My System Paid Me To Raise A Growlithe, So I Caught A Pokémon's PUNCH BARE-HANDED!

Story Overview

A grown man wakes up in the body of 17-year-old Lin Fan, in a world where Pokémon and humans have lived together for millennia—and where a partner Pokémon is expensive enough to be a family’s major investment. His hot-pot-running parents can’t afford the Growlithe he wants, but Fan gets an unexpected advantage: a trainer-development system that rewards him with energy points for battles, views, and other achievements. Its shop is useful but costly, its gacha is maddeningly random, and it inexplicably includes a maid outfit.

Fan’s real edge is his knowledge from his previous life, where Pokémon battling was a competitive game. He posts videos showing how clever tactics can make overlooked Pokémon formidable: a Butterfree puts a top-ranked player’s team to sleep, and a string of unconventional Bug-type strategies humiliates the same opponent repeatedly. The videos go viral, drawing praise from a Bug-type Gym Leader and, eventually, a fire stone as a gift. Fan’s online success is lucrative—but the system’s proudest early contribution may be awarding him points for “public humiliation” and “bystander apathy.”

Raising Growlithe

Instead of taking a Growlithe egg straight home, Fan notices that retired police officer Uncle Jiang’s Arcanine, Big Red, seems reluctant to part with her firstborn. He stays at the ranch until the eggs hatch, then raises the puppy there. Growlithe starts at the bottom rank, but Fan refuses to rush its evolution. Big Red trains the pups with relentless ranch runs, while Uncle Jiang trains Fan himself.

Fan’s new combat-mastery skill makes him alarmingly capable: during sparring, he dodges and counters the retired officer’s attacks with reflexes he never learned in this life. Still, the heart of the story is the bond between trainer and dog—especially when the exhausted puppy chooses to get back up and train again.

Growlithe’s early battles are full of tactical tricks and comedy. It wins by turning Flare Blitz into a reverse-thrusting escape, healing with Morning Sun, and protecting itself so often that opponents and spectators groan whenever Fan calls for the move. At the Wang family dojo, students take turns challenging him and learn to dread his stalling tactics. One opponent even accidentally boosts Growlithe’s strength with Swagger—then watches it hit itself in the face.

Fan also befriends Wang Jiahao, a brash dojo student who becomes a recurring rival, and Xiao Hua, a talented Fire-type trainer who initially knows him only as the anonymous streamer who beat her online with Bug-types.

Gyarados Joins the Team

Fan’s second partner arrives unexpectedly. A shiny golden Magikarp has been eating the food he brings to a lake, but Fan refuses to catch it just because it’s rare. When a powerful Poliwrath attacks, the Magikarp takes a punch meant for Fan. Fan saves it, then steps in himself to catch the Poliwrath’s Dynamic Punch with his chi-enhanced hand.

Growlithe joins the fight, and the Magikarp evolves into a spectacular scarlet Gyarados, which chooses to fight beside them. The moment makes Fan’s growing role as more than a conventional trainer clear: he can protect his Pokémon personally, though his decision to face threats himself often alarms everyone around him.

Tournaments and New Partners

At the Rookie Cup, Growlithe shocks the crowd by beating far larger and more experienced opponents. Fan’s victories bring money, school support, and increasingly powerful opponents—including a Shiny Gigalith and, in the final, Xiao Hua’s Raboot. Xiao Hua fights fiercely and pushes Growlithe to his limit, but Fan’s dog wins and breaks through to the next rank.

Later, Fan’s growing team adds a Mimikyu: a shy, kind Pokémon in a homemade costume that has been secretly following him in the mountains. It eventually accepts his invitation to join the family, pressing the button on its own Poké Ball.

Fan’s life continues to escalate. He wins the inner-school league, earns access to a legendary Volcarona’s life flame, and helps his Pokémon break through major rank barriers. Growlithe finally chooses to use the fire stone Fan has kept for him, evolving into an elite-rank Arcanine during a brutal fight against an Elite-rank Pokémon.

Fan’s training and his team’s successes bring lavish university offers, but he remains loyal to the school that supported him. He wins the Little Yan Emperor Cup with his Pokémon and later earns a Gym badge by defeating the Bug-type Gym Leader who first championed his videos.

The Emperor Cup

The title’s bare-handed spectacle comes during the Emperor Cup. Xiao Hua’s Cinderace launches a dangerous kick toward Fan, and the adults nearby can’t intervene in time. Fan catches the kick with his bare hand, absorbing the impact through his chi shield. The stadium falls silent; the referee and Gym Leader bow, and the clip turns Fan into a national sensation.

Fan later wins the tournament final with his team, including a Mega-Evolved Gyarados, while the crowd marvels at two Mega Evolutions appearing in a rookie competition.

The Journey Ahead

The story ends with Fan preparing to travel north with his Pokémon and a new Mudkip egg. But a family mystery hangs over the journey: his father insists he has never battled, yet the family’s Ninetales scans at Gym level. Uncle Jiang has also asked Fan’s father when he’ll tell Fan the truth.

Fan leaves with plans to return for New Year—and finally ask what his father used to be.

Personalities Featured

• Lin Fan: Reincarnated trainer, tactical battler, and increasingly formidable hand-to-hand combatant.
• Growlithe / Arcanine: Fan’s first partner; stubborn, affectionate, and determined to earn his strength.
• Big Red: Uncle Jiang’s powerful retired police Arcanine and Growlithe’s mentor.
• Gyarados: A shiny scarlet former Magikarp who becomes Fan’s loyal second partner.
• Mimikyu: A timid but unusually generous mountain Pokémon who joins Fan’s team.
• Xiao Hua: A skilled Fire-type trainer, online rival, and recurring tournament opponent.
• Wang Jiahao and Wang Jinguan: Fan’s friends and rivals from the Wang family dojo.
• Uncle Jiang: Retired police officer who trains Fan and helps raise Growlithe.
• Lin Fan’s parents: Hot-pot restaurant owners whose support—and family secrets—shape Fan’s journey.
• Cheng Kaiming: Bug-type Gym Leader who supports Fan after seeing his early battle videos.