In the rain.
Wearing ill-fitting clothes, kicking shoes that didn't fit, with half a loaf of bread in his mouth and a petite, yellowish-brown Pokémon perched on his shoulder, Xia Yan walked out of the alley.
The Weedle's small, beady eyes stared at the bread in his mouth, quietly swallowing saliva, but it didn't dare to show it.
The ruthlessness and unquestionable command that Xia Yan had displayed earlier made it a little scared.
Seeming to notice its thoughts, Xia Yan took the bread, tore off a piece, and offered it to the Weedle on his shoulder.
"Woo."
The Weedle chirped softly, blinking its little eyes, as if asking, "Is this for me?"
Xia Yan gently stroked its back. The seemingly smooth carapace had subtle, barely perceptible fluff. The Weedle squinted its eyes, looking very content.
"Eat up. You did very well just now," Xia Yan praised softly.
With food in its stomach, the throbbing pain finally eased, and strength gradually returned to his limbs.
"Woo!"
Hearing him say that, the Weedle happily smiled, its eyes crinkling into crescents. It used the stinger on its tail to take the bread and ate it in small bites on his shoulder.
Weedle are Bug-type Pokémon that can satisfy their needs by only eating leaves.
But if that were the case, this Weedle's potential wouldn't be much higher than the ordinary Beedrill in the forest.
Energy cubes and Pokémon food were, of course, the best choices, but Xia Yan didn't have the financial means for that right now. This piece of bread was the most valuable thing he had.
People say that true affection isn't about how much someone can give you when they're rich, but whether they'll share half a loaf of bread when that's all they have left.
The Weedle, having just met Xia Yan, didn't have a very good impression of him.
But at this moment, it sensed Xia Yan's sincerity.
While eating the bread, it gently rubbed against his neck as a sign of goodwill.
Pokémon are simple creatures. While possessing great power, their minds aren't complicated. They clearly sense who treats them well and who doesn't.
At least the Weedle had already forgotten how fierce Xia Yan had been towards it earlier.
Feeling the cool sensation on his neck, Xia Yan smiled.
He stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth in one bite, not even letting the crumbs on his fingertips fall.
He quickly adapted to his current identity.
Perhaps it was because of the rapid merging of memories.
He pulled a handful of money from his pocket. This was "borrowed" from Scarface and his two lackeys.
A wad of crumpled bills and a few scattered coins.
Not a large amount, only thirty-three in total.
But it was the most he had ever held at one time, from childhood until now.
However, for him now, for raising a Pokémon, it still seemed like a drop in the bucket.
There weren't many people on the streets in the rain.
Xia Yan walked all the way, leaving the bustling city center and arriving at a dilapidated house on the edge of town.
The house was cluttered with debris, and the roof had a large hole. A pile of dry straw lay in the corner, which was once Xia Yan's shelter.
Dilapidated, messy.
But better than being in the rain.
He started a fire.
Quietly sitting in front of the bonfire, he allowed the flames to bring a trace of warmth to his cold body, while also drying his clothes.
The Weedle seemed very happy.
Crawling around on the ground.
It cautiously approached the flames, curious about what the red, hot thing was. Its tail got too close and was burned, causing it to pout in grievance.
But it quickly forgot about it.
It scurried to a spot under the leaky roof. Rainwater gathered in the cracks of the house. The Weedle stuck out its little tongue and licked the cold rainwater, shivering.
Then, as if it had thought of something, it put its tail into the rainwater.
The coolness diluted the faint burning pain on its tail, and it comfortably narrowed its eyes.
"Woo," it moaned.
After doing that, it ran to a pile of stacked stones, proud as a warrior who had climbed to the peak. Then it ran to Xia Yan, sniffed the straw on the ground, picked up a piece, and gently bit it. The taste definitely wasn't good, and it quickly spat it out.
The newly hatched Weedle was like a curious baby, so curious about everything in the dilapidated room.
Finally, tired from playing, it found a comfortable spot in Xia Yan's arms, curled up, and fell into a deep sleep.
Looking at the exhausted Weedle, Xia Yan smiled helplessly.
He rolled up a corner of his clothes and gently covered it.
The Weedle unconsciously wiggled its body, completely burying itself in the warm clothes, its closed eyes curving into a smile.
Xia Yan continued to watch the flickering bonfire.
The firelight flickered in his eyes.
He was thinking.
How to survive in this world, how to use his own advantages.
Return to the original world?
If he had the opportunity, he would consider it, but since he didn't, there was no point in wasting extra energy.
He looked down again at the quiet Weedle.
The phrase that PM enthusiasts from his previous life liked to say flashed through his mind.
There are no useless Pokémon, only useless trainers.
Well said, so I'll choose the starter Pokémon at the beginning.
Of course, that's assuming there's a choice.
Perhaps it was a joke, but it also proved that Pokémon indeed have too many possibilities.
Weedle, this kind of Pokémon, has low base stats, few skills, weak combat power, and is even inferior to its close relative, Caterpie, which at least has the extravagant hope of evolving into Rayquaza.
But it can't be denied that it has a certain growth ceiling.
Weedle's final evolved form, Beedrill, also has representative Pokémon.
The Beedrill in Team Rocket boss Giovanni's hands is a typical example of the upper limit of this type of Pokémon.
Of course, that was created with countless resources.
Beating up Elite Four members and Champions is basic.
Moreover, Beedrill has Mega Evolution, which means that this type of Pokémon can have an even higher ceiling.
But a Pokémon's ceiling is one thing, and a trainer's training is another.
To train a Pokémon, especially one like Weedle, which has a relatively low starting point, to reach the same height as other Pokémon requires a lot of resources and the most correct methods.
Xia Yan has none of these now.
Well, it can't be said that he has none, at least in terms of training methods, he has some ideas from his previous world.
And what limits him most now is resources, financial resources, money.
With only thirty-three dollars in his pocket, it's questionable whether it's enough for himself and Weedle to eat for a few days.
So, after thinking for a long time, he finally came back to how to obtain resources.
Actually.
He has an easier option.
That is to let Weedle grow freely. As long as it evolves into Beedrill, it will have a certain basic combat power.
Weedle's growth cycle is extremely short. It can be said to be one of the fastest evolving Pokémon among all Pokémon.
Then, taking advantage of the evolved Beedrill, find an opportunity to capture a Pokémon that is easier to train and has a higher ceiling.
But in this way, missing the valuable training of the Weedle and Kakuna stages, the final Beedrill would be ruined.
Exchange a Pokémon for greater possibilities?
Perhaps Xia Yan could have made this decision easily before, but now, looking at the Weedle curled up in his arms, full of trust and dependence on him...
He gave up.
"We are both at the bottom of each other's food chain, but I don't think we will always be at the bottom."
Gently stroking the Weedle, Xia Yan made a decision.
Find a way to make money!
As a trainer, what is the fastest way to make money?
As far as Xia Yan understands this world, it's battling!
But to rely on a Weedle that was just born not long ago and has zero combat experience to defeat others is no different from wishful thinking.
So he needs to change his thinking slightly.
He already has an idea in mind, but the premise is that Weedle needs to make some progress, at least not in the state of a newly born Pokémon.
Active thoughts consumed a lot of energy. After gradually calming down, sleepiness followed.
Holding the Weedle, leaning against the corner of the wall, taking advantage of the warmth of the bonfire, Xia Yan quickly fell asleep.
A rain, a dilapidated house, a person and a Pokémon.
The beginning of a story.