"Could this Golbat already have a Trainer?"
The thought crossed Gary's mind.
To confirm it, he took out an empty Poké Ball, aimed the button toward the sleeping Golbat, and gently pressed it against the Pokémon's body.
The Poké Ball opened.
A red beam of light enveloped Golbat and pulled it inside. Because Golbat was still asleep, the Poké Ball barely shook before the capture was completed.
Click.
Gary looked at the Poké Ball in his hand.
"If it can be captured, then it's definitely wild. But if that's the case… why is it starving?"
"Butterfree!"
Butterfree didn't understand what had happened, but it fluttered over happily, congratulating Gary on capturing a new Pokémon.
Gary still didn't know what was wrong with Golbat, but now that it belonged to him, he naturally couldn't leave it hungry.
He released Golbat again and took out several energy cubes, tossing them gently into its large mouth.
Even though Golbat was asleep, the moment food entered its mouth, its jaw twitched instinctively.
"Golbat!"
After tasting the energy cube, Golbat suddenly woke up. It looked around in confusion, still dazed from Sleep Powder.
"You're hungry, right? Eat more."
Gary wasn't worried about Golbat attacking. He handed over a few more energy cubes.
Golbat hesitated for a moment. It could smell that the cubes were food. Since its mouth was far too large for proper chewing, it simply swallowed them whole.
After several energy cubes entered its stomach, Golbat gradually calmed down. The bloodthirsty haze in its eyes faded, replaced by a much clearer gaze.
Seeing that Golbat had regained its senses, Gary asked, "Golbat, why did you attack us just now?"
"Golbat…"
Golbat lowered its head guiltily. From its tone, it seemed to be saying it hadn't intended to attack Butterfree.
Gary thought for a moment, then took out another Poké Ball.
"Exeggutor, come out and help translate."
A flash of light appeared.
"Exeggutor!"
Exeggutor emerged beside Gary.
As a Psychic-type Pokémon, Exeggutor possessed natural telepathic ability. It could transmit thoughts to Trainers it trusted. Gary and Exeggutor's bond was already strong enough for this level of communication. Gary himself couldn't use telepathy, but Exeggutor could act as a bridge.
"Golbat," Gary said calmly, "tell me what happened to you."
Golbat nodded slightly, then began speaking.
"Golbat… Golbat…"
Exeggutor's telepathy wasn't perfect yet, but the general meaning was clear enough.
This Golbat had still been a Zubat one week ago.
After evolving into Golbat, something changed.
It could no longer eat the berries it had once loved. Every time it tried, it would spit them back out. It tried other foods as well, but the result was the same. Its body rejected them.
Even so, Golbat remained hungry.
Worse still, it began to feel an instinctive urge to bite other Zubat.
Golbat didn't want to hurt its own kind, so it left the colony and moved alone to this area. But the hunger and bloodthirst continued tormenting it. When it saw Butterfree near the cave entrance, it lost control and attacked.
"Golbat…"
By the end, Golbat's expression was full of despair.
It understood what it was becoming.
Gary, however, was calm.
"Don't worry. This is normal."
"Golbat?"
"Butterfree?"
"Exeggutor?"
Not only Golbat, but even Butterfree and Exeggutor looked confused.
Becoming bloodthirsty after evolution was normal?
Gary explained, "When you were a Zubat, you could survive on berries and small amounts of nutrition. But after evolving into Golbat, your body changed. Golbat need to feed on blood. On average, you need around three hundred milliliters of blood each day to satisfy your body."
"Golbat!"
Golbat froze.
Then, slowly, it seemed to understand.
So it wasn't going mad.
Its body had simply changed after evolution.
"Golbat…"
But that realization only made Golbat more depressed. If this was its nature now, then it could no longer return to its old colony. It was afraid it might eventually hurt its companions.
"You can follow me from now on," Gary said. "I'll arrange proper food for you and take care of you."
There were specialized nutrient supplies and blood substitute packs for Pokémon like Golbat. It wasn't difficult to solve as long as a Trainer knew what was needed.
"Golbat…"
Golbat looked reluctant. It clearly missed its colony. But it also understood that in its current condition, returning would only put the other Zubat in danger.
Following this human was the best choice.
"My name is Gary," Gary said. "From now on, I'll be your Trainer."
"Golbat!"
Golbat nodded.
It understood what a Trainer was. Many Trainers came through Mt. Moon to capture Zubat. It just hadn't expected that it would one day be captured too.
"Then come back for now."
Gary recalled Golbat into its Poké Ball and checked its data.
[Pokémon: Golbat ♂]
[Type: Poison / Flying]
[Level: 22]
[Potential: Gym-tier]
[Ability: Infiltrator (Can bypass the opponent's barriers or Substitute to attack.)]
[Moves: Absorb, Supersonic, Mean Look, Poison Fang]
[Intimacy: 136 (maximum 255)]
"It can be used."
Gary nodded in satisfaction.
This Golbat had one move he especially valued.
Mean Look.
A target locked by Mean Look could not escape. In battle, it also prevented the opponent from switching Pokémon.
The important thing was that Mean Look couldn't be easily taught. It could only be awakened naturally by Pokémon whose species possessed it, or inherited through breeding. But few people would deliberately breed a Pokémon just for Mean Look.
It was far easier to capture one that already knew it.
Golbat's Ability was also excellent.
Infiltrator allowed it to ignore defensive techniques like Reflect and Light Screen, making it a strong offensive ability.
More importantly, Golbat still had one more evolution.
Once its intimacy reached 220, it could evolve into Crobat.
Crobat was incredibly fast. Combined with Infiltrator, it was practically an assassin on the battlefield—able to slip through defenses and strike before the opponent could react.
In the games, Speed only determined which Pokémon attacked first.
But in reality, Speed meant much more than that.
If a Pokémon was fast enough, it could dodge most attacks, harass opponents constantly, and control the rhythm of the entire battle.
After taming Golbat, Gary asked it to help guide the way through Mt. Moon.
As a Pokémon native to the area, Golbat was extremely familiar with the cave system. With its help, Gary quickly found the correct route and avoided several dead ends.
—
It took Gary three days to finally reach Cerulean City.
Those three days were mostly spent on the road. Along the way, he crossed Mt. Moon, battled several Trainers who challenged him, and naturally allowed them to experience defeat.
His Pokémon also grew during the journey.
Wartortle: LV16 → LV18
Exeggutor: LV19 → LV21
Butterfree: LV15 → LV19
Scyther: LV16 → LV18
Golbat: LV22
By the time Cerulean City came into view, Gary's team had become noticeably stronger.