Caterpie's Past, the Failed Candidate for Leader's Lackey

"Shh, shh."

"Shh, shh..."

Having lived with Mark for several years, the two had long since become inseparable companions.

Caterpie did not hide anything and immediately began recounting its past.

But it was still bug language, and Mark did not fully understand some parts. He only grasped the general idea.

Mark lightly pinched his chin. "You mean there was a huge Caterpie Group in Clear Stream Forest, and you once competed to become the Caterpie Leader. But after losing, you were driven out of the Caterpie Group?"

Caterpie nodded at first, then quickly shook its head.

"Shh, shh!"

"Shh shh shh, shh!"

Seeing that Mark had not understood, Caterpie gestured repeatedly with its Feet, and Mark gradually figured out what had happened.

His Caterpie had not competed for the position of leader.

That made sense. Back then, Caterpie had only been forty centimeters long. It was merely above average in size among Caterpie, and strength like that was nowhere near enough to compete for Caterpie Leader.

What Caterpie had competed for was actually a position under the Caterpie Leader.

It was more or less the role of running errands, waving flags, and cheering at the leader's side—a lackey position.

In Caterpie's words, it was called Leader's Guard.

The result was obvious: it had failed.

Caterpie had failed to even secure a lackey position and had been driven out, battered and bruised.

And Caterpie's misfortune did not end there.

For the Caterpie of Clear Stream Forest, their greatest danger was not their own kind, but those bird Spirits.

That day, Caterpie was first expelled from its group, then nearly killed while being chased by several Pidgey.

Until it discovered Mark wandering through the forest.

Caterpie hid beneath Mark and escaped disaster.

Since Mark had not driven it away, it stayed by his side from then on. As time passed, one man and one bug became what they were now...

"...So that was it. You've been following me ever since. To repay me, you often searched for food I could eat, looking for ripe fruit. Little by little, I started protecting you whenever you were in danger."

"Shh!"

Mark looked at Caterpie. "So, you're still afraid of that Caterpie Group in the forest?"

"Shh."

Caterpie nodded lightly. It still could not forget the sight of dozens of Caterpie driving it away together. It had been terrifying.

As for Mark, although his body was strong, there was probably nothing he could do against so many Caterpie.

After all, only a small portion of the Caterpie Group had driven it out back then. The entire group was extremely, extremely large. If all those Caterpie rushed at them together, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Mark did not answer.

He crouched down and squeezed Caterpie's firm body with his hand.

Compared to the Caterpie at the Caterpie Breeding Base, his Caterpie was about the same thickness, but it was not bloated.

If he had to compare it to a human body, his Caterpie was all lean muscle. It was also tall, sixty-five centimeters long—over two meters by human standards—and could be considered a little giant among Caterpie.

That was not to say his Caterpie had some exceptional talent.

Mark guessed that after he had added Points, Caterpie had realized its potential by comprehending Tackle (Power-Up Tackle), resulting in a second stage of growth.

Over the past day or so, Caterpie's body had basically stabilized and stopped growing. Its muscles had become even firmer, and it had grown somewhat stronger.

Caterpie tilted its head and looked at Mark in confusion, only to see him stretch out both hands and indicate a length slightly more than half its current body length.

Mark gestured as he spoke. "You used to be about this big, and you were very skinny."

Caterpie lowered its head blankly and looked over its body, suddenly realizing something.

Not only had its body grown larger, but it also seemed to have become much stronger.

It...

Caterpie was still thinking when Mark continued, "And now, not only are you thicker and stronger than ordinary Caterpie, you've also mastered Power-Up Tackle. You can easily smash through a tree as thick as a water barrel!"

Whoosh—

As he spoke, Caterpie suddenly shot forward!

It did not use the rapid Tackle technique it had practiced over the past two days. Instead, it used the Tackle (Power-Up Tackle) it had mastered so well!

Boom!!

A tree as thick as an adult's thigh snapped in response. Caterpie stood blankly beside the broken trunk, staring at the fractured wood...

Mark said, "Would the Caterpie Group still be able to drive you out now?"

"Shh, shh..."

Caterpie muttered to itself, only for Mark to suddenly knock it on the head with his fist.

"Shh?"

Mark glared at the bewildered Caterpie. "With strength like yours, don't compete for that Caterpie Leader's lackey position anymore..."

"Shh! Shh!"

Seeing Caterpie's face full of defiance, Mark's mouth twitched. "I'm not saying you can't win that lackey position. I'm saying that now that we have the Spirit Master template cheat, we shouldn't be thinking about things like that.

Forget those Leader's Guards under the Caterpie Leader—even the Caterpie Leader itself should not be our goal.

We have only one goal: become stronger, and keep becoming stronger!

Constant growth and constant progress are what we should pursue. Everything else is merely incidental."

"...Shh! Shh!"

Caterpie pondered for a while, then nodded vigorously.

Mark nodded slightly. "That's right. What you need to do now is build a solid foundation, then evolve.

I'll keep investing Points in you and lay down a strong foundation for you.

I know you still have some lingering obsession over that Leader's Lackey who beat you in the competition, but you really shouldn't think about it anymore.

Your opponent isn't the Caterpie lackey who drove you out. It's yourself.

Keep defeating the person you were the day before, keep improving, keep growing stronger—that is our goal!"

As Mark spoke, Caterpie clenched its forelegs, its fighting spirit surging as though it had been injected with adrenaline!

Mark smiled. "All right. Are you still afraid of those Caterpie in Clear Stream Forest?"

"Shh, shh."

Caterpie shook its head, but quickly nodded again. That timid feeling from before returned.

Mark had not expected to completely change Caterpie's mindset with just a few words. He patted Caterpie on the head. "It's precisely because you're afraid that you should face it. Otherwise, you'll never take that first step.

Come on, we'll go to the Caterpie Group right now.

At worst, those Caterpie beat us up, and we Run Away together.

But if you can overcome your inner demons and keep fighting those Caterpie...

Then, not only can we catch some Caterpie to earn money and buy you the Pokeball you want, we can also use the Caterpie Group to hone our practical combat skills, gain experience faster, and grow stronger faster!"

"Shh!"

Caterpie nodded heavily. Though it still looked somewhat frightened, it resolutely began moving deeper into the forest.

Mark followed behind Caterpie.

Just like the Caterpie Breeding Base southeast of the village, Mark had very few memories of this direction.

It seemed that whenever they came near this area, Caterpie would always find a way to make him change direction.

Caterpie moved quickly at first, but its pace soon slowed. Every so often, it would turn around to glance at him.

It was clear that being driven out in the past had left Caterpie with a deep psychological shadow...