The three Pokémon completely ignored the rules of Trainer battles and rushed forward together, launching a merciless group assault.
Water Gun, Gust, and Poison Sting rained down on Poliwhirl from all directions.
"H-hey! You—!"
Red sputtered in anger, pointing accusingly at the screen.
Yellow looked at him with concern and spoke gently.
"Red… calm down…"
"Serves you right."
Green had completely lost his composure. While struggling to suppress his laughter, he casually added:
"Next time you answer the difficulty question… still going to pick 'Very Easy'?"
On the screen, Poliwhirl fought alone.
Under the combined pressure of the level gap and three-on-one attacks, it resisted briefly before finally collapsing unwillingly.
"Red has no Pokémon able to battle."
"Red was defeated and lost 3600¥…"
"…."
"Red's vision went black!"
"Red hurried to a Pokémon Center to prevent his exhausted Pokémon from suffering further harm…"
The screen changed.
Red reappeared inside the bright lobby of the Viridian City Pokémon Center.
Accompanied by the soothing healing melody unique to Pokémon Centers, Nurse Joy returned the Poké Balls with a professional and gentle smile.
Nurse Joy:
"Your Pokémon are fully healed. Please come again!"
"Three thousand six hundred! A full 3,600! Red! Pay back my hard-earned money!"
Before Red could process the humiliation of defeat, Blue's furious shout crashed down on him.
He opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to argue with the group's financier.
Blushing, he could only promise:
"Don't worry! I'll win the money back! I'll win back double!"
It had been a long time since he experienced the frustration of being crushed by levels, numbers, and a literal kick to the butt.
After painfully buying more Potions at the Poké Mart, Red resolutely stepped into Viridian Forest.
He wasn't rushing toward the next city.
He wanted to grind levels.
He would take back everything he had lost.
The moment he stepped into the forest edge—
A boy holding a bug-catching net suddenly jumped out of the tall grass beside him, wearing a carefree—almost goofy—smile.
An exclamation mark instantly popped above his head.
Bug Catcher:
"Our eyes met, so let's have a Pokémon battle!"
"Huh? A Trainer battle?"
Red was still angry from earlier.
Battle spirit ignited instantly in his eyes.
"Then don't blame me for going all out! Go, Charmander!"
"Char!"
Charmander leapt forward eagerly, facing the Bug Catcher's Pokémon—
Metapod.
Red immediately went full offense.
"Ember! Continuous Ember!"
At the same time he issued commands, Red's control of Red's movement became smooth and precise.
The Bug Catcher had never seen such an aggressive style.
As a beginner trainer meant to provide easy experience, his Level 7 Metapod only knew Harden…
The battle was one-sided to the point of being painful to watch.
"Charmander gained 80 EXP!"
"Charmander grew to Level 16!"
"Red: Huh? Charmander's appearance!"
A dazzling white light suddenly enveloped Charmander.
Within the glow, its body rapidly lengthened and grew taller. Its limbs became stronger, and the flame on its tail blazed brighter as its form changed dramatically.
"Charmander evolved into Charmeleon!"
"Red defeated the Bug Catcher!"
"Red received 300¥ in prize money!"
"It evolved! Charmeleon!"
Red looked at the energetic Charmeleon standing proudly on the screen, his joy overflowing.
All the frustration from earlier vanished instantly.
Blue, however, focused on something completely different.
Her eyes had practically turned into ¥ symbols.
"You get money for winning?! Quick! Beat him up again! Let's see if he's hiding any more valuables!"
"Th-that's not very nice…"
Yellow looked at the Bug Catcher lying on the ground in defeat on the screen and felt a bit sorry.
Green crossed his arms and spoke coldly.
"A challenger should always be prepared to lose."
"When challengers lose, paying the price is natural. It's the same in reality. Not everyone will waste their valuable time accepting your battle request. This is a perfectly reasonable game mechanic."
"Go go go! Look over there! There are several more hiding in the grass! Beat them all and take their money!"
Blue excitedly directed Red.
"And that big tree on the left—there's a sparkle inside the hollow! Don't miss it!"
"Got it!"
After a satisfying victory—and with Charmander evolving—Red's morale soared.
He controlled Red and launched a full-scale sweep of Viridian Forest.
The rewards were plentiful.
Not only did his Pokémon grow stronger and gather many items, but beneath a hidden tree root he also discovered a valuable TM:
TM — Fire Spin.
Red immediately taught it to Charmeleon.
However, learning moves wasn't as simple as clicking a button.
The system explained that move training was required.
That meant using the Wild Camping Kit to set up camp, where Red would personally accompany and guide Charmeleon during practice.
A campfire crackled.
The tent was set up.
Watching Poliwhirl lazily nap nearby while Charmeleon trained its new move around the fire—launching Fire Spin toward imaginary targets—
Red unconsciously smiled.
"This feeling…"
"It reminds me of when we were traveling together."
"Yeah… the immersion is really well done."
Green nodded in rare agreement, a trace of nostalgia passing through his eyes.
After successfully finishing the Fire Spin training session with Charmeleon, they packed up camp and continued deeper into the forest.
The deeper they went, the darker the forest became.
The atmosphere grew eerily quiet.
Suddenly—
A deep rumbling sound echoed from underground.
Then the ground began to shake violently.
"Caterpiee—!"
"Pidgey!"
Nearby Pokémon such as Caterpie and Pidgey fled in panic like startled birds.
"What's going on?"
Red instantly became alert.
"There's a powerful Pokémon nearby!"
Without hesitation, he controlled Red to hide and cautiously approach the source of the disturbance.
Finally, after pushing aside a cluster of bushes—
They saw the cause.
Kangaskhan — Lv.46
Ability: Inner Focus
(Prevents the Pokémon from flinching.)
A massive brown beast over two meters tall stood before them.
Its muscles bulged powerfully, and its eyes glowed blood-red as it swung its claws wildly, attacking everything around it.
It didn't seem to have a specific target.
Instead, it looked as if it were desperately protecting something, while simultaneously being driven by overwhelming pain and confusion to destroy everything nearby.
Towering ancient trees were snapped in half.
The ground was torn apart into deep trenches.
Even the wind generated by its swinging claws caused Red's clothes to flutter violently from a distance.
"Something's wrong with that Kangaskhan."
Green frowned, analyzing calmly.
"It used Outrage. It's fallen into confusion."
"At that level, it's not a Pokémon we can handle right now."
"My advice is to leave."
Red nodded and carefully controlled Red to retreat from the side.
But the moment he turned—
From the corner of his eye—
He suddenly noticed a small figure lying among the broken branches and fallen leaves.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789