called Camouflage? It seems the chance of getting new moves from the gacha is low, but it's better than nothing.'

Raising his hand, the move in the form of a light orb fused into his hand, information on the move pouring into his mind.

In seconds, he learned the basic fundamentals on how to use the move.

As for situational experience? That could only be acquired with time and practice.

There was still one last capsule to open up.

Emanating a comforting heat, the silver capsule reflected a splendid light.

It attracted his attention the most out of the eleven, urging him to hurry and check it out.

With a small 'pop,' the capsule opened.

The inside revealed a rather plain white orb, which painted quite the contrast having been stored in quite the electrifying capsule.

• Normal Type: Genetic Modification

[Restriction: This item is only allocated for Gunne Magni. No other being is authorized to use it.]

[Warning: Upon using this item, the user must select to be either male or female. The user will then continue on a path far different from that of any other dittos prior and begin an evolution that transcends mortality.]

[Summary: The user will learn how to truly use normal type moves, gaining the ability to use normal type energy which they previously lacked. Furthermore, the user is now able to properly transform into normal type pokémon and various objects.]

Gunne quietly read the contents of the message.

Blinking his eyes, he read it again, pausing in his stupor.

'I'll begin an evolution that transcends mortality? As in—like—become a god?'

It felt unbelievable, but everything so far has been no less believable.

I mean, he already met Arceus, a literal god.

And if Arceus was indirectly telling him he could also become a god through his evolution, then it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot!

He placed his hand on the orb, feeling its warmth spread over him as it melded with his body.

Gunne quickly realized the warmth wasn't just heat, but instead it was the normal-type energy.

Despite having used a handful of normal-type moves, never once could he bring out their true power. Now, everything would be different going forward,

Alongside this newfound energy was a choice resounding within his brain.

[Are you a boy or a girl?]

'A boy,' Gunne answered without a second's thought, confirming it once again with the system.

Similar to the previous reconstruction of his cells with the consumable powder items, his body changed once more.

Though this time, the change was much more apparent.

Primarily, he was now officially a male, painting a stark contrast to the genderless ditto species.

Abruptly, another thought followed that choice.

[Long ago, people and Pokémon were the same.]

It was a vague thought, but it was enough to make Gunne pause and think for a moment.

At this point and moving forward, it was hard to even categorize him as belonging to this species of pokémon. Being a ditto was merely a starting point because of its vast opportunity to change itself.

Not quite a human either, perhaps considering the term demigod was the best fit?

Dwelling on such thoughts wasn't going to do him any good.

'Thank you, Arceus,' Gunne thanked in his mind, sure that Arceus would understand him either way.

Gunne looked over at his companions: Riolu, Zubat, and Aron. Their eyes met in curiosity.

He smiled, "Let's go find a town. We'll plan out more of our journey from there."

"Rio!" "Zuu!" "Ar! Arr!"

The three jumped happily as they departed the cave together thanks to Aron's guidance.

Finally!

They were out of the cave and could breathe a sigh of relief, free from the uncomfortably closed-in spaces, finding themselves back in an open forest.

Stumbling on what appeared to be a man made trail and with nowhere else to go, the group made up their mind to follow it. It made walking the most efficient, while also being the best clue to finding people.

Some hours passed.

Strangely enough, not a single pokémon or person entered their sight over this entire time.

"We haven't seen a single sign of anyone or anything for awhile now. It's past the point of being strange," Gunne whispered among his group in alarm.

"Rio!"

Riolu agreed, not picking up on any other auras nearby.

Just when all seemed void of people, Gunne made out what appeared to be a house off in the distance.

"Look! There's not just one, I see another two from here! Maybe it's a village! Quick, let's go take a closer look!"

Gunne felt a burst of happiness welling up inside, running forward with all his energy as his partners followed behind.

Riolu followed very close, an extra glint of caution in his eyes with a feeling that something seemed off about this place....