“Humph! Humph~ Hummm...！”
Leaving Pallet Town, Xiao Mao hummed a tune as he cycled along the forest path.
His first stop was naturally Viridian City, as he had to pass through it to get to Pewter City.
There was a rather large forest between Pallet Town and Viridian City, where the Pokémon weren't very strong, making it perfect for novice trainers to level up.
The way Pokémon gained levels was similar to games; battles were the fastest way to level up.
Of course, in reality, training a Pokémon's physique and skills could also increase its level. Efficient training methods could level up Pokémon just as fast as battles.
However, there was a drawback to leveling up solely through training, namely that Pokémon wouldn't have enough combat experience. After all, every Pokémon had its own fighting style.
If you just trained behind closed doors, your fighting style would be very one-dimensional, and you'd only be able to deal with a limited range of opponents. For example, a ground-based Pokémon would be at a disadvantage against a flying Pokémon. In a competition, you'd likely lose.
So, it was necessary for a Pokémon to master various combat styles. Otherwise, you would be at a disadvantage in a competition against unfamiliar Pokémon.
Swish~！Swish! Swish!!!
As he cycled, there were rustling sounds coming from the dense foliage nearby.
Xiao Mao immediately pulled the brakes and stared at the rustling bushes.
A short while later, a purple Rattata emerged from the bushes. It seemed to have seen humans before, as it didn't appear panicked and nonchalantly walked past Xiao Mao.
【Ding! Task Released: Complete your first Pokémon catch, catch any wild Pokémon. / Reward: Low-Grade Miracle Candy X5】
“Wow!”
Xiao Mao was startled. He hadn't expected the system to release a task at this time.
But what did this task mean?
He had only received three Low-Grade Miracle Candies for defeating Xiao Cheng. Now, he was getting five for capturing a wild Pokémon.
Could it be that Xiao Cheng was weaker than a wild Pokémon?
【LV6 Rattata♀/Ordinary】
Xiao Mao used Insight to check out the Rattata that passed by. He could see its basic information without any trouble.
“Not bad. I can directly see the level, gender, and potential,” Xiao Mao said with satisfaction.
With Insight, he could see the potential of any Pokémon, making it easier for him to catch Pokémon in the future.
Even though there were many Pokémon in the Pokémon world, most of them had potential below Gym Leader level.
While the system's task was to capture any Pokémon, Xiao Mao had no intention of catching the Rattata in front of him.
He wouldn't catch Pokémon he wouldn't use.
Even though he had a collector's heart, he would only catch rare Pokémon. A common Pokémon like Rattata was out of the question, especially since this one was just ordinary. Xiao Mao wouldn't waste his time catching it.
According to the original storyline, Xiao Mao had captured over 200 Pokémon, but he didn't actually use that many; most of them were kept in the Oak Research Lab.
This was actually one of the reasons why he had stopped at the top 36 in the Indigo League.
He had captured too many Pokémon in the Kanto region, and he spent a lot of time and resources training each one to assess their potential.
Xiao Zhi, on the other hand, was different.
He only captured 11 Pokémon in the Kanto region, excluding the duplicate Tauros.
Of these, Butterfree was released, and Primeape was given away, so Xiao Zhi only had nine Pokémon in the Indigo League arc, meaning all his effort was focused on them.
However, that was because he was the protagonist. For a normal trainer who would cultivate a single Pokémon, they would usually catch a few of the same kind and compare them, keeping the best and releasing the rest.
Xiao Zhi was a Chosen One; even though he didn't capture many Pokémon, most of them had high potential, averaging above the Elite Four.
Now that Xiao Mao had Insight, he didn't have to worry about catching Pokémon with poor potential.
“Let's see if there are any useful Pidgey around.” He intended to make Pidgey his first catch.
Pidgey had a second evolution, eventually evolving into Pidgeot.
Pidgeot was a great starter bird. Even though its base stat wasn't good, it was agile, versatile, and had a Mega Stone, making it worth cultivating as a main force.
At least in the Kanto region, excluding the Legendary Birds and Dragonite, Pidgeot was one of the top flying-type Pokémon.
Pidgey was also easy to find. As a first-generation starter bird, it was ubiquitous. However, most Pidgey wouldn't evolve into Pidgeot.
In a Pidgey flock, the leader would be a few Pidgeotto at most. Pidgeot only existed in flocks with about 50 Pidgey.
At least a Pidgey with Elite potential had the chance to evolve into Pidgeot, so finding a Pokémon with good potential in the wild was very difficult.
Xiao Zhi also had a Pidgeot, but he released it after the Indigo League.
He had caught it when it was a Pidgeotto, and Xiao Mao estimated that it had at least Elite Four potential.
Only someone as foolish as Xiao Zhi would release such a high-potential Pokémon.
He said he would pick it up later, but more than ten years had passed, he had become a Pokémon Master, and he still hadn't gone to get it. What a real zha zhi.
......!
“Where is the Pidgey... I found one.”
“Wow, Elite potential. This won't do.”
Xiao Mao searched for Pidgey in the forest near the nearest Viridian City, but he couldn't even find a single Pidgey with Gym Leader potential.
Most of the Pidgey he encountered were ordinary, occasionally finding a few with Elite potential, but he hadn't come across a single Pidgey with above Elite potential.
“Jeni?”
Squirtle asked if he wanted to battle.
While searching for Pidgey, Xiao Mao had been letting Squirtle fight, and it had defeated many Pidgey along the way, leveling up from level 8 to 9 and learning the Rapid Spin move.
“No, let's go back,” Xiao Mao shook his head.
It was noon when he reached Viridian City, and he spent the entire afternoon searching for Pidgey in the forest outside the city.
It was now 5 pm, and it was getting late. He had to go back, otherwise, it would be easy to get lost if it got dark.
“Jeni.”
Squirtle nodded and stayed beside him, protecting him.
Seeing Squirtle so dutiful, Xiao Mao smiled slightly.
The Pokémon in this forest weren't very strong; he could defeat them alone.
“Hmm? Why are those leaves moving?”
“Jeni?”
As they walked, both Xiao Mao and Squirtle noticed the leaves in the bushes in front and to the left of them moving without wind. It didn't look like they were being blown by the wind, which seemed a bit strange.