The bright white glow gradually faded from Caterpie's body, revealing a completely different Pokémon.
There was no time to dwell on Caterpie's evolution—because now appearing before them was the so-called "Sky God" Rayquaza…
Well… sort of.
Metapod stood there instead.
Metapod was a green cocoon-shaped Pokémon with a crescent-like body and segmented tail. The front part was also segmented, forming shapes that resembled facial features. There was a small protrusion on its back, and its eyes were usually half-open.
"Woohoo~"
Ash carefully placed the Metapod into his backpack, already looking forward to the day it evolved into Butterfree.
Right now, Metapod was in the waiting stage before evolution.
It was strengthening its outer shell to protect the soft and fragile body evolving inside.
To prepare for evolution, Metapod constantly restructured its internal cells.
Aside from hardening its shell, it could hardly do anything else. It stayed almost completely still to avoid attracting predators, silently enduring until the moment of evolution.
Even though the shell was tough, it was still only an insect's casing.
A strong enough impact could still break it.
Misty watched Ash carefully handling the Metapod.
At first, she had assumed Ash was a rookie Trainer who knew nothing about Pokémon.
But after traveling with him for two days, she realized something—
Ash genuinely cared about Pokémon.
Maybe… he really could compete in the Indigo League.
And who knew? He might even achieve good results.
After all, while many Trainers traveled for years before entering the Indigo League, there were also those who collected all eight Gym Badges within a year and performed surprisingly well.
"So you actually did your homework," Misty said softly while holding Pikachu.
Still, she reminded him:
"Metapod isn't suitable for battle right now. If its shell gets damaged, it could crack."
"I know," Ash replied.
He carried the Metapod on his back.
It could passively gain experience along the way and hopefully reach Lv.10 soon, allowing it to evolve again.
Ash mentally reviewed his team.
Pikachu – Lv.19
Magikarp – Lv.17
Pidgeotto – Lv.18
Pidgeotto had probably evolved from Pidgey not long ago.
The levels were fairly balanced.
Ash planned to train a bit longer in Viridian Forest. Ideally, he wanted everyone to reach around Lv.19 before using Rare Candies.
Otherwise it would feel like a waste.
"Let's keep moving," Ash said, recalling his Pokémon.
Pikachu, however, was still being held by Misty.
Up ahead, there should be a Beedrill swarm somewhere.
That would be another batch of experience.
"Ash… there are more bugs," Misty said miserably.
Several Weedle had suddenly crawled out nearby.
"Pidgeotto, use Twister."
Ash sighed helplessly.
Helping Misty overcome her fear of Bug Pokémon was going to be a long-term mission.
Misty let out a long sigh of relief.
Right now, she just wanted to leave Viridian Forest, the land of Bug-types, as quickly as possible.
"Let's go," Ash said.
He waited for a moment but the Beedrill swarm never appeared.
What a shame—he could've farmed quite a bit of experience.
"Watch out!"
—!
A flash of cold steel suddenly appeared in front of him.
Ash frowned and stepped backward quickly.
He immediately knew who it was.
The Samurai boy who had been emotionally traumatized by Trainers from Pallet Town.
"What are you doing?" Ash asked.
"Are you a Trainer from Pallet Town?" the Samurai boy asked, sheathing his sword.
Looking at the boy in full armor, Ash couldn't help but think—
It's so hot today… how can he wear that much?
Is his brain broken or something?
"Yeah. Why?" Ash asked.
Misty watched the Samurai boy cautiously.
After all, he had suddenly pulled out a sword earlier. It seemed like he specifically targeted Trainers from Pallet Town.
"I've battled many Trainers in this forest," the Samurai boy declared.
"Now I challenge only Trainers from Pallet Town."
"Accept my challenge!"
He confidently took out a Poké Ball.
"Alright. I accept."
Ash never refused free experience points.
"Go! Pinsir!"
The Samurai boy released his Pokémon.
Pokémon: Pinsir – Lv.15
Ash casually scanned the Pokédex data and sent out Pidgeotto.
He had to wash away the humiliation of the original storyline—there was no way a Flying-type should lose to a Bug-type.
"Pidgeotto, use Twister."
Pidgeotto took flight and unleashed a violent gust toward the ground-bound Pinsir.
"Pinsir, use Sand Attack!" the Samurai boy commanded fearlessly.
But the attack was useless.
Pinsir's sand couldn't reach a Pokémon flying in the air.
"Damn it!"
The Samurai boy could only watch helplessly as every move failed to hit Pidgeotto.
"Quick Attack."
Ash had already had enough fun.
Pidgeotto dove down with incredible speed, landing the final blow.
The first battle ended.
Pidgeotto won flawlessly.
"Your Pinsir is a Bug-type, and Pidgeotto is a Flying-type," Misty said seriously.
"You're completely at a disadvantage."
"And you even used a Ground-type move against a Flying Pokémon. That's just random command spam."
She couldn't believe someone with such weak battle fundamentals was challenging Trainers everywhere.
"Ohhh," the Samurai boy nodded.
Then he took out another Poké Ball.
"In that case, my next Pokémon is Metapod."
And he sent it out.
Ash's face instantly filled with black lines.
Did Misty just speak for nothing?
"You really don't understand Pokémon at all," Misty said, speechless.
"What do you mean I don't understand Pokémon?" the Samurai boy protested loudly.
"I've battled lots of Trainers and won many times!"
"We literally just told you Flying-types counter Bug-types," Misty said.
"And you still sent out another Bug Pokémon."
"Also, Metapod is currently in its evolution preparation stage. It can basically only use Harden and String Shot."
"It's not suited for battle at all."
"If it fights now, its shell might break and it could get hurt."
She was genuinely trying to help.
"I only have Bug-type Pokémon," the Samurai boy admitted.
"Then catch Pokémon of other types," Misty replied.
"Or do you think you're some kind of type-disadvantage master?"
Are you talking about me? Ash thought.
The title "Type-Disadvantage Master" was basically synonymous with Ash.
But times had changed.
Now battles required strategy and tactics.
"I understand," the Samurai boy said finally.
He turned to Ash.
"Trainers from Pallet Town really are strong."
"Even someone as powerful as me has already lost three times to them."
"That's why I decided I must defeat the next Pallet Town Trainer I meet."
Ash's expression turned strange.
Praising others didn't mean you had to praise yourself at the same time, you know.
"Unfortunately," Ash said with a smile while recalling Pidgeotto,
"You'll have to find the next one."
The Samurai boy felt extremely unwilling.
He couldn't believe every Trainer from Pallet Town was so strong.
Maybe that place really produced powerful Trainers.
Misty thought the same.
This boy was still far too inexperienced.
He could defeat weaker opponents—but against stronger ones, he would always lose.
His battle style was pure recklessness with almost no understanding of basic Pokémon battle knowledge.
At best, he was only slightly better than a beginner.