Task

Kimi continued her usual routine of making Pokéblocks and Poképuffs, grooming and playing with her Growlithe and Eevee to raise their affection levels along with their overall beauty.

While their bonds were growing stronger, Growlithe was slowly recovering and returning to its former healthy state with the help of her treatments and the Pokéblocks.

After she had finished her preparations, she headed out early in the morning while she was followed by Eevee and Growlithe.

She kept Poliwag and Grimer within their Pokéballs because there was a limit to how many she could keep out by her side without being scolded by others within the city.

The laws were quite similar to how pets were allowed to walk in the streets with their owner but there was a limit to how many could accompany their owner.

They were not allowed entry into certain buildings or businesses while they could gain entry to places like the Pokemon Centre while accompanied by their owner or trainer.

One or two was the limit to what the city laws would allow otherwise everyone would have all their Pokémon out at all times which would only result in chaos within each city.

After she had visited the main building within Viridian City to register for the local task, she then headed to the Pokémart to purchase some new Pokéballs.

She spent a much larger amount of her previous earnings to purchase two Luxury Balls for Growlithe and Eevee so she could increase their friendliness further so the two Pokéballs that she had became empty after she finished switching them over to their new homes before releasing them again after she left the Pokémart with a bag filled with a bulk purchase of Pokéballs.

Kimi then continued to walk south and found herself on Route One where there were some obstacles and tall grass that went up to her knees. "If the reports are correct when this task was explained then there has been several beginner trainers or people who have been trying to travel from Pallet Town to Viridian City with the help of their own or families Pokémon. Those individuals have been heavily injured and there has been a death among the reports so this is becoming a growing problem that needs to be handled soon before it becomes worse."

The levels and the population of the Pokémon on the routes between each city or town was strictly controlled to allow people and transportation to pass between each place but there were always cases where they got out of control and became a problem.

When a new high level Pokémon emerged within a location or their population had grown too out of control for beginners to handle was when the officers and others were forced to step up along with bounty hunters and trainers.

Most of the higher level or rarer Pokémon were usually snatched up quickly by other trainers who had a higher level team so there were not many beginners that could get a strong Pokémon unless they were someone like Ash who could have many opportunities to bond with wild Pokémon.

In reality, death was a very real possibility for a trainer as being bitten to death by a swarm of Ratata, being impaled by a Beedril or dying from a strong poisonous attack without having a way to cure it was a very real thing.

If there was a problem on Route One then there were few possibilities if it was related to Pokémon, it could either be a Ratata or Pidgey problem due to overpopulation or a strong one had emerged among them.

She threw out her other Pokéball and Poliwag appeared near her. "Poliwag provide support with Bubble and Hypnosis. Aim your bubble away from Growlithe and Eevee and target those that they are not targeting. Eevee support with Helping Hand and use Tackle when I give the command. Growlithe use ember but when I give the order you can go in for a Bite. If a fire starts in the area then it is Poliwags duty to put it out."

Each of them quickly adjusted to their role as they started their assault on a Ratata within the grass not too far away.

Before it could put up any resistance, it fainted and a ball then hit it which resulted in it being captured.

Kimi kept her senses sharp as she could detect approaching auras then she pointed towards two places. "Growlithe use ember to burn the top of the grass so we you can all see better. Poliwag use bubble to extinguish the flames after it has been shortened enough. We need to keep it under control but also cause enough problem for the enemy. Eevee use helping hand to assist both of them when they use their primary type move."

While Growlithe, Eevee, Poliwag and Kimi stepped back out of the grassy area, Growlithe shot out a powered up Ember towards the grass.

Suddenly the grass was ignited as squeaks followed one after another as Kimi showed no mercy. "This is a concept I learned quickly after coming here… these types of jobs are optional on how it is handled if the Pokémon are not rare or under strict protection laws.."

While some of the Ratata were able to escape the grassy area but there were some that had been caught within the flames that spread.

They caught on fire and then died due to smoke inhalation or were burned to death.

Kimi watched on and sighed. 'Common Pokémon tend to have this result and nobody would even scold me for taking such an action. It is just a reduction of the overpopulated area… I could have used another way and captured them but that would have ended with me being overwhelmed by numbers. My present team is still not at the stage to contend against an army so this is the best option to avoid losses.'

While the task did request for the situation to be handled by a bounty hunter or trainer to reduce the population or find the cause behind the problem, it was left optional on how it was handled.

It did not matter if the numbers were reduced by killing them or capturing them so long as the task had been completed.

Either option had its advantages and disadvantages but Kimi had chosen the one that kept her from reducing her own teams fighting power and potential.

Spreading a fire was the best possible tactic for dealing with an overpopulated swarm of Ratata which were behaving aggressively in the area and could potentially be a threat to herself or her own Pokémon if they could make use of their numbers and the cover from the grass to launch a successful attack.

Killing common Pokémon that had a higher reproductive rate was not considered a crime or was not even frowned upon since it was considered as pest control work, there were some trainers or travellers that had even told stories about their travels where they had been without food for too long and were forced to kill and eat a Pokémon due to not being able to find anything else edible.

Pokémon are technically what are considered as animals from her previous world so she understood that kind of logic of eating an animal.

Kimi was not entirely against the idea so there had been times when she had considered it when she was in dire straits but there were a lot that did frown upon it since many were active supporters of Pokémon unity and bonds which did not allow for such ways of using them.

There did exists some groups or communities that did actively hunt and eat Pokémon for sport or as gourmets, although they were not completely illegal in the eyes of the law, they were not so publicly accepted by the masses.

The bubbles spread over the flames one after another and slowly put out the flames which then revealed several burned rat shaped corpses within while some still seemed to have a little life in them.

Kimi walked over and removed a knife from her waist which had been sheathed, she faintly sensed the weak auras then directed her knife towards them one after another with one swift stab which ended their suffering.

Growlithe, Eevee and Poliwag all looked on in shock at her swift action but Kimi stood wiping her knife clean and said in a soft tone. "This could have been your result if you were any weaker than you are now or if we had not used this method. Even now… the ones that had run away will soon be back with bigger numbers. It is better that this was ended quickly so that we do not get overrun by dealing with the first group.

You might think my decision was cruel but if you want to fight to preserve those lives then you must be strong enough to be able to subdue them without suffering a single injury. This is the fate of the weak in this world, the common and weaker Pokémon will be used as fodder for others to become stronger and they will be strictly controlled unless they can escape the cage they live within.

They can either move to a safer location free from humans or they can outgrow their environment but the dangers involved in both are still great so many either die or become like you who follow a trainer to become stronger. The difference between you and these Ratata is that you were lucky to be born with talent and to have the protection blanket that is me to prevent you from being hunted down or captured by other humans or Pokémon. This way we can work together to survive and grow stronger. I hope that this will help to make your resolve firmer rather than make you more wary towards me or to have your resolve weaken. I hope that we can continue to grow stronger together and survive in this world."

She was not an omnipotent god that could determine the lives and deaths of every being in the world or could follow certain codes or laws, she had her own selfishness and was human so she had to prioritise herself and her Pokémon first while staying in or slightly straying outside of the system and structure of the world when it was required.

She had died twice over already so she was very aware of her own weakness even if she could use aura, she did not like the idea of dying for a third time and did not wish to go through more losses of her closest partners.

Kimi did not wish to lose her partners again because of her own weakness or because she did not take every precaution possible to prevent death or injury.

She did not wish to fall victims to dark trainers and others which used sinister methods, there may be times when she would have to not hold back anything and would not have to worry about the safety of the opponent and their Pokémon since ending the life of her opponent or their partner could be what could determine her or her own partners life and death.

Kimi took out a large cloth bag and placed the corpses within then put it on her back so she could show the proof of her completing of part of the task. "Stay on alert. This is far from over."

Her first task had begun with the death of several Ratata and the capture of one of them but it was still just the beginning of her long day as many started to return with backup.

The experience that had been gained had been quite a lot in such a short time but there was much more to come.