"Huh?"
A strange, almost eerie gaze sent a shiver down Ai Xia's spine, making him feel like something unclean was watching him.
"What was that?"
Turning around, he saw his Caterpie still resting peacefully in its little nest, probably asleep. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Weird..."
A puzzled expression crossed his face as he scanned the storage room and the living room outside. Still, nothing unusual caught his eye.
Not that he could be blamed for being jumpy. In a world where Pokémon existed, urban legends from his past life had taken on a whole new local flavor—tales like Eight-Foot-Tall Gardevoir and Hatterene, Gothitelle on the Subway, Slit-Mouthed Jynx, The Spoon Killer, or The Human-Faced Poochyena.
Each one was freakier than the last.
Most of these stories stemmed from Pokémon with eerie traits—Ghost and Psychic types, in particular. Many of them had mischievous, even cruel tendencies, delighting in pranks and terrifying humans. There were documented cases of them sneaking into homes, using their supernatural abilities to conjure up paranormal phenomena, scaring residents half to death. No wonder horror stories like these were so popular.
In reality, the usual troublemakers were just Gastly-line and Misdreavus-line Pokémon, whose antics were mostly harmless.
But then there were the more questionable ones—Gothita and Drifloon, known for luring children into mysterious worlds.
And then there were the really shady ones, like Hypno, with its penchant for hypnosis tactics... Ahem, best not to dwell on that too much.
With so many documented incidents—not to mention the outright dangerous ones like the Yamask and Litwick lines, whose threats were even written in the Pokédex—it was no surprise that many people and trainers still kept their distance from these types, if not outright despised them.
Seriously creepy.
Ironically, despite being called the "Dark" type, most Dark-type Pokémon were actually less troublesome, content with just harmless pranks to satisfy their mischievous streaks.
"Hmm, probably nothing."
After a moment of thought, Ai Xia dismissed his worries.
At first, he had suspected that some Pokémon might've snuck into his house.
Even though cities and towns had regulations to manage wild Pokémon, and official agencies wouldn't tolerate dangerous ones roaming freely, Pokémon with all sorts of bizarre abilities could still slip through the cracks and infiltrate urban areas.
But if his Caterpie—whose senses were far sharper than his—hadn't reacted at all, then maybe he was just being paranoid.
"Must've been too stressed lately. Gotta rest properly after this is all over."
Sighing, he shook his head and refocused.
Right now, he needed to prepare for the upcoming wilderness training.
This wasn't some casual picnic or camping trip—it was survival. Wild Pokémon, especially in groups, turned the outdoors into a high-risk zone. Ai Xia had already planned a minimum two-day excursion with Caterpie, so every piece of gear had to be perfect. No room for error.
This was life or death.
Rummaging through his home's storage, he pulled out a sturdy tent, lightweight but durable trainer's protective gear, and a brand-new hiking backpack—though the backpack was mostly redundant. The system had given him an inventory space (albeit one that couldn't hold living things). It wasn't huge, but it was more than enough.
For a trainer operating in the wild, mobility was everything.
Next, he and Caterpie hit the department store.
At the Pokémon specialty shop, they grabbed some Repel sprays to keep wild Pokémon at bay, ensuring their campsite would stay safe. Then, at another store, they picked up fire-starting tools, a sleeping bag, and a multi-purpose survival knife—essentials for roughing it.
Canned food, bottled water, Pokémon chow, and energy blocks had already been prepped earlier.
Ai Xia also snagged a handy waist pouch for quick access to Potions and status-healing Berries.
Now that's what you call security.
But security came at a cost—his wallet was bleeding.
"Ouch. This hurts."
Wincing, he tucked away his significantly lighter wallet, then turned to Caterpie with fiery determination.
"All that training and move practice was for this—real battles. This time, we're going all out. We're gonna clean house in that wild Pokémon hotspot!"
"Mii!"
Caterpie, who'd been itching for action, cheered in excitement.
It couldn't wait to hit other Caterpie with Dragon Ascent.
Just imagining it—one Dragon Ascent wiping out a whole swarm of Caterpie that only knew String Shot and Tackle, farming them (and even Metapod and Butterfree) for EXP to power-level like crazy—sent Caterpie into a frenzy.
Old-timers, cough up that sweet, sweet EXP!
"Save the daydreaming for later. We're moving out."
Ai Xia gave Caterpie's tail a light kick, then recalled the big green worm into its Poké Ball. Hopping on the bus headed for the outskirts, he settled in for the roughly hour-long ride.
To pass the time, he pulled out his phone and reviewed info on their destination—[Ancient Sword Mountain].
[Ancient Sword Mountain] was a famous tourist spot in the Dayan region.
Its name came from its sword-like peaks, towering into the clouds. Legend had it that in ancient times, a Mythical Pokémon dwelled at the summit, which was why the peak was perpetually covered in unmeltable ice—so cold it could rival an actual snow-capped mountain.
The mountain boasted a rich ecosystem and breathtaking natural scenery, almost unreal in its beauty.
Though the Pokémon League's development had turned it into a relatively safe tourist attraction, parts of it still remained outside the League's full control. Vast stretches of land were home to countless wild Pokémon, some strong enough to give even seasoned trainers trouble. Because of that, the League had restricted access to the more dangerous zones.
But the areas with weaker wild Pokémon had become prime training grounds.
The Dayan League had even designated "free zones," allowing trainers to venture in for practice. If things got dicey, they could always call the patrol teams for backup. Most trainers knew their limits, so serious casualties were rare.
This time, Ai Xia was targeting one of those low-to-mid difficulty areas.
He and Caterpie planned to cut loose, testing their skills in real battles and seeing just how far their training had taken them.
"Who knows? Maybe we'll even get lucky and find some treasure."
Leaning against the window, Ai Xia's mind began to race with possibilities.
--+--