He finished washing up.
Xiao Mao checked out at the front desk and rode his Wind Horse mountain bike past the Pokémon Center.
After a night of investigation by the police, the警戒线 around the Pokémon Center had been removed, and people were repairing the glass windows of the Tianhu plate. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
The wanted poster on the bulletin board at the entrance had also been taken down.
“It should be fine now.”
Making sure everything was peaceful, Xiao Mao didn't linger and rode his mountain bike north.
Xiao Mao's next stop was naturally Nibi City.
To get from Viridian City to Nibi City, you had to go through Viridian Forest.
Viridian Forest is known for its dense trees, making it a natural maze. In the past, many trainers got lost in it, but now that's no longer a worry. The paths have been cleared, and as long as you don't intentionally wander off into the forest, you can follow the roads and leave.
However, Xiao Mao had no intention of leaving.
Viridian Forest is home to a wealth of Bug and Flying-type Pokémon. Xiao Mao was planning to catch a promising Pidgey here.
Green's champion team's starting Pokémon was a Pidgeot. If he missed Viridian Forest, it would be difficult to find another high-potential Pidgey elsewhere.
Besides Pidgey, Viridian Forest also hides three rarer Pokémon: Bulbasaur, Pinsir, and Scyther.
Xiao Mao already had a Exeggcute, a Grass-type Pokémon, but that didn't stop him from catching a Bulbasaur. After all, Bulbasaur also has Poison-type, so it could be trained as a Poison-type Pokémon.
Most importantly, Xiao Mao was even more hoping to encounter Scyther and Pinsir. These two Pokémon are the top tier Bug-type Pokémon and can both Mega Evolve.
Scyther in particular can evolve into Scizor. With the Technician ability, after Mega Evolution, Swords Dance followed by Bullet Punch would sweep the entire team.
The key is that Scizor has no weakness. Its only weakness is that it is weak to Fire-type Pokémon. As long as it doesn't encounter a Fire-type Pokémon in battle, Scizor can be considered invincible in both offense and defense.
“Squirtle, help me check the surroundings. See if there are any unusual Pokémon.” As he reached the entrance to Viridian Forest, Xiao Mao placed Squirtle on the hood of his bike, asking him to help search for Pokémon.
As for Exeggcute, it was too big. The mountain bike couldn't handle the weight of Xiao Mao and Exeggcute together.
After entering Viridian Forest, Xiao Mao slowly rode along, immediately seeing many Bug-type Pokémon, all Caterpie.
“Aren't these Caterpies afraid of people at all?” Xiao Mao was puzzled.
Because Viridian Forest is abundant in Bug-type Pokémon, it's also full of Bug Catchers, and Caterpie is basically the first choice for every Bug Catcher.
Xiao Mao wasn't interested in a Rayquaza larva. Butterfree does have a unique Gigantamax form, but it’s not really that strong.
The main reason is that Butterfree's peak period is too short.
Bug-type Pokémon have a fatal flaw: short lifespans. Butterfree's lifespan is only about 10 years. Of those 10 years, the peak period is at most 5 years. After 5 years, Butterfree begins to decline.
Of course, if Butterfree's potential is high enough, its lifespan can be extended, and its peak period will also increase, but it will never exceed 10 years. This is the limitation of some Pokémon.
Pokémon have varying lifespans. Pokémon with short lifespans have only a few years of glory, while those with long lifespans can be passed down to future generations.
For example, Dragonite's lifespan is extremely long, lasting until the great-great-grandchild generation.
“Squirtle! Squirtle!”
As Xiao Mao looked around, Squirtle suddenly called out.
“What's wrong... Caterpie!”
Xiao Mao looked in the direction Squirtle was looking and saw a yellow-colored Pokémon perched on a tree.
【LV8 Caterpie♂/Gym】
【Ding! Quest issued: Capture your first Shiny Pokémon/Quest reward: Shiny Charm (encountering a Shiny Pokémon has a chance of one in a thousand) X1】
“Wow, a Shiny Caterpie!” Xiao Mao was surprised.
Growing up, this was the first time Xiao Mao had encountered a Shiny Pokémon in the wild, and it even triggered a system quest.
There was no escaping for this Caterpie.
“Squirtle, use Water Gun!” Xiao Mao immediately issued his command.
As a trainer, besides catching the Pokémon he needed, if he encountered a Shiny Pokémon, he had to catch it.
“Squirtle.”
Squirtle leaped up and fired several water bullet-shaped Water Guns at the Caterpie on the treetop.
This was Xiao Mao's suggestion to Squirtle. He asked him to fire Water Gun in the shape of water bullets. Although the power would be slightly reduced, it could turn Water Gun into a multi-stage attack.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
The Shiny Caterpie was very timid and didn't put up any resistance. It was continuously hit by Water Gun and fell from the treetop.
“Go, Poké Ball!” Xiao Mao immediately took out a Poké Ball and threw it.
The Poké Ball flew in a beautiful arc and hit its target before the Shiny Caterpie landed, capturing it inside.
Bang!!
The Poké Ball fell to the ground, shook slightly three times, and the red light on the button went out.
【Ding! Quest completed, reward has been sent to the Space Backpack.】
…!
【Ding! Quest issued: Capture 10 Shiny Pokémon/Quest reward: Advanced Shiny Charm (encountering a Shiny Pokémon has a chance of one in two hundred) X1】
“There's actually a follow-up quest.”
Xiao Mao didn't expect the system to reward a higher-level Shiny Charm. One in two hundred chance of encountering a Shiny Pokémon, that's quite a high probability.
However, Xiao Mao wasn't that enthusiastic about Shiny Pokémon. Unless the Shiny Pokémon he encountered later was worth nurturing, Xiao Mao would basically send them to Professor Oak's lab to be taken care of by his grandfather.
Professor Oak is very curious about Shiny Pokémon.
He believed that if he sent this Caterpie back, Professor Oak would be very interested.
Xiao Mao parked his mountain bike, walked over, picked up the Poké Ball, and checked the Shiny Caterpie's attributes.
【Pokémon: Caterpie (Shiny)】
【Type: Bug】
【Level: 9】
【Potential: Gym】
【Ability: Compound Eyes (Protected by Compound Eyes, it is not affected by additional effects of moves.)】
【Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite】
【Friendship: 100 (Max: 255)】
“Compound Eyes ability, it will evolve into the Compound Eyes ability as a Butterfree, it can be used in the early stages.” Xiao Mao pondered.
Although Xiao Mao didn't plan to train Caterpie as a main force, this Caterpie's potential was good, so it was worth training a little. At least, it would be useful for Xiao Mao to challenge the gym later.
After all, the Goldenrod Gym's Sabrina uses Psychic-type Pokémon, and Bug-type Pokémon are super effective against Psychic-type Pokémon.