Dang, 100. Thank you for reading this story guys until now guys. Cheers to you!
The laughter around the bar softened into something steady and familiar. Not silence, just the sound of a place that had accepted something strange and decided not to make a scene about it.
The old man cleared his throat.
"Ah, before anything else…" He said, adjusting his glasses, "I believe I should properly introduce myself."
He straightened slightly, posture calm but composed. "My name is Samuel Oak. I am a Pokemon researcher from Pallet Town."
A few eyes from the dining hall turned his way again, but this time, there were no surprise in them.
In the meantime, Claire inclined her head. "Finally, it's nice to meet you, Professor Oak."
Oak smiled sheepishly. "I do tend to forget formalities when curiosity takes over. Apologize for that."
Rimuru leaned on one elbow as he watched the exchange, chin in hand. "That's obvious."
Ludwig gave him a look at that point. Noticing it, Rimuru looked away. Then, he opened his mouth. "Welcome to Checkpoint, Professor Oak."
That was all he said.
However, Oak glanced at him again with the same curiosity as before. But before he could say anything, Ludwig was already wiping the counter, attention deliberately elsewhere.
Recognizing the cue, Claire took the lead again.
"You explained what Pokemon are." She said, "But let's assume someone here wanted to be a… partner with them. What should they understand first?"
Oak considered the question carefully, fingers resting together on the bar as if aligning his thoughts.
"That partnership…" He said slowly, "Begins with consent. Not spoken consent, perhaps, but intent. Pokemon respond to how they're treated far more than most people expect. Force creates obedience. Trust creates cooperation. The difference is… noticeable."
Claire nodded once. "So intent matters more than control?"
"Very much so." Oak smiled. "In fact, many new trainers fail not because they're weak, but because they assume they need to control their Pokemon not asking them to cooperate."
Rimuru hummed. "Sounds exhausting."
"It can be." Oak agreed cheerfully. "But it's also rewarding. Pokemon grow alongside their partners. Some become braver. Others calmer. A few become… stubborn."
Charmander puffed out its chest at that, letting out a proud little chirp.
Claire's lips curved faintly. "And the risks to trainer?"
Oak didn't dodge that one. "It's a real one. Pokemon can be dangerous, especially when frightened or mistreated. That's why responsibility matters. In my world, being careless with a Pokemon isn't just frowned upon, it's seen as reckless."
"I see." Claire nodded, maybe already catalouging the information she got.
From behind the counter, Ludwig set down the cloth he'd been using and finally looked up again. His gaze moved briefly from Oak, to Charmander, then to the room at large. "They can be strong and they are dangerous. Yet, you use young trainer as an example. Just how easy it is to get them?"
Professor Oak looked at him and smiled at his question. "They can be found everywhere. In the forest, the mountain, the sea, the air. Anywhere. However… Like I said before, convincing one to join you is the real hurdle."
Ludwig let out a hum and nodded his head. That question was nothing but a smokescreen. While Claire genuinely didn't know about the Pokemon World and asked all the correct questions, he still had to play his part. Else, Rimuru's breakdown when he knew that he lived in a world written by someone would be nothing but a baby ramble when this old and wise professor lost his mind.
"That is hard to imagine…" Claire murmured before looking at the professor in surprise, probably realizing she shouldn't say something about that. "I mean, in my world, animals became scarce enough due to how monsters lived in the wild. So I just couldn't imagine how the animals in your world survive."
Professor Oak nodded and smiled before his hands pat the head of the Charmander who was enjoying the food more than it should. "The state of animals in our world is… just like in your world, in risk of extinction. The League, a body that governs all of our world, realized it too late and put a plan to preserve them. Nowadays, they live in an environment with no Pokemon around."
"That makes sense." Rimuru chirped. "In the wild, the strong rules, and the weak could only flee or die."
"Indeed." Professor Oak said. "No matter how smart a Pokemon is, in the end they are just like any animal. They need food to survive, so hunting is their way to survive. We can't take that from them, can we?"
"But with fewer animals around, then what did they hunt?" Claire asked again.
Professor Oak's face turned solemn before he let out a long sigh. "Other Pokemon, of course."
Benimaru and Shuna nodded like it was an answer they had expected, while Claire just took them in. But for Ludwig and Rimuru, it was a revelation so surprising they couldn't help but freeze.
But as expected from her, Claire didn't let the feeling stop her. "So Pokemon hunt each other."
Oak nodded, slowly. "Yes. It's uncomfortable to say aloud, but it's the truth. Pokemon are part of a closed ecosystem. When there are fewer prey animals, they adapt. Different species hunt differently. Of course—some rely on plants, some on minerals, some on ambient energy—but predation still exists."
"That must…" Claire searched for the word. "Shape them."
"It does." Oak replied. "Their behavior, their territories, even their temperament. A Pokemon raised entirely in the wild is very different from one raised alongside humans. Neither is wrong. Just… different."
Rimuru tilted his head, gaze drifting toward Charmander, who was happily scooping up ratatouille with surprising delicacy for a creature with claws.
"So you're saying." He said slowly, "if someone interferes, if they take a Pokemon out of that cycle, they're also changing the balance."
Oak's eyes brightened. Not because the topic was pleasant, but because the question mattered. "Exactly. That's why trainers are regulated in my world. You're not just forming a bond. You're removing a participant from an ecosystem. Done carelessly, it can cause real damage."
Claire frowned slightly. "That's… more complicated than I thought."
"It has to be. Else, we will also endanger the Pokemon as a whole." Oak smiled faintly.
At that moment, Rimuru leaned forward just a little. "…So, assume we already know where to start about the intention and what now. Then what's the next step?"
Ludwig looked at the blue-haired guy. His question might have sounded like an intellectual curiosity to most, but as someone who knew Rimuru quite well and as someone who also came from Earth where Pokemon was a huge franchise, it was obvious where Rimuru was taking this question to.
He wanted to have one. Or maybe, the whole team.
Thinking about it, if he really got a full team of them and named them, wouldn't they become as strong as the Pokemons who got called God in their world?
Professor Oak didn't answer immediately. He studied Rimuru for a long second, as if weighing how much to say. "Then, the first step is looking for one Pokemon that wants to come with you."
Claire looked at him with wide eyes. "So, just leave through that door and roam around?"
"Indeed." He chuckled. "But let me tell you, it only sounds easy. The wild is dangerous…"
Professor Oak stopped as he said that. "Well, if you are like the chef who can just Teleport around, I'll take my words back."
Claire and Rimuru chuckled at that moment. Even Benimaru and Shuna joined.
"It shouldn't be too dangerous for us then." Rimuru answered. "Well, most patrons of this restaurant."
Professor Oak chuckled, but now, his expression was not as free and careless as before. It seemed that he finally realized the real meaning of this restaurant.
"However…" Professor Oak said. "I know I can't stop you if you are strong. But can you please not enter my world carelessly? I promise I will help you when you come to my world. But maybe, after I reported this place to the higher authority?"
The atmosphere around the bar shifted subtly at the mention of 'Authority.' Even Ludwig stopped wiping the counter when he heard it.
The cause was of course obvious. The last time authority came to this place, they brought a squad ready to take people out as hostages that could bend elements to their liking.
However, Ludwig knew what the Authority Oak was referring to. The League. So maybe, next time Professor Oak came here, he would bring some Champion or even Agent Looker with him.
Noticing the silence, Oak continue. "In our world, anything that could destabilize the balance between Pokemon and humans doesn't stay hidden for long. There are specialists who deal specifically with anomalies."
Rimuru hummed. "That sounds… fun."
Claire shot him a look.
Oak didn't laugh. "They are thorough."
Ludwig finally spoke. "And persistent."
Oak turned to him, eyes sharp with interest again. "They should be, else, we will have bigger danger in our world."
For a moment, no one said anything. Charmander's tail flame flickered softly, unaware that the adults around it had just stepped into a much heavier conversation.
Claire broke the silence. "If you report it, what happens next?"
Oak folded his hands. "At minimum? Observation and surveillance. They'll want to know who can come and go. How. Under what conditions. At worst…"
He hesitated.
"…Containment."
That word landed heavier than the rest.
Rimuru's smile didn't disappear, but something behind it hardened. "Yeah. That's not happening."
Benimaru nodded once. A statement, not an agreement.
Oak raised a calming hand. "I'm not advocating for it. I'm just warning you. This restaurant—Checkpoint—is not something my world can afford to just let be."
Ludwig exhaled slowly through his nose.
"Then let me be clear," He said. His voice wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. "No one enters another world through this place without permission from the inhabitants of that world. I can guarantee that."
Oak watched him carefully. "…No one?"
"Yes." Ludwig replied. "We only go to a world that gave us permission to do so."
Professor Oak nodded his head. "I will trust you on that. I'll be happy to greet you on the other side of the door. Well, when you got the permission of course. Not mine, the higher ups."
"We hope they won't come here with a Pokemon strong enough to end the world." Rimuru chuckled.
"They won't, they won't." Professor Oak answered. "By the way, can I ask something?"
Claire nodded. "Of course, You have answered all of our questions, now it's time for us to answer."
Professor Oak smiled before looking at the dining room. "I saw… customers that are not humans here. May I ask what are they?"
Claire didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned her head just enough for her gaze to settle on Rimuru. It wasn't a command. It was permission.
Rimuru noticed.
"…Ah." He straightened a little on his stool. "Yeah. I guess that's my cue."
Professor Oak's attention sharpened at once, curiosity returning in full force. His eyes followed Rimuru's line of sight toward the dining hall. Toward the tables where broad-shouldered orcs ate with careful manners, where goblins chatted animatedly over shared plates, where a massive wolf lay curled at its master's feet, and where hood that looked like a shadow moved just a fraction slower than they should.
Rimuru gestured lightly with his hand. "Most of the people you see over there are citizens of Jura Forest Alliance. They are monsters."
Oak blinked. Once.
"…Monsters?" He repeated.
"Yes." Rimuru said easily. "The word mights sounds worse than it is. But in our world, monsters are just another category of people. Different bodies, different origins but same capacity for thought, culture, and bad financial decisions."
Claire snorted softly into her glass.
Oak leaned forward, interest clearly outweighing caution. "And Jura Forest Alliance is…?"
"Well… An alliance?" Rimuru replied with unsure tone. "It's a young one. Built on the idea that monsters should stop fighting and band togethers to be better."
He paused, then added lightly, "Turns out, if you give people food, safety, and a reason not to fight, they usually take the deal."
Oak hummed, eyes moving again. This time more carefully, more respectfully. "Fascinating. In my world, humans tend to categorize anything non-human as either dangerous or tools."
"Yeah." Rimuru said. "We've had that problem too."
Benimaru took a sip of his drink, expression unreadable. Shuna watched Oak with polite interest, hands folded neatly in her lap.
Oak's gaze shifted again, settling briefly on a quieter corner of the hall, on Kashi.
The man sat still, posture relaxed but alert, presence subdued yet unmistakably there.
"And that one?" Oak asked carefully. "He feels different."
Rimuru followed his gaze and smiled. "Ah. Him."
He didn't lower his voice, but his tone shifted, more respectful.
"Kashi isn't from Tempest. He's from another world entirely. A Dark Elf or Daeben is his race. And the wolf beside him, she's Kira. Kashi's partner."
Kashi looked up for a brief second, even Kira did so as well. Then, the Daeben nodded his head, acknowledging both Rimuru and Oak. In the meantime, the wolf just snorted before laying back on the floor.
Oak exhaled, clearly impressed. "So this restaurant truly is a place where many worlds collide."
"It is." Ludwig said quietly from behind the counter. "But it's not a zoo."
Oak turned to him at once.
"Everything here is no displays. No experiments is forced on anyone." Ludwig continued, voice graver than before as he had learnt the had way. "If someone sits at a table here, they're a customer first."
Oak smiled at that. Warm, genuine. "You run a very strange establishment, Chef."
"I've heard worse."
Rimuru leaned back again, hands behind his head. "So yeah. Monsters. Humans. Dragons." He glanced briefly toward Raon, who was now peering suspiciously at Charmander's tail flame. "And maybe in the future, Pokemon."
At that moment, Charmander suddenly hopped down from the stool, tail flame swaying. It waddled a few steps toward Raon, who had been pretending very hard not to stare.
Oak chuckled. "I must say… I feel strangely at ease."
Claire raised an eyebrow. "That's either a compliment or a warning."
"Probably both." Oak admitted.
For a moment, the bar returned to its gentle hum. Just people existing together, sharing food and questions too big for any one world.
Oak finally spoke again, softly. "Then, if I may… I hope one day Jura Forest Alliance and my world can meet properly."
Rimuru grinned. "As long as nobody mistook my citizens for Pokemon, I think we'll get along just fine."
Oak laughed before stopping abruptly. "Your citizens?"
"Yeah." He grinned. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Rimuru Tempest. The… uh, leader of Jura Forest Alliance."
Professor Oak's eyes went wild as his jaw dropped. In the meantime, somewhere in the dining hall, Raon declared—very loudly—that if Charmander was a dragon, then it was clearly a junior one and needed proper training.
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