If you looked closely, you could see that this Caterpie was a bit old.
Eichi used to run around with the Bug Catchers in town, and after spending so much time with them, he learned how to tell the age of Caterpie and Weedle.
It was easy to see with this one. Caterpie had a Y-shaped antenna on its head, and the patterns on every Caterpie's antenna were different.
The deeper the pattern, the older the Caterpie. Looking at this one, you could tell right away that it was already old.
Other Caterpie at this age would have already evolved into Butterfree. Since this one had not evolved, it must have been malnourished and too weak to develop.
Normally, Caterpie and Weedle could evolve into their final forms in about ten days. At the slowest, it would take around a month.
The Caterpie in his hands was already a few months old, so it should no longer be capable of evolving.
Eichi pressed the release button on the Poké Ball and let the Caterpie out.
A flash of white light.
Caterpie popped out, looking very confused.
Caterpie:?
Eichi pointed ahead and said, "Go on."
Caterpie seemed to understand. It nodded, turned, and ran away. Its round body moved in and out as it quickly vanished from sight.
Eichi sighed. He quietly reset the trap and kept waiting.
Over the next few hours, a few more Pokémon fell into the trap. Some, like Pidgey and Spearow, escaped before Eichi could catch them. Others, he managed to catch but was not satisfied with, so he released them.
Half a day passed like this, and he still had not caught a Pokémon he liked.
Eichi felt discouraged. His stomach growled, so he decided to take a short break before continuing. He pulled out some rations from his backpack and began to eat.
Hmm!
To be honest, the food tasted pretty good, but why were his eyes itchy again?
Eichi rubbed them. They had been itching all day, and it made him feel uneasy.
At that moment, his eyes began to flash with a blue-green light. It flickered quickly, again and again.
The itch grew worse, and he rubbed harder. The more he rubbed, the worse it got. He couldn't stop. Then he suddenly felt like something was going to come out of his eyes.
A sharp pain struck. Eichi cried out and quickly shut his eyes.
But the pain faded. When he opened them and rubbed again, the itch was gone. Looking around, nothing seemed different.
Eichi was confused. He muttered, "That's strange."
Then he noticed a flow of green energy ahead of him.
Yes, it was energy, just like the special effects he used to see in martial arts movies from his past life, where experts channeled power around their bodies.
The green energy moved slowly forward, not far away.
Eichi followed it. The path became narrower.
Tall grass grew around him, reaching his waist. After walking four or five hundred meters, the path ended. He had reached a thick patch of grass that covered everything in sight.
The energy flowed into the grass. Eichi forced his way through and pushed aside the weeds. After working at it for a while, he saw a round object.
It was a Pokémon Egg. The blue-green energy circling around it suddenly vanished.
A Pokémon Egg?
Not bothering to question why the energy disappeared, Eichi carefully picked it up. His heart raced with excitement and curiosity as he studied the egg.
"What Pokémon is this? What will hatch from it?"
The egg felt smooth, warm, and pleasant to the touch. It was decorated with orange and brown cloud-like patterns, arranged in neat rings.
Quickly, Eichi took off his backpack and placed the egg safely inside. Then he headed down the mountain, his heart filled with joy.
He left his traps and tools behind and went straight home.
When he arrived, he locked the door and went to his room. He pulled out the egg again and examined it carefully. Eichi felt excited. This would be his very first Pokémon.
He wondered what kind of Pokémon it would be. Hopefully, it would be one that was easy to raise.
He decided to ask his father later that night if anyone nearby had an Incubator.
Time passed, and soon it was evening. When he heard the door open, Eichi knew his father had come home.
Opening his bedroom door, he saw his father bringing dinner from his backpack. When he came home late, he often bought food on the way.
As they ate, his father asked, "So, how did it go today? Did you catch a Pokémon?"
Eichi looked up and said, "Father, wait a moment. I have something to show you." He stood, went to his room, and returned with the egg.
His father looked surprised. "Where did you get that egg? Don't tell me you picked it up?"
Eichi replied, "That's right. I found it today in The Viridian Forest. Father, do you know anyone who has an Incubator?"
His father thought for a while and then said, "Your Aunt Keiko works at the Day Care. Go ask her tomorrow, she might lend you one."
"Okay, I'll go see Aunt Keiko tomorrow," Eichi said happily.
Aunt Keiko had been his mother's close friend. She was very close to the family, and even after his mother passed away, their bond had not changed.
She worked at the Day Care. In the Pokémon world, the Day Care was a place that raised Pokémon.
Many Trainers had more than six Pokémon, but they did not have the time or energy to raise them all.
So they left them at the Day Care, where the staff kept them in peak condition.
The Day Care also sold Pokémon. Most beginners either caught their own Pokémon in the wild or bought one there.
Of course, that was for normal families. Children of League officials would usually be arranged to receive a starter from the local Professor's lab.
Pokémon at the Day Care were not cheap, but they were far more affordable than the starter Pokémon.
It was the same in the games. You left a Pokémon at the Day Care, and when you picked it up later, its level would have risen.
So there was no doubt the Day Care had an Incubator.
That night, Eichi lay in bed with the egg in his arms. Yes, he planned to sleep while holding it.
As he lay quietly, he remembered how itchy his eyes had been today. He still didn't know what caused it, and he also thought about the green energy he had seen.
Why had he been able to see it?
Why had that energy flowed into the egg?
Why was the egg there in the first place?
Could it be that his golden finger was finally appearing?
With those questions swirling in his mind, Eichi slowly fell asleep.
In the darkness of his room, a blue-green glow appeared on his body. The light flowed gently into the Pokémon Egg.
All of this happened without Eichi knowing.