Roy put down the feed in his hand, letting Pidgeotto eat slowly on its own.
He stood up and looked back.
"Roy, your Caterpie looks like something's wrong with it~"
Delia and Misty were both standing not far away, their faces filled with worry and curiosity.
Although Misty was still a bit afraid of bugs, she couldn't help but peek over to look.
Hearing this, Roy immediately looked at the Caterpie beside him.
He saw a faint shimmer radiating from the surface of Caterpie's body, which was trembling slightly as if undergoing some kind of change.
[Pokémon: Caterpie, Level: lv6→lv7]
The system panel floated before Roy's eyes.
Seeing this feedback, Roy understood instantly.
"It's about to evolve."
He spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of anticipation.
This was one of the advantages of Bug-type Pokémon he had mentioned earlier.
In the battle with Pidgeotto just now, although Caterpie had only leeched some experience and wasn't the one to directly defeat it, those experience points were just enough to make it level up.
And for Bug-type Pokémon, after reaching a specific level, evolution is almost inevitable.
"Stand back a bit."
Roy said to the two of them, pulling back a bit himself as well.
Delia obediently pulled Misty back a few steps.
Misty didn't resist much this time; her attention was completely captivated by Caterpie.
Caterpie began to spit out white silk threads.
One loop, two loops, three loops... the silk threads quickly wound around, wrapping Caterpie completely within.
Soon, an oval-shaped white cocoon was formed.
The surface of the cocoon was still wriggling slightly, as if something inside was struggling and transforming.
"Is... is this evolution?"
Misty's eyes widened.
Although she had seen many Water-type Pokémon evolve, this was the first time she had witnessed the evolution process of a Bug-type Pokémon with her own eyes, as she usually didn't have much contact with bugs.
Caterpie's body was completely encased in the cocoon, which reduced Misty's fear quite a bit.
She even dared to lean in a little closer to observe.
"Yeah, Caterpie is about to evolve into Metapod."
Roy nodded, his eyes fixed on the cocoon without blinking.
Delia stood to the side, looking tenderly at the side of Roy's face.
She could feel Roy's excitement at this moment.
Her man was witnessing the evolution of his very first Pokémon.
Even though it was just the evolution of the most common Caterpie, it was of extraordinary significance.
The wriggling on the surface of the cocoon became more and more intense.
A dazzling white light burst out from inside the cocoon!
The white light spread rapidly, completely enveloping the entire cocoon.
The evolution had officially begun.
"It's... it's so beautiful..."
Misty couldn't help but exclaim in wonder.
The light of evolution appeared exceptionally brilliant in the forest, like a small sun blooming before the three of them.
Delia also opened her mouth slightly.
Although she wasn't a Trainer before, she had still seen plenty of data and footage of Pokémon evolutions.
But seeing it with her own eyes, the sense of awe was completely different.
Life was transforming.
From one form into another.
This miracle of life would make one's heart surge no matter how many times it was seen.
Roy's emotions were even more turbulent at this moment.
His hands clenched unconsciously.
Even though this was just a common Caterpie evolution, it was the first time he had personally witnessed a Pokémon evolution after transmigrating to this world.
Everything was different from the games and anime scenes in his memories.
This was real.
The light was real.
The energy fluctuations were real.
The transformation of life was also real.
This feeling was a hundred, a thousand times stronger than in the games.
In the future, he might witness even more incredible evolutions.
Dratini evolving into Dragonair, and then into Dragonite.
Larvitar evolving into Pupitar, and then into Tyranitar.
Even the transformation of legendary Pokémon.
But the starting point for all of it was the Caterpie before his eyes.
The first Pokémon he had actively captured after coming to this world.
The Caterpie that had eaten the primary potential berry and dreamed of becoming Rayquaza.
The light continued.
After about half a minute, the white light began to gradually recede.
The shape of the cocoon changed within the white light.
The originally soft white silk cocoon gradually hardened and changed color under the shroud of white light.
Green replaced white.
Hardness replaced softness.
Finally, the white light completely dissipated.
A brand new Pokémon appeared before the three of them.
A bright green body.
A rock-hard shell.
A surface with a slight metallic luster.
Metapod.
"It... it succeeded!"
Misty couldn't help but clap her hands.
"So this is Metapod..."
Delia studied it with curiosity.
The green of the shell was deeper.
The metallic luster was also more obvious.
Was it an illusion?
Or... Delia looked at Roy, her eyes filled with questioning.
Roy had already crouched down to carefully check Metapod's status.
[Pokémon: Metapod]
[Type: Bug]
[Level: lv7]
[Potential: pre-elite four level]
[Ability: Shed Skin — Sometimes heals status conditions]
[Skill: Harden]
[Held Item: None]
[Special Enhancement: primary potential berry (In Effect)]
The panel information was clear at a glance.
The level had increased by 1.
The ability had changed to Shed Skin, which was quite good as it could sometimes automatically heal status conditions.
Skills... only Harden was left.
This was the helplessness of Metapod.
Caterpie evolving into Metapod could be said to be one of the few evolutions where combat power decreased instead of increasing.
It seemed like the shell had hardened and the size had increased.
But in reality, this was the most fragile stage of its life.
Unable to eat.
Unable to move.
The only skill was "Harden" — protecting itself by making its shell even harder.
In nature, this stage for Metapod was full of danger.
Once they encountered an attack, they could only continuously use "Harden" for defense.
But every time Harden was used, the shell would become harder.
And a shell that was too hard would lead to an inability to break through in the end, leaving it trapped in the pupa forever.
Therefore, not all Caterpie in the wild could successfully evolve into Butterfree.
Many would sleep forever in the Metapod stage because of overusing Harden.
Or, their defense would be breached by natural enemies, and they would become food.
However, Caterpie captured by Trainers were much luckier.
With the protection of a Trainer, they could peacefully sleep within a Poké Ball, gathering strength and waiting for the moment they emerged from the cocoon as a butterfly.
Of course... there were also some Trainers with abnormal minds who would bring Metapod out for battle, constantly using "Harden" in some boring "who is harder" competition.
"Don't worry."
Roy gently stroked Metapod's hard shell.
"I will protect you."
"Just focus on gathering strength inside the poké ball and wait for the day you emerge as a butterfly."
Metapod's shell vibrated slightly.
It seemed to be responding to Roy's words.
Roy smiled and took out a poké ball.
A red light flashed, and Metapod was withdrawn.
"So that's it?"
Seeing Metapod being withdrawn, Misty finally turned her head back.
"Yeah, now we just wait for it to evolve naturally."
Roy carefully clipped the Poké Ball to his waist.
"About how long will it take?" Delia asked.
"It depends; if it's fast, a day or two, if it's slow, maybe a week."
Roy recalled the settings from the games and anime.
"But mine... might be a bit faster."
He thought of the primary potential berry.
That thing probably didn't just increase potential; it might also help with evolution speed.
Moreover, the Metapod stage was actually about accumulating energy and remodeling the body.
The higher the potential, the higher the efficiency of accumulation and remodeling might be.
It might even evolve tomorrow.
"That's really nice..."
Misty looked at the Poké Ball on Roy's waist, her eyes a bit complicated.
Half a day ago, Roy only had a Pikachu and was looking everywhere in the forest for wild Pokémon to battle, accumulating experience bit by bit.
Now, he had already captured a Pidgeotto, and his Caterpie had evolved into a Metapod.
His initial lineup was basically formed.
With the Flying-type Pidgeotto, the Bug-type Metapod, and the Electric-type Pikachu.
Such a lineup was already enough to challenge the first Gym.
This kind of growth speed... Misty suddenly had the illusion of watching a top student study.
Clearly she was watching every minute, but without knowing when, the other person had already boarded a rocket and completed a stage leap.
"What's wrong?"
Roy noticed Misty's gaze and asked with a smile.
"No... nothing!"
Misty's face turned red, and she hurriedly shook her head.
She would never admit that she was a little envious.
Although she was the young lady of the Cerulean Gym, she was still unaccomplished.
Her own path as a Trainer had actually just begun.
"Pidgeotto is finished eating."
Delia's voice interrupted Misty's thoughts.
Roy turned to look, and sure enough, Pidgeotto had eaten that large plate of feed completely clean.
It was currently preening its feathers contentedly.
Seeing Roy look over, Pidgeotto let out a cry, its voice carrying a sense of closeness.
A food offensive really was effective against wild Pokémon.
Especially those with empty stomachs.
"Are you full?"
Roy walked over and stroked Pidgeotto's feathers again.
Pidgeotto didn't dodge; instead, it rubbed its head against Roy's hand.
Roy was delighted.
As expected, feeding was one of the fastest ways to increase intimacy.
"Follow me from now on, and you'll be full every day."
Roy pulled out another handful of feed and placed it in his palm.
Pidgeotto immediately lowered its head to peck at it, and its intimacy rose by a few more points.
"You certainly know how to bribe Pokémon."
Misty walked over and, seeing Pidgeotto's close behavior, couldn't help but complain.
"This is called cultivating feelings."
The three of them briefly packed up and set out on their journey once again.
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