After Leaf left, Kawaki carefully recalled the original owner's memories. As far as he knew, the Pokémon League in this world also provided starter Pokémon for children who turned ten. But every year, there were many ten-year-olds in various cities, towns, and villages... Even the Hoenn League was overwhelmed despite their best intentions.
Therefore, in some remote small towns, local children who wanted to become trainers only had two options. First was to catch a Pokémon through their own efforts, like Bug Catchers who grabbed bug nets and captured Caterpie or Kakuna during their weak periods before evolution. Second was to visit nearby Daycares to purchase Pokémon eggs.
To be fair though, when it came to travel benefits, there was no difference between trainers who received starter Pokémon and those who caught their own - both could enjoy Pokémon Center services for free.
"Officer Jenny is helping advertise the Daycare too. I'll need to properly thank her when I have time," Kawaki muttered.
At four o'clock, there probably wouldn't be any more customers visiting the Daycare. Kawaki locked up the doors and windows, grabbed some Poké Balls, and headed to the forest behind the Daycare with Bewear.
The towering tree canopies shielded the sky, their leaves a vibrant, lush green. When the wind swept through the forest, the entire woodland came alive, rustling like a chorus of a thousand birds singing in perfect harmony.
Gazing at the sea of green before him, Kawaki couldn't help but sigh. "What a breathtaking view!"
It was completely different from big cities built of steel and concrete. The natural atmosphere hit him head-on, giving him a refreshing feeling. Just being here made him naturally relax.
Rustling sounds came from the surrounding grass - wild Pokémon living here had heard human movement and were scrambling to escape in panic.
"Guu~!"
Bewear was happy too.
The original owner's father had been this forest's ranger. Because of the fertile soil, lush vegetation, and vast natural resources and Pokémon here, it naturally attracted some bad people's covetous attention. In his memories, when the original owner was six years old, Pokémon hunters had come to steal Pokémon from the forest. Fortunately, the original owner's father stopped them and called the police to have them arrested.
Kawaki and Bewear's current location was at the forest's edge. Perhaps because it was close to the road, there weren't many Pokémon living here, and the species were quite common.
Looking at the Pokémon figures in the grass, Kawaki named them one by one.
"A normal-type Zigzagoon - it looks like a tanuki, so cute."
"Is that a Wurmple? And its evolved forms Silcoon and Beautifly too!"
Watching the Beautifly dancing gracefully among the flowers filled Kawaki with curiosity. Unfortunately, the moment Beautifly spotted him and Bewear, it frantically flew away.
"Am I that scary?" Kawaki found it hard to believe.
But he quickly realized that Beautifly wasn't afraid of him - it was afraid of Bewear! Right now, Bewear was keeping a stern face, vigilantly observing the surroundings to prevent any sneaky wild Pokémon from ambushing Kawaki.
"That couldn't happen, right?" Kawaki couldn't help saying.
The next second, a Mightyena burst out from the grass, opening its mouth full of sharp fangs and viciously biting toward him.
Kawaki's pupils contracted.
But immediately after, a reliable figure blocked his way.
Bewear's face was grim as it threw a punch. Its Huge Power ability activated, and the Mightyena was instantly sent flying, landing motionless in distant grass, apparently knocked unconscious.
Kawaki: "!!!"
With the crisis resolved, Bewear turned around and looked at Kawaki with a cheerful expression.
"Guu!"
Alright, they could keep moving forward!
Kawaki: "..."
Perhaps because there were fewer traces of human activity, the deeper they went, the more types of Pokémon they could see.
Seedot stuck to tree branches overhead, absorbing nutrients.
Shroomish staying perfectly still under fallen leaves.
Groups of Oddish clustered together, camouflaged as grass patches.
Budew lazily basking in the sunlight.
Kawaki even saw what seemed to be a Ralts, but when he tried to get a closer look, that Pokémon immediately used Teleport and disappeared. He wasn't sure if it was an Abra or Ralts.
"Guu?" Bewear looked puzzled.
The sky was gradually darkening.
After wandering around, they hadn't encountered many grass-type Pokémon, but even so, Kawaki already had an idea.
"Too bad we didn't run into any water-type Pokémon."
The area was all forest without a single river, and water-type Pokémon only appeared near water sources.
In that case, he'd solve the grass Pokémon problem first!
Kawaki turned his attention to a lone Oddish in the distance that wasn't staying with the other Oddish.
[Pokémon: Oddish]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Run Away]
[Moves: Absorb, Sweet Scent, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Acid, Nature Power, Synthesis, Ingrain]
[Status: Healthy]
[Mood: Happy ️️️]
[Happiness Value: 20]
[Friendship Level: 0 (You're strangers to each other)]
[Description: A grass is so happy just being alone! —Oddish]
"An Oddish that likes solitude?" Kawaki was somewhat surprised. It really was special.
However, this Oddish's special qualities weren't limited to just that.
"Nature Power, Synthesis, Ingrain... I didn't expect this Oddish to master all three of these moves simultaneously. Are they egg moves? Or did it learn them naturally?"
Whichever it was wouldn't affect this Oddish's rarity. If it was the former, it meant its parents were very powerful and could pass their moves to their offspring. If it was the latter, it meant this Oddish had extraordinary insight.
Without a doubt, this was a top-quality Oddish!
As for the other Oddish... Kawaki's gaze shifted to the other Oddish in the distance. Unlike this one, those Oddish only knew a scattered few moves like Absorb, Sweet Scent, Stun Spore, and Sleep Powder.
In that case, it's decided - it's you!
Oddish was a grass-type Pokémon with the Chlorophyll ability and two possible final evolution forms: Vileplume and Bellossom. Its final evolution, Bellossom, could both use grass-type energy to help care for herbs and vegetables, and call forth sunlight through dancing to help crops grow - perfectly suited for his herb garden.
Not only that, Bellossom could also serve as a healer, providing treatment for injured Pokémon at the Daycare, restoring their stamina and curing status conditions.