The fact that a single ball had Space Magic inscribed into it was simply...
Vierde stared at the Poké Ball in his hand, his expression tangled with conflicting emotions.
Magic came in different attributes—Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, Holy Light, Darkness, and so on—but if one had to name the rarest attributes, they would undoubtedly be space and time.
A mage's affinity for different attributes determined which kinds of magic they could use. According to investigations, more than eighty percent of mages could freely use Holy Light Magic. Next came Fire Magic, with a usage rate of sixty-nine percent, tied with Water Magic at the same sixty-nine percent.
As for the usage rate of Space Magic...
In any case, there were fewer than ten intelligent beings on the entire continent publicly known to be capable of using it.
Time Magic existed only in legends. It was said that only the Lich Sage of the demon race had ever seen it.
Vierde wanted to call it a terrible waste, but on second thought, this thing was currently serving him. How could that be called wasteful?
It should be said that everything was fate's finest arrangement! This young master was the Goddess of Luck's favorite child!
When he had first put Pikachu into the ball, he had been scared out of his wits. Once he figured out how it worked, though, he treated it like a priceless treasure. Even he could see the value of a Poké Ball.
"Pikachu, can you find more balls like this?" Vierde asked Pikachu, who was sprawled across his shoulder.
Why did he call it Pikachu? Naturally, he had gotten the inspiration from its cry.
After spending more time with Pikachu, he discovered that although this monster always acted like it despised him and wanted to beat him up, it actually had a pretty good temper.
Gradually, he loosened up around it.
Pikachu nodded and pointed with its little paw toward a certain direction—the town located in the heart of the forest.
"It's in there..."
Vierde shrank back, instantly losing confidence.
Earlier, he had climbed a tree and looked at Undead Town from afar. The sight had left a deep impression on him, because it was packed full of wandering Living Dead.
The Living Dead came in different types. Some wore tattered clothes and carried broken weapons. Some wore somewhat decent armor. Others wore full sets of fine armor, and their weapons looked exceptionally sharp.
It was not just the Living Dead. He had vaguely spotted traces of "dogs." Those creatures were incredibly fast and fiercely aggressive, making them even more dangerous than the Living Dead.
Beyond that, his instincts vaguely told him that even more terrifying things lurked within the town.
That was why Vierde had spent all this time wandering through the forest while avoiding Undead Town. Even so, he had encountered several Living Dead Soldiers that had wandered out of it.
At the time, he had seen how the Living Dead Soldiers staggered as they walked, looking weak and fragile, and had even planned to challenge one himself.
But the moment that Living Dead saw him, it acted as though it had been pumped full of stimulants. It leaped several meters into the air and swung a Greatsword straight at him. If Pikachu had not rammed him aside in time, Vierde would probably have been split lengthwise into two halves by now.
It could only be said that Vierde had survived this long entirely thanks to Pikachu carrying him.
"No, no, forget it. I don't dare go over there." He tried to change the subject. "Pikachu, do you have any other companions? You know, ones like you—intelligent, uh, smart."
While communicating with Pikachu, Vierde often felt as if he were talking to an ordinary person. Pikachu could perfectly understand everything he meant. Other than only being able to say "Pika Pika," it was no different from a human.
It was astonishing. Only the strongest monsters could understand human nature, yet Pikachu was this intelligent too...
If there were many more like it, this would likely become the greatest discovery in the history of monster research.
"Pika."
Pikachu nodded, pointed at a large tree, and made a gesture.
"You mean you want me to kick it?"
"Pika~"
Half-believing, half-doubting, Vierde gave the tree a kick. With a rustling sound, the dense canopy shook. The next second, a shadow suddenly fell from above.
"Who goes there?!" Vierde jumped back in fright.
The newcomer wriggled on the ground. Looking closely, it had a green body, a white belly, Y-shaped antennae, and huge eyes...
It was unmistakably a giant bug—a Caterpie!
Caterpie Spirit Power required per ten units: 1 HP: F-, Strength: F-, Intelligence: E+, Endurance: F-, Speed: F-, Overall Combat Power: F-
One look was enough to tell that this newcomer was trash among trash.
Gong Qiying had brought these in to enrich the ecosystem. They were so cheap that he could not resist getting a few.
This Caterpie was still dazed after falling, but the moment it saw Vierde, it immediately assumed an attacking stance. It either had a bold nature or an impatient one.
Then Pikachu knocked it out in a single Tackle.
"Um, well." Vierde raised his hand and asked, "Why did you knock it out?"
"Pika?"
Pikachu blinked. It seemed to have understood Vierde as wanting to battle Pokémon.
"I wanted to communicate with it."
After thinking for a moment, Vierde took off his coat and wrapped Caterpie in it. He was terrified of bugs and did not dare touch it directly.
"But this monster is really weak. Does it actually have any value?" he muttered to himself.
"Weak? Your view of Pokémon is truly narrow-minded," a voice suddenly came from the bushes.
"Who's there?!"
"You may call me Boss Sakaki!"
A fierce wind suddenly swept through the forest, forcing Vierde to squeeze his eyes shut. Only after the wind died down did he finally see who had arrived.
How should he put it? He was a rugged middle-aged man with an evil-looking face.
His appearance, clothes, and voice all carried the air of "the leader of a mysterious evil organization," making him intimidating at a glance.
"Uh, who are you?"
"I said it already. Call me Boss Sakaki."
Gong Qiying held a Poké Ball in his hand, using Mimicry to take on Sakaki's appearance.
"What a strange name. Huh, you have one of these balls too?" Vierde stared at Gong Qiying in surprise.
"This is called a Poké Ball, you bumpkin."
"W-what? Bumpkin?!"
Vierde immediately saw red. He had always been the one calling others country bumpkins. Who would have thought that he would be looked down on today?!
"I'm a proper noble, and you actually—"
"I don't care who you are."
Gong Qiying wore a disdainful expression as he said, "The moment you dismissed Caterpie as weak, you proved yourself to be a short-sighted fool."
So it was called Caterpie? But it really did seem ridiculously weak.
Vierde took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm. This person seemed to know a great deal about these strange monsters called Pokémon. He needed to build a good relationship with him and pry out some information.
But where had this guy come from? There should only have been members of the Bede Family and hired adventurers in this dungeon.
"Since Mr. Sakaki is here too, how about we work together? It's too dangerous to be alone in a dungeon, isn't it?"
"Alone? I'm not alone." Gong Qiying pointed at Pikachu. "Don't you have him with you as well?"
"Ah." Vierde froze. He felt there was something strange about those words, but what exactly was strange about them?
That was it. Sakaki regarded Pokémon as companions equal in status, while Vierde, influenced by deeply ingrained beliefs, still saw Pikachu as nothing more than a peculiar monster.
For some reason, Vierde felt ashamed at that moment.
"It seems you're merely a novice Trainer. Fine, then. Since our eyes have met, let the battle begin!"
"A battle?" Vierde asked in confusion. "I didn't 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:
"It's you, Beedrill! Show this kid the might of Bug-types!"
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