The First Capture Mission

After wrapping up his brief campaign in New Bark Town, Sato left the place that had been utterly routed, taking his three little companions with him.

At the outskirts of the forest northwest of New Bark Town, Sato took out the latest field navigator, surveyed the surroundings, confirmed his direction, and plunged straight into the forest.

Yesterday, Sato had accepted his first capture mission for a specified Pokémon in New Bark Town. The target was Jigglypuff, a round, chubby Pokémon highly popular among women.

Jigglypuff was not strong, and evolving it required an expensive Moon Stone. However, because of its lovable appearance and its unpredictable movements, with no fixed habitat, its price remained high.

Jigglypuff was like a wandering minstrel, travelling the world on foot and stubbornly searching for a kindred spirit willing to listen to its singing without falling asleep.

Sato released both Zorua and Haunter and began searching the forest for clues and traces of Jigglypuff.

Not long ago, someone had spotted Jigglypuff in this area. Sato had paid a high price for that information, and after making thorough preparations, he had hurried over.

"Jigglypuff is very light, so it rarely leaves footprints. It usually likes Sitrus Berries, which soothe its throat. Let's look for Sitrus Berries first."

"Kuso!"

"Jiejie~"

With a mischievous grin, Haunter gave a wildly improper military salute before vanishing into the forest.

Sato chose another direction and strode away. Pokémon around him cautiously poked their heads out, extremely curious about this unfamiliar human.

Sato's gaze swept from side to side as he searched for places where Jigglypuff might be hiding. Then, in the blink of an eye, he noticed a Murkrow perched silently on a branch in the upper right, staring at him without blinking.

"Want to come down and give it a try?" Sato extended his right hand, and rich Dark Power spread out. The black energy was like a fatally delicious cake.

At last, driven by primal desire, the Murkrow slowly flew down and landed on Sato's arm. It peacefully accepted the lingering Dark Power, absorbing tiny amounts of energy bit by bit.

"Murkrow, have you seen any traces of Jigglypuff nearby? This Pokémon." A flat image of Jigglypuff appeared on the data scanner; current technology did not even have three-dimensional images yet.

To his surprise, the Murkrow had actually seen Jigglypuff—and it had been this very morning!

"Take me there."

"Caw!" Murkrow hesitated for a while before finally deciding to help. However, it merely pointed vaguely with its wing, while its body remained on Sato's arm, absorbing Dark Power.

"Jiejie!"

Haunter suddenly appeared, startling Murkrow into a frantic flutter. In the end, Sato forcefully subdued it, gripping the Murkrow in his right hand as though holding a chick.

Without Dark Power, and with a Haunter beside it that had nearly scared it to death, the timid Murkrow felt that today was its final day.

"Kuso?"

The commotion just now caught Zorua's attention. Worried about Sato's safety, it rushed back at once.

"I'm fine. We have a lead here. Let's go take a look together."

"Kuso!"

Over ten minutes later, Murkrow was pointing the way while gradually recovering its spirits. Seeing that Sato had no intention of eating it, it eagerly led the way, hoping to leave as soon as possible.

"Caw caw!"

Murkrow weakly pointed ahead. A clear, nimble voice faintly drifted into Sato's ears, gentle and soothing, and drowsiness attacked him.

"Come back first, Haunter! Zorua, Fake Tears!"

"Kuwuwuwu~"

As Oscar's runner-up for Best Supporting Actor, Zorua could cry on command, looking utterly aggrieved. The clear song drifted over, but it no longer had much effect.

The sound frequency was disrupted. Fake Tears became a dry wail, and the Sing move lost its effect as well. Sato quickly followed, intending to finish this job as soon as possible and avoid unnecessary trouble.

At the center of a small open space surrounded by bushes stood an exceptionally smooth square stone. For Jigglypuff, this was a natural stage where it could fully unleash its moving singing voice.

"Pah!"

A Pidgey fell from a branch, yet it was still sleeping soundly.

As Sato advanced, he found many Pokémon that had already been hypnotized. Since Fake Tears had been sounding beside him all along, he could still hold on, but he needed to settle this quickly! "Kuso, Kuso!"

"I see it! Zorua, use Taunt!"

"Kuso!"

Zorua jumped down from his shoulder, ran behind Jigglypuff, and tapped it. The other Pokémon turned around in confusion, only to hear Zorua activate its endless mockery mode.

Though no one knew what it said, Jigglypuff instantly swelled to nearly twice its size. It stopped singing, a faint glow lit up on its small short hands, and it raised them to strike Zorua.

"Surprise Attack!"

"Kuso!"

Zorua's figure vanished in an instant. When it reappeared, it was already behind Jigglypuff, ramming into it fiercely! "Jiggly!"

Jigglypuff fell flat on its face. Instinctively, it wanted to use Sing to put its opponent down, then slowly deal with it.

But the moment that thought surfaced, Jigglypuff felt anger surge from its chest. It only wanted to deal with that idiot on the opposite side with its own hands!

That was clearly the special effect of Taunt.

"Jiggly, Jiggly!"

Jigglypuff's small short hands swung again. This time, a stream of orange-yellow energy gradually gathered, making Zorua on the opposite side feel uneasy.

"It's Brick Break! Zorua, jump and dodge it, then counter with Dark Pulse!"

In battle, Jigglypuff was a complete rookie. Though Sato had no idea why a pink balloon could learn the Fighting-type move Brick Break, as long as it could not hit, type advantage was useless!

"Kuso!"

Dark Pulse whistled out, directly blasting Jigglypuff over. It landed not far in front of Sato; One Person One Pet worked together with perfect coordination! "Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Without shouting something cringeworthy like "Go, Poké Ball," Sato seized the timing and swiftly threw his Poké Ball. But an unexpected accident suddenly occurred.

Two Poké Balls were thrown at once!

At the first time, Sato located the other person and casually hurled the Murkrow he was holding!

"Caw caw!"

"Buzz!"

A Light Screen appeared in front of the bushes. A somewhat dishevelled middle-aged man darted out, his face flushed red as he pointed at Sato. Deep down, he was even more astonished by Sato's clean and crisp actions—and his sheer recklessness!

"Mime, mime!"

An extremely rare Mr. Mime emerged after him. The Light Screen just now had clearly been created by it; otherwise, the middle-aged man would have suffered quite a bit physically! "Kid, if my Poké Ball captures Jigglypuff, then Jigglypuff is mine!"

"Tch!" Sato laughed. He did not waste a single word. The man saw that he looked ten years old and assumed he was a New Trainer, so he had come to bully people?

"Zorua, Taunt! Haunter, Mean Look!" Without a single unnecessary word, Sato launched straight into battle, charging forward as well.

This was the wild. To hell with fair battles!

Extra chapter, extra chapter! There will be an extra chapter this weekend! The fleeing Murkrow begs for some votes—it needs to make its escape!