Chapter 3. past

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The Gray Feather Mountain Range is a mountain range located on the edge of Petalburg City in the Hoenn region.

It is different from the Pokémon world that Cyan knew in his previous life. Although this place is still divided into regions such as Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova, the size of each region exceeds what he knew in his previous life.

In the Hoenn region alone, where Cyan is located, there are more than thirty cities with gyms, not to mention hundreds of villages and towns without gyms, and the distances between villages and towns are relatively long.

But compared to the areas occupied by wild Pokémon, the areas with human activities probably don't even make up one-fifth of the total.

The Gray Feather Mountains is exactly where Cyan's father was assigned by the Pokémon League to maintain after he became a ranger. This is also where Cyan was born.

Although as a time traveler, Cyan only arrived in this world when his original body was just eight years old and was about to go to the ranger academy, after living here for two years, he already knows this mountain range very well.

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At about ten o'clock in the morning, Cyan, who had just finished exercising with his father, was holding a large bag of prepared snacks and was about to step into the recently awakened mountains.

Today was the day he came to play with Butterfree as promised, and it was also the day he was about to say goodbye to Butterfree.

"Butterfree, Butterfree, I'm here, and I brought your favorite snacks!" Cyan shouted loudly.

Normally, Butterfree would be active in this area, so as long as he shouted a few times, Butterfree would appear.

Today was no exception. As soon as he finished speaking, Butterfree flew down from a lush tree.

"Bah!" Butterfree showed a joyful expression, and kept flying around Cyan as soon as it came down.

Cyan chuckled, "Okay, Butterfree, here is the milk I specially prepared for you. Do you want to try it?"

Putting the package in his hand upright, Butterfree slowly flew to Cyan's arm, stretched out its nose and smelled it. A strong fragrance suddenly filled its senses.

"Butter..." Butterfree made a happy sound.

"Come on, Butterfree, I'll open it and let's taste this delicious food together," Cyan said with a smile.

"Bah."

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Two hours later, Butterfree and Cyan had already finished all the snacks and were walking slowly around.

There were no Pokémon around, not for any special reason. It's just that this place is still on the outskirts of the Gray Feather Mountains. Pokémon usually live deeper in the mountains, and most Pokémon have a gathering place belonging to their own group, which they wouldn't easily leave.

Cyan's parents never allowed him to enter the mountains alone, so Daniel Oak, his father, would always take him in when he was free. After all, Cyan was determined to become a ranger in the future, so Daniel also hoped that Cyan could learn more about jungles, mountains, and the like.

Watching the sunlight filtering through the leaves, Cyan called Butterfree to his side, his voice a little solemn, "Butterfree, starting tomorrow, I will go to the academy to report, so we won't be able to see each other for a while."

"Hey..." Butterfree showed a disappointed expression, flew to Cyan's shoulder, and gently scratched Cyan's cheek with the edge of its black and white wings.

"It's so ticklish, Butterfree," Cyan couldn't help laughing, wiping his cheek.

Holding Butterfree in his hand, Cyan said softly, "Butterfree, this isn't the first time we've been separated, so there's no need to be so sad. I'll be back during the New Year, won't I?"

"Bah..." Butterfree still looked disappointed.

"Butterfree..."

Butterfree stretched out its cheek and rubbed it against Cyan's hand.

Cyan knew what Butterfree wanted to say and what it meant, but he couldn't... not yet. At least, he didn't have the ability.

Butterfree was the first Pokémon that Cyan had contact with after coming to this world, besides his parents' Pokémon.

At that time, it was just a Caterpie being chased by a group of Spearow. Cyan accidentally discovered it and called his father to save it.

After rescuing it, the Caterpie evolved into a Metapod. His father told him that it had probably wandered into Spearow territory looking for food to store energy for evolution, so it evolved right after being saved.

That was also the first time Cyan saw a Pokémon evolve since arriving in this world.

To ensure that the Metapod evolved smoothly into a Butterfree, Cyan took it out of the Gray Feather Mountains and cared for it.

Because Metapod had difficulty moving, Cyan would come over every day to check on its progress. It wasn't until the day before he left for the academy that Metapod successfully evolved into Butterfree.

So, they only had a brief meeting before Cyan left.

When Cyan returned from the academy six months later, his father told him that Butterfree would come to this place and wait for him almost every day.

At first, it would wait half a day. Later, as Butterfree realized Cyan wasn't home, it would wait for an hour before returning to the mountains.

When Cyan learned about Butterfree's actions, he rushed out to find it. To be honest, he didn't expect Butterfree to miss him so much. It was the first time he truly felt the warmth of the Pokémon world.

From then on, the bond between him and Butterfree grew deeper.

At first, Cyan told his parents he wanted Butterfree to be his Pokémon, but his parents unanimously opposed it.

They explained that although Bug-type Pokémon mature quickly, their peak combat strength doesn't last long. If Cyan chose to train Butterfree, he would eventually need to start raising new Pokémon once Butterfree's strength began to decline.

After examining Butterfree, Daniel found its potential was only average. If Butterfree had exceptional qualities, they might have agreed, but given its average strength, his parents couldn't accept it.

For a regular family like theirs, it was too much pressure.

No matter how many times Cyan asked, his parents refused.

From that moment on, Cyan knew that if he wanted his parents' approval, he had to wait until he was truly capable of raising Butterfree on his own.

He also knew he couldn't wait too long, because Bug-type Pokémon have a short prime period. So, Cyan set a goal for himself: by the time he graduated, he would be capable of training Butterfree.

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And Butterfree seemed to understand what Cyan was thinking. Each time Cyan left, Butterfree would silently see him off from a distance, return to the mountains, and then wait patiently for his return...

While Cyan felt comforted, he also felt deeply guilty.