Poké Ball

"Rustle, rustle."

The movement in the bushes grew louder and louder. Verde backed away in terror, only to trip over a stone and fall to the ground.

He deeply regretted never learning martial arts. Years of wine and women had completely drained his body.

When I get back this time, I'll definitely quit drinking!

"Pika..." A monster's low growl came from the bushes. Surprisingly, it did not sound very frightening.

Of course, Verde was still so scared he nearly pissed himself.

"Pika pika!"

A yellow bolt of lightning shot straight at Verde, making him scream as he instinctively shut his eyes.

"Pika?"

Yet the death he had expected never came. Instead, something fluffy appeared in his arms.

He gathered his courage and opened his eyes, finally seeing the strange creature in its entirety.

"What? What is this thing?" Verde stared in amazement at the yellow creature. It had a round body, long pointed ears, and a strangely shaped lightning-bolt tail.

"A mutated rat!?"

"Pika!"

Sensing the insult in his words, Pikachu became furious.

[The wild Pikachu used Thunderbolt!]

[It was super effective!]

"Crackle, crackle—"

A burst of exaggerated electric effects flashed past, and Verde, now sporting an afro, fainted.

After an unknown amount of time, he slowly woke to the sensation of something wet licking his cheek. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the huge yellow rat that had electrocuted him unconscious.

This time, however, he did not scream.

"Sir... Grandfather Rat, please just give me a quick death," Verde said miserably. "I'll never come to a dungeon again. Never again in my life."

Pikachu continued licking its paw. Hearing him stir, it glanced at him, and Verde saw a human-like emotion in its eyes—pity.

I'm being pitied by a monster?

Verde could not even bring himself to get angry. He only kept asking Pikachu to put him out of his misery, while Pikachu did nothing but circle around him.

After a while, he managed to pull himself up.

"I'm offering you a free chance to kill me, and you won't do it. How can there be such a strange monster?"

He casually picked up a branch as a cane and limped through the forest. His thoughts were simple now:

Find a monster to finish him off!

Because he did not dare kill himself. That would hurt too much.

Adventurers' Teleportation Crystals could not be used voluntarily. They only activated after death. It was an absurdly unfair rule, yet it was an ironclad law in every dungeon.

Whether one committed suicide or was killed, it could be triggered.

The forest was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, completely unlike the poisonous swamp. It was easy to forget this was a dungeon teeming with danger.

"Pika pika."

"Why are you following me?" Verde poked Pikachu with his branch. "If you're not going to kill me, get lost."

Pikachu's tail shot upright with a swish, electricity crackling around it.

"All right, all right. Follow me if you want, just don't shock me!"

A down-and-out young nobleman and a strange Pikachu—such an odd pair began exploring the forest.

"There must be monsters in that town over there. I'm going there."

With Undead Town as his destination, Verde limped onward, only to encounter an unexpected situation halfway there.

As he passed through a patch of grass, something suddenly bounced out!

"Whoa, what kind of weird monster is this? I've never seen one before!"

The monster looked like a purple-black sphere floating in the air. Its eyes and mouth were all crammed onto its round body, making it ugly in an oddly cute way.

[A wild Gastly appeared!]

Verde instinctively backed away at first, but his desire to return home drove him toward Gastly. He believed this fierce-looking monster would definitely kill him.

It did not disappoint him. Gastly launched an attack!

[The wild Gastly used Shadow Ball!]

Verde spread his arms wide, making no attempt to dodge!

Just as he was about to embrace death—

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu suddenly darted over, knocking Verde to the ground and causing him to narrowly avoid the attack.

"What are you doing!?" Only then did Verde belatedly become angry.

Pikachu gave him a look as if he were an idiot, then turned and assumed a fighting stance toward Gastly.

[The wild Gastly used Strange Light!]

[It missed Pikachu!]

[The wild Pikachu used Electric Shock!]

The two Pokémon began fighting fiercely, with dazzling special effects flying everywhere. Verde, seeing monsters fight each other for the first time, was utterly dumbfounded.

"That monster is... protecting me?"

An absurd feeling rose within him. Everyone knew that monsters were synonymous with madness and bloodlust. They could not be communicated with, much less protect humans.

Watching Pikachu struggle so hard, he felt moved for a moment, and his desire to die faded considerably.

This monster seems pretty nice too, doesn't it? If I make it out alive, I'll take it outside as a pet.

It has good taste, knowing to protect me.

The battle quickly came to an end. Pikachu proved more skilled and claimed victory. Gastly shrieked and fled away in disgrace.

"Ahem, ahem."

Leaning against a tree, Verde coughed twice, drawing Pikachu's attention.

He struck what he considered a dashing pose, stretched out his hand to it, and said:

"I acknowledge your determination to protect this young master. Come with me, monster. I'll let you live the most extravagant life."

Pikachu looked at him expressionlessly, then suddenly jumped up and swung its tail.

[Pikachu used Iron Tail!]

"Pwah—"

Verde was knocked to the ground in an instant. Covering his reddened cheek, he trembled as he said, "You actually dared to hit me."

"Pika pika." Pikachu stood with its hands on its hips, its face full of disdain.

Its tail swished a few times, and crackling sounds filled the air. Lightning was visibly beginning to form, frightening Verde into backing away repeatedly as he begged, "Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I surrender!"

He truly could not understand what this yellow rat wanted. Why had it inexplicably latched onto him?

Could it want me to take it outside?

Pikachu wore an expression that said, "That's more like it," then nimbly jumped onto his head and patted it as though declaring ownership.

For some reason, Verde felt like he had been chosen. Not in the sense of being liked, but like a pet choosing a favorite poop-scooper.

I'm doomed. The yellow demon has latched onto me!

Under Pikachu's direction, Verde wandered through the forest like a puppet on strings, with no idea where they were going.

This is bad, this is bad. It's not taking me back to its nest to eat me, is it?

After his recent encounter with Gastly, Verde had become afraid of dying again.

"Pika!"

Pikachu suddenly smacked him on the head, signaling for Verde to crouch down and search the patch of grass over there.

What could possibly be in the grass?

He muttered to himself and rummaged through it with a look of disgust. To his surprise, he really did find something.

"What is this?"

He pulled out a round object slightly smaller than his palm. It was red and white, simple yet aesthetically pleasing.

[Poké Ball]