"Squirtle!"
"Exeggutor!"
"Scyther!"
Faced with Gary's new training regimen, the three Pokémon voiced their agreement—though Scyther still looked a little reluctant about taking orders from the boy who had just beaten it.
Gary nodded, then turned his attention to the last member of the team.
"Caterpie, you didn't say anything."
Caterpie ignored him completely. Instead, it suddenly tilted its head toward the sky and began spewing thick, white silk. The silk rained down like a fountain, rapidly wrapping around Caterpie's golden body.
At the exact same moment, the brilliant light of evolution flared to life.
Gary blinked, then quickly pulled out his Pokédex to record the process. The Pokédex his grandfather had developed wasn't just an encyclopedia; it had a built-in high-resolution camera. Recording the evolution of a Shiny Pokémon was a rare opportunity—something worth looking back on years from now.
The light pulsed, and Caterpie's shape began to shift, hardening and curving into a crescent form.
When the light faded, an orange Metapod stood in Caterpie's place, its coloration completely distinct from the usual deep green of its species.
"Metapod!"
The newly evolved Pokémon vibrated slightly in place, radiating gratitude toward Gary.
It was exactly as Gary had suspected. The only reason Caterpie hadn't evolved sooner was severe malnutrition. The moment it had consumed the specialized Bug-type feed and premium energy blocks Gary provided, it finally accumulated enough biological energy to trigger its natural metamorphosis.
"Well, since you've evolved, you can go back in."
Gary had originally planned to use Caterpie as a target for Exeggutor's Hypnosis practice. Bug-types generally had low mental capacity, but their innate insect-type energy provided a strange, natural resistance to psychic interference. That made them incredibly difficult to hypnotize—which made them perfect training dummies for refining psychic control.
But now that Caterpie was a Metapod, that plan was out the window. Metapod's only job right now was to rest, conserve energy, and prepare for its final evolution into Butterfree. Stressing its mind with psychic attacks wouldn't help.
He returned Metapod to its Poké Ball.
"Exeggutor," Gary said, adjusting the plan on the fly. "Since your original training partner just put itself in a coma, you're joining Squirtle and Scyther's group."
"Exeggutor?"
"Squirtle will fire Water Gun at Scyther. I want you to use Confusion to accelerate the water mid-flight. Scyther—you deflect or dodge it."
Scyther tapped its scythe against its head, eyes narrowing.
Wait. Is this extra training just for me?
Scyther had never lost a battle in its life before yesterday. Being completely dismantled by Exeggutor had bruised its pride badly. If this was how they were training, fine. It wasn't afraid of a challenge. It glared at Exeggutor, resolving to train twice as hard so it could wipe the floor with the overgrown palm tree in a rematch.
Exeggutor, sensing Scyther's sudden spike in competitive hostility, merely blinked its three sets of eyes. It didn't particularly care. After all, yesterday's battle hadn't even been close.
The Next Morning
A productive day started early.
As soon as the sun rose, Gary woke the team and initiated the first training session.
Because they were in the wild, Gary kept the sessions tightly controlled—one hour of active training, with mandatory fifteen-minute rest periods in between. He also made sure Exeggutor only trained at half-capacity. In a forest full of wild Pokémon, it was essential to keep at least one heavy hitter fresh in case of an emergency.
After the morning session, Gary prepared a nutrient-dense breakfast for the team. Once they had eaten and rested, he packed up the camp and got back on his bicycle.
As he rode further along the main path, he encountered several other Trainers.
Most of them were rookies who had only started their journeys a few days prior. Seeing another Trainer on the road, they naturally issued challenges.
Gary accepted every single one.
By noon, he had completely swept five different Trainers. He used Squirtle exclusively for these battles, utilizing the real combat experience to push its level up to 13.
It was now only three levels away from its first evolution stage.
Given Squirtle's Champion-tier potential and the high-end nutrition Gary was providing, there would be no delays. As long as Squirtle itself was mentally ready, it would evolve the moment it hit Level 16.
"It's noon. Let's stop for lunch."
Gary found a shaded spot off the path and dismounted.
He had originally planned to travel alone, so he had spent significant time studying Pokémon breeding and nutrition back in Pallet Town. While he didn't hold an official license, his practical knowledge made him more than qualified as a Breeder.
"Everyone out."
He released the team—including Metapod, so it could get some fresh air and sunlight—and set out their tailored food bowls.
"Squirtle!"
"Scyther!"
"Exeggutor!"
The three active Pokémon dug into their meals enthusiastically. The morning's training and battles had left them ravenous.
Seeing them eat so well, Gary sat down on a log and started preparing his own lunch—a simple self-heating instant meal.
[Ding! Mission complete. Rewards have been distributed to the space backpack.]
The sudden system chime made Gary pause mid-bite.
He opened his inventory. The number of Low-level Rare Candies had jumped from 13 to 23.
"Ash finally left Viridian City," Gary muttered. "Why did he take so long? He stayed an entire extra day."
He shook his head. It didn't matter. Ash was fine, and Gary had his candies.
He looked over at his Pokémon, who had already finished eating and were now lounging in the grass.
Twenty-three Low-level Rare Candies was a solid stash, but Gary didn't intend to use them yet. Since the candies only worked on Pokémon under Level 30, it was far more efficient to grind their levels naturally through training and battles first, and save the candies to push them through the late-twenties bottleneck later.
After a half-hour rest, Gary packed up the bowls and set off once more.
Afternoon
For the rest of the day, Gary declined any further Trainer challenges. He wanted to focus entirely on scanning the canopy for a high-potential Pidgey.
To increase his chances, he even placed Metapod in the front basket of his bicycle as bait.
Metapod was a delicacy for predatory bird Pokémon like Pidgeotto. A Pidgeotto's standard hunting method involved snatching a Metapod, flying to a high altitude, and dropping it onto rocks to shatter the hard shell and get to the soft, nutrient-rich interior.
Metapod, completely oblivious to the fact that it was being used as live bait, sat happily in the basket, enjoying the breeze and the change of scenery.
Unfortunately, by the time evening rolled around, not a single Pidgeotto had taken the bait.
Gary eventually realized the flaw in his plan.
The early bird gets the worm.
Pidgeotto were diurnal hunters. They actively foraged in the early morning and roosted by late afternoon. Riding around with Metapod as bait would only work if he did it at dawn.
He had also decided to stop looking for Pidgey entirely.
Finding a Pidgey with high potential was statistically miserable. He had better odds looking for a Pidgeotto directly. Since Pidgeotto had already survived long enough to undergo its first evolution, the baseline potential of the species in the wild was naturally higher.
Still, his standards remained strict. He wanted Gym-tier potential at minimum, and he hadn't seen a single bird in the forest that met that requirement.
Two Days Later — Morning
Gary was nearing the northern exit of Viridian Forest.
The trees were beginning to thin out, and the air carried the faint, dusty scent of the rocky terrain that bordered Pewter City.
And yet, despite two full days of searching, he still hadn't found a Pidgey or Pidgeotto worth catching.