Ch. 12 - Low-Key

'After reading this article, more and more players will be able to reach 'Pewter City'. The more players there are, the longer the <Wait Time> in the Pokemon Center will be. That means I will have to waste more time healing my Pokemon after grinding.'

'Now, I need to do 3 things as soon as possible.'

1 - Catch an Oddish with decent IVs.

2 - Level up Charmander and Bellsprout to Lv. 15.

3 - Defeat Brock and get the hell out of 'Pewter City'.

[The Next Day]

After entering the Pokemon world, I went to the Pokemon Center to heal my Pokemon. Along the way, I saw quite a few players.

'It seems that after reading Bob's article on the internet, many other players were able to cross 'Viridian Forest'.'

The <Wait Time> was 7 minutes. After healing my Pokemon, I went back to 'Route 2' to quickly level up my team.

Currently, my team consists of Charmander at Lv. 13, Ponyta at Lv. 10, Hoothoot at Lv. 10, and Bellsprout at Lv. 10.

Rattata Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Nidoran ♀ Lv. 4 <Defeated >

Weedle Lv. 4 <Defeated >

Caterpie Lv. 4 <Defeated >

Pidgey Lv. 5 <Defeated >

[Bellsprout grew to Lv. 11]

After grinding for some time, I noticed that wild encounters were decreasing. So, I ventured into Viridian Forest to continue grinding.

Pikachu Lv. 7 <Defeated >

I encountered a Pikachu, whom I thought of catching, but it fainted after one hit of <Vine Whip> from Bellsprout.

Caterpie Lv. 6 <Defeated >

Weedle Lv. 6 <Defeated >

[Bellsprout grew to Lv. 12]

[Bellsprout learned the move <Acid >]

Pidgey Lv. 6 <Defeated >

Pikachu Lv. 7 <Caught >

Another Pikachu appeared, and this time I chose to throw the Poke Ball without attacking, but it broke out. So, I used <Wrap >, which is the least damage-dealing move, and after two more tries, I caught it.

Weedle Lv. 7 <Defeated >

Pikachu Lv. 5 <Defeated >

[Bellsprout grew to Lv. 13]

[Bellsprout wants to learn the move <Sleep Powder>]

[But Bellsprout already knows four moves.]

[Should a move be deleted and replaced with <Sleep Powder>?]

<Sleep Powder> is a very important move since it can put the opponent to sleep. It will be very helpful both in Pokemon battles and when catching wild Pokemon.

I chose to forget <Wrap > move and learn <Sleep Powder> in its place.

[Bellsprout forgot how to use <Wrap >]

[Bellsprout has learned <Sleep Powder>]

Weedle Lv. 7 <Defeated >

Caterpie Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Kakuna Lv. 7 <Defeated >

{Image Of Kakuna}

Caterpie Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Kakuna Lv. 7 <Defeated >

Pikachu Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Weedle Lv. 6 <Defeated >

[Bellsprout grew to Lv. 14]

Oddish Lv. 6 <Asleep > <Caught >

A sleeping Oddish appeared, and since I needed to catch an Oddish, I didn't let this chance slide. I chose to throw a Poke Ball, but to my bad luck, it broke out of it and used <Acid > on Bellsrput.

Since Bellsprout was already weak from other battles, it effectively knocked out Bellsprout. I then switched to Charmander and used <Scratch > to lower its HP and throw my last Poke Ball at it, finally catching it.

I am officially out of Poke Balls if I don't consider the Great Ball, which I am saving when it's needed the most.

Since I need to level up my Charmander too, I chose not to go to Pokemon Center and continue grinding.

Caterpie Lv. 6 <Defeated >

Kakuna Lv. 7 <Defeated >

Caterpie Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Kakuna Lv. 7 <Defeated >

[Charmander grew to Lv. 14]

[You found a Poke Ball]

What is this luck? I found a Poke Ball just when I was out of them.

Bellsprout Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Pikachu Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Weedle Lv. 6 <Defeated >

Pidgey Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Metapod Lv. 7 <Defeated >

{Image Of Metapod}

Pikachu Lv. 6 <Defeated >

[Charmander grew to Lv. 15]

[Charmander wants to learn the move <Leer >]

[But Charmander already knows four moves.]

[Should a move be deleted and replaced with <Leer >?]

Looking at the notification, <Leer > is a move that lowers the opponent's defense, which can be useful when facing Brock. So, I chose to remove <Scratch > and learn <Leer > in its place.

[Charmander forgot how to use <Scratch >]

[Charmander has learned <Leer >]

After Charmander reached Lv. 15, I went back to the Pokemon Center in 'Pewter City'.

While I was grinding, more and more players reached 'Pewter City'.

After the <Wait Time>, I collected my healed Pokemon from Nurse Joy and sat down in the sitting area to check the stats and IVs of the newly caught Pikachu and Oddish.

[PokeDEX : 025

Name : Pikachu (Electric)

Nature : Careful (+10% Sp. Defense, -10% Sp. Attack)

XP : 343

To Next Lv. : 169]

[HP : 23/23

Attack : 12

Defense : 10

Sp. Atk : 11

Sp. Def : 13

Speed : 17]

[A/N - EVs are 0 for newly caught Pokemon.]

[HP IV : 19

Attack IV : 00

Defense IV : 1

Sp. Atk IV : 20

Sp. Def IV : 03

Speed IV : 00

Total : 43/186]

[Thunder Shock <Electric > PP: 30/30

Thunder Wave <Electric > PP: 20/20

Growl <Normal > PP: 40/40

Quick Attack <Normal > PP: 30/30

Ability : Static (Contact with the Pokemon may cause Paralysis.)]

"Bruh, what shitty IVs are these? Straight to the Box."

[PokeDEX : 043

Name : Oddish (Grass, Poison)

Nature : Quiet (+10% Sp. Attack, -10% Speed)

XP : 179

To Next Lv. : 57]

[HP : 22/22

Attack : 12

Defense : 12

Sp. Atk : 15

Sp. Def : 13

Speed : 07]

[A/N - EVs are 0 for newly caught Pokemon.]

[HP IV : 24

Attack IV : 20

Defense IV : 13

Sp. Atk IV : 10

Sp. Def IV : 07

Speed IV : 05

Total : 79/186]

[Absorb <Grass > PP: 25/25

Growth <Normal > PP: 20/20

Acid <Poison > PP: 30/30

------ PP: 0/0

Ability : Chlorophyll (Double Speed during harsh sunlight.)]

"Better than the last Oddish I caught but still not up to the mark."

"I guess my luck in 'Pewter City' is not good, I will have to catch some Pokemon when I reach 'Route 4' or 'Route 24'."

After putting both Pokemon in the PC box, I went back to 'Viridian Forest' to level up Bellsprout to Lv. 15.

Pidgey Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Caterpie Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Weedle Lv. 6 <Defeated >

[You found an Antidote]

Metapod Lv. 7 <Defeated >

Bellsprout Lv. 6 <Defeated >

Pidgey Lv. 5 <Defeated >

Metapod Lv. 7 <Defeated >

Caterpie Lv. 6 <Defeated >

[Bellsprout grew to Lv. 15]

[Bellsprout wants to learn the move <Poison Powder>]

[But Bellsprout already knows four moves.]

[Should a move be deleted and replaced with <Poison Powder>?]

<Poison Powder> is another useful move, which is especially good for long battles.

[Bellsprout forgot how to use <Growth >]

[Bellsprout has learned <Poison Powder>]

I chose to replace <Growth > with <Poison Powder>.

'Now, It's time to challenge Brock.'

Quickly headed to the Pokemon Center, even though all my Pokemon had full HP, but since Bellsprout was in multiple battles, it depleted the PP of its moves.

After 10 minutes of <Wait Time>, I headed to the 'Pewter City Gym'. When I entered the Gym, I saw other players crowding around something.

Curious, I squeeze my way into the crowd of players. There, at the front was a player fighting against Camper Liam, the assistant of Brock.

It only took Camper Liam a short time from when I started squeezing my way into the crowd until I reached the front for him to defeat the challenging player.

When I reached the front, all I saw was Camper Liam walking back to his original place as a streak of light flew upwards and vanished.

The light was the player whose Pokemon had fainted after the battle, as such he was teleported to the last Pokemon Center he visited.

"Hahaha, I knew that he wouldn't last much longer." said a player from the crowd.

"Yeah, it is very difficult to defeat that 'Geodude' Pokemon. And who knows what his other Pokemon is." said someone else.

"How strong will his second Pokemon be? No one has been able to force him to use his second Pokemon." said another player in the crowd.

'Players have started challenging the Gym. Well, it was only a matter of time for them to find the Gym after reaching 'Pewter City'. The good thing is that no one has been able to defeat the Gym leader yet.'

'I need to challenge Brock, but the players are not leaving.'

All the players were standing away from the line of sight of Camper Liam. It seems that players have realized how the forced Pokemon battle was initiated.

'I guess I'll have to face off against Brock while in front of other players.'

'It's not like I am trying to be low-key and hide the fact that I am stronger than them, better than them. But it will be so embarrassing if I lose to Brock.'

'Should I wait for some time to see if the players disperse? But that's the problem, I don't have time. I guess I could wait for 10 minutes and see what happens.'

While I was standing in the crowd, I heard another interesting piece of information.

Similar to the Pokemon Center where 2 players can't heal their Pokemon at the same time, it is the same for the Pokemon battle against NPCs.

Only one player can battle the NPC at a time, and if another player tries to, they are prompted with a notification saying that says

[The opponent is currently in a battle. You have been added to the battle queue. Please wait.]

And after the queue moves forward, the next player automatically enters the Pokemon battle.

Some players tried to exploit this mechanism. While one player battled Camper Liam, another player tried to move past Camper Liam to reach Brock, but they were stopped by the same red barrier as the one on 'Route 1'.

Some players tried to leave the Gym after entering the battle queue just to see if they would be teleported back to the gym when the battle started, but they were prompted by the notification that said:

[You have left the battle area. As such, you have been removed from the queue.]

During the 10 minutes, a few players left the gym, but the majority of them still stayed, hoping to see another player challenge Camper Liam.

But no other player tried to challenge Camper Liam.

'I can't wait any longer', Making up my mind, I started moving forward.

"Look, another one is trying to challenge Camper Liam" said someone from the crowd.

"It was about time. I was getting bored waiting for some action."

"How much longer do you think this one will last?"

"3 moves, 5 at best I say"

"True, Camper Liam's <Rock Tomb> move is so powerful, It would one hit almost every Pokemon."

The crowd came to life as I moved forward.

Most of them were hoping to see another player getting destroyed by Camper Liam but who would have known that Camper Liam, who challenges everyone who enters his line of sight, will ignore the player?

I continued walking, making my way past Camper Liam.

"What!!!"

"How did he get past Camper Liam???"

"Is this a bug, A glitch in the matrix???"

I was now in front of the Pewter City's gym leader, Brock.

{Image Of Brock}