A Terrifying Yet Gentle Human Trainer

Beside the campfire, the Caterpie Leader ate steaming hot taro while Mark occasionally took a bite of rabbit meat before putting it back over the fire to keep roasting. He liked this kind of grilled meat slightly charred.

The man and Pokémon did not speak much.

Mark was recalling Caterpie's earlier performance and considering whether there was anything to optimize, so he did not interact much with the Caterpie Leader.

The Caterpie Leader, meanwhile, was afraid.

It found Mark terrifying, and that Caterpie terrifying as well.

It was not merely their terrifying strength, but also their terrifying methods of battle and training.

In just a few short hours, watching the practical combat training between this human Trainer and that Caterpie had made it feel an incredible number of things. It was a realm it had never imagined from the moment it was born to the time it gradually gained Wisdom.

All it could say was that One-Eyed Scyther had been right. Human Trainers and their Pokémon partners were truly terrifying.

Across the campfire, after reviewing the earlier battle in his mind, Mark took out a notebook from his backpack and jotted down several lines of notes.

Although his memory seemed to have improved somewhat after transmigrating, perhaps because he had become younger, it was still more reliable to write certain things down in a notebook.

After summarizing the key points of the battle, Mark opened the Trainer Panel to check it. His experience had risen from 13% to 19%, clearly exceeding his expectations.

Mark looked it over, nodded slightly, and looked at the Caterpie Leader across from him, which was staring blankly into the fire.

"Are you curious about fire?" Mark asked.

The Caterpie Leader froze for a moment, then nodded.

"Hiss."

This heap of flames that radiated heat was only the third fire it had seen since it was born.

In fact, it was somewhat repelled by fire. If this terrifying human Trainer had not made it sit here, it would most likely have kept a great distance away.

However, it had now spent some time beside the fire, so it was no longer as resistant to the flames as it had been at first. Instead, it had developed a little curiosity.

Mark lightly pinched his chin. "Different flames operate on different principles. The wood burning before you is essentially a violent oxidation reaction after the wood reaches its ignition point. Wood is mainly made of carbohydrates, and during combustion, it releases a great deal of heat, which manifests as these orange flames. Afterward, it produces carbon dioxide and water vapor."

Seeing the Caterpie Leader's utterly confused expression, Mark smiled.

"Sorry. I'm used to explaining things to my Caterpie, so I ended up explaining it to you too. Still, it's good for you to listen—it broadens your horizons. Actually, I'm very curious about how Pokémon use fire. These books record some Pokémon capable of using flames, but they don't explain the principles behind how they do it."

As he spoke, Mark took several school textbooks from his backpack.

"Hiss?"

Seeing the Caterpie Leader's puzzled expression, Mark explained, "These are school textbooks. They contain all kinds of knowledge related to Pokémon, and they're fairly interesting to read. Oh, speaking of using fire, do you know what Pokémon in Clear Stream Forest can use flames?"

The Caterpie Leader shook its head.

Mark sighed softly. "So there really aren't any. The Pokémon distribution in the Hia Kingdom is similar to Kanto's, with most being First Generation Pokémon, so Fire-type Pokémon are very rare. After all, Charmander, Rapidash, Vulpix, Growlithe, Magmar—those Fire-type Pokémon are all too rare..."

The Caterpie Leader tilted its head, looking at Mark with curiosity and confusion, only to see Mark once again examining it from head to toe.

Mark said, "Come to think of it, do you usually rest lying down like that?"

The Caterpie Leader nodded. Not only it, but all Caterpie rested that way.

Mark said, "The sleeping environment is actually quite important. If you can sleep more comfortably, both your physical recovery and your sleep quality will improve a lot. Your String Shot is very impressive. Have you never considered weaving yourself a hammock to sleep in?"

"Hiss?"

The Caterpie Leader was bewildered, having no idea what this hammock Mark spoke of was.

Mark explained for several minutes before the Caterpie Leader gradually understood.

Then...

In the span of just two breaths, the Caterpie Leader spat out an incredibly sturdy net.

If Mark's Caterpie shot out silk thread by thread, then the Caterpie Leader did it all at once, directly spraying out a huge net.

Moreover, the shape of the net it sprayed could change.

Perhaps misunderstanding his expression, the Caterpie Leader immediately spat out another net. The previous one had a diamond-shaped structure, while this new net had a triangular structure.

All Mark could say was that the Caterpie Leader's String Shot technique was truly impressive. If it were displayed on his Trainer Panel, it would probably be like his Caterpie's Tackle move and possess some special modifiers.

Without thinking much about it, Mark tied the two nets to nearby trees one after the other, then placed the sleeping Caterpie into one of the hammocks.

The sleeping Caterpie seemed to sense something and kept rubbing its head against his arm. Although he had broken its spirit in the battle not long ago, Caterpie clearly did not truly hate him. It would probably be back to normal after a good sleep.

Yeah, his Caterpie was becoming more and more like a human child.

Mark gently stroked Caterpie's head, then looked at the Caterpie Leader awkwardly crawling into the hammock. "Sorry. When I brought up the hammock, what I really wanted was to make one for Caterpie. I just felt too embarrassed to ask you directly, so I used a few conversational tactics on you."

The Caterpie Leader climbed into the hammock, feeling its swaying motion as it stared at Mark in confusion.

As it watched Mark's series of actions, for some reason, it suddenly felt that Mark was not quite so terrifying after all.

Beyond that, it sensed some sort of connection between Mark and that Caterpie.

A bond?

A word One-Eyed Scyther had once told it suddenly surfaced in the Caterpie Leader's mind. Back then, it had not really understood it, but now, it seemed to understand a little for no apparent reason.

As it pondered, Mark spoke again.

"This hammock really does help you rest, but its drawback is obvious—it leaves you extremely vulnerable when facing enemies. So normally, you'd be better off resting the way you used to. You won't need to do that today. I'll keep watch here, and if there's any danger, I'll wake you."

As he spoke, Mark reached out and stroked the Caterpie lying in the hammock on the head.

"...After drinking a Potion and eating more than a dozen Oran Berries, plus resting in the hammock now, it should recover almost completely in six or seven hours, right? Or maybe it'll take even longer..."

As Mark muttered to himself, he suddenly noticed a figure beneath him. The Caterpie Leader, who had been in the hammock just moments ago, had somehow come over.

The Caterpie Leader spoke and gestured repeatedly, seemingly trying to convey something.

Since it was not his own Pokemon, Mark could not understand it very well at first.

The Caterpie Leader continued gesturing with its Feet for a while before suddenly burrowing deep into the forest. A few minutes later, it returned with two yellow berries.

They were roughly the size and color of lemons, though their shape was somewhat different.

Taking the berries, Mark pondered aloud, "Are you saying that eating these berries will help my Caterpie recover faster?"

The Caterpie Leader nodded again and again.

"The shape and color of these berries... Could they be Wiki Berries?"

As he examined them, Mark suddenly remembered something.

Wiki Berries—the main ingredient of Full Restore. In the Pokemon games, no matter how much HP a Pokemon had left, drinking a bottle of Full Restore would instantly refill it completely. They were a vastly superior substitute for Oran Berries...