(The two chapters marked as black history are pretty awkward when I look back at them. Feel free to skip them; they won't affect your enjoyment of what follows.)
"There's actually Space Magic engraved inside a ball. This is really..."
Verde looked at the Poké Ball in his hand, his expression conflicted.
Magic was divided into different attributes: wind, Fire, Water, lightning, earth, Holy Light, darkness, and so on. But if one asked which attributes were the most precious, Space and Time were unquestionably at the top.
A mage's compatibility with different attributes determined which types of magic they could use. According to surveys, over eighty percent of mages could freely use Holy Light Magic. Next came Fire-type Magic, used by sixty-nine percent, and Water-type Magic, also used by sixty-nine percent.
As for the usage rate of Space Magic...
Anyway, as far as the entire continent knew, no more than ten sapient beings could use it.
Time Magic existed only in legends. It was said that only the Demon Race's Lich Sage had ever seen it.
Verde wanted to say that this was a waste of a precious resource, but then he thought about it. This thing was currently serving him, so how could that be considered a waste?
He should say that everything was the best arrangement fate had made! He was the child most favored by the Goddess of Luck!
When he first put Pikachu into the ball, he had been startled. After figuring out how to use the thing, however, he had treated it like a priceless treasure. Even he could see the value of a Poké Ball.
"Pikachu, can you find more balls like this?" Verde asked Pikachu, who was lying on his shoulder.
Why did he call it Pikachu? Obviously, he had gotten the inspiration from its Growl.
After spending more time with Pikachu, he discovered that although the creature always acted as if it disliked him and wanted to hit him, it actually had a pretty good temper.
Gradually, he relaxed around it as well.
Pikachu nodded and pointed in a certain direction with its little paw. It was the town in the center of the forest.
"Over there?"
Verde hunched his shoulders and instantly lost his confidence.
He had previously climbed a tree and taken a distant look at Undead Town. The sight had left a deep impression on him, because the place was packed with wandering ghouls.
The ghouls came in different varieties. Some wore tattered clothes and carried broken weapons. Some had armor that was still in decent condition, while others wore complete sets of fine armor, with weapons that looked extremely sharp.
It was not just ghouls. He had faintly caught traces of "dogs"—creatures with astonishing speed and a terrifying appetite for attacking, even more dangerous than the ghouls.
Apart from those, some instinct deep within him told him that something even more terrifying was hiding inside the town.
That was why Verde had spent so long wandering through the forest while always keeping his distance from Undead Town. Even so, he had encountered several Ghoul Soldiers that had wandered out of the town.
At the time, he had seen the Ghoul Soldiers staggering along, looking frail and harmless, and had even planned to challenge one by himself.
But the moment that ghoul saw him, it became as energetic as if it had been injected with stimulants. It leaped several meters into the air and charged at him with a Great Sword. If Pikachu had not slammed into him in time, Verde would probably have been split in half vertically by now.
It could only be said that Verde had survived this long entirely because Pikachu had carried him.
"No, no, let's forget it. I don't dare go over there." He tried to change the subject. "Pikachu, do you have any other companions? I mean, ones like you—ones with Humanity, uh, ones that are smart."
While communicating with Pikachu, Verde often felt as though he was talking to an ordinary person. Pikachu could perfectly understand everything he meant. Apart from only being able to say "Pika Pika," it was no different from a human.
It was astonishing. Only the strongest magical creatures could possess Humanity, yet Pikachu was this intelligent as well.
If there were many more creatures like it, this would probably become the greatest discovery in the history of magical-creature research.
"Pika."
Pikachu nodded, pointed at a large tree, and made a gesture.
"You mean you want me to kick it?"
"Pika~"
Verde kicked it hesitantly. "Rustle, rustle." The dense canopy shook violently, and in the next second, a shadow suddenly fell out.
"What kind of demon are you?" Verde leaped backward in fright.
The newcomer writhed on the ground. Taking a closer look, Verde saw a green body, a white abdomen, Y-shaped antennae, and huge eyes.
It was unmistakably a giant bug—a Caterpie!
[Caterpie] [1 Mental Power required per ten units: 1] [Life: F-, Strength: F-, Intelligence: E+, Endurance: F-, Speed: F-, Combat Power: F-]
With one glance, he knew that this newcomer was the weakest of the weak.
It had been brought in by Gong Qiying to enrich the ecosystem. They were so cheap that he had felt restless if he did not get a few.
The Caterpie was still dazed after falling, but the moment it saw Verde, it immediately assumed an attacking stance. Its personality seemed to be either bold or impatient.
Then Pikachu killed it instantly with a Tackle.
"Uh, wait." Verde raised his hand and asked, "Why did you knock it unconscious?"
"Pika?"
Pikachu blinked. It seemed to have interpreted Verde's words as wanting to find a Pokémon to battle.
"I wanted to communicate with it."
After thinking for a moment, Verde took off his coat and wrapped the Caterpie in it. He was most afraid of bugs and certainly did not dare touch it directly.
"But this magical creature is really weak. Does it actually have any value?" he muttered to himself.
"Weak? Your view of Pokémon is really narrow-minded." A voice suddenly came from among the bushes.
"Who's there?"
"You can call me Boss Sakaki!"
A fierce wind suddenly swept through the forest, blowing so hard that Verde could not open his eyes. Only after the wind finally stopped could he clearly see who had arrived.
How should he put it? The newcomer was a middle-aged man with an evil, hard-bitten appearance.
His looks, clothes, and voice all gave off the feeling of a "mysterious evil organization boss," making him intimidating at a glance.
"Uh, who are you?"
"I already told you. Call me Boss Sakaki."
Gong Qiying held a Poké Ball in his hand and used his mimicry ability to take on Sakaki's appearance.
"What a strange name. Huh, you have one of these balls too?" Verde stared at Gong Qiying in surprise.
"This is called a Poké Ball, country bumpkin."
"W-What did you call me? A country bumpkin!?"
Verde's face flushed instantly. He had always been the one calling others bumpkins. He had never expected to be the one looked down on today!
"I'm a dignified noble, and you actually—"
"I don't care who you are."
Gong Qiying put on a disdainful expression and said, "The moment you dismissed Caterpie as weak, you revealed yourself to be a short-sighted fool."
So that thing was called Caterpie? But it really did feel incredibly weak.
Verde took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm. The man in front of him seemed to know a great deal about these strange magical creatures called "Pokémon." He needed to build a good relationship and pump him for information.
But where had this guy come from? This dungeon should have only contained members of House of Bede and the adventurers they had hired.
"Since Mr. Sakaki is here too, how about we cooperate? It's dangerous to explore a dungeon alone, isn't it?"
"Alone? I'm not alone." Gong Qiying pointed at Pikachu. "Don't you have him accompanying you as well?"
"Ah."
Verde froze for a moment. There was something strange about what the other man had said, but what exactly was it?
Right. He treated Pokémon as companions of equal status, whereas because of his deep-rooted beliefs, Verde still regarded Pikachu as a strange magical creature.
For some reason, a sense of shame welled up inside Verde at that moment.
"Looks like you're just a fledgling Trainer. Very well. Since our eyes have met, let's begin a battle!"
"A battle?" Verde asked in confusion. "I haven't done anything to provoke you. Are you a bandit?"
"No. I mean a Pokémon battle."
Gong Qiying tossed the Poké Ball in his hand into the air and said:
"I choose you, Beedrill! Show this brat the might of the Bug Type!"
Looking back now, these parts are pretty awkward, and I don't know how to revise them. Please go easy on me.
Before you continue