Scout Ahead!

Leon's Pokemon gathered around, waiting for their next order. Lars and Leona had already learned how to use a Pokeball from Leon.

"Okay..." Lars immediately summoned Electrike.

"Leona, I need you to use that berry juice you made." For a fainted Pokemon, he usually had to rely on revives.

Leon knew a berry wouldn't work because a fainted Pokemon obviously can't chew. The only way was by giving healing liquid with medicinal properties.

"Uh, okay." Leon took off her backpack and quickly found where she had placed them. After all, she organized the things inside well.

"Here you go." After Leona handed the bottle of berry juice to Leon, he walked over to Electrike.

Leon slowly poured the juice into Electrike's open mouth from the side and massaged its throat to ensure it swallowed it all.

Leon turned to Nosepass and Aron, who had gathered around them. He understood Nosepass and Aron's discomfort, so Leon told them to wait under a tree he pointed out.

"Nosepass and Aron, I want you guys to protect these two. Leona and Lars, you guys stay here for a bit and wait for Electrike to wake up."

Leon was interested in exploring the Marsh area ahead, and he wanted to scout ahead to get a better idea of what was there. Additionally, he needed Lars's Electrike to help them navigate through the Wetland because there were many water-type Pokemon in the area, and Leon's Pokemon would be at a disadvantage.

'It isn't like this Electrike knows any electric-type moves, so how useful could it be?' Leon knew that Electrike would learn the move Spark at level thirteen, so he could only wait.

"What? You're leaving alone; why not take us?" Lars was stunned. They had just arrived here and Leon was leaving by himself.

"I'll be back, I just want to scout the area a bit. You guys wait until Electrike wakes up—we'll need it to assist us."

Lars wanted to say something, but the words didn't come out. Leona looked at him and shook her head. They were new to this and Leon seemed to know a lot, it was best to listen.

Saying this, Leon turned toward the other two Electrikes.

"Speaking of which, don't the kids in our Town want Pokemon? Aren't the parents in the Town willing to buy Pokemon, but no one sells them?"

Some people in the Town were still scared of Pokemon. In fact, a large number of them were but this didn't stop some from looking at the bigger picture.

Despite their fear, they were willing to buy Pokemon for their children. There was a big future with a high chance of success as a trainer. These parents wanted the best for their children despite their fears.

"The guards would not allow anyone to leave the town without a Pokemon. Due to this restriction, starting their journey becomes a challenge."

According to Leona, Pokemon were in high demand. The rarer the species, the more one could earn through a sale.

'If I sell Pokemon I could earn a lot. I should also demand that they hand over a Pokeball or two to keep up with my supply of Pokeballs.'

Leon knew that some parents had bought several Pokeballs for their kids.

Despite the cost, they still decided to purchase them. Leon planned to not only accept money, but also a couple of Pokeballs.

With this in mind, Leon decided to capture both Electrike and sell them later. Now, Leon had Eleven Pokeballs left.

Afterward, Leon picked them up and placed them in his Inventory secretly.

"That's perfect, so you plan to sell those at some point for a high price?" Leona's eyes suddenly brightened with enlightenment.

"Oh, yeah. Next month, we'll be leaving this Island. So before we leave, we should make whatever money we can." Leon stroked his chin, and the only thing he could see was ₱.

Leon wasn't one to pass up an opportunity when it presented itself. That was one of the greatest sins anyone could have. To see an opportunity waving itself in front of you, but being unable to see it.

"Right. We'll wait!" Leona was thrilled to leave the island. She and Lars had learned a lot from the manual and from Leon, so they were eager to go.

Leon had explained this to them a couple of days ago, and they both wholeheartedly agreed.

"I'll be back." Leon proceeded to leave with Beldum.

"Be careful while you're out there," Leona warned. Hearing her words, Leon nodded and assured her.

"It seems that the rain has slowed down a bit." Leon needed to capture Pokemon that would appear often in rainy weather before the summer arrived.

As he walked through the forest, the sun struggled to break through the thick clouds, casting a dark hue over the sky.

"What do you sense, Beldum? Is there anything around?" Leon asked. As they walked, he could hear the skies rumbling.

Before Beldum could reply, Leon gazed up again and was shocked at the sight. He wasn't shocked at the skies, or the rumbling thunder, but the trees.

 A large flock of Taillow perched on the trees, staring intently and emanating hostility. 

"This..." Leon took a deep breath to calm himself down. Would they really just attack him?

Leon scanned the treetops to see which one had the best aptitude among them.

-----

<Name: Taillow♀< p>

<Type: Normal + Flying< p>

<Level: 9< p>

<Nature: Timid< p>

<Aptitude: F++< p>

<Ability: Guts< p>

<Moves: Peck, Growl, Focus Energy, Quick Attack,< p>

-----

As much as he wanted to attack and capture this Taillow, Leon was at a disadvantage.

"Ahem! Okay, let's go." Leon turned forward and left with Beldum with a strange expression.

Leon didn't understand why there were so many Taillow in the trees, but he had a theory. He continued until arriving at the edge of the forest.

"Ah, there it is." Leon came before a massive Marsh as far as his eyes could see. Almost immediately, Leon spotted activity nearly everywhere he looked.

The first thing Leon noticed was several Pokemon zipping swiftly over the water.

They were walking on it. The Pokemon were small and fast, hard to spot.

"Those are Surskit."

Leon had begun to inspect these Pokemon. He found that every single one of them had the ability, Swift Swim.

"I should have brought Aron, so it could snipe these guys with Rock throw." Besides that, Leon lacked confidence in capturing any of them.

Leon took a knee and used his enhanced eyesight to the fullest. The closest Pokemon to him were these Surskits.

Suddenly, Beldum sent Leon a message, stating that a Pokemon was approaching.

Leon was cautious as he saw a small silhouette emerge from the marsh, despite being far from the water.

The Pokemon's head slowly appeared near the water's surface, and Leon instantly recognized it.

This Pokemon was about a foot long with blue fins and whiskers, which were properly known as barbels.

-----

<Name: Barboach♂< p>

<Type: Water + Ground< p>

<Level: 7< p>

<Nature: Impish< p>

<Aptitude: F+< p>

<Ability: Oblivious< p>

<Moves: Water Gun, Mud-slap, Rest,< p>

-----

Leon knew right away that he had no way of fighting this Pokemon.

If only he had that Carvanha from back then. It would be able to scout the Marsh unchecked and with dominance.

Leon sighed as his attention ventured elsewhere. The Pokemon he spotted were Lotad, Psyduck, Marill, and Wooper.

However, the only Pokemon he was interested in were the Hoenn regionals. 

"I'm looking to sell Pokemon, so it wouldn't be a problem to catch other regionals. For now, I need to focus on catching Hoenn types so that I can complete this mission."

Leon looked toward the location where Barboach was and found that it was still there. It seemed curious about Leon, perhaps it had never seen a human before.

Barboach could only be this confident because of its escaping ability.

To protect themselves from predators and underwater parasites, Barboach cover themselves in a slimy film. If a predator tries to grab a Barboach, it can simply slip out of its grip. This film also serves as a measure of vitality, with sick Barboach lacking the coating.

Thus, If Leon tried anything funny, it could simply escape. Suddenly, Leon made a move, he took out a Pokeball, and Hell Mary'd it at Barboach, hoping to get fortunate.

Barboach expression didn't change when it was encapsulated. The Pokeball strangely flipped upward and landed on the grass.

Leon watched intently as the Pokeball shook frantically. Left, right, left, and...a small spark flashed in the center of the Pokeball.

Barboach was actually caught without him needing to battle it!

"Oh, my gosh! I actually caught it?!" Leon laughed in disbelief before ordering Beldum to quickly retrieve it.

Beldum retrieved the Pokeball before handing it to Leon. Looking at the Pokeball with a smile, Leon suddenly had a revelation.

Perhaps, like Legends Arceus, sneaking up on Pokemon and tagging them from behind was the most efficient.

Leon decided to head back to his siblings, he just wanted to scout ahead. Once he returned nothing really changed, he just told them to follow him.

Leon recalled Aron and Nosepass, but he told Aron that he would be using him soon. He only recalled them because this weather was much to their distaste.

Electrike had awakened and identified Lars as its trainer after some time. It was still weakened, but it was nothing a couple of berries couldn't fix.

Lars was all smiles as Electrike followed alongside him.

"Where are we going now? Will there be Pokemon?" Leona turned to Leon and asked curiously.

"Oh, there will be Pokemon. We need to go around the Marsh, so we can arrive on the other side. That's where all of the Pokemon are, but we'll have to sneak up on them to make things easier."

Leon's tactic was simple, it was the same as Legends and that was to catch some Pokemon from behind.

"I guess we'll have to move quietly to sneak attack them." Leona understood Leon's agenda and thought it was a great idea.

Leona was actually getting a kick out of the idea. She realized Pokemon weren't so bad when she saw Leon battling with them. Not to mention Lars's new Electrike, now she was assured.

Quietly but swiftly, the group moved toward the other side of the road they were originally on. Afterward, they took the forest and arrived on the other side of the Wetland.

Beldum had alerted him that there were several Pokemon around them. Some in the trees and in the surroundings.

Leon and company continued to the large Wetland, where they saw what he was looking for.