Kakuna's Problem

Ekans's interruption had ruined Heiduo's mood for reading, so he called the three in the flowerbed back.

"Dun dun dun dun!"

Without a word of nonsense, Gible set down Kakuna, grabbed a bottle of earthy yellow nutrient solution, and chugged it down.

Seeing that, Elekid immediately grabbed the milky white bottle and drained it in one gulp.

Only Kakuna had no hands or feet, so Heiduo could only pick it up and feed it.

It looked like it had no mouth, but the triangular section beneath its jaw could actually be moved aside, revealing its mouth underneath.

"You'd better grow well! After all, you're the first Pokémon I've ever personally seen evolve!" Heiduo gently patted Kakuna's body. He had long known that Weedle had a short Evolution cycle, but the sudden faint blue glow back then had still startled him.

"Buzz!"

Kakuna's body trembled slightly and let out a soft hum.

In terms of levels alone, Ekans was still the highest. It had risen from level seventeen to level twenty. Next was Gible at level thirteen, then Elekid at level twelve. As for who came last, there was no need to say—Kakuna, level eight.

He did not know whether there was something wrong with his training methods or what, but the feedback he got from Kakuna had been minimal.

Even Ekans, the highest-level one, could rise three levels in three days, yet Weedle had only gained two levels.

The total amount of training for both had been about the same, so their returns should have been similar too.

Why exactly was that?

Could it be that this Pokémon World really had something called talent?

Heiduo frowned. If it was something vague and impossible to understand, that would be incredibly irritating.

"We've trained for three days. Let's relax this afternoon, shall we?" Heiduo wanted to visit Violet City's library and look for the source of the problem. It was a city with a Gym, so its library would surely have the answer.

Gible and the other Pokémon exchanged glances. Only Ekans showed a relaxed expression.

"Ka!"

"Bibi!"

Gible extended its thick little claw toward Elekid, and Elekid gave it a disdainful look before slapping its hand against Gible's.

The two Pokémon seemed to have reached some kind of understanding.

Kakuna remained silent. Every day after training ended, Heiduo would directly tell them their increased Energy Levels. They did not know how Heiduo learned that information, but the widening gap between them said everything.

Even though it had already evolved once, it could not help but sink into confusion and panic.

It had thought it had changed its fate.

Yet fate had twisted it right back off that changed path.

At least...

Kakuna glanced at Heiduo. It did not believe its Trainer had failed to notice the problem, but since Heiduo had not said anything and still treated everyone equally, that meant he had expectations for it. But how long could those expectations last?

Thinking of the strange power surging within its body, Kakuna could not help sighing at how wonderful life had been since coming to Heiduo's side.

It ate type-specific food, had a training plan specially designed for it, could rest when tired, had drinks when thirsty, and even had nutrient solutions suited to its tastes...

If it were still under its former Trainer, leaving aside whether it could eat enough, it would have spent every day inside a Poké Ball and hardly ever been released, until the day it was abandoned.

Why had it been so attached to that person back then?

Only three days had passed, yet Kakuna was already questioning its former life.

Just like their dear senior Infernape, after making a comparison, even the dumbest Pokémon could tell the difference between Heiduo and that person.

Maybe it was simply a difference in values.

In his previous life, the Pokémon World Heiduo knew had always praised the bonds and friendship between humans and Pokémon.

Hadn't Ash taken countless attacks just to save his Pokémon?

Even Gu Liu, one of the bosses in Pokémon Adventures, had committed countless wrongs in order to travel through time and save the Lapras he had lost in his youth.

Ash and Pikachu's life-and-death bond was something Heiduo greatly looked forward to.

That was why he had always given the Pokémon he acknowledged the greatest tolerance and expectations.

As for that boy, given the current era and the different education he had received, it was perfectly normal for him to admire strength and reject weakness.

Take Ash's Sinnoh rival Paul. Wasn't he exactly like that at first?

In short, as long as Heiduo did not give up on Kakuna, Kakuna was willing to offer him everything it had.

Kakuna looked away, its resolve growing ever firmer.

Jihua City Library.

"Oh my, have you finished all four books today too?"

The elderly librarian had a Hoothoot perched on her shoulder as she smiled and asked Heiduo.

Heiduo shook his head regretfully, then handed her the four books in his hands. "Not really, but I'm going to Violet City, so..."

"Ah, is that so?" The old woman's expression remained unchanged. In the Pokémon World, where traveling was commonplace, no one would feel sad over someone else's departure.

The basic rules of Jihua City Library were that books could be borrowed, but no more than four at once. They could not be taken outside the city and had to be returned within thirty days.

What a pity about that Detailed Analysis of Poison-type Ingredients. It thoroughly described the foods Poison-type Pokémon liked, making it very suitable for Ekans and Kakuna.

After all, those two siblings were the most common ones around.

Oh, right. Kakuna was male, and its Ability was Shed Skin. Its original moves were String Shot and Poison Sting. After evolving, Kakuna learned Harden, and only then did Heiduo teach it Bug Bite and Electroweb.

After leaving the library, Heiduo glanced at Shuangye, who was sitting idly by the flowerbed, then headed toward Route 30 without a word.

The two of them basically ignored each other. Even when Joy gave them one room at the Pokémon Center, nothing remotely exciting happened.

Especially since this girl rarely approached Heiduo outside. Sometimes, when Heiduo went to the bathroom, she would lean against the wall outside without saying a word, nearly scaring him to death when he came out after washing his hands.

Heiduo also understood that she was not afraid of him running away. Or rather, Heiduo had no intention of running.

First, the Pokémon League had not treated him harshly. Second, he did not have an antisocial personality. As a modern young man with healthy thinking and normal values, why would he commit crimes when he had legitimate ways to climb higher?

Three years of surveillance sounded long and restrictive, but after spending so many days together, Heiduo understood that Shuangye had no interest in him whatsoever. She completely ignored some of his little actions and did not point fingers at how he trained his Pokémon like people in certain novels did.

Heiduo had no secret she could see through at a glance, and Pokémon learning new moves was perfectly normal. As long as he made them learn slowly, nothing would go seriously wrong.

He could just treat her as a lucky charm during his travels. Ever since meeting her, his luck had not gone bad. Not only had he escaped Team Rocket, but the Pokémon he bought had somehow become legal.

At worst, she was pleasant to look at. The girl was quite pretty.

Route 30.

Heiduo walked along the flat road with the energetic Elekid at his side.

Since there were plenty of cases of wild Pokémon attacking humans in the wilderness, Heiduo usually kept one Pokémon by his side in case of emergencies.

They needed to come out and get some fresh air. They could not stay inside Poké Balls all the time.

For that, Heiduo used a shift system. One Pokémon was on duty each day. Kakuna was temporarily inconvenient to move around, so it owed its shifts and would make them up later.

The moment the shift system was introduced, two Pokémon immediately raised objections.

The first to object was Gible. It believed staying in a Poké Ball was a waste of time, so it wanted to add another day to its rotation.

Ekans voiced its opinion afterward, willing to give its own day to Gible as a reward.

As soon as Gible spoke up, Elekid immediately protested, saying it also wanted more days.

Weedle, which had not yet evolved at the time, was indifferent, but it firmly refused to let Elekid take over its day.

Then Heiduo suppressed them all. Their protests were invalid. He had the final say.

The three Pokémon turned away unhappily, looking like they were saying, I refuse to accept this. I object.

That night, Heiduo rounded up those three and gave them a lesson.

The lesson was called—first-grade elementary school math.

He had actually always been curious about how intelligent Pokémon could be, so since he had nothing better to do after eating, he treated it as an experiment.

The results were pleasing.

The three Pokémon grasped Heiduo's lessons to varying degrees.

But all of them showed annoyance, just like children who disliked going to school.

Heiduo's droning teaching style was the biggest reason.

Anyway, from that day onward, the three little ones became terrified of nighttime, afraid Heiduo would teach them math again.

But whenever they were dissatisfied with a decision Heiduo made, they would still appeal it.

The shift system, however, had been firmly set.

Today happened to be Elekid's shift. This little fellow was extremely curious about the wilderness, and whenever it discovered something new, it would get unbelievably excited.

"Bibi!"

Elekid held a brightly colored pebble beneath the sunlight, watching a faint glow spread across its surface with dazzled fascination.

Heiduo had spotted that pebble at the beach. It was the prettiest one, and he had originally wanted to keep it for himself, but Elekid had taken a liking to it, so he had no choice but to give it away.

After getting it, Elekid treasured it immensely and often took it out to admire. Other than Heiduo, anyone who touched it would face its wrath.

Being so protective of it was a good thing, though.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew through.

A black shadow abruptly swooped down from the sky, snatched the pebble from Elekid's hand with incredible speed, and flew high into the air.

"Bibi!"

Elekid went mad on the spot, its two hands spinning like tiny tops.

Dazzling Spark rapidly gathered.

Heiduo was startled as well. The black shadow had moved too quickly for him to catch more than an afterimage. He raised his head and saw a bird with slicked-back feathers circling above them.

Pidgeotto!

As the member of Ash's team responsible for finding people, Heiduo recognized it at a glance.

But when he opened the Detection System, his expression immediately became somewhat complicated.

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