After leaving Mt.
Pyre, Roy quickly realized something felt…
off.
There were hardly any Ghost-type Trainers or Ghost-type Pokémon in the rest of Hoenn.
After spending more than two years surrounded by Ghost Pokémon every single day, the silence felt strangely unfamiliar.
His next destination was Lilycove City.
From eastern Hoenn to Rustboro City in the west, the journey on foot would take well over two months.
Roy wasn’t stupid enough to walk the entire way.
His enrollment at Rustboro Academy was the day after tomorrow, not next year.
If he actually tried walking there, he probably wouldn’t even arrive by next month.
Before leaving Mt.
Pyre, he had asked Aya about transportation.
Her answer had been simple.
“Take the direct coach from Lilycove.”
“It only costs a few hundred Pokédollars.”
Simple enough.
While Roy was lost in thought…
The bushes beside the road suddenly rustled violently.
A young boy wearing a blue bandana burst out, carrying a large bug-catching net over his shoulder.
He landed directly in front of Roy and dramatically pointed a finger at him.
“I challenge you to a battle!”
“If you lose…”
“You hand over your Pokémon!”
Roy blinked.
A classic Bug Catcher ambush…
Before Roy even had the chance to refuse…
The Bug Catcher reached behind him and tossed out a small Pokémon.
Its segmented body was pale yellow.
A tiny horn protruded from its forehead.
It was a Weedle.
Not from a Poké Ball.
He literally threw the Weedle onto the ground.
The boy didn’t even own a Poké Ball.
He probably couldn’t afford one.
As for how he’d caught the Weedle…
Roy had no idea.
A battered electronic collar around Weedle’s neck made one thing painfully obvious.
The Pokémon hadn’t chosen to follow him willingly.
It was only being bullied because it was weak.
Had it already evolved into a Beedrill…
It would’ve been chasing this Bug Catcher instead.
The boy confidently pointed forward.
“Weedle!”
“Use Poison Sting!”
Nothing happened.
Weedle remained motionless.
Roy frowned.
The little Bug Pokémon was covered in scars.
Its breathing was shallow.
It looked as though it might collapse at any moment.
System Scan
Pokémon: Weedle
Level: 15
Gender: Male
Ability: Shield Dust
Immune to the additional effects of attacking moves.
Moves:
• Poison Sting
• String Shot
• Bug Bite
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: None
Individual Value: 13
TM/Tutor Moves: None
Roy stared at the results.
“…That’s it?”
He honestly felt like he didn’t even need to send out Litwick.
He could probably win this himself.
The Bug Catcher became impatient.
“You useless thing!”
“Use your move already!” Find the original chapter at g.com.
He completely ignored Weedle’s miserable condition.
The boy couldn’t identify the Pokémon sitting on Roy’s shoulder.
But seeing the flame burning above Litwick’s head…
He assumed it had to be a Fire-type.
Which meant…
It was definitely stronger than his Weedle.
Still…
He wasn’t worried.
At worst…
He could always run away.
Thinking that…
He tightened his grip around a small pouch of yellow powder hidden inside his pocket.
In his imagination…
He had already defeated Roy.
Taken Litwick.
And entered the Hoenn League with his new Pokémon.
Reality, however, was much less impressive.
He had never beaten a passing Trainer.
Not once.
Every battle ended the same way.
His Pokémon was knocked out in a single move.
He fled.
Then repeated the process with someone else.
Over…
And over…
And over again.
As for raising Pokémon properly…
That concept didn’t even exist in his mind.
To Bug Catchers like him…
Battling was training.
Treat injuries afterward?
Impossible.
Pokémon Centers weren’t free for everyone.
Even the most basic treatment cost 500 Pokédollars.
With 500 Pokédollars…
He could eat well for several days.
Why waste that kind of money on a Weedle?
And if the Weedle died…
He’d just catch another one.
The forest was full of them.
Fight.
Get beaten.
Replace the Pokémon.
Repeat forever.
Not every Bug Catcher was another Bugsy.
The lucky ones managed to raise their Weedle or Caterpie long enough to evolve.
Weedle became Kakuna.
Eventually…
Beedrill.
Caterpie became Metapod.
Then Butterfree.
But that was usually where the relationship ended.
Butterfree would eventually fly away to return to the wild.
Beedrill…
More often than not…
Immediately attacked its former Trainer.
There was a reason Beedrill ranked among the Pokémon responsible for the highest number of attacks on humans.
Pokémon didn’t hate humans without reason.
Seeing Weedle still refusing to move…
The Bug Catcher’s face twisted with anger.
He pulled a small remote control from his pocket.
Without hesitation…
He slammed the bright red button.
“Yiiii!”
Electricity surged through the collar around Weedle’s neck.
The tiny Pokémon convulsed violently.
Pain distorted its face.
The Bug Catcher sneered.
“Let’s see if you disobey me again!”
Watching the scene unfold…
Roy suddenly found that the satisfaction he’d once felt defeating Bug Catchers in the games had completely disappeared.
Instead…
He had a much stronger urge.
He wanted to beat the living daylights out of this kid.
Roy glanced toward Litwick on his shoulder.
Using Telepathy, he gave a silent command.
Teach him a lesson.
Litwick had already reached the same conclusion.
Ghostly blue flames rose above its head.
The fire twisted into a terrifying ghostly face before rushing straight toward the Bug Catcher.
The boy had been busy plotting how to ambush Roy.
When the horrifying phantom suddenly appeared…
His face instantly turned white.
“G…
GHOST!!”
He had never seen anything like this before.
Terrified beyond reason…
He screamed.
Then fled into the forest, crawling and stumbling in complete panic.
He didn’t even bother taking Weedle with him.
As he ran…
A small key and a pouch of yellow powder fell from his pocket.
Roy bent down and picked up the pouch.
Across the front were two words.
Stun Spore.
“So…”
“That was your plan.”
Apparently the boy had intended to use it on Roy.
Whether that counted as ignorance…
Or incredible courage…
Roy couldn’t decide.
Then again…
Ghost-type Pokémon were so unpopular that many people still believed Ghost Pokémon were literal spirits of the dead rather than ordinary Pokémon.
Popularity Points
0 → 1
The familiar mechanical voice echoed inside Roy’s mind.
His eyes widened.
He immediately opened the System interface.
Sure enough…
His Popularity Points had increased from 0 to 1.
“…That counts?”
Roy rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then slowly walked over to the abandoned Weedle.
The little Pokémon didn’t react.
If its tail hadn’t twitched every now and then…
Roy would’ve assumed it had already died.
Weedle’s tiny black eyes had long since gone dull.
The electric shock had drained the last of its strength.
There wasn’t a single trace of energy left inside its body.
If Roy wanted to…
He could end its life with a single punch.
Roy’s shadow completely covered the exhausted Weedle.
The little Bug Pokémon couldn’t see Roy’s expression.
Nor did it know whether this new human intended to kill it as well.
But…
It no longer cared.
Death…
Almost sounded peaceful.
As memories of its short life flashed through its mind…
It remembered the day it had been captured.
The endless abuse.
The beatings.
The electric collar.
The battles it had never wanted to fight.
Its only regret…
Was that it would never get the chance…
To take revenge.