Chapter 2: The Chip Activates

"As I expected, when I first arrived in this world, the chip came along with me!"

Even Haru Takashi, who was usually calm and collected, couldn't help but feel excited. In his previous life, the chip was the key factor that allowed him to ascend to near-champion-level strength.

In that life, he had activated the chip by chance, but by then, the gap between him and others had widened significantly. Even with the chip's assistance, it was tough to catch up.

"Chip, scan!" he silently commanded, directing his thoughts toward the dark Murkrow beside him, trying to suppress his excitement.

In an instant—*Beep!*—a 3D hologram appeared before his eyes, visible only to him.

**Pokemon: Murkrow (Green)**

**Gender: Male**

**Level: 8**

**Type: Dark, Flying**

**Ability: Prankster (Allows priority use of status moves)**

**Held Item: None**

**Inherited Moves:**

- **Punishment** (Power = 60 + boost level × 20, Dark, Physical)

- **Sucker Punch** (Power = 60, Dark, Physical, guaranteed hit)

- **Roost** (Power = 0, Flying, Restores 50% HP)

**Basic Moves:**

- **Peck** (Power = 40, Flying, Physical)

- **Astonish** (Power = 30, Ghost, Physical, 30% chance to flinch)

- **Pursuit** (Power = 40, Dark, Physical, double damage if target switches)

**Taught Moves:**

- **Snatch** (Power = 0, Dark, Status, steals HP recovery or stat boosts)

- **Tailwind** (Power = 0, Flying, Status, boosts team speed for 4 turns)

**Technical Machines:** None

A detailed data sheet appeared, listing all of Murkrow's moves and abilities.

Haru's eyes lit up with excitement. In his previous life, when he first unlocked the chip, it was completely blank. He had painstakingly gathered data through countless methods, organizing it all to eventually produce detailed schematics like this one. To obtain such information, he had accessed every database within his reach, even hacking into restricted files from Team Rocket and occasionally infiltrating the Pokémon League's branches, risking everything for the data.

As a civilian Pokémon trainer, knowledge was his most valuable asset. Only by mastering this knowledge could he train his Pokémon with precision and unlock their full potential.

So, seeing all of Murkrow's detailed stats filled Haru with excitement, even though he had faced life-and-death situations before. The chip's data had come with him into this life!

As he had remembered, the color next to the Pokémon's name represented its potential. In this case, Murkrow had a **green-grade potential**, which was in the middle range of the color spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. Green potential was already considered rare. Wild Pokémon usually had red or orange potential, and even yellow potential Pokémon were highly sought after by trainers.

Haru guessed that of all the Pokémon distributed by Team Rocket, fewer than 10 would have green potential. Team Rocket carefully selected these Pokémon as a long-term investment for their new recruits.

In his previous life, it was this very Murkrow that had helped him reach rank 34, proving that surviving Trial Island had been entirely due to Murkrow's potential, not his own skill as a trainer.

Taking a deep breath, Haru calmed himself. **This time, I will not be weak! Weakness is the ultimate sin.**

On this Trial Island, there was only one rule: the strong devour the weak. To become strong, he first needed to boost his Pokémon's strength.

The first step was to restore Murkrow's body. Normally, Murkrow would be about half a meter tall, but Haru's Murkrow was currently only around 40 centimeters. He needed to restore Murkrow's lost vitality to fully harness its potential.

"Let's go, Murkrow! Time to find some food," Haru said, motioning for Murkrow to perch on his shoulder.

Murkrow hesitated, eyeing Haru. Due to his malnutrition, Haru hardly looked like a 15-year-old. Murkrow was afraid it might crush him just by landing.

After some hesitation, Murkrow flew to Haru's shoulder.

Haru felt the weight press down on him, leaving deeper footprints in the sand as he walked into the forest.

Having survived as a member of Team Rocket, Haru had mastered outdoor survival skills. He knew which berries were edible, which were poisonous, and which could quickly restore strength or cure ailments.

After giving a few ripe orange berries to Murkrow, Haru bit into a slightly unripe berry himself. The sour juice dripped from the corner of his mouth, but he forced himself to chew and swallow the bitter fruit. These berries were the most common way to regain strength in the wild, but since this area was teeming with wild Pokémon, there weren't many ripe ones left. Haru gave the best berries to Murkrow, leaving only the unripe ones for himself.

"Gah!" Murkrow swallowed the berries in a few bites, glancing at the unripe fruit in Haru's hand. A warm feeling flickered in its eyes. It couldn't understand why this person, whom it had known for only a day, gave it the better food while he ate the less appetizing berries. It was a sense of being cared for, something Murkrow hadn't felt since leaving its parents.

"Murkrow, just eat what we can find for now. I know you prefer meat, but this is all we have," Haru said apologetically.

"Gah..." Murkrow gently nuzzled Haru's cheek with its beak, signaling that it was okay.

Haru smiled, recalling how in his previous life, this same Murkrow had shielded him with its life. That bond was something he had discarded in his past, but in this life, it was what he sought the most.

They continued walking through the forest, leaving a trail of uneven footprints behind them. Haru stopped at a dense bush. From experience, he knew that small animals, or even wild Pokémon, often hid in these thickets.

This world did have some ordinary animals, and carnivorous Pokémon often preyed on them. However, it was rare to use Pokémon as food.

**Swoosh!**

As Haru expected, a gray rabbit darted out of the bushes.

"Looks like that's dinner!" Haru smirked, "Murkrow, Peck!"

At the sight of prey and hearing Haru's command, Murkrow acted instantly, diving forward and delivering a sharp peck to the rabbit. The wild animal stood no chance against the Pokémon's attack and died instantly.

Just as Murkrow was about to celebrate, a purple shadow flashed by, and the rabbit disappeared.

**(End of Chapter)**