Weedle slowly closed its tiny black eyes.
It quietly waited for death to come.
…
A few moments passed.
The pain it expected never arrived.
Instead…
The tight pressure around its neck suddenly disappeared.
Gentle hands carefully supported its body.
Something cool was being spread across its wounds.
Weedle cautiously opened its eyes.
The human standing before it wasn’t trying to kill it at all.
He was…
Treating its injuries.
A soothing chill spread over every wound.
It tingled slightly as the medicine took effect.
Only then did Weedle realize what was happening.
“Yi…
ya…”
“Yi…
ya…”
Unfortunately…
Roy’s Ghost Force only allowed him to understand Ghost-type Pokémon.
Bug-type Pokémon sounded like complete gibberish to him.
Seeing Weedle continuously making noises…
Roy scratched his head.
“You must be hungry.”
He opened his Storage Bracelet.
Taking out one of the energy bars Aya had packed for him, along with an Oran Berry…
He gently stuffed both into Weedle’s mouth.
“There.”
“Eat.”
The poor Weedle instantly fell silent…
Mostly because its mouth was completely full.
Earlier…
After Weedle had closed its eyes, Roy had picked up the key dropped by the Bug Catcher.
He unlocked the electric collar around Weedle’s neck.
Then carefully applied the Potion Aya had given him to every wound on its body.
“There.”
“That should do it.”
The once lifeless Weedle looked much healthier now.
Roy carefully lifted it into his hands and placed it safely on a sturdy tree branch.
“You should go.”
“Head back to your colony.”
“And don’t let people like that catch you again.”
After saying that…
Roy simply turned around and walked back toward the road.
Leaving behind nothing more than a carefree silhouette.
…
Weedle remained motionless.
Its tiny eyes stayed fixed on Roy’s retreating figure.
It wanted to memorize him forever.
Being his Pokémon…
Must be wonderful…
Right?
Compared with that Bug Catcher…
There wasn’t even anything worth comparing.
Its gaze shifted toward the Litwick resting comfortably on Roy’s shoulder.
There wasn’t even a hint of fear in Litwick’s eyes.
Only complete trust.
Swallowing the energy bar and Oran Berry Roy had given it…
Weedle slowly climbed toward the highest branches of the tree.
It could feel something awakening inside its body.
Finally…
As it reached the very top…
Its body began glowing with brilliant white light.
Evolution.
Moments later…
The light faded.
Weedle had successfully evolved into Kakuna.
Of course…
Roy never saw any of it.
At that moment…
He was too busy studying his System.
“…Huh?”
Roy blinked.
The Popularity Points displayed on the interface had increased again.
1 → 2
“I only scared the Bug Catcher…”
“So where did the second point come from?”
He thought for a moment.
Then a possibility crossed his mind.
“Can Pokémon generate Popularity Points too?”
Even so…
Roy had never intended to capture Weedle.
Its talent wasn’t bad.
But it simply didn’t fit the team he wanted to build.
Besides…
Raising a Bug-type Pokémon would require money.
Berries.
Nutritional supplements.
Poké Blocks.
Training materials.
Everything cost money.
Ghost-types were different.
Litwick and Duskull only needed to absorb his Ghost Force every day.
That alone was enough to keep them growing.
With Roy’s current finances…
Supporting a third Pokémon was impossible.
Especially one from a completely different type.
He had never liked Trainers who caught dozens of Pokémon…
Only to leave them trapped inside Poké Balls forever.
His mind immediately wandered to a certain anime protagonist again.
“…Yeah.”
“I’m judging him twice.”
Some time later…
Roy stretched his aching back.
“How much farther…”
“I swear…”
“The first thing I’m catching later is a ride Pokémon.”
“I’m never walking this much again.”
He began seriously considering his options.
“If we’re talking Ghost-types…”
“Spectrier would be amazing.”
“A base Speed of 130.”
“That thing could run like the wind.”
“…Although…”
“It’s technically Calyrex’s partner.”
“I probably can’t beat Calyrex.”
“Giratina wouldn’t be bad either.”
“It’s a Legendary.”
“It definitely has more presence.”
“Hmm…”
“Which one should I pick?”
“What a difficult choice…”
Completely immersed in unrealistic daydreams…
Roy continued walking toward Lilycove City.
Thankfully…
After the System upgraded his body, his stamina had improved considerably.
Otherwise…
His legs would’ve given out hours ago.
“Hey!”
“You there!”
“Stop!”
Roy sighed.
“I literally just dealt with one troublemaker.”
“Now another one?”
He turned around.
A woman wearing a police uniform was riding straight toward him.
She had long wavy hair.
A graceful figure.
And beneath her…
A majestic Arcanine wrapped in blazing flames.
“…Officer Jenny?”
This was Roy’s first time seeing a real Officer Jenny since arriving in this world.
Back on Mt.
Pyre…
Forget police officers.
You rarely even saw a traffic cop.
In both the games and anime…
The Jenny family practically controlled law enforcement across the Pokémon world.
While the Joy family dominated the Pokémon Center medical system.
They were among the world’s most influential families.
Reality, however…
Was a little different.
The Jenny family held enormous influence.
But they didn’t completely monopolize every police department.
There were still ordinary officers.
It was simply that members of the Jenny family usually held higher ranks and more important positions.
Roy quietly activated Inspect Eye.
System Scan
Pokémon: Arcanine
Level: 45 (Gym Leader Class)
Gender: Female
Raises Attack when hit by a Dark-type move.
Moves:
• Tackle
• Fire Fang
• Flare Blitz
• Helping Hand
• Crunch
• Revenge
• Agility
• Ember
• Roar
• Bite
• Leer
• Flame Wheel
• Take Down
Held Item: Charcoal
Egg Moves:
• Double Kick
• Double-Edge
• Covet
Individual Value: 19
TM/Tutor Moves:
• Protect
• Dig
• Endure
Roy silently swallowed.
Level 45.
A genuine Gym Leader-class Pokémon.
Nope.
Definitely not someone to mess with.
Roy immediately put on what he believed was his friendliest smile.
Without waiting to be asked…
He voluntarily handed over his ID card.
Officer Jenny accepted it.
The first thing that caught her eye wasn’t Roy’s name.
It was his registered address.
Mt.
Pyre.
She frowned slightly.
Mt.
Pyre lay west of Lilycove City.
It was known throughout Hoenn as the resting place of departed Pokémon.
Even more surprising…
Roy’s registered residence wasn’t a nearby village.
It was listed as…
Summit of Mt.
Pyre.
Remembering the old legends surrounding the mysterious family that lived atop Mt.
Pyre…
Officer Jenny immediately realized…
The young man before her wasn’t ordinary.
Still…
As long as he wasn’t causing trouble…
His background wasn’t her concern.
Besides…
Roy hardly looked like a criminal.
This was nothing more than a routine inspection.
She carefully compared his face with the photo on the ID.
Everything matched.
Returning the card, she reminded him,
“Be careful.”
“Poaching groups have become very active in the nearby forests recently.”
“Travel with your Pokémon.”
“If you stay on this road, it’ll take you straight to Lilycove City.”
Roy accepted the ID with both hands.
“Thank you, Officer.”
Jenny nodded.
Then Arcanine burst forward in a trail of flames.
Within seconds…
They had disappeared down the road.
Roy couldn’t help staring after them.
“The flames don’t even burn her…”
“Having a mount really is convenient…”
Poaching groups…
They specialized in illegally capturing wild Pokémon from protected habitats.
Many were also involved in smuggling and other criminal activities.
Most of them were desperate outlaws.
In many ways…
They were the predecessors of the Pokémon Hunter organizations that would appear in later years.
At this point in Hoenn’s history…
Team Magma and Team Aqua had yet to emerge.
The greatest threat roaming these forests…
Was still humanity itself.