"SQUIRTLE!!!"
Squirtle clapped both hands over its mouth. It stared at its own handiwork, face full of shock.
What just happened?
What had Fuyuki fed it? Why did eating lunch make it fire off a move that powerful?
Squirtle whipped around to look at Fuyuki. "Squir, Squirtle?!"
Fuyuki was just as surprised.
But after a brief moment of shock, he quickly collected himself.
"So that's the power of Sacred Ash, a legendary item worth 500,000 Shock Points a serving!" Fuyuki marveled inwardly, then answered aloud. "That was Sacred Ash rice. Think of Sacred Ash as a really powerful seasoning."
After all, Rainbow Feathers burned to powder by Sacred Fire did end up looking like kitchen pepper. Calling it a seasoning wasn't entirely wrong.
"Squir!"
Squirtle didn't understand the details, but the name alone sounded impressive. Sacred Ash!
"Anyway, how does your body feel, Squirtle?" Fuyuki asked.
On the surface, Squirtle looked no different. But judging from what had just happened, the Sacred Ash, brimming with life force, had clearly given it an incredible surge of power.
"Squir, Squirtle!" Squirtle took stock of itself, then clenched its fists.
It felt full of energy!
"Good." Fuyuki breathed a sigh of relief. The Sacred Ash was working.
"In that case, finish the rest of your lunch! If you keep eating this stuff regularly, your body will get stronger in no time."
"Squir!" Squirtle nodded eagerly and dove back into its bowl.
Fuyuki glanced over at Gastly.
At first, Gastly had been thrilled with the Substitute plush doll.
It circled the toy, drifting around and around, even pulling faces at it.
But gradually, when the doll didn't react to anything, Gastly's enthusiasm deflated.
"Gaaas..."
It stared blankly at the toy. Then, as if struck by a brilliant idea, it perked up, grabbed the doll in its mouth, floated over to Fuyuki, and dropped it at his feet.
"Gas!"
It wanted him to play with the doll together.
Fuyuki scooped another bowl of rice from the pot. "Come eat first. You can play after lunch!"
Grrrrumble~
Gastly's stomach was indeed empty. It thought for a moment, set down the doll, and happily dug into its meal.
After lunch, the group continued toward Pewter City.
This time, Fuyuki didn't recall Gastly or Squirtle to their Poke Balls. Instead, he let them walk alongside him and Entei.
Both Pokemon were thrilled.
Squirtle was happy because it got to stay outside and walk with Fuyuki.
Gastly was happy because it got to stay outside and play with Fuyuki.
"Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubble Beam... Squirtle's talent for energy control doesn't seem nearly as weak as Professor Oak said."
Fuyuki used the Rare Candy exchange function to check Squirtle's level. Despite being a starter, it had already reached Lv6.
Gastly, on the other hand, was at Lv4, knowing only three moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, and Hypnosis. A textbook beginner Pokemon.
Seeing both Pokemon in such good spirits, Fuyuki shook his head with a smile, then turned his gaze toward the deep thickets surrounding them.
Viridian Forest. As one of Kanto's most famous forests, it was home to countless wild Pokemon.
The majority were Bug-types.
Caterpie and its evolution Metapod. Weedle and Kakuna.
Beyond those, plenty of Grass-types lived here too. Oddish, Bellsprout.
On some branches, you could even spot Pidgey. All these Pokemon coexisted in this vast forest, forming an enormous ecosystem.
Looking at the Caterpie everywhere along the path, Fuyuki couldn't help thinking:
Should he catch a Caterpie and raise it?
Sure, Caterpie's squishy body was an absolute nightmare for anyone afraid of bugs.
But the Butterfree it evolved into was an adorable Pokemon.
With that thought, Fuyuki had already pulled out a Poke Ball.
But just then, a panicked scream tore through the forest.
"AAAAAH! HELP!"
A boy burst out of the dense undergrowth.
He wore shorts, a T-shirt, and a straw hat, and he clutched a bug-catching net in one hand.
Behind the boy came a dense, furious buzzing.
Fuyuki's expression changed.
That was... a swarm of wild Beedrill!
"RUN!" The fleeing Bug Catcher spotted Fuyuki ahead and didn't waste time on pleasantries. "Get out of here!"
"BZZZZZ!"
The Beedrill swarm let out a harsh drone, their compound eyes locked on the boy with the net. Spotting a second human, they naturally assumed the two were accomplices.
Seeing these wild Pokemon about to attack Fuyuki, Entei furrowed its brow and let out a roar.
"ROOOAR!"
A scorching wave of pressure rolled off its body.
The moment the Beedrill sensed that terrifying power, the entire swarm froze mid-flight, then retreated at full speed, as if they'd just seen a natural disaster bearing down on them.
"Huh?"
The Bug Catcher blinked, staring in disbelief. When he got a good look at the Pokemon responsible, his eyes went wide.
"Thank you so much! My name's Komatsu! I'm a Bug Pokemon enthusiast, and I've been catching rare Bug-types here in Viridian Forest... Wait, what IS that Pokemon?!"
[Bug Catcher Komatsu is amazed that this mysterious Pokemon scared off an entire Beedrill swarm. Shock Points from Bug Catcher Komatsu +30!]
"This is Entei." Fuyuki said.
"Entei..." A name he'd never heard before. But it sure sounded impressive!
Komatsu set down his bug net. He looked at Entei, Squirtle, and Gastly, unable to contain himself.
"You're a Pokemon Trainer too, right? How about a Pokemon battle? I'll have you know, I'm a Trainer who specializes in Bug-type Pokemon!"
Hearing this, Fuyuki wasn't surprised at all. If anything, he felt a sense of "finally, here it comes."
The daily life of the Pokemon world: the moment two Trainers lock eyes, a battle begins.
Bug Catcher vs. max-level Entei!
Dun dun dun dun dun!
BGM starts! An epic clash is about to begin!!
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You can read up to chapter 115 on patreon.com/NiaXD.