"Mengxin Xiaozhi: Caterpie? Why? Isn't Caterpie a relatively weak Pokémon?"
Tactician Ash's suggestion left Ash a bit confused. Even as a rookie, he knew that Bug-type Pokémon, especially Caterpie and Weedle, which are common Bug-type Pokémon in Kanto, were quite weak.
Even if they could evolve quickly, even in their final form, they couldn't be used for too long. They grew fast, but were also eliminated quickly.
"Tactician Ash: Caterpie is weak? You tell that to my Focus Sash, Compound Eyes, Sleep Powder, and Tailwind."
"Mengxin Xiaozhi: Wh-what is that?"
"Champion Xiao Zhi: Hehe, that's a very dirty trick... Butterfree, Caterpie's final evolution, has an ability called Compound Eyes, which increases the accuracy of all moves by thirty percent. Moves like Sleep Powder actually don't have a high accuracy rate, but with Compound Eyes, the accuracy rate will be greatly improved."
"Champion Xiao Zhi: Butterfree's base stats are not high, but its speed is quite outstanding. So, a Compound Eyes Butterfree, as long as it can use Sleep Powder first, and then pair it with Tailwind, can quickly set the field for the next Pokémon. Even if it can't go first, when holding a Focus Sash, it won't be instantly knocked out by the opponent. It's a very useful support Pokémon."
"Mengxin Xiaozhi: ..."
To be honest, he didn't understand at all. This strategy felt too profound. It sounded amazing, but he couldn't imagine how to implement it.
"Tactician Ash: In short, you should catch a Caterpie first, preferably one with good aptitude. Although the bond between a Pokémon and a Trainer can break inherent limitations, if such a thing were so easy to achieve, it wouldn't be called a miracle between a Trainer and a Pokémon."
"Tactician Ash: After you catch Caterpie, first raise him into Butterfree. Then I'll tell you how to implement Butterfree's tactics. I really like using Butterfree to achieve comebacks."
"Mengxin Xiaozhi: I understand. Then I'll go to Chang Pan Forest to take a look."
...
These were part of the chat logs from Ash's conversation with the group last night. Catching a Caterpie, and one with good aptitude, was the suggestion given by Tactician Ash.
Still, if there was no other choice, then a slightly worse one would do. As long as he treated them with care after they became his Pokémon.
If it was the kind of behavior where one caught Pokémon one by one, only to realize their poor aptitude and then release them, then all the Ashs in the group, including the Ash in the real world, would not approve of this approach.
However, the real-world Ash possessed Breeder Xiao Zhi's Insight Eye. With this powerful ability, it would be too much of a pity not to utilize it.
Being able to see a Pokémon's aptitude and potential before catching it, wouldn't it be better to just catch a good one from the start and raise it with care?
Surely, when one can see a Pokémon's aptitude and potential, one wouldn't deliberately go and catch a poor Pokémon to train, just to prove that there are no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers, right? That's just asking for trouble.
This Caterpie he caught was probably one of the most top-tier Caterpie in Chang Pan Forest. Although he hadn't shown his full potential yet, Ash believed that Caterpie would definitely shine in his hands—with the help of the big shots in the group.
[At this point, I hope readers remember our domain name 101kan.com]
After catching Caterpie, Ash released him again and sprayed him with Potion.
Pikachu's damage wasn't high, only causing Caterpie to faint, but if left untreated, such injuries would take one or two days to fully recover. Spraying Potion would only take an hour or so.
In the following time, because Ash wanted to quickly train Caterpie to evolve into Butterfree in a short period, he kept looking for Pokémon to battle along the way. He even encountered some boys wearing shorts or carrying bug nets in the forest.
These were the so-called Bug Catchers and Short Guys rumored to live in the forest.
The skill level of these two types of people was only slightly stronger than ordinary wild Pokémon, but they could also increase Ash's experience in Trainer battles.
Before entering Chang Pan Forest, the only Trainers Ash had battled were those few idiots who invaded the Elf Center.
Time passed day by day, and three days flew by in an instant.
During these three days, when they were tired, they rested, ate some instant food, reminisced about the Elf Center's food, chatted about future plans, and the direction of Pokémon training. Occasionally, they battled wild Trainers in the forest, and usually, while traveling, they would also find roadside Pokémon to train Pikachu and Caterpie's moves and increase their battle experience.
All in all, these three days were incredibly fulfilling for Ash, but not so good for Xiao Xia.
Xiao Xia, who originally had a fear of bugs, was almost numb after these three days.
Her biggest regret in this life was leaving her bicycle in Chang Pan City and choosing to walk with Ash to Ni Bi City.
She had originally wanted to see the scenery along the way and enjoy the fun of traveling, but now, what fun?! Every minute and every second in Chang Pan Forest was torture for Xiao Xia! She even got somewhat used to the existence of Ash's Caterpie.
Besides the daily annoyance of bugs, when Ash was battling, Xiao Xia would also give Ash some pointers. Ash was quite curious. Although Xiao Xia looked about his age, why did she know so much, and her command skills were clearly much stronger than his?
Although he was a novice, under the constant guidance of the big shots in the group, he felt that his command skills were improving by leaps and bounds every day. But compared to Xiao Xia, he was still a bit lacking... How strong were Xiao Xia's command skills? This was a question buried in Ash's heart.
"...How much longer until Ni Bi City, Ash?" Xiao Xia asked Ash weakly. It was already nearing noon on the fourth day, and she felt like her little feet were about to be worn out.
"Let me see... We're already past halfway. It's a bit faster than I expected," Ash said, comparing the map, a little surprised.
If they had been constantly on the move, covering half the journey would be normal, but he had been battling wild Pokémon and Trainers these past few days, which should have slowed down their progress. Yet, their speed was almost the same as if they had just been walking.
Xiao Xia rolled her eyes and said grumpily, "Nonsense! Didn't you see that I'm not even pulling on your clothes anymore? To get out of Chang Pan Forest faster, I've temporarily overcome my fear of bugs!"
"Overcome... overcome where? When Caterpie gets close to you, don't you still scream? Caterpie really likes you, you know, you're hurting his feelings~"
"Don't joke around! Just seeing him within one meter of me and not running away is already because he's our companion, alright! Get closer? Do you want me to die?" Xiao Xia's mouth twitched as she replied.
"Well, by the time you can accept him, he'll probably have evolved. I feel like Caterpie's evolution will be in these two days. He's accumulated enough experience, it's just a matter of when he'll cocoon... Is there something wrong with your legs?" Ash said, his gaze inadvertently falling on Xiao Xia, noticing that she was limping slightly, so he asked with some concern.
"What do you mean 'something wrong with my legs'? Can't you speak properly? My feet just hurt a bit. Do you think everyone is like you, with a monster-like physique that never gets tired, neither physically nor mentally?" Xiao Xia stopped and rubbed her toes through her shoes.
If she kept walking like this, her feet would definitely get chafed. She needed to rest...
Before Xiao Xia could even say she needed to rest, Ash was already half-crouched in front of her: "Get on."
"Get... get on what?"
"I'll carry you. Don't you want to leave Chang Pan Forest sooner? The way you are, even if you rest, your feet won't get better quickly. Then our time leaving Chang Pan Forest will probably be delayed by two or three days. It's better if I carry you."
"But... this... that..." Xiao Xia's fair face flushed slightly, unsure if it was from exhaustion or embarrassment from what Ash said.
"Don't be so wishy-washy... Are you worried you're too heavy and will crush me? It's okay, even if you weigh two hundred pounds, I'd still..."
"Who are you calling two hundred pounds?! I don't even weigh ninety pounds!!!" Ash's words were cut off by Xiao Xia's agitated voice.
Immediately after, Ash felt a soft body press against his back. Just as Xiao Xia said, she was truly very light.