Although the Pokémon Center in Celadon City was by the lake, behind it stood a small mountain where quite a few wild Pokémon lived.
"Woof woof!"
Under Growlithe's Odor Sleuth tracking, Gary and Caster followed all the way up the mountain.
The mountain was lush with vegetation, green trees providing shade, presenting a vibrant and lively scene.
Along the way, Caster saw Oddish, Caterpie, Venonat, and other Pokémon. When they spotted humans, they all timidly hid themselves, afraid of being noticed.
Of course, there were also some bold Pokémon.
For example, in a tree not far away, there were several simian Pokémon covered in pale yellow fur with pink pig-like noses.
They were hanging from branches by their long, flexible tails, playing happily.
These were the Fighting-type Pokémon, Mankey!
One of the Mankey even wore a baseball cap on its head, stolen from who knows where.
When it saw Caster, it immediately wiggled its butt and made faces, being quite mischievous.
However, Caster couldn't be bothered with them and just focused on following Growlithe forward. After a rapid climb, before long he was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.
"Your stamina's pretty lacking!"
Gary up ahead was breathing as steadily as ever. He glanced back at Caster and couldn't help but laugh with his hands on his hips.
"A powerful Pokémon trainer doesn't just train Pokémon; they can't neglect their own fitness either. Otherwise, how can you grow alongside your Pokémon?"
"No fair!"
Caster pouted at these words.
You're just picking on me because I'm not from Pallet Town!
Seeing Caster's exasperated expression, Gary couldn't help but be amused, feeling like he'd finally gotten one back.
After walking another few hundred meters up the mountain path, Growlithe suddenly stopped and called out softly, "Woof woof!"
"It's just ahead!"
Gary stepped forward and parted the bushes. Caster followed right behind, and then both of them saw Pichu in the distance.
However, Pichu's current situation wasn't good. It was surrounded by a Persian leading several Meowth.
Because it couldn't control its Lightning Rod ability freely, it had involuntarily attracted the energy from Nidoking's Thunder Punch.
But because Pichu's electric sacs weren't fully developed yet, it had absorbed too much electrical energy to contain.
So now it was constantly overflowing, its cheeks covered with electric sparks, accompanied by crackling sounds.
"Pi~"
Looking at the Persian continuously closing in, Pichu, backed into a corner, was trembling with fear.
Persian was a quadrupedal Pokémon that resembled a cat, with a red gem on its forehead, red pupils, and three whiskers on each side of its face.
Although called Persian, it actually looked more like a lion in appearance and had a proud, ferocious temperament.
On this small mountain, the Persian before them was a local tyrant. Due to its nature, it had an instinctive habit of catching mice.
Previously, Pichu could still avoid making noise and carefully steer clear of Persian and the Meowth.
But now its cheeks kept sparking with electricity, making crackling sounds. Persian couldn't help but notice even if it wanted to.
So Pichu had been targeted, and now there was no escape.
"Pichu~"
The terrified Pichu was filled with regret. If it had known, it wouldn't have gone to steal from the luxury car.
The fishermen by the lake were much easier to steal from, and their lunch boxes tasted pretty good too.
"Meow~"
Seeing the trembling Pichu, Persian's playful side emerged. It stepped forward elegantly and slowly, though its expression was somewhat fierce and menacing.
"Growli..."
Although Gary was annoyed by what Pichu had done, he couldn't stand to see it bullied by Persian.
He was just about to order Growlithe to help when Caster behind him directly threw out a Poké Ball.
"Roooar~"
Accompanied by a roar, the massive Gyarados appeared, its terrifying presence intimidating everyone around.
Growlithe followed right after, baring its teeth at Persian and the Meowth.
The latter's expressions changed slightly, and they involuntarily stepped back a few paces.
Glancing at Growlithe with its flame-like fur, Caster raised an eyebrow. "Intimidate ability?"
"Meowth~"
Facing Growlithe and the massive Gyarados, Persian didn't hesitate at all.
It directly chose the wise course of action (following its heart), turned around, and jumped into the bushes, disappearing from sight.
Seeing their boss retreat, the remaining four or five Meowth immediately scattered.
"Pi~ Pichu~"
Seeing someone had driven off Persian, Pichu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
But when it saw the person was Gary, it became even more fearful.
Pichu wanted to run, but the prepared Growlithe had already blocked its escape route, baring its teeth and intimidating it into backing away.
"Gary, what are you planning to do with this Pichu?"
Caster spoke up, looking at the still-angry Gary with interest.
"Well..."
Gary was at a loss for words.
Pichu had not only stolen his things but also caused Nidoking's defeat and wrecked his car. Gary was naturally angry.
But as for what to do about it, after thinking it over, Gary realized he really didn't know how to handle this.
Have Nidoking beat up Pichu to vent his anger?
Gary couldn't do something like that!
Catch it and hand it over to Officer Jenny?
That didn't seem quite appropriate either, since it had only stolen a few bites of food.
Seeing Gary in a dilemma, Caster smiled and suggested, "Why don't you just catch it and keep it with you every day to properly discipline it? Consider it paying off a debt."
"Catch it?"
Gary couldn't help but curl his lip.
Because whenever he saw Pichu, Gary couldn't help but think of Ash's Pikachu, which then reminded him of the Pokédex description.
Gary said with a proud, cold snort, "This kind of Pokémon that's as common as stray dogs on the roadside isn't worthy of being caught by yours truly."
Caster smiled. "If you're not going to catch it, then I'll make my move. I actually quite like this Pichu."
"If you like it, feel free to catch it!"
Gary waved his hand generously.
"That's exactly what I was waiting to hear!"
Caster chuckled, then waved for Gyarados and Growlithe to step back before raising his hands and slowly approaching, trying to make himself appear non-threatening.
"Pichu, I mean no harm!"
Seeing the electric sparks on Pichu's cheeks showing signs of intensifying, Caster quickly stopped five steps away, afraid Pichu might have a stress reaction.
After all, he wasn't a super rookie from Pallet Town!
Immediately after, Caster secretly activated an Energy Orb and channeled it into Pichu.
"Pi?"
"Pichu!!!"
Just like Ash's Pikachu, Pichu first froze, then quickly became euphoric, its body swaying unsteadily.
Perhaps because the Energy Orb nourished it and allowed its body to improve rapidly by a small margin, the electric arcs flickering on Pichu's electric sacs also noticeably diminished, and even the char on its body faded considerably.
Before long, the Energy Orb was depleted, and Pichu's eyes regained their clarity, but the look it gave Caster was filled with undisguised curiosity.
The feeling of being nourished by the Energy Orb was amazing!
Pichu wanted more!!
But having lived alone since young, the thin-skinned Pichu found it hard to speak up, appearing somewhat bashful.
Seeing the time was right, Caster immediately stated his intentions. "Pichu, I really like you. Are you willing to become my Pokémon?"
"If you become my Pokémon, not only will you have food every day and never go hungry, but I can also help you become stronger so you won't be bullied by other Pokémon anymore."
Caster looked at Pichu, like a little devil tempting it with sweet words, finally adding in a low voice.
"Most importantly, you can frequently enjoy that thing from just now..."
Pichu had a favorable impression of Caster. After all, last time he had "treated" it to a lunch box, and he seemed kind and honest.
So when Caster said the first few sentences, Pichu was already somewhat swayed.
And when Caster mentioned being able to frequently enjoy the Energy Orb, Pichu hesitated no more and immediately nodded frantically, its big eyes sparkling.
[I, Pichu, have wandered for half my life without finding a worthy master. If you don't refuse, I would pledge myself as your Pokémon!] (parody of a famous line from Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
"Pichu, are you sure you want to become my Pokémon?"
Caster crouched down and extended his right hand in front of Pichu. "Do you know what this means?"
In the center of his palm was an unusual Poké Ball.
It was the Luxury Ball Caster had received as a reward for catching Goldeen.
Pichu said nothing, only nodding firmly.
"Alright then! Bear with it for a moment; I'm going to catch you now!"
Caster grinned and lightly tapped Pichu with the Poké Ball.
Click!
The Poké Ball's switch was triggered, and Pichu immediately transformed into a red light and was drawn inside.
"Ding!"
The Luxury Ball didn't shake at all; the red light instantly went out.
Pichu, perfectly caught!
Looking at the Poké Ball in his hand, Caster felt momentarily dazed.
I caught a Pichu!
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones