Bug Catcher Boy

On the screen.

A small figure wearing a straw hat stood in the tall grass, looking around.

...

[You were born in Viridian City, with an ordinary family]

...

Suddenly, a green Caterpie appeared in the grass, and the figure in the straw hat threw a red Poké Ball, capturing the Caterpie inside.

...

[At the age of ten, you encountered your first partner in Viridian Forest: Caterpie, and your journey began]

...

After this line of text appeared, a pixelated animation of Caterpie was added to the bottom of the screen.

Kashiwagi, lying on his back, adjusted his posture. He couldn't believe that the first simulation would start as a Bug Catcher.

The scene shifted.

The Bug Catcher stood in front of a large building and faced a tough-looking man with a slicked-back hairstyle.

An "intense" battle began.

The actual process was quite straightforward: Caterpie was sent out, and the opponent's Rhyhorn immediately charged, sending Caterpie crashing into a wall.

Although there was no background music, the explosion bubbles that appeared when Caterpie collided with the wall showed how severe the impact was.

...

[You lost to the Viridian Gym Leader and did not obtain the first badge]

...

Kashiwagi: "Huh?"

Wait a minute!

Going to challenge a Gym without leveling up? And with just a Caterpie?

The screen went black, then lit up again, and the Bug Catcher returned to the Viridian City Gym in the bewildered eyes of Kashiwagi.

The events that had just unfolded repeated themselves, with the same text appearing each time.

The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time...

And so on and so forth—!!

A Caterpie challenging the Gym without any level grinding, Did he not learn anything from the previous attempts?

This wasn't a novice Trainer; it was a brainless Trainer!

Kashiwagi watched the repetitive content on the virtual screen in silent disbelief.

The tenth challenge ended in failure.

Finally, there was a change in the content.

...

[You lost to the Viridian Gym Leader, but your unwavering perseverance earned his recognition. You obtained the Green Badge]

...

A green wheat spike symbol appeared below Caterpie.

Kashiwagi was at a loss for words. Wasn't this badge just given out of sheer annoyance?

As the Bug Catcher received the badge, Caterpie's appearance suddenly changed. It evolved from a Caterpie into a Metapod.

...

[Your Caterpie evolved into Metapod]

...

Finally evolved...

Kashiwagi sighed. He had only just started, but he was already feeling tired.

In the screen, the Bug Catcher left Viridian City and entered a dense forest. Facing a golden-colored Weedle that emerged from the grass, he sent out Metapod.

Just as he was wondering how to catch it, Weedle suddenly rammed into Metapod, knocking itself out.

...

[You captured your second Pokémon in Viridian Forest: Weedle. Your journey gains another companion]

...

...Foolish Trainers and foolish Pokémon, they were a perfect match.

Kashiwagi suddenly wished there was a fast-forward button.

The scene changed.

The Bug Catcher arrived at a stone city at the foot of a huge rocky mountain.

...

[You've arrived in Pewter City, and the towering rocky mountain fills you with excitement. You decide to challenge the Gym]

...

As expected.

Leveling up?

What was leveling up?

Kashiwagi had never seen this Trainer engage in battles against wild Pokémon or train his own Pokémon. He seemed like a Gym-challenging machine who didn't care about failure and believed that rigorous training would make his Pokémon stronger.

Even Ash, though he relied on the kindness of others for several badges, at least knew to capture more Pokémon!

Can your Metapod and Weedle even battle? I mean, they don't have that ability, right?

Just like the Viridian Gym, the Bug Catcher failed ten times in challenging the Pewter Gym. But this time, he gained the Gym Leader's recognition through sheer perseverance.

...

[You obtained the Gray Badge]

...

A hexagonal gray gemstone symbol appeared below Weedle. At the same time, both Metapod and Weedle were enveloped in white light.

Metapod evolved into Butterfree, and Weedle evolved into Kakuna.

...

[Your Metapod has evolved into Butterfree, and your Weedle has evolved into Kakuna. Excited, you decide to set off for the next city]

...

At last, one of his Pokémon has reached its final evolution stage

Kashiwagi breathed a sigh of relief. What made him even happier was that the Bug Catcher seemed to be learning.

...

[You captured your third Pokémon at the base of Mt. Moon: Venonat. Your journey gains another companion]

[You captured your fourth Pokémon in Mt. Moon Cave: Paras. Your journey gains another companion]

[You lost to an unfamiliar Trainer]

[You defeated an unfamiliar Trainer]

[Your Kakuna evolved into Beedrill]

...

One pleasant scene after another gradually emerged as the Bug Catcher entered the area near Mt. Moon. The hot-blooded youngster seemed to be turning into a regular Trainer.

Until—

...

[You've arrived in Cerulean City, surrounded by water and abundant water resources]

...

The Bug Catcher Boy, as usual, headed to Cerulean Gym, but was informed that the Gym Leader was away performing as a mermaid.

A performance? Is this part of the animation background? Kashiwagi was shocked. He had always thought the simulation was based on the game since it only featured cities from the game and not the original towns from the animated series.

He suddenly had an inexplicable feeling, and that feeling soon came true.

When the Bug Catcher Boy arrived at the location where the Gym Leader and her companions were performing, something unexpected happened.

...

[You accidentally bumped into a girl, and after apologizing to each other, you both felt happy. You exchanged contact information.]

[You got in touch with the girl, and you both got along well, deciding to travel together.]

[You started challenging the Cerulean Gym, and even though you failed, the girl's presence made you more courageous to try again.]

[You started dating.]

...

Wait, what? Seriously? What's with this overflowing romance on the screen? Wasn't this supposed to be a Trainer simulator with the possibility of romantic involvement? Did it have to turn into an actual romance?

Kashiwagi suddenly sat up, realizing that the Bug Catcher Boy, who was originally a hot-blooded and somewhat foolish Trainer, had now turned into a love-struck teenager. In addition to the increased number of scenes showing them together, the rugged battle details also seemed off.

Previously, they could figure out a bit of strategy after seven or eight attempts and have a few back-and-forth battles. But when it came to the Cerulean Gym, they could only win a few times initially and then get defeated in one hit.

By the tenth loss, they became a complete pushover, and their Pokémon stopped evolving.

As he watched the screen where the two characters were holding hands, never encountering any wild battles or capturing a fifth Pokémon, they arrived in Saffron City and continued battling as before, Kashiwagi's heart sank.

Sabrina, the Saffron Gym Leader, was a strict Psychic-type Pokémon user with a completely different personality from the previous Gym Leaders. Even though the Bug Catcher Boy lost ten times, she refused to give him the Gold Badge.

Just when he was thinking about how the Bug Catcher Boy could overcome this challenge, the conclusion suddenly arrived.

The screen abruptly turned dark.

...

[The Indigo Plateu Conference is officially being held, but you, with only three badges, missed the conference.]

[Simulation Ended.]

...

The virtual screen froze on the Bug Catcher Boy's fifteenth consecutive loss.

"...So this simulation was about a conference," Kashiwagi remarked. He had the expression of someone who had just watched a terrible movie. Who would have thought that a passionate Bug Catcher would suddenly turn into a lovesick teenager?

Challenging Gyms that many times was already a waste of time, but having a girlfriend made it even more of a waste. If having a girlfriend could make the Bug Catcher Boy stronger, that would be one thing, but this was making him weaker. What kind of simulator was this?

With these thoughts in mind, he saw several lines of text appear.

...

[Reward Choice 1: Raise one Pokémon's level by one (up to level 30)]

[Reward Choice 2: Gain clues about available Pokémon]

[Reward Choice 3: Move – String Shot (Choose a Pokémon to learn)]

[Reward Choice 4: Keep [Charming] talent for the next simulation]

...

As expected, there were rewards.

Kashiwagi tried selecting them and realized he could choose two out of the four options.

It was a decent deal – four options, choose two. However, if he didn't choose, he wouldn't be able to start the second round, and he wasn't sure if rewards one and three could be retained.

Let's give it a try.

He had to try.

Kashiwagi selected options two and three and didn't even look at the fourth.

Fortunately, the reward of learning a move could be retained.

The number of simulations remained the same, and the countdown continued without resetting just because there was one attempt left.

Kashiwagi thought that rewards for leveling up might also be accumulated.

But at this time, Kashiwagi focused on the clues--

...

[Please carry a piece of iron ingot weighing no less than 1 kg.]

...

What kind of clue was this? At most, it was just a hint. Kashiwagi checked the time and the darkening sky outside. Pyrite Town had already sunk into the night, but the sounds of the mine and smelting factory were still unceasing.

Still early.

He cleaned up his face, went outside, and decided to find a way to acquire the iron ingot.

Once he got that, he would come back and initiate the second simulation.