It had to be said that the area truly lived up to its reputation as a safe zone designated by the Alliance.
Along Route 3, they only encountered a single high-stage Furret. Every other Pokémon they met was either beginner- or mid-stage, with a surprisingly large number still at the beginner level.
Icarus guessed that the Alliance probably conducted regular sweeps of the area. Over time, stronger Pokémon simply stopped settling here permanently.
Even the Furret they encountered immediately fled the moment it spotted them, showing no intention of fighting.
For the team's newest Pokémon, however, this environment was perfect.
Kangaskhan (high-stage, low-tier), Marshtomp (high-stage, low-tier), and Squirtle (beginner-stage, mid-tier) could all gain valuable battle experience here.
Squirtle, in particular, was happily collecting assist credit.
For example, the group of Raticate they had just encountered consisted of one high-stage, low-tier Raticate and eight beginner-stage Rattata.
At that moment, the Raticate's heart was filled with despair.
It wanted to run, but Pidgeotto was circling overhead, cutting off any escape route.
Unable to flee, it had no choice but to fight.
Even though the outcome was already obvious.
"Raticate!"
The Raticate let out a sharp cry.
The eight Rattata behind it immediately charged forward.
"Ratta!"
Rattata will never be slaves! Charge!
Several purple blurs rushed toward Squirtle, while only one or two targeted Marshtomp.
As for Kangaskhan…
Sorry.
She was simply too large and intimidating.
The Rattata instinctively avoided her.
"ROAR!"
You want to bully my little sister? Let's see if I allow it!
Kangaskhan stepped forward with a fierce roar.
Her claws flashed repeatedly as she unleashed a series of rapid punches.
Several Rattata were immediately intercepted.
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle showed no fear either.
A spiraling Water Gun shot toward the nearest Rattata.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The charging Rattata were stopped by the two sisters without exception.
However, because the attacks collided head-on, only two Rattata were knocked unconscious by Kangaskhan's punches.
On the other side, Airi's Marshtomp was even more direct.
Two Spiral Water Guns followed by two newly learned Mud Shot attacks instantly knocked out two beginner-stage Rattata.
"Raticate!"
But those attacks had merely been distractions.
The real strike was only beginning.
The Raticate suddenly blurred forward and appeared directly in front of Marshtomp.
Its mouth opened wide.
Hyper Fang!
It had no choice but to target the weakest opponent.
Squirtle was technically weaker, but Kangaskhan was standing right beside her.
Marshtomp was the easier target.
"Squirtle!"
Seeing the glowing fangs flash forward, Squirtle immediately panicked for her friend.
To her eyes, Raticate was unbelievably fast.
It had appeared in front of Marshtomp in an instant.
"Mud Shot! Feed it some dirt!"
Unlike Squirtle, Airi remained completely calm.
She had already predicted Raticate's movement.
"Marshtomp!"
Marshtomp grinned smugly.
Raising both hands, it hurled two clumps of sticky mud directly into Raticate's open mouth.
"Rati—! Blegh! Blegh!"
The mud completely covered its mouth.
Raticate instinctively stopped attacking and began frantically spitting the mud out.
"Spiral Water Gun! Continuous fire!"
Airi immediately seized the opportunity.
"Marshtomp!"
Marshtomp puffed out its cheeks.
Two streams of Water Gun, significantly thicker than Squirtle's, blasted forward.
Bang! Bang!
The still-spitting Raticate was launched backward.
"Great chance! Kangaskhan, Dragon Claw!"
Seeing the airborne Raticate flailing helplessly, Stone immediately issued the command.
"ROAR!"
Kangaskhan's roar sounded completely different this time.
It carried a strange sense of pressure.
The remaining Rattata, which had still been trying to gang up on the others, instantly froze and began trembling on the ground.
Slash!
Kangaskhan's eyes flashed.
A brilliant white Dragon Claw tore through the air and struck the airborne Raticate.
"RATICATE!"
A miserable scream echoed through the battlefield.
Blood sprayed through the air.
After taking two Water Guns and then a direct Dragon Claw, Raticate was knocked unconscious before it even hit the ground.
Thud!
When it finally landed, it didn't even make a sound.
Only the faint rise and fall of its chest proved it was still alive.
Judging by its condition, however, it wouldn't survive much longer.
"Squirtle! Don't just stand there! Water Pulse, continuous fire!"
Seeing Squirtle frozen in shock alongside the terrified Rattata, Icarus had no choice but to remind her.
This starter Pokémon still had a long way to go.
"Squirtle!"
Snapping out of her daze, Squirtle puffed up her cheeks and fired several Water Pulse attacks toward the remaining Rattata.
This was one of the biggest differences between trained Pokémon and wild Pokémon.
At the beginner level, most Pokémon still needed someone to teach them how to battle properly.
And no teacher was better than a Trainer.
Wild Pokémon learned from older members of their species, but those lessons were often repetitive and inflexible.
They rarely learned how to adapt to changing situations.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The Water Pulse attacks struck all three remaining Rattata.
Already battered and wounded, they immediately lost the ability to battle.
Kangaskhan had intentionally held back so Squirtle could gain experience.
Otherwise, they would have been defeated much earlier.
"Stone, handle the Raticate. I'll capture these Rattata and check their potential."
At this point, Icarus had already begun helping Stone save money.
Normally, whoever happened to be closest would simply throw a Poké Ball.
A Poké Ball only cost 500 Poké Dollars, and nobody bothered keeping track.
But for Stone, who only had tens of thousands left, every Poké Ball mattered.
"Okay!"
Stone immediately nodded.
Without hesitation, he drew his dagger and drove it into the Raticate's head.
Pfft!
After confirming the kill, he began expertly dissecting the body.
Raticate and Rattata were probably the Pokémon they had dissected most often.
At this point, Stone could practically do it with his eyes closed.
There was no helping it.
These Pokémon reproduced far too quickly.
Meanwhile, Icarus and Airi began throwing Poké Balls.
Any captured Pokémon with only low-tier potential would be released, dispatched with a quick strike, and passed to Stone for processing.
The entire procedure had become second nature to them.
"Brother Icarus! This one has mid-tier potential!"
Airi suddenly shouted excitedly.
"We hit the jackpot!"
All eight Pokémon had been tested.
Icarus hadn't found any worthwhile captures.
But the last Rattata Airi checked turned out to have valuable mid-tier potential.
That single find was worth an extra 12,000 Poké Dollars.
Icarus and Stone both grinned.
Neither of them had ever developed the habit of looking down on small amounts of money.
Even beginner-stage Pokémon materials were worth collecting.
After all, the millions they spent today had been accumulated little by little over many years.
As Trainers from ordinary backgrounds, all three understood exactly how difficult it was to earn money.
And how expensive it was to raise Pokémon.
If they found berries worth only a few dozen Poké Dollars in the wild, they would still pick every last one.
The only thing they wouldn't do was cut down the berry trees.
They weren't trying to establish a base, after all.
"Here, Brother Icarus."
"The materials are ready."
After finishing their work, Airi and Stone handed over the Poké Balls and materials.
This routine had continued for more than two years.
None of them even thought about it anymore.
"Good. Let's keep moving."
Icarus stored everything away before looking up.
"Pidgeotto, continue searching for Raticate and Arbok."
"Pidgeotto!"
The bird Pokémon nodded and flew off once more.
Looking at the majestic Pidgeotto soaring overhead, Airi asked enviously,
"Brother Icarus, is Pidgeotto about to evolve? Once it becomes Pidgeot, you'll be able to fly!"
Flying had always been humanity's dream.
"Yeah, probably soon."
Icarus nodded.
"Pidgeotto says it can already feel the energy building up inside its body. It should evolve within the next month or two."
He was currently debating whether to purchase a special two-stage enhancement evolution plan.
Pidgeotto currently possessed low-tier high-stage potential.
The enhanced evolution plan could potentially raise it to high-tier potential.
That would give it a chance to reach a much higher level in the future.
The downside was the cost.
Even through Team Rocket channels, the evolution plan and required materials would cost nearly two million Poké Dollars.
"Brother Icarus, you should definitely use the two-stage enhancement plan."
Stone immediately voiced his opinion.
"If you're short on money, Airi and I can lend it to you."
"That's right!"
Airi nodded enthusiastically.
Hearing their support, Icarus finally made up his mind.
Money could always be earned again.
Evolution only happened once.
If he missed this opportunity and regretted it later, no amount of money would matter.
Just then, Pidgeotto returned.
"Pidgeotto!"
It reported the discovery of a mid-tier high-stage Arbok ahead.
"Good work."
Icarus nodded.
"Let's move."
The group immediately headed toward Arbok's location.
⸻
One thing worth mentioning was that Luna was currently carrying a pink Clefairy in her arms.
This was the Clefairy Icarus had purchased for her.
Like Squirtle, it was only at the beginner-stage mid-tier level.
Moments earlier, it had used Disarming Voice to stop a sneaking Rattata from ambushing Squirtle.
Now it was wriggling impatiently in Luna's arms.
"Clefairy! Clefairy!"
It wanted to be put down.
It wanted to battle too.
"Be good, Clefairy."
Luna smiled helplessly.
"You're still too young. And Miltank isn't very good at fighting. If something happens, she might not be able to save you in time."
One could only say that this Clefairy truly lived up to being raised by the local breeding program.
Perhaps because it had grown up around Rock-, Ground-, and Fighting-type Pokémon, it absolutely loved battling.
"Let it down."
Icarus suddenly spoke.
"Have it stay with Squirtle. Houndoom and the others will keep an eye on them."
A thought had occurred to him.
Luna needed a Pokémon capable of fighting.
At the very least, he didn't want a repeat of what had happened in Diglett Cave.
Miltank's combat abilities were barely adequate for self-defense.
If they encountered greater dangers in the future, Luna would need stronger protection.
Training Clefairy into both a healer and a competent battler seemed like a good solution.
After all, Luna was now earning more than 200,000 Poké Dollars every month.
She also took excellent care of all his Pokémon.
If something happened to her, Icarus would genuinely be devastated.
"Oh… thank you, Master."
Luna carefully set Clefairy down.
"Clefairy!"
The moment its feet touched the ground, it ran straight toward Squirtle.
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle happily greeted her new friend.
"Roar!"
Nearby, Kangaskhan patted her chest proudly.
As the team's big sister, she would protect Clefairy too.
Maternal instincts came naturally to Kangaskhan.
She adored cute little Pokémon like Clefairy.
"Marshtomp!"
Marshtomp also welcomed the newcomer warmly.
Just like that, their battle team had officially grown to four young members:
Kangaskhan
Marshtomp
Squirtle
Clefairy
Meanwhile, the stronger Pokémon remained nearby as protection.
Stone's Sandslash and Raticate, Airi's Staryu and Poliwag, and Icarus's Houndoom and Pidgeotto all stayed alert.
The route was relatively safe.
But "safe" didn't mean danger couldn't appear unexpectedly.
-------------Author---------------
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