“Too bad, didn’t encounter a Scyther.”
Xiao Mao put the Poké Ball away, unsure if his luck was good or bad.
Encountering a Shiny Pokémon wasn't bad luck, after all, the odds of finding a Shiny were much lower than the odds of encountering a Scyther.
“Let’s keep searching.” Xiao Mao thought he could stay in Viridian Forest for another two days, seeing if he had the chance to encounter a Scyther or a Pinsir.
After all, Nuzleaf was too strong. To defeat her, a Bug-type Pokémon was indispensable. As for Ghost-type Pokémon, they were too hard to find.
Even if he knew where there were Ghost-type Pokémon, with Xiao Mao’s current strength, he would find it hard to capture them. So it would be best to raise a Bug-type Pokémon himself.
Xiao Mao turned to leave. But as he turned, he saw someone standing behind him. Before he could make out who it was, a cold light flashed towards his face.
Xiao Mao dodged, then grabbed the person’s wrist, twisting it with force.
“Ah! It hurts! Let go, let go!”
A cry of pain rang out.
Xiao Mao then saw who it was, letting go. He asked, his tone not good, “Who are you? Why did you attack me?”
“My name is Takeshi. I live in Viridian Forest. I didn’t mean to attack you. I just wanted to know if you are a Trainer from Pallet Town.” Takeshi said indignantly.
Suddenly, he realized that the person in front of him was Takeshi, who lived in Viridian Forest
and had been defeated by all four rookie Trainers from Pallet Town.
“Asking with a katana?” Xiao Mao asked.
“This katana’s blade is made of rubber, it won’t hurt anyone.” Takeshi said, bending the katana blade, which was indeed made of rubber. Only the paint on the surface made it look metallic.
“Then it’s still very impolite to suddenly scare people with that thing.” Xiao Mao said.
“Okay, it’s my fault. I apologize.” Takeshi, who wasn’t a bad person at heart, apologized readily.
Xiao Mao didn’t dwell on it. He asked, “What are you looking for a Trainer from Pallet Town for?”
“I was defeated by two rookie Trainers from Pallet Town. I’m not happy about it, so I want to defeat a Pallet Town Trainer. Are you one?” Takeshi asked.
Xiao Mao couldn’t understand why Takeshi would think this way. You were defeated by Orange and Yellow, shouldn’t you go to them for revenge? What’s the point of looking for other Trainers from Pallet Town?
“I am from Pallet Town.” Xiao Mao admitted.
“That’s great. Let’s have a Pokémon battle.” Takeshi asked.
“Why should I agree to that?” Xiao Mao asked back.
“What? Are you scared?” Takeshi had never been refused when challenging other Trainers before. Xiao Mao was completely not playing by the rules.
“Scared, not really. But there’s no benefit to fighting you. You should be aware that there are bets in battles between Trainers.” Xiao Mao said.
“What! You want money?” Takeshi was shocked.
It was normal for Trainers to bet on battles. But it was still too far off for rookie Trainers.
Takeshi was also a rookie Trainer, having owned Pokémon for less than two weeks. Where would he have money to bet?
“You don’t necessarily need money. If you can come up with something I’m satisfied with, that works too. If you beat me, I’ll give you fifty thousand.” Xiao Mao said.
“What! Fifty thousand!”
Takeshi was stunned by Xiao Mao’s offer. In his whole life, he had never even seen fifty thousand.
Takeshi really wanted to agree, but he hadn’t been blinded by money. Xiao Mao could offer fifty thousand, so he had to offer something of equal value in return.
“I don’t have anything valuable on me.” Takeshi said, embarrassed.
“I don’t need you to give me money. You live in Viridian Forest all the time, right?” Xiao Mao said.
He remembered that in the original story, it was this battle against Takeshi that led to Ash’s Metapod getting captured by a Beedrill. Later, Ash stayed at Takeshi’s house overnight.
Although Takeshi wasn’t very strong, being able to live alone in Viridian Forest made him a tough guy.
Perhaps Takeshi knew the layout of the forces in Viridian Forest. Wild Pokémon had a habit of claiming their own territory, and the stronger the Pokémon, the more likely they were to do so.
Scyther was absolutely a powerful Pokémon in Viridian Forest. Although it had the Flying-type, Scyther didn’t fly often, usually staying in one specific area.
Takeshi, who lived in Viridian Forest, must know where the powerful Pokémon were.
“Yes, I live in Viridian Forest.” Takeshi said.
“Then do you know where there’s a Scyther around here?” Xiao Mao asked.
“Scyther!” Takeshi’s heart skipped a beat. He asked in disbelief, “Are you planning to capture a Scyther?”
“Yes. If you know where Scyther is, that can be the condition of the bet. If you lose, you have to take me to the Scyther. I’ll also pay you a finder’s fee of twenty thousand.” Xiao Mao said.
Takeshi was dumbfounded.
Losing the battle also had its benefits. It was something he had never thought of.
“Okay, I know there’s a Scyther around here, but it’s a bit far. It will take at least two hours to get there.” Takeshi said.
“Okay, then let’s start the battle. Squirtle.” Xiao Mao didn’t waste any time, starting the battle immediately.
“Squirtle!”
Squirtle trotted in front of Xiao Mao. Having just defeated Caterpie, it hadn’t even warmed up yet. It was full of energy.
“Go, Pinsir!” Takeshi threw out a Poké Ball.
Bang!
A brown, bipedal Pinsir appeared. Pinsir was a Pokémon as famous as Scyther, with incredible strength. Even some Fighting-type Pokémon didn’t have as much strength as Pinsir.
【LV8 Pinsir♂/Bug】
Xiao Mao was speechless. He didn’t understand how Pinsir’s potential was so low. High-stat Pokémon had one advantage, their potential starting point was higher than lower-stat Pokémon.
For example, starters were usually Elite-level potential, rarely being lower than Elite-level.
Pinsir had a base stat total of 500.
Pokémon with a base stat total of 500 were basically not weak. The potential of their offspring wouldn’t be too low either.
And this Pinsir was also a size smaller than a normal Pinsir, obviously having just been born.
According to the normal plot, this Pinsir couldn’t even defeat Ash’s Metapod. When it tried to clamp Metapod, it damaged its own big horns.
“I’ll strike first. Pinsir, use Tackle!” Takeshi issued the first attack command.