Chapter Summaries

The Caterpie Leader worried that the returning outsider Caterpie intended to take its position, despite showing restraint in their fights. It prepared a stronger ambush as Mark and Caterpie returned to the territory to train.

• The Caterpie Leader recalled learning that humans treated some Caterpies well and questioned the group’s inherited hatred of them.
• The Caterpie Leader feared the outsider Caterpie might replace it, then decided to use measures prepared for a powerful enemy rather than merely drive it away.
• A Leader’s Guard reported that Mark and Caterpie had returned, and the Caterpie Leader gathered the group before slipping into the forest.
• Mark told Caterpie to test its abilities and refined Tackle while he hid nearby to observe.

Caterpie tested its refined Tackle techniques against a group of Caterpie, but its newly attempted compound move failed after its body changed. Mark then noticed that Caterpie’s Experience Bar was growing increasingly slowly, indicating that its stat increase had brought an experience penalty.

• Caterpie used a charged Tackle (Power-Up Tackle) to blast dozens of Caterpie away, then tested Tackle (Instant Strike) and Tackle (Seven-Stage Combo) against the group.
• Caterpie analyzed the different energies behind its Tackle techniques and attempted the compound move Tackle Five-Shot Barrage, but it lost its breath and failed.
• Mark realized Caterpie’s growth and newly learned Bug Bite had altered its body, making precise compound moves harder to perform, and told it to practice ordinary derived moves instead.
• Mark watched Caterpie’s Experience Bar rise more slowly over time and concluded that its stat increase had caused an experience penalty.

Mark realized the Caterpie Groups no longer provided enough experience for Caterpie, so he began teaching their leaders stronger tactics to improve the challenge. After discussing Caterpie’s weaknesses and a way to train its stamina, Mark asked what was wrong with the Caterpie in the territory.

• Mark decided to spend his Point rather than save it, then used his improved Spirit Master control to teach a Leader's Guard the Tackle Training Method and combat tactics.
• As the wild Caterpie grew fearful and began retreating, Caterpie reached Mark and learned that he planned to strengthen the Leader's Guards so they could better challenge it.
• Caterpie described its combat weaknesses, and Mark taught the sleeping Leader's Guard how to exploit them.
• Mark identified Caterpie's limited warm current as a weakness and suggested deliberately fighting after it had been depleted to improve its training.
• Mark asked Caterpie what was wrong with the Caterpie in the territory.

Caterpie entered the Caterpie Leader’s trap to train, while Mark followed and discovered a forest full of Spike Catapult Traps. Caterpie escaped the trap with its new Tackle Infinite Quick Strikes and defeated the Caterpie Leader.

• Caterpie chose to advance into the Caterpie Territory despite suspecting the Caterpie Leader had laid a trap, and Mark followed while encouraging it to stay cautious.
• Mark spotted hundreds of Spike Catapult Traps aimed toward a gigantic cocoon in a clearing deep in the forest.
• The Caterpie Leader tried to persuade Caterpie to stop struggling in the cocoon, but Caterpie said it could break the threads and wondered how it had been caught.
• The Spike Catapult Traps fired, and Caterpie used Tackle Infinite Quick Strikes to escape while attacking the Caterpie Leader from every direction.
• The battered Caterpie Leader fell to the ground, unable to rise, and Caterpie mocked its fighting ability.

The Caterpie Leader recovered enough to hear Mark teach it combat techniques through a strange mental illusion, while Mark scolded Caterpie for its reckless choices in battle. As Mark examined a small blue fruit he suspected was an Oran Berry, the chapter left its identity uncertain.

• The exhausted Caterpie Leader believed Caterpie had left without claiming its territory, but heard it return with Mark.
• Mark touched the Caterpie Leader and taught it Tackle techniques and weaknesses through a strange illusion in its mind.
• Mark praised the Caterpie Leader's intelligence, then flicked Caterpie for comparing it to the Leader.
• Mark questioned Caterpie's decision to risk severe injury against the Spike Catapult Trap, and Caterpie affectionately rubbed against him as he warned it to choose safer tactics.
• Mark found a thumb-sized blue fruit that looked like an Oran Berry and asked Caterpie to help inspect it.

Mark discovered that the foul-smelling fruit was Oran Berries, whose nutrients boosted experience and may have helped the Caterpie Leader grow unusually large. He explained his theories about stat point allocation and the value of knowledge to Caterpie, then headed back to Clear Stream Village with it to check on the school and prepare to apply to Pokémon Academy.

• Mark recognized the fruit as Oran Berries after matching its smell to the fluid from Caterpie’s antennae, and reasoned that the Caterpie Leader had used the odor to protect the berries.
• Mark and Caterpie ate Oran Berries and found that they provided a substantial experience boost; Mark also fed crushed berries to the unconscious Caterpie Leader.
• Mark taught Caterpie to compare two rows of berries by counting, and Caterpie became interested in mathematics as its experience increased.
• Mark told Caterpie his three theories about stat point allocation: it could fail, its duration depended on willpower, and its results depended on their real-world knowledge.
• Mark gathered berries, taught the Tackle Training Method to several Leader's Guards, and set off with Caterpie for Clear Stream Village.

Mark returned to Clear Stream Village with Caterpie and learned that he had missed a chance to join the Hia Kingdom Ability User Training Program. He chose to pursue Pokemon Academy instead and left Old Man Qian wondering what he intended to do with the Blue Berry in his backpack.

• Old Man Qian greeted Mark and Caterpie, recovered his old Bug-Catching Net, and asked why they had been gone for several days.
• Old Man Qian told Mark that Doctor Wu had waited to test his supposed Wisdom and consider him for the Hia Kingdom Ability User Training Program, but Mark said he preferred the Pokemon Academy entrance exam.
• Old Man Qian answered Mark’s question about Complete Metamorphosis Pokemon and used his Pokemon Index to explain that they had low intelligence and major bloodline changes around evolution.
• Mark learned that Old Man Qian was a Trainer and agreed to keep the Pokemon Index secret.
• Mark opened his backpack wider, revealing the Blue Berry to Old Man Qian.

Mark brought Oran Berries to Old Man Qian, who advised him to keep them for his Pokémon instead of selling them. After Mark explained his training methods, Old Man Qian was stunned to learn Caterpie could count to one hundred.

• Mark learned that Oran Berries were worth too little to buy a Pokeball and decided they were better saved to strengthen Caterpie and the Wimpod that would hatch soon.
• Mark concealed that Caterpie's Leader had sprayed the berries with foul fluid, letting Old Man Qian believe Mark had devised a way to protect them from wild Pokémon.
• Old Man Qian told Mark that school would resume the next day and planned to take him to register.
• The next morning, Mark explained that he and Caterpie had been training through actual combat rather than practicing Tackle against the Black Heavy Stone.
• Mark said he was teaching Caterpie mathematics to build its mental capacity for future Telekinesis, and Old Man Qian was astonished that Caterpie could count to one hundred.

Old Man Qian discovered how unusually clever Mark’s Caterpie was and encouraged it to learn by promising to pay half the cost of its Pokeball if it mastered counting backward and writing the numbers. He advised Mark on training and motivation, then invited him and Caterpie to eat before registering at the village school.

• Caterpie struggled to count backward, while Old Man Qian’s Machamp got stuck counting after reaching twenty-four.
• Old Man Qian noticed that Caterpie had learned to write numerical symbols and recognized its intelligence and training potential.
• Mark asked whether teaching Caterpie math could cause problems, and Old Man Qian advised him to avoid overtraining it.
• Old Man Qian promised to subsidize half the cost of Caterpie’s Pokeball if it could write numbers backward, motivating Caterpie to study eagerly.
• Mark saw that Old Man Qian’s encouragement increased Caterpie’s experience gain, and Old Man Qian invited them to eat before registering at the village school.

Mark began attending Clear Stream Village's Pokemon school, where Teacher Sun Ting recognized his knowledge and potential. Sun Ting decided to train him for a Pokemon Academy, while Mark secretly resolved to stop attending school and study on his own.

• Sun Ting welcomed Mark to the school and assigned him a seat among the village's students.
• Sun Ting warned the students that written exams were important and offered extra tutoring to those hoping to enter a Pokemon Academy.
• Mark found Sun Ting's lesson too slow and spent most of the morning studying the Pokemon encyclopedia on his own.
• After class, Mark and Li Lei asked Sun Ting questions, and Mark's knowledge convinced her he had a chance of passing an academy entrance exam.
• Sun Ting decided to spend the next two years preparing Mark for Riel Pokemon Academy or Great Earth Pokemon Academy, while Mark decided not to return to school.

Mark decided to study independently for the Pokemon Academy entrance exams, and his impressive answers convinced Sun Ting to approve. After he left, Miss Gothitelle warned Sun Ting that something near the classroom had made it feel wary that morning.

• Mark asked Sun Ting about academy entrance exams and decided self-study would be more efficient than attending her lessons.
• Sun Ting explained that academies set their own standards and described the Physical Fitness and Pokemon Affinity Exams.
• Mark answered Sun Ting's questions about Pokemon Abilities and move learning, then added a conjecture about Pikachu learning Thunder Shock.
• Sun Ting was impressed by Mark's answers and asked whether he would become a researcher, but Mark said he wanted to be a Trainer and left with Caterpie.
• Miss Gothitelle told Sun Ting that something near the classroom had made it feel threatened, though it could not identify what it sensed.

Mark explained why dandelion seeds drift through the air while Caterpie listened, then discovered that Wimpod’s Egg had appeared on his Trainer Panel. He encouraged Caterpie to welcome Wimpod as a companion, but noticed something unexpected as Caterpie eagerly asked when the Egg would hatch.

• Caterpie sneezed after playing among dandelions, while its Run Away Ability briefly appeared and vanished on the Trainer Panel without Mark noticing.
• Caterpie asked Mark why dandelion seeds drifted, and Mark explained seed reproduction, density, and how wind formed.
• Mark noticed that Wimpod (Unhatched) had appeared beside Caterpie in the Pokemon section of his Trainer Panel.
• Caterpie felt curious and jealous about Wimpod’s Egg, but Mark explained that it needed companions to battle alongside.
• Caterpie eagerly accepted Wimpod as a future comrade, and Mark noticed something on the Trainer Panel as Caterpie asked when the Egg would hatch.

Mark discovered that using the Tackle Training Method on the Wimpod Egg increased its Trainer Progress, revealing that a bond had formed between them. He set off with Caterpie for combat training, but Old Man Qian stopped them and handed Mark a land certificate for his family’s house.

• Mark realized the gray Wimpod entry’s percentage tracked Trainer Progress and rose from 2.38% to 2.39% naturally.
• Mark used the Tackle Training Method on the Wimpod Egg, raising its progress to 4.69%, and concluded that repeated training had formed a bond between them.
• Mark decided to take Caterpie to the forest for combat training after they had spent the morning studying and practicing numbers.
• Mark and Caterpie met Old Man Qian at the village exit as they headed toward Clear Stream Forest.
• Old Man Qian gave Mark a land certificate for a plot in Clear Stream Village bearing Mark’s name.

Mark received the Land Certificate for his family’s property and learned that Old Man Qian was his distant relative. After exploring the abandoned house, Mark and Caterpie returned to Caterpie Territory, where the Caterpie Leader offered to yield, but Mark clarified that they had come only to train.

• Old Man Qian gave Mark the Land Certificate, explained that the Pokemon Center would soon be built, and told Mark to call him Third Uncle.
• Old Man Qian showed Mark his family’s dilapidated house and learned that Mark planned to study independently under Little Sun Teacher.
• Mark searched the house, found a ceramic cup and sweet melons, and then headed to Clear Stream Forest with Caterpie.
• The Caterpie Leader stopped the group from attacking Mark and Caterpie and offered to let them rejoin the group or take its position.
• Mark told the Caterpie Leader that he and Caterpie had come to train and grow stronger, not to return to the group or claim leadership.

Mark persuaded the Caterpie Leader that Combat Training could strengthen the Caterpie Group and agreed to reduce the risk by having his Caterpie tire itself out first. The Caterpie Leader accepted, then watched Caterpie practice its powerful Tackle Five-Shot Barrage as training began.

• Mark explained to the Caterpie Leader that Combat Training and his Tackle Training Method could help the Caterpie Group resist predators and grow stronger.
• Mark proposed that Caterpie expend stamina before battles and asked the Caterpie Group not to go for the kill; the Caterpie Leader agreed.
• Mark told Caterpie to use Tackle Five-Shot Barrage twice before fighting, with a possible third use depending on the situation.
• Caterpie unleashed Tackle Five-Shot Barrage, knocking down three trees and carving deep furrows as it tried to return to its starting point.
• Mark analyzed Caterpie's missed landing and offered guidance while the Caterpie Leader recalled what a One-Eyed Scyther had said about human Trainers.
• Caterpie used Tackle Five-Shot Barrage twice more, improving its aim but still missing the target.

Mark’s Caterpie faced the Caterpie Leader’s traps and encircling group during Combat Training, while Mark pointed out its weaknesses. After a brutal battle, Caterpie slept by the campfire as Mark shared food with the Caterpie Leader.

• The Caterpie Leader lured Mark’s exhausted Caterpie into chained traps and launched poisoned wooden spikes at it.
• Mark explained that Caterpie’s Instant Strike had a predictable dodge pattern and that Bauhinia Vine sap was numbing its wound.
• Mark pointed out Caterpie’s poor battlefield awareness and emotional reactions, leaving it feeling betrayed and distressed.
• The Caterpie Group encircled Caterpie, and Mark clapped to start the second round of Combat Training.
• That night, Mark roasted a rabbit and offered the Caterpie Leader taro while his exhausted, wounded Caterpie slept.

Mark reviewed Caterpie’s training, then used the campfire and a hammock to learn more about the Caterpie Leader’s abilities and help both Caterpie rest. The Caterpie Leader brought Mark two berries that he suspected were Wiki Berries, which might speed up his Caterpie’s recovery.

• Mark checked his Trainer Panel and saw his experience increase from 13% to 19%.
• Mark explained fire to the Caterpie Leader and asked about flame-using Pokémon in Clear Stream Forest, but the Leader knew of none.
• Mark suggested making a hammock, and the Caterpie Leader demonstrated its powerful String Shot by producing two sturdy nets.
• Mark put his sleeping Caterpie in a hammock and promised to keep watch while it recovered.
• The Caterpie Leader brought Mark two yellow berries, and Mark suspected they were Wiki Berries that could help his Caterpie recover faster.

Mark accepted the Caterpie Leader’s Wiki Berry and proposed repaying it with mental training, teaching it that mathematics could strengthen its mind and help it master Telekinesis after evolving. The Caterpie Leader grew uneasy at Mark’s ambitious lessons, and Mark asked it to show him the Wiki Berry trees so he could judge how many berries they had.

• Mark considered the Wiki Berry’s value and offered the Caterpie Leader extra training in return for giving one to him and Caterpie.
• The Caterpie Leader recoiled, fearing Mark would put it through the same harsh Combat Training as his Caterpie.
• Mark explained that he meant to train its mind with mathematics, which he believed could help it master Telekinesis as a Butterfree.
• Mark demonstrated counting with Oran Berries, and the Caterpie Leader became curious about mathematics before growing alarmed at his plans to teach advanced subjects.
• Mark speculated that the Caterpie Leader had the Run Away Ability and suggested it exchange techniques with his Caterpie.
• Mark asked the Caterpie Leader to take him to the Wiki Berry trees so he could count the berries and decide how to use them.

Mark visited the Wiki Berry tree with the Caterpie Leader, learned how it had grown and defended its group, and developed a theory that bonds could increase a Pokémon’s intelligence and size. He left with plans to test the theory and teach the Caterpie Leader to count.

• Mark carried the injured Caterpie on his back, and the Caterpie Leader helped secure it with silk before leading him to the Wiki Berry tree.
• The Caterpie Leader offered Mark half the berries, but Mark took only ten and asked whether they had caused its unusual growth.
• The Caterpie Leader explained that it had grown larger and smarter after becoming leader, and Mark theorized that bonds between Pokémon might strengthen their intelligence and bodies.
• The Caterpie Leader told Mark how it had used silk-triggered traps to drive off a Nidoking and claim its territory, including berry trees.
• Mark learned that Wiki Berries had contributed to the Caterpie Leader’s growth, then promised to teach it math so it could count how many it had eaten.

Mark and Caterpie spent ten days training in Caterpie Territory, where Wimpod’s egg became Mark’s Spirit and neared hatching. Seeing how eagerly Caterpie wanted a Pokeball, Mark decided to return to Clear Stream Village early and buy one the next day.

• Mark fed Caterpie a Wiki Berry, which quickly healed its injuries and faded some of its scars.
• Mark trained Caterpie and the Caterpie Group by day, taught Caterpie and the Caterpie Leader mathematics at night, and used Tackle Training to advance Wimpod’s egg.
• After ten days, Wimpod’s egg became Mark’s Spirit and reached 88.73% hatching progress when kept warm beside the fire.
• Caterpie grew to around ninety-three centimeters, and its Constitution Potential rose from F- to F after days of eating Oran Berries and Wiki Berries.
• Mark announced that he and Caterpie would return to Clear Stream Village and buy a Pokeball the next day, making Caterpie bounce excitedly and cuddle against him.