With Pidgeotto leading the way, Lin Feng moved swiftly through the winding trails of Wutong Forest. Before long, he encountered his first Caterpie.
No—
He should say a yellow Caterpie.
Because this one was shiny.
Its entire body gleamed a vibrant yellow.
It seemed to be a Caterpie that had only just emerged from its cocoon. Its fine body hairs were still soft and delicate, its whole body tender enough that Lin Feng felt he might accidentally poke through its skin with a single touch.
But the most notable thing was how, the moment it saw Lin Feng, it began trembling all over, eyes filled with pure terror. It was so frightened that it completely forgot to run.
Of course, Lin Feng knew that it wasn't really afraid of him it was afraid of the Pidgeotto behind him.
After shivering for a while, Caterpie finally remembered it had a String Shot move and hastily shot sticky silk threads toward Lin Feng and Pidgeotto.
Puff! Puff!
The snow-white, delicate silk barely got close to Pidgeotto before the faint flames dancing around its feathers burned the strands to ash.
The rest of the silk Lin Feng dodged easily, letting it fall harmlessly to the forest floor.
Crouching down, he tugged lightly at a strand of the silk. It snapped apart with barely any effort.
"So you really are a newly hatched Caterpie."
[Pokémon: Caterpie]
Gender: Female
Ability: Shield Dust
Potential: Green
IVs: HP (5), Attack (8), Defense (14), Sp. Atk (28), Sp. Def (16), Speed (10)
Level: 3
Moves: String Shot, Tackle
Description: A shiny, newly hatched Caterpie.
Friendship: 0 (It doesn't know you.)
Happiness: -75 (Why are there birds around even this early in the morning when I'm just trying to eat some leaves!?)
Lin Feng's interest was piqued as he held a Poké Ball in his hand.
Caterpie were among the most common Pokémon in any forest zone, and shiny ones weren't too impossibly rare, either.
But because of their conspicuous yellow color, few shiny Caterpie survived the first stage of their lives.
The moment they were born, they were destined to become targets for countless predators a cruel fate.
So—
Seeing this Caterpie triggered Lin Feng's compassion and curiosity.
He figured it might be worth catching it. In a way, he'd be saving its life.
Meanwhile, Caterpie, realizing its String Shot attack hadn't worked at all, felt like the sky was falling.
Oh no… the little bug's going to get eaten!
/(ㄒoㄒ)/
Yet, after a long wait, the pain it was bracing for never came. When it finally dared to open its eyes, the only thing it saw was the human standing nearby.
Speaking in a voice it could somehow understand:
"Why are you squeezing your eyes shut like that? Want to come back with me?"
Go back?
Back where?
(っ ° - °;)
Caterpie cautiously opened its eyes.
The next second, Lin Feng pulled out a piece of green dumpling from his storage ball. "If you come home with me, you can eat food like this every single day~"
Caterpie: ?!
The instant the dumpling appeared, its eyes lit up.
A sweet, fragrant aroma wafted from the dumpling, making even a cold piece smell incredibly appealing.
So delicious… so delicious!
Caterpie stared at the dumpling, then glanced once more at the hovering Pidgeotto. Suddenly, it felt that even if this turned out to be its last meal, it would be worth it.
With a kind of tragic resolve, it crawled hesitantly onto Lin Feng's arm and began nibbling away at the dumpling.
Lin Feng simply watched it chew with a beaming smile, then asked gently, "So, do you want to come home with me? You'd get to eat like this every day and you wouldn't have to live in fear anymore…"
Food like this every day?
Food like this every day…
The phrase kept echoing in Caterpie's tiny mind. By the time it snapped out of it, it found itself nodding its head vigorously.
"Great! I'll take that as a yes."
Seeing Caterpie nod, Lin Feng took out a Poké Ball and captured the little Pokémon. When the three flashes of red light faded, leaving the ball quiet and still, the corners of Lin Feng's lips curled upward. He clipped the Poké Ball onto his belt.
Originally, he'd just planned to catch an ordinary Caterpie. He hadn't expected to find a shiny one instead.
Once it evolved, his plantation would look even more colorful and lively.
Running into such a rare Pokémon right off the bat left Lin Feng in high spirits.
He felt even more confident in his goals for this trip.
But after that stroke of luck, it seemed as though his good fortune had run dry. The only Pokémon he encountered were common species like Beedrill, Sandshrew, and Diglett.
He was tempted to capture a Diglett, but then he thought of the Sandshrew at Grandpa Qin's house and ultimately decided against it.
That little guy, though a bit clumsy, shared Grandpa Qin's character honest and self-reliant, never liking to trouble anyone.
If Sandshrew ever found out that Lin Feng had captured a Pokémon to replace it for certain tasks, it probably wouldn't help Lin Feng anymore.
Or rather, it might still help him, but it would stop asking for treats in return.
"Ah… I guess I'll keep looking for Gardevoir…"
With a sigh, Lin Feng continued eastward through the forest.
Yet despite searching tirelessly until sunset, he found nothing.
Finally—
Lin Feng stood by a tranquil lake, watching as the setting sun bathed the water in a brilliant orange glow, lost deep in thought.
"Maybe this Gardevoir just doesn't like humans…"
He glanced down at the various Energy Cubes in his hand, each infused with a sweet fragrance. He'd spent quite a while wandering around the eastern side of Wutong Forest, hoping to attract Gardevoir.
But all he'd managed to attract were plenty of other Pokémon.
Luckily, Servine and Pidgeotto were strong enough to "kindly" scare them away.
"Teng-teng?" (So… are we still looking?)
Servine asked quietly from beside him.
Lin Feng exhaled a long sigh. He wondered if he'd become too fixated on the idea. Or maybe it was simply that, after witnessing Mewtwo casually pick fruit with its psychic powers, he'd become a bit too enamored with the convenience of having a Psychic-type Pokémon around…
Now, it seemed that he and Gardevoir were just not meant to be.
"No more searching. Let's head home."
Lin Feng shook his head, then glanced at the sky. "Servine, hop back in your Poké Ball for now. I'll have Pidgeotto fly me back. Otherwise, it'll be too late."
This time, Servine didn't protest and obediently returned to its Poké Ball.
Lin Feng grabbed Pidgeotto's talons, and the two soared into the evening sky.
By the time he arrived home, it was already six o'clock in the evening. The breeding center was closed for the day.
But just as Lin Feng was about to unlock the door, a red Rotom swooped down from the sky, looking extremely flustered.
"Roto! Roto! Master, you're finally back! At five o'clock this afternoon, a Gardevoir suddenly teleported into the plantation it's taken control of Milotic…!"
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