Chapter 9: Departure and Storm 

In the game, Absol's base stats are not high, with only 465 in total. Besides its physical attack, its other attributes are rather lackluster. Even after Mega Evolution, it still can't turn the tables. It can be said that apart from its cool appearance, it doesn't have much going for it, resulting in very low usage.

However, in the real world of Pokémon, Aomori believed that Absol had great potential for growth. In addition to its rare ability to sense natural disasters, it could also learn a skill called "Future Sight," which had great potential.

So, Aomori was willing to use one of his pet slots to bet on its growth.

"Absol, don't let me down."

"Ruu!"

[Ding! Do you decide to form a pet contract with the Pokémon Absol? Note: Canceling the contract will require a certain number of points.]

"Yes!"

A golden light emerged from Aomori, gradually spreading over Absol's entire body, as if a bond was connecting the two.

[Ding! Player Aomori has formed a pet contract with the Pokémon Absol. Congratulations, congratulations!]

Aomori carried Absol out of the cave. The Pikachu stared wide-eyed at this scene, their little heads filled with big questions: "Who is it? Why did it appear in the cave? Why is Aomori holding it?"

Pikachu No. 1, was equally puzzled.

"It's Absol, my Pokémon." Aomori explained.

"Pika!" Pikachu No. 1 suddenly realized, 'This Pokémon must have been in Aomori's Poké Ball all along and was only released now.'

'Following Aomori must be tough,' Pikachu No. 1 thought with sympathy.

"Ruu?"

And so, the Pikachu village gained another resident.

...

The Pikachu were very welcoming to their new resident, Absol, especially the young Pichu, who constantly wanted to play with Absol.

However, Absol was naturally not very active. It always followed Aomori, quietly watching him practice in the open space, in the cave, or under the waterfall.

Well, the training fanatic had been confirmed.

Neither Aomori nor Absol were talkative. They communicated through occasional eye contact. This seemingly strange way of getting along was comfortable for both Aomori and Absol, despite being seen as odd by the Pikachu.

Absol grew rapidly. On the fifth day after its birth, it already had the size of a large wolf, barely considered a baby anymore.

On this morning, after Aomori completed his daily physical training and waterfall practice as usual, he found Pikachu No. 1 and the old Pikachu and expressed his intention to leave.

"Pika?!" Pikachu No. 1 was astonished.

"It's not so sudden."

These days, Aomori had become proficient in his boxing technique under the small waterfall. The effects of practicing under the small waterfall were minimal.

As for the Pikachu's special training, they hit a bottleneck in version 2.0, with only Pikachu No. 1 accidentally learning Thunder Punch by concentrating spiral electric currents on its right hand. The rest of the Pikachu hadn't made any progress.

Aomori believed that they would need to persist in their special training for a long time to see results, and he couldn't stay in the Pikachu village forever; he still had system missions to complete.

"Pikachu No. 1, do you want to come with me?" Among the Pikachu in the village, only Pikachu No. 1 had shown some potential that Aomori recognized.

"Pika?" Pikachu No. 1 pointed at itself.

"Yes."

"Pikapika!" Pikachu No. 1 vigorously shook its head, absolutely refusing to leave the charming Pikachu ladies and accompany the Big Boss?

No way!

"Pika, pikapika!" Pikachu No. 1 stated firmly.

"Well, you guard your village well." Aomori didn't force it. With over 800 species of Pokémon in the outside world, he wasn't worried about finding a suitable partner.

"Let's go, Absol."

"Ruu!"

"Pikapika, pikapika!"

Under the tearful farewells of the Pikachu, Aomori left the Pikachu village.

...

In the forest, three Arboks moved restlessly on the ground.

Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky, blocking the path of the Arboks. Two of the Arboks snarled and accelerated, trying to collide with the figure, but they were easily evaded. The figure grabbed their tails and swung them around before slamming them onto the ground.

When the dust settled, the two Arboks were knocked out cold.

[Ding! Congratulations to player Aomori for defeating Arbok, gaining 253 experience points, and 23 points.]

[Ding! Congratulations to player Aomori for defeating Arbok, gaining 275 experience points, and 25 points.]

"Arbok!" The other Arbok, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, slithered away in another direction.

"Absol!"

"Ruu!"

A white figure shot out from the side, ramming into the Arbok that couldn't dodge in time, sending it flying into a tree trunk, rendering it unable to continue the battle.

[Ding! Congratulations to Absol for defeating Arbok, gaining 250 experience points. Player Aomori gains 50 experience points and 5 points.]

"Ruu~" Absol jumped lightly back to Aomori's side, raised its head, and made a happy cry.

"Not bad." Aomori patted Absol's head, giving it praise.

From being clumsy at first to now being able to fight on its own, over these few days, Absol had improved significantly through the shared experiences of eating, sleeping, training, and battling alongside Aomori. It was well-deserved praise.

Absol happily leaped a couple of times and rubbed against Aomori's leg.

Suddenly, Absol lifted its head and looked towards the sky, letting out a low growl.

Aomori also looked up and muttered to himself, "Is a storm coming?"

…

"Unlucky, so unlucky..."

Ryu was a novice Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town, and he had only recently entered Viridian Forest. Unfortunately, he encountered a storm not long after entering the forest. Even with his raincoat, he couldn't avoid getting soaked.

As the rain grew heavier, Ryu couldn't see the path anymore. He was torn between whether to turn back or keep going when he vaguely saw a cave not far away, where he might find shelter. He gritted his teeth and made his way toward the cave with great difficulty.

Once inside the cave, he felt relieved as the raindrops stopped hitting him. However, his relief was short-lived because he soon realized that the cave was already occupied by many other Trainers and Pokémon.

"Small Rattata, Nidoran, Nidorino, Onix..."

There were many Pokémon that Ryu had never seen before. While he would usually be excited to see them, the current situation was different.

Feeling the unfriendly gazes, Ryu thought bitterly, "So unlucky..."

"Is that Ryu? Over here!"

A familiar voice rang out, and Ryu focused on it. Behind the layers of Pokémon, he saw someone he recognized waving at him.

"Tora?"

Tora was also a novice Trainer from Pallet Town. They had interacted quite a bit in the past and considered each other rivals. Seeing a familiar face gave Ryu some confidence. He cautiously approached Tora through the watchful eyes of the Pokémon.

Strangely, there was another handsome young man beside Tora. He was shirtless, with an animal skin wrapped around his waist. Next to him was a Pokémon that Ryu had never seen before.

Ryu was about to exchange a few words with Tora when the handsome young man stood up, wearing a charming smile, and said to him, "How about a battle? No, I mean, how about a Pokémon battle?"

----

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