Chapter 16: Level Up, Magikarp  

"Come on, sit down and eat. Maybe it'll stop you from talking so much!" 

Seeing Mia's behavior, Gary glanced at her, exasperated, and then pushed her into a chair.

After being forced to sit down, Mia's eyes were drawn to the food on the table. A hint of joy flBobed in her eyes as she started licking her lips.

"Stop talking, Mia. Your chatter gives me a headache. Bob, you sit down too. After all, you made this meal. If you don't eat, why should we?" 

Listening to Mia, Gary rolled his eyes and then looked at Bob, urging him to sit down and eat quickly.

So, the three of them sat at the table and began eating. Mia was the most enthusiastic, while Bob and Gary were more reserved.

"Mia sure has a healthy appetite." 

Seeing Mia devouring her food, Bob was taken aback.

"She's always like this. You'll get used to it," Gary said with a helpless smile.

"Well, it's good. Being able to eat well is a blessing." 

Bob smiled, amused by Gary's explanation.

Bob and Gary's appetites weren't as strong as Mia's, so they finished early and moved to the couch.

"Gary, what do you think we should do tomorrow? We can't just wander aimlessly, searching the forest like we're looking for a needle in a haystack," Bob said, knowing how vast Viridian Forest was. Without any real leads, finding someone there would be a daunting task.

"Searching aimlessly isn't an option. Do you have any clues?" Gary asked, turning to Bob.

"There are some, but they're not very helpful. Really, they're just minor details that don't provide any substantial leads. That's why I said it would be like finding a needle in a haystack," Bob explained. While he had some clues, they weren't particularly useful for locating people.

"Well, let's not worry about it now. We can figure it out tomorrow. The best thing we can do tonight is get some rest so we're ready for tomorrow's exploration." Gary waved his hand, dismissing the concerns for now.

Just then, Mia finished eating. After the three of them cleared the table, they went to bed. Bob slept in the downstairs bedroom, while Gary and Mia shared a room upstairs since there weren't enough rooms.

Once in the room, Mia quickly claimed the entire bed, looking at Gary with a smug expression. "The bed is mine, don't even think about it."

"No one's going to fight you for it. I'll just sleep on the chair," Gary said with a sigh, walking over to a chair and sitting down.

Gary hadn't intended to sleep on the bed, but he hadn't expected Mia to claim it so quickly. It didn't bother him, though, as he hadn't planned to sleep there anyway.

"Just the right time to improve Magikarp's strength. I've got two Rare Candies, which should give him about 6000 experience points. That should result in a significant boost," Gary thought to himself.

After waiting for about half an hour, Mia was fast asleep and snoring softly. Gary quietly focused on his thoughts and distributed all his experience points to Magikarp.

"Ding!"

"Experience distributed. Magikarp's level has increased to 13."

The system notification rang out as the experience points were applied.

"Level 13, huh? That's a pretty good improvement. Let's take a look at Magikarp's stats," Gary muttered, then opened Magikarp's status panel.

''Pokémon'': Magikarp (Shiny) 

''Type'': Water 

''Level'': 13 [1550/3000 XP] 

''Next Evolution'': Gyarados (Evolves at Level 30) 

''HP'': 370 

''Attack'': 175 

''Special Attack'': 155 

''Defense'': 170 

''Special Defense'': 170 

''Speed'': 185 

''Ability'': Swift Swim (Doubles Speed in rain) 

''Moves'': Splash, Water Gun

"Not bad. Magikarp's stats have improved significantly. It seems like the system also gave additional attribute rewards when he reached level 10. That's unexpected. Can the system explain this?" Gary thought, pleased with the upgrades.

"When a Pokémon reaches levels 10, 20, 30...90, the system provides attribute bonuses," the system responded to Gary's question.

"Ah, I see. That's good to know," Gary yawned, noticing the time. "I didn't realize it was this late. I better get to bed, or I won't be in top shape for exploring Team Rocket's whereabouts tomorrow."

And with that, the night passed without any further events.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight streamed into the room, Gary woke up. Hearing something at the window, he walked over to see what it was.

To his surprise, a large group of wild Pokémon had gathered outside, countless in number.

"Isn't this a perfect opportunity to train? Magikarp's strength has improved, but my Deino and Charmander haven't gained much experience. This is a chance I can't pass up," Gary thought, eyes gleaming with determination.

Wasting no time, Gary got dressed and headed outside toward the wild Pokémon.

After some time, both Deino and Charmander leveled up to level 10. Although the progress wasn't immense, it was a solid improvement.

At the same time, Gary noticed smoke rising from Bob's house.

"Bob must be up making breakfast. I should head back," Gary said, abandoning his plan to continue training and started walking back to Bob's house.

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