Chapter 3 - Joy in Suffering.

Not long after eating the Pecha berry, Quinn quickly saw the poisoning on his waist begin to fade away.

He had heard a theory before he crossed- humans in the Pokémon world are actually just a special kind of Pokémon.

The fact the berry worked has further verified this theory. This is probably the reason why people with special abilities are born? For example, psychics, aura users, and other unique superpowers.

The Skwovet saw the poison fading, and after confirming that Quinn was okay, he twisted his chubby body and started to walk away. Seeing this, Quinn quickly stopped him and took a look at the details of this guy using [Pokémon Identification] as he did.

[Skwovet♂]

Typing: Normal

Ability: Gluttony

Base Stats: 460 (HP: 120, Attack: 95, Defense: 95, Sp. Atk: 55, Sp. Def: 75, Speed: 20)

Known Moves: Tail Whip, Tackle, Bite, Stuff Cheeks

Current Mood: Unsure, Happy

Physical State: Minor Injury (Strained muscle in the right leg, recovery period is about 1.5 days.) Tiredness (Physical fatigue caused by strenuous exercise, leading to poor mental state.)

Favorability: 38 (Likes to be around humans.)

"Squeak?" The Skwovet turned around and made a puzzled noise, seeming to ask if he needed anything else?

Quinn asked quickly, "Do you know which direction I can go to find a town?"

"Squeak..." The Skwovet seemed deep in thought, and then pointed out a direction.

Quinn was happy seeing this and sincerely thanked the Skwovet, and proceeded to travel in that direction with a bit of pep in his step.

As he walked, he compared the information of Skwovet and Cramorant.

The base stats and moves of Cramorant have been modified. Except for these two things, the others are not much different from a normal Pokémon. The only other difference is that Cramorant's current emotions are a bunch of garbled code, while the emotions of the Skwovet are clearly displayed in front of him.

Thinking of this, Quinn approached some smaller Pokémon while traveling to get more reference data. Unexpectedly, he saw "vigilant" and "nervous" in the mood bar of most of the Pokémon he checked.

"Is it because of the fact that Cramorant had been customized that he can't understand me?" Quinn thought worriedly.

In other words, modifying the Pokémon will cause irreversible damage to the Pokémon's brain? It will make them fools?

Quinn is uncertain, the software that his cheat is based upon has been used for a long time. Before crossing, that software was his bread and butter. At first, he was incredibly excited that it came with Quinn, but now that he thinks carefully, it feels wrong to use it.

The three options of "characteristic modification", "ethnic value modification" and "individual value modification" aren't available. Now he can only use the identification, move training, and shiny modification options.

You can't get a version update on your cheat, right? Quinn had never heard of such a thing after reading so many fan-fictions. But… the fact he crossed in itself is bizarre, and it wouldn't be surprising if anything else happens.

After serious consideration, Quinn decided to temporarily not use any of the functions on Pokémon except for identification until he found out how they work. After all, Pokémon here are not just data in a game, they are flesh and blood, with emotions and intelligence.

Without transportation, the speed of a human traveling has never been fast- and even when it got dark, Quinn did had not seen a shadow of a human town. As if to spite Quinn, it also began to rain heavily. In his desperation, Quinn had no choice but to stop walking, find a sizable hole in a big tree, wrap himself tightly with his jacket, and shelter himself inside.

'I am so unlucky.' He thought while looking at the heavy rain outside.

Quinn showed a wry smile on his face. There are a few things to be happy about- finding temporary shelter, a wild berry tree was not too far away, and now he knew how to get to the closest town.

Because his clothes were still a bit damp and he was cold, Quinn released Cramorant out of his ball and held him so they could warm each other up. Cramorant behaves very well in this situation. Although they can't communicate with each other, they seem to have a tacit understanding at this moment.

The rain is long during autumn, and the wild Pokémon in the forest are also looking for shelter from the rain. And after the initial rush, the forest soon became quiet, leaving only the sound of rain in the sky.

In this gloomy environment, a few Seedot lined up in a row and hid in the dense bushes, and the Venomoth that are usually flying around also honestly lay in the shadowy tree trunks- hidden from the rain.

Quinn took some plucked tree fruits he grabbed while he walked out of his jacket and split half of them with Cramorant. Half of them are eaten for dinner tonight, and the other half is for tomorrow morning.

'Although it's not a lot, it's better than having nothing...' Quinn thought, trying to stay positive.

At this moment, there was a loud noise outside. Quinn looked up and saw a drenched Furret staring at him with a bit of shock in his eyes.

Furret obviously didn't expect that a ten-year-old boy would be hiding here. He was frightened enough to turn around proceeded to rush into the long grass nearby.

'...Am I that scary?' Quinn thought.

In the past, Quinn could not sleep until early in the morning, but as he ran around like a headless chicken in the forest for a whole day. Listening to the almost hypnotic sounds of rainfall, he drifted off into dreamland.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun had risen and the rain had passed. More importantly, Cramorant was gone!

Quinn was shocked and hurriedly climbed out of the tree, and as soon as he got out, Cramorant flew back from the distance. Quinn breathed a sigh of relief.

Cramorant landed, opened its mouth, and spit out a very plump crucian carp.

"Gah!"

Quinn looked happy, but still asked, "Is this for me?"

Cramorant is silent again. It had just eaten a full meal, so it now uses its beak to tidy up its feathers.

Quinn was lost, thinking, 'Is he really unable to communicate with me?'

Looking at the dying fish on the ground. There was no fire, so he couldn't cook it, and he was not hungry enough to eat the fish raw...

After thinking about it, Quinn plucked a few large leaves from a nearby tree, wrapped the fish with them, and put it in a makeshift bag made from his jacket, along with the remaining fruit from yesterday.

Taking the possibilities of today into account, this time Quinn did not recall Cramorant back into his ball.

He tried to give Cramorant instructions to follow him, in response Cramorant tilted his head, looking sluggish.

Quinn then instead tried something else, and walked more than ten meters forward by himself. This time Cramorant followed by himself, jumping onto his shoulder very much like Ash's Pikachu would.

"Glad you found a spot..." Quinn said helplessly.

Since it had just rained, the forest was still very humid. It was very uncomfortable to travel in. Quinn felt as if there were fifty Caterpies crawling and squirming on its body.

(E/N -- That description was unnecessary. It really was...)

After walking forward for a certain distance, he could hear a faint voice. 'Another human!' he thought. Quinn was excited instantly

He concentrated on the noise and held his breath, and after determining the location of the sound, he ran directly towards it.

Coming into view, he saw two men wearing same uniform each with a Mightyena by their sides.

In front of them, there was a petite white Pokémon lying on it's stomach- injured. The two Mightyena approached it from different directions, circling while letting out a low growl.

'Hm? It seems something is wrong...' Quinn thought furrowing his brow.

He stopped moving and hid behind the bushes with Cramorant, his eyes peering over the bush to watch the situation.

"Damn, we finally caught this little thing!" The larger man cursed, backing up.

His thin accomplice grinned upon hearing this, clapping him on the back, "This time, we will definitely be able to sell it for a good price!"

At this time, Quinn finally saw the small Pokémon clearly.

[Ralts♀]

Typing: Psychic, Fairy

Ability: Synchronize

Base Stats: 198 (HP: 28, Attack: 25, Defense: 25, Sp. Atk: 45, Sp. Def: 35, Speed: 40)

Moves Known: Teleport, Substitute, Psychic

Current Mood: Severe Pain, Desperation

Physical State: Severe Injury (Head is impacted by dark type move, psychic energy in body are restrained, and multiple serious contusions on the body.) Exhausted (Excessive physical exertion.)

Favorability: 0 (It doesn't know you yet.)