Chapter 19: Green Caterpillar vs. Messenger Bird! (Two Chapters Combined)

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Carter's attention was drawn to Gurdurr.

Naoki noticed his gaze and turned to look, only to see Gurdurr yawn, looking rather lazy.

"Are you traveling now?" Naoki asked.

Judging by the boy's attire, he looked a lot like the trainers he had seen in anime who traveled around.

Carter nodded, "Yes, by the way, how should I address you?"

Orange Academy's curriculum was based on a free system.

The school didn't force students to attend classes every day. Instead, it encouraged them to explore various regions of Paldea or challenge Gyms to collect Badges.

Naoki understood and didn't ask further, "Just call me Naoki. I've only recently taken over this abandoned ranch."

"Alright, Mr. Naoki, I'm sorry to bother you!" Carter noticed there was only one bed in the room, so he took out a sleeping bag from his backpack and laid it on the ground.

His eyes occasionally glanced at Gurdurr, and he finally couldn't help but ask, "That Pokémon is?"

Gurdurr's name was given by Dr. Aulin, and at this time, it hadn't become widely known yet.

Thinking about this, Naoki pretended not to know Gurdurr's name and shook his head, "I don't know. I just met it recently, and it doesn't seem to be in the Pokédex yet."

Hearing this, Carter became very excited, "So it's an undiscovered Pokémon! Mr. Naoki, have you caught it?"

"Caught?" Naoki looked at Gurdurr and said, "I guess so?"

"Wow!" Carter's eyes shone with envy, "Mr. Naoki, you must be a very skilled trainer, then?"

Naoki: "...No, I'm just a ranch owner."

However, Carter didn't seem to believe it.

That Pokémon's aura was very powerful. How could an ordinary trainer catch it?

As everyone knew, to catch a Pokémon, one had to defeat it in battle and prove their strength.

Only then would the Pokémon recognize and agree to be caught in a Poké Ball.

Naoki: "..."

He didn't know what to say, looked at the time, and seeing it was late, decided to go to bed.

Carter, worn out from a day of wind and rain, was also exhausted and obediently crawled into his sleeping bag, quickly falling asleep.

The night passed quietly, and the next morning, Carter woke up early.

After a good night's sleep, he felt refreshed and invigorated.

He looked up at the bed, and Mr. Naoki was still asleep.

Carter quietly got up, took Pidgey's Poké Ball, and went outside.

Standing under the eaves, the ranch that had been shrouded in darkness the previous night was now clearly visible.

Neat rows of fields, soft brown soil, and signs marking the crops.

Since they were a bit far away, Carter couldn't see clearly, so he walked to the front of the fields.

Now he could finally see the patterns and words on the signs.

"Turnips, potatoes..." Carter read them out loud and thought, "Mr. Naoki is very meticulous!"

It was clear that the abandoned ranch had been well-managed by him.

Everyone was working hard.

Thinking about this, Carter took out his Poké Ball, "Pidgey, we can't be lazy either!"

With a flash of white light, Pidgey appeared in the air.

"Let's have a good workout before breakfast!" Carter said with determination.

This was his usual way of training Pidgey, running a few laps around the school playground every morning before eating breakfast.

"Pidgey!"

Pidgey responded, flapping its wings and circling the ranch with its trainer.

After a few laps, they stopped and rested under a tree at the edge of the ranch. Carter then said, "Now, let's practice the moves you've learned! Have you mastered Frost Wind?"

"Pidgey!"

Pidgey nodded.

Just then, Carter noticed a wild Caterpie on a branch above him.

His eyes lit up, and he commanded Pidgey, "Pidgey, let's spar with this Caterpie!"

"Pidgey!"

Hearing the command, the Caterpie in the tree calmly looked down.

Wants to battle me?

The Caterpie looked at Pidgey without fear.

Seeing that Caterpie was ready for battle, Carter began giving orders, "Pidgey, use Frost Wind!"

"Pidgey!"

Following the command, ice-type energy quickly gathered around Pidgey. It flapped its wings, and a freezing cold gust formed, sweeping toward the Caterpie on the branch.

"Although ice-type moves don't have an advantage over Caterpie, Pidgey has worked hard, and Frost Wind's power has definitely improved a lot. Defeating a Caterpie shouldn't be a problem."

As everyone knew, Caterpie Pokémon were notoriously weak, and besides spitting out fragile silk, they had almost no means of defense against other Pokémon.

Watching the Frost Wind sweep out, Carter couldn't help but think.

However, the next moment, the Caterpie made an unexpected move.

It calmly looked at the Frost Wind and quickly spat out a large amount of silk in front of it.

The amount of silk was astonishing, and in a few breaths, it formed a seamless web.

The Frost Wind hit the web and froze it into ice, but the ice web, like an umbrella, protected the Caterpie behind it.

"What?"

Carter was taken aback.

While he was stunned, the ice web fell to the ground, and a large web shimmering with yellow electricity shot out from behind.

Pidgey didn't have time to react and was hit by the Electric Web.

Electric currents spread, and Pidgey let out a painful cry, then rolled its eyes and lost its ability to fight.

Seeing this, Carter was completely stunned, his face showing disbelief.

If he wasn't mistaken, the Caterpie just used Electric Web?

How could that be?!

Is this still the Caterpie I know?

At that moment, he heard footsteps behind him.

Carter turned around and saw Naoki walking over.

He was about to say something when he saw the wild Caterpie jump down and go to Naoki's side.

Carter's eyes widened, and he quickly changed his words, "Mr. Naoki... is this Caterpie yours?"

"Yes." Naoki nodded, looking at the unconscious Pidgey, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you just battle it?"

From the look of Pidgey, it seemed to have been defeated by Caterpie's Electric Web.

Electric-type moves were super effective against flying types, and combined with Caterpie's unexpected attack, it wasn't surprising that it could defeat Pidgey.

Hearing this, the young man from the city immediately blushed and apologized, "I'm very sorry! I thought it was a wild Pokémon!"

"..." Naoki was about to speak when suddenly, the Caterpie beside him burst into a dense, milky white light.

In the light, Caterpie's body rapidly changed.

Its soft body became as hard as iron, its legs disappeared, its body became smooth and crescent-shaped, with a green protrusion on its back and half-closed black eyes.

When the white light dissipated, the original Caterpie was gone, replaced by a new Metapod.

Seeing this, Carter's mouth opened in surprise, "Evo... evolved!"

Naoki smiled, "I should thank you for helping Caterpie evolve."

"No, no, it wasn't my doing!" Carter was a bit embarrassed.

Naoki laughed, picked up Metapod, and walked toward the wooden house, "Let's go back first! Your Pidgey looks like it needs treatment."

Carter followed.

Naoki looked down at Caterpie and said, "Congratulations, you've successfully evolved."

Metapod couldn't speak or move, only use Harden.

Usually, wild Caterpies would find a safe place before evolving, spitting out silk to hang themselves on a tree, then start evolving.

So, when Caterpie felt it was about to evolve, it immediately ran to Naoki's side.

Caterpie trusted Naoki and believed he would take it to a safe place.

Sure enough, as it had expected, Naoki brought it back to the wooden house.

Considering Caterpie's preferences, Naoki asked, "Do you want to stay outside or in the room? If you want to stay outside, blink your eyes."

Metapod blinked its eyes.

Naoki nodded, "Alright, I'll make a box for you with wooden boards later."

Metapod couldn't move, but it looked at Naoki with gratitude.

Naoki temporarily placed Caterpie on a blanket, then turned to check on Carter's Pidgey.

Pidgey was unconscious, its body twitching slightly, affected by the electric energy.

"Mixing Cherry Berry and oran berries and feeding them to it will do the trick." Naoki stood up, found the two types of berries in the basket, mixed them, and fed them to Pidgey.

Soon, Pidgey groggily opened its eyes and recovered.

Seeing this, Carter let out a sigh of relief, but then, thinking about Caterpie's performance, he asked in shock, "Mr. Naoki, how did you do it?"

Naoki was a bit surprised, "What?"

Carter: "How did you train Caterpie to that level?"

A bug-type Caterpie could actually defeat a flying-type Pidgey with one move.

Even more unbelievable, the Caterpie could use a move like "Electric Web."

Caterpie couldn't learn this move on its own; someone must have specially trained it.

But that was extremely difficult, and a novice trainer couldn't possibly do it.

Not to mention, Caterpie had no electric energy in its body. Teaching it Electric Web would require some secret technique.

Even a Champion-level trainer might not succeed!

Catching a mysterious, powerful, and unknown Pokémon, teaching a weak Caterpie Electric Web...

Mr. Naoki must be a very skilled trainer!

Carter looked at him with excitement.

Naoki: "..."

He gave an awkward but polite smile, "That's all thanks to Caterpie's own efforts. It's a very special Pokémon."

That wasn't entirely wrong. Apart from feeding Caterpie a few meals, Naoki hadn't provided any other help, relying entirely on its own efforts.

To become a powerful Pokémon, effort and luck were both essential.

But Carter had a knowing look on his face.

After all, only Mr. Naoki had mastered that secret technique.

Naoki didn't know what the boy was thinking, but from his expression and eyes, he felt he was imagining some strange things.

Not wanting to continue this topic, Naoki got up to prepare breakfast.

For today's breakfast, Naoki didn't cook himself but took a shortcut, making a simple sandwich with smoked sausages and tomatoes bought from the market.

Despite this, Gurdurr and Motodragon were still very happy.

Carter and Pidgey also looked very grateful.

After breakfast, Carter prepared to leave the ranch, heading to the nearest town for supplies, then returning to Orange Academy.

He stood at the ranch's entrance with Pidgey, waving goodbye to Naoki, "Mr. Naoki, goodbye! Thank you very much for your hospitality! I'll never forget you! When I have time, I'll bring Pidgey to visit you!"

Naoki nodded slightly, "Go on!"

Carter waved vigorously, then turned and ran toward Zequin Town.

Naoki stood there, watching his back, suddenly feeling a bit like the side characters Ash met in the anime.

Occasionally helping passing trainers, chatting about their travels and Pokémon, briefly meeting, then parting ways, each continuing their own journey.

Thinking about this, Naoki shook his head and laughed to himself.

Until Carter's figure was out of sight, he turned and went to the shed to start making a nest for Metapod.

He used a saw to cut the wood into boards, then took out some nails and nailed the boards into an open wooden box.

Back at the wooden house, Naoki laid fresh leaves inside, placed two berries, and put Metapod in, then hung the box under the eaves where it wouldn't be rained on.

The open box allowed Metapod to see outside and facilitated air circulation.

After evolving from Caterpie to Metapod, Metapod no longer needed to grow through battles.

The entire Metapod stage was for preparing to evolve. The hard cocoon protected Metapod's body, while the internal cells continuously renewed and grew.

When it grew to a certain extent, Metapod would break out of the cocoon, transform, and evolve into its final form, Butterfree.

Naoki looked forward to that day.

Thanks to Ash's Butterfree, he had a bit of a childhood filter for Butterfree.

"Grow up quickly!"

Naoki reached out and touched Metapod's shell.

Seemingly sensing his expectations, Metapod used Harden, and a layer of crystalline green light appeared on its body, responding to Naoki's words.

It heard.

(End of Chapter)