Chapter 19: Caterpie vs. Pidgey!
Chapter 19: Caterpie vs. Pidgey!
Carter's attention was drawn to Gulardon by Kurt's gaze.
Turning back, Naoki noticed his expression and followed his line of sight, spotting Gulardon yawning lazily.
"Are you traveling abroad?" Naoki asked.
Judging from the boy's attire, he resembled those trainers from the comics who traveled far and wide.
Carter nodded, "Mhm. By the way, what should I call you?"
The curriculum at Orange Academy was flexible.
Rather than mandating daily classroom attendance, the school encouraged students to explore the various regions of Padia, challenge Gyms, and collect badges.
Understanding this, Naoki didn't probe further. "Just call me Naoki. I've only recently taken over this run-down ranch."
"Alright, Mr. Naoki. Sorry for the intrusion!" Noticing there was only one bed in the room, Carter took out his sleeping bag and laid it on the floor.
His eyes kept drifting towards Gulardon, and he eventually asked, "What about that Pokemon?"
The name 'Gulardon' had been given to it by Professor Olin, and at this point, its name likely wasn't widely known yet.
Thinking about this, Naoki pretended he didn't know its name and shook his head. "I don't know. I've only encountered it recently, and it doesn't seem to be in the Pokedex yet."
Upon hearing this, Carter looked thrilled. "So it's an undiscovered Pokemon! Mr. Naoki, have you caught it?"
"Caught it?" Naoki looked at Gulardon and replied, "I suppose so?"
"Wow!" Carter exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with envy. "Mr. Naoki, you must be an amazing trainer, then!"
Naoki: "......No, I'm just a ranch owner."
However, Carter didn't look very convinced.
That Pokemon exuded a powerful aura, and he found it hard to believe that someone who wasn't a skilled trainer could have caught it.
As everyone knew, capturing a Pokemon required defeating it in battle first, proving one's strength.
Only then would the Pokemon recognize the trainer's might and agree to be captured, allowing itself to be stored in a Poke Ball.
Naoki was at a loss for words. He glanced at the time and, realizing it was getting late, decided to turn in for the night.
Carter, exhausted from a day of weathering the elements outdoors, readily crawled into his sleeping bag and soon fell asleep.
The night passed quietly, and the next morning, Carter woke up early, feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep.
He glanced at the bed and saw that Mr. Naoki was still asleep.
Carter quietly got up, took the Pidgey's Poke Ball, and stepped outside.
Standing under the eave, he finally got a clear view of the ranch, which had been shrouded in darkness the night before.
Neat furrows, soft brown soil, and signs stuck in the ground before the plots—the whole place was orderly.
The distance made it hard to read the signs, so Carter walked closer to the farm area.
Now he could make out the pictures and words on the signs: 'Turnips', 'Potatoes'...
"Mr. Naoki is a meticulous person!" Carter thought to himself.
It was evident that he had been tending to this once-derelict ranch with great care.
Everyone was working hard.
With that in mind, Carter took out the Poke Ball. "Pidgey, we can't slack off either!"
A flash of white light later, Pidgey appeared in the air.
"Let's get some good exercise before breakfast!" Carter declared enthusiastically.
This was his usual way of specially training Pidgey. Every morning after waking up, he would run several laps around the school grounds with Pidgey before having breakfast.
"Pidgey!"
Pidgey chirped in response and flapped its wings, joining its trainer in a vigorous run around the ranch.
After a few laps, the duo stopped to rest under a tree at the edge of the ranch for a few minutes. Carter then said, "Now, let's practice the moves you've learned. Have you mastered that Icy Wind move you discovered last time?"
"Pidgey!"
Pidgey nodded its head.
Just then, Carter spotted a wild Caterpie on a branch above them.
His eyes lit up, and he instructed Pidgey, "Pidgey, let's spar with that Caterpie!"
"Pidgey!"
Hearing the voices below, the Caterpie calmly looked down from its perch in the tree canopy.
Do you want to fight?
The Caterpie stared fearlessly at the Pidgey.
Seeing that the Caterpie was ready for battle, Carter gave his command, "Pidgey, use Icy Wind!"
"Pidgey!"
At the command, Pidgey's body began to gather icy energy. It flapped its wings, and a freezing gust of wind formed, sweeping towards the Caterpie on the branch.
Carter couldn't help but think as he watched the icy wind sweep forth.
However, the next second, the Caterpie did something unexpected.
It calmly looked towards the icy wind and quickly spat out a large amount of silk from its mouth, forming a barrier in front of itself.
The amount of silk it produced was astonishing, and in just a few breaths, it had woven a dense web without any gaps.
The Icy Wind hit the web, freezing it into a chunk of ice that resembled an umbrella, shielding Caterpie behind it.
"What?!"
Carter was taken aback.
Before he could react further, the frozen web fell to the ground, and a large, yellow-electric netted ball shot out from behind it.
Before Messenger Bird could react, its body was hit by the electric net.
Tendrils of electricity spread across its body, and it let out a pained cry before falling unconscious.
Witnessing this, Carter froze in his tracks, a look of disbelief on his face.
If he wasn't mistaken, the move the Caterpie had just used was Electric Net?!
How was that possible?! Was this even the same Caterpie he knew?
Just then, footsteps sounded from behind.
Carter turned to see Naoki approaching.
He was about to say something when the wild Caterpie from the tree jumped down and landed next to Naoki.
Carter's eyes widened, and the words he had been about to say turned into, "Mr. Naoki... Is this Caterpie your Pokemon?"
"Yes." Naoki nodded and, seeing the unconscious Messenger Bird, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you just battle it?"
From the looks of the Messenger Bird, it seemed to have been defeated by Caterpie's Electric Net.
Electric-type moves were super effective against Flying-types, and with Caterpie's surprise attack, it was no wonder it had won.
Hearing this, the young master from the city immediately blushed and apologized, "I'm so sorry! I thought it was a wild Pokemon!"
"..." Naoki was about to speak when suddenly, the Caterpie next to him erupted with a dense, milky-white light.
Within the light, Caterpie's body began to change rapidly.
Its once soft body hardened like iron, the multiple legs underneath it disappeared, its body became smooth and crescent-shaped, with a green protrusion on its back, and its black eyes half-opened and half-closed.
When the white light faded, the original Caterpie was gone, replaced by a brand-new Metapod.
Carter stared, astonished. "It... It evolved!"
A smile appeared on Naoki's face. "I should be thanking you for helping Caterpie evolve."
"N-No, it wasn't my doing!" Carter felt a bit embarrassed.
Naoki smiled and picked up the Metapod, heading back towards the wooden house. "Let's go inside. Your Messenger Bird looks like it needs treatment."
Carter followed.
Naoki looked down at the Caterpie and said, "Congratulations, you've successfully evolved."
Metapod couldn't speak or move; it could only use Harden.
Usually, wild Caterpies would find a safe place before evolving and hang themselves from a tree with their silk. Only then would they begin to evolve.
So, when Caterpie sensed that it was about to evolve, it immediately ran to Naoki's side.
Caterpie trusted Naoki deeply. It believed he would take it to a safe place.
Indeed, Naoki brought it back to the wooden house, just as Caterpie had expected.
Considering the environment Caterpie preferred, Naoki asked before settling it down, "Do you want to stay outside or in the room? If you want to stay outside, blink your eyes."
Metapod blinked its eyes.
Naoki nodded. "Alright, I'll make a box for you with some wood later."
Metapod couldn't move, so it could only express its gratitude with its eyes.
Naoki temporarily placed Metapod on a blanket and then turned to check on Carter's Messenger Bird.
Soon, Messenger Bird slowly opened its eyes and regained consciousness.
Seeing this, Carter breathed a sigh of relief. But then, he immediately thought of the Green Caterpillar's performance and asked in shock, "Mr. Naoki, how did you do it?"
Naoki was taken aback for a moment. "What?"
Carter asked, "How did you train the Green Caterpillar to that level?"
A bug-type Green Caterpillar had managed to defeat a flying-type Messenger Bird in one move.
Even more unbelievable was the fact that the Green Caterpillar could use a powerful move like "Electric Net."
It was highly unlikely for a Green Caterpillar to learn this move on its own; someone must have specifically trained it.
But that would be extremely difficult, something a novice trainer couldn't possibly achieve.
Not to mention that Green Caterpillars didn't possess electric-type energy, so teaching it Electric Net would require the trainer to use some kind of secret technique.
Even a Pokemon League Champion might not be able to pull it off!
Having captured a mysterious, unknown, and powerful Pokemon, and teaching a weak Green Caterpillar Electric Net...
Carter thought, Mr. Naoki must be an incredible trainer!
Carter looked at him with excited eyes.
Naoki: "......"
He offered an embarrassed yet polite smile. "It's all thanks to the Green Caterpillar's own hard work. It's a very special Pokemon."
This wasn't entirely untrue. Aside from feeding the Green Caterpillar his cuisine a few times, Naoki hadn't provided any other help, leaving it to its own devices.
To become a powerful Pokemon, both hard work and luck were essential.
However, Carter wore an expression that seemed to say, "I understand."
After all, this was a secret technique known only to Mr. Naoki.
Naoki didn't know what the young man in front of him was thinking, but from his expression and gaze, he felt that Carter was imagining all sorts of fantastical things.
Not wanting to continue this line of conversation, Naoki stood up to prepare breakfast.
For today's meal, Naoki opted not to cook and instead took a shortcut by making a simple sandwich with smoked sausages and tomatoes purchased from Shikk Market.
Even so, Gulardon and Motostoke enjoyed their meal immensely.
Carter and Messenger Bird also looked grateful.
After breakfast, Carter prepared to leave the ranch to restock supplies in the nearest town before beginning his return journey to Orange Academy.
Standing at the ranch's exit with Messenger Bird, Carter waved goodbye. "Mr. Naoki, farewell! Thank you so much for your hospitality! I'll never forget you! When I have time, I'll visit you with Messenger Bird!"
Naoki nodded slightly. "Go on."
Carter waved vigorously before turning and running towards Shikk Town.
Naoki stood there, watching his retreating figure, and suddenly felt like one of the side characters Ash Ketchum encountered in the Pokemon comics.
Occasionally helping passing trainers, chatting with them about their travels and Pokemon, and then parting ways after a brief encounter, each continuing on their own journey.
Naoki shook his head at the thought and chuckled to himself.
It wasn't until Carter's figure had completely disappeared from view that Naoki turned and walked into the storage room to start making a cocoon for Metapod.
He used a saw to cut the wood into the shape of a plank, then took out some nails and hammered the planks together to form an open wooden box.
Returning to the front of the wooden house, Naoki spread fresh leaves inside the box, placed two Poke Beans in it, and then put Metapod inside. Finally, he hung the box from the eaves, making sure it was out of the rain.
The open box allowed Metapod to see the outside world and facilitated air circulation.
After evolving from a Green Caterpillar into a Metapod, it no longer needed to battle to grow stronger.
The entire Metapod stage was a preparation for its next evolution, with the hard cocoon protecting its body while the cells inside constantly renewed and grew.
Once it had grown to a certain extent, Metapod would break free from its cocoon and metamorphose into its final form, Butterfree.
Naoki looked forward to that day.
Thanks to Ash Ketchum's Butterfree, he had a nostalgic soft spot for this Pokemon species.
"Grow up quickly!" Naoki said as he reached out and stroked Metapod's cocoon.
As if sensing his expectations, Metapod used Harden, and its body glowed with a crystalline green light in response to Naoki's words.
It had heard him.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
