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In the dimly lit forest, Kael stood on the soft grass, deep in thought.
From the reckless behavior of the twin-tailed player earlier, combined with his own observations during recent leveling—
He had already come to a firm conclusion.
The body he now possessed Sobble had extraordinary potential.
Even compared to his previous life as Machop, at the same level, the rate of growth in physical strength and combat ability had been noticeably inferior.
Judging by this level of improvement, Kael estimated that even if Sobble only had a single evolution stage, it could still reach remarkable heights.
And yet—
From deep within his bloodline, a faint, almost instinctive sensation told him something more.
Along his path of growth, two genetic locks were waiting to be broken.
Two thresholds.
Two evolutions.
Steps toward a higher form of life.
"…Hah."
Kael exhaled softly and shook his head.
Thinking about that now was still too early.
What truly mattered at this moment—
That was how he would deal with the players.
Before reincarnating, Kael himself had been a highly experienced "core" gamer.
From small browser games to massive AAA titles on PC and consoles, he had seen it all.
He understood players.
Very well.
If he were placed into any other game, his current self would be classified as something like—
A growth-type divine weapon.
An epic-tier companion.
And especially in the early stages of a newly launched game, his value would skyrocket even further.
To be honest—
If the roles were reversed, even Kael himself wouldn't let such an opportunity slip.
Which meant—
Now that he had already been exposed, avoiding players entirely would be difficult.
He needed to plan ahead.
Players.
The so-called Fourth Calamity.
They were known for their destructive capability, terrifying persistence, and unpredictable behavior.
He had to treat them with caution.
But at the same time—
Players were also simple in certain ways.
Easily influenced.
Driven by clear goals.
If he had a human body, if he were an NPC, he might have been able to exploit those traits to his advantage.
Unfortunately—
That was just wishful thinking.
In the Pokémon world, the number of Pokémon capable of transforming into humans could be counted on one hand.
Sobble wasn't one of them.
"So… what should I do?"
Kael considered his options carefully.
Given his current situation, he only had two choices.
One—
Stay where he was.
Wait for players to come to him.
"…No, that's stupid."
He immediately rejected the idea.
Too many uncertainties.
Based on his own judgment, his appeal to players was extremely high.
Sure, there might be a few friendly players willing to communicate.
But the moment most players saw him—
They would throw Poké Balls at him without hesitation.
If he got caught even once—
That would be the end.
From what he knew of player behavior, those who genuinely cared about training Pokémon were already rare.
Most players were chaotic.
They built messy teams.
Ignored proper strategy.
Or worse—
Quit the game halfway through.
And if that happened—
He would be left trapped in a dark, cramped Poké Ball, forgotten.
Forever.
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
Of course, there was another possibility.
He might encounter a wealthy player willing to invest heavily in him.
With enough resources, he could grow rapidly.
Even soar.
But those players were rare.
Too rare.
He couldn't gamble on that.
Which left him with only one option.
Run.
Yes.
Given everything, escaping deeper into the forest—far away from players—was his best choice.
At least until he reached a certain level of strength, minimizing exposure was the safest course of action.
The hesitation in his blue eyes faded.
Replaced by resolve.
Kael turned his head one last time, glancing at the spot where Wendis had disappeared.
Then—
Without looking back—
He stepped deeper into the forest.
Steady.
Cautious.
Decisive.
His decision was absolutely correct.
Because not long after he left—
Uninvited guests arrived.
Rustle—slash!
Dense bushes tangled together were violently cut apart.
Under the shadows of the forest, three figures emerged, slightly disheveled.
"Is this the place?"
A low voice echoed through the trees, deliberately hushed but carrying urgency.
"Yes."
Wendis nodded firmly, her golden eyes scanning the area carefully.
Her twin ponytails bounced behind her.
Fortunately for her—
With her brother Jacob's help, she had found a guild member who had also spawned in Silverlake Town.
She glanced at the man beside her.
A trace of trust flickered in her eyes.
Gerard.
A veteran member of the exploration team within Jacob's guild, Sanctuary Hall.
With over a decade of gaming experience, he had mastered the art of early-game progression.
No matter the genre, no matter the system—
He could adapt quickly, develop strategies, and push through content at incredible speed.
And Pokémon: World was no exception.
Even without heavy guild support, Gerard had spent just a few days grinding tedious beginner tasks.
He had already accumulated a respectable amount of starting capital.
Using that, he purchased a high-potential starter Pokémon from the market.
Careful planning.
Efficient training.
Strategic investment.
At this moment, Gerard's strength as a trainer had already placed him among the top tier of players in the entire game.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!