Sakaki's Beedrill (Black History)

A ball actually inscribed with Space Magic—this is truly..."

Vierde looked at the Poké Ball in his hand, his expression tangled for a moment.

Magic is divided into different attributes: Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, Holy Light, Darkness, and so on. But if you asked which attribute was the most precious, it would have to be Space and Time, bar none.

A mage's affinity with different attributes determines which elemental magics they can use. According to surveys, over eighty percent of mages can freely use Holy Light Magic, followed by Fire Magic at sixty-nine percent usage and Water Magic at the same sixty-nine percent.

And the usage rate of Space Magic?

Well, on the surface of the entire continent, there are no more than ten intelligent beings who can wield it.

Time Magic exists only in legend. It's said that only the Lich Sage of the Demon Race has ever seen it.

Vierde wanted to say it was a waste of heavenly gifts, but then he thought again—this thing was in his hands now. How could that be called a waste?

He should say everything was the best arrangement of fate! This young master is the Goddess of Luck's favorite child!

He'd been startled when he first sucked Pikachu into the ball, but once he figured out how to use it, he treasured it like a priceless gem. Even he could see the value of the Poké Ball.

"Pikachu, can you find more of these balls?" Vierde asked the Pikachu perched on his shoulder.

Why did he call it Pikachu? Of course, the inspiration came from its cry.

After spending more time with Pikachu, he discovered that although this magical beast always looked like it was disgusted with him and wanted to hit him, it actually had a pretty good temper.

Gradually, he loosened up.

Pikachu nodded, its little hand pointing in a certain direction—toward the town at the heart of the forest.

"In there, huh..."

Vierde shrank his neck, instantly losing confidence.

Earlier, he'd climbed a tree and taken a distant look at Undead Town. The impression was deep, because it was packed full of wandering Living Dead.

The types of Living Dead were different, too. Some wore tattered rags and carried broken weapons, some wore armor that was still passable, and some were clad in full sets of fine armor with weapons that looked quite sharp.

Not just Living Dead—he'd vaguely caught traces of "dogs." Those creatures, incredibly fast and with astonishing aggression, were even more dangerous than the Living Dead.

Beyond these, his intuition told him that something even more terrifying was hidden inside the town.

So Vierde had been wandering around the forest for so long, always circling around Undead Town. Even so, he'd still encountered a few Living Dead Soldiers that had wandered out from the town.

Back then, he saw the Living Dead Soldier wobbling as it walked, looking frail and weak, and he actually planned to take it on himself.

But the moment that Living Dead saw him, it was like it had been injected with stimulants. It leaped several meters high, raised a greatsword, and swung it down. If Pikachu hadn't bumped him out of the way in time, Vierde would probably be split in two by now.

To be honest, Vierde was only alive thanks to Pikachu carrying him.

"No way, no way. Forget it. I don't dare go over there," he tried to change the subject. "Pikachu, do you have any other companions? Ones like you, who understand humans—uh, smart ones."

In his communication with Pikachu, Vierde often felt like he was talking to an ordinary person. Pikachu could perfectly understand everything he said. Apart from only saying "Pika pika," it was no different from a human.

Astounding. Only the strongest magical beasts could understand humans, yet Pikachu was this smart too.

If there were many more like it, this would probably become the most significant discovery in the history of magical beast research.

"Pika."

Pikachu nodded, pointed at a big tree, and mimed an action.

"You mean you want me to kick it?"

"Pika~"

Vierde kicked it skeptically. "Rustle, rustle, rustle." The dense canopy shook, and the next second, a shadow suddenly dropped down.

"What fiend is this!" Vierde jumped back in fright.

The thing wriggled on the ground. Looking closely, it had a green body, a white belly, Y-shaped antennae, and big eyes.

It was clearly a giant bug—a Caterpie!

[Caterpie] [Psychic 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 know this was the bottom of the barrel.

This was just something Gong Qiying had thrown in to enrich the ecosystem. It was so cheap that not grabbing a few would have left him itching.

This Caterpie was still dizzy from the fall, but the moment it saw Vierde, it immediately assumed an attack stance. Its personality seemed to be either Bold or Jolly.

Then Pikachu one-shot it with a tackle.

"Uh, hey." Vierde raised his hand to ask. "Why did you knock it out?"

"Pika?"

Pikachu blinked. It seemed to have interpreted Vierde's words as wanting a Pokémon battle.

"I was trying to communicate with it, you know."

After thinking it over, Vierde took off his coat and wrapped the Caterpie up in it. He was terrified of bugs; there was no way he'd touch it directly.

"But this magical beast is really weak. Is it even worth using?" he muttered to himself.

"Weak? Your view of Pokémon is pretty narrow," a voice suddenly came from the bushes.

"Who's there?!"

"You can call me Boss Sakaki!"

A fierce wind suddenly swept through the forest, forcing Vierde to squint. By the time the wind finally died down, he could make out who had arrived.

How to put it—he was a middle-aged man with a sinister, hard-edged look.

His face, his clothes, his voice—everything about him screamed "mysterious evil organization boss," enough to make anyone shrink back in fear.

"Uh, and you are?"

"I told you, call me Boss Sakaki."

Gong Qiying held a Poké Ball in his hand, using his mimicry ability to take on Sakaki's appearance.

"What a weird name. Hey, you've got one of those balls too?" Vierde stared at Gong Qiying in surprise.

"This is called a Poké Ball, you hick."

"Wh—what, hick!?"

Vierde's face flushed red on the spot. He was always the one calling others country bumpkins—he never thought he'd be on the receiving end of the insult today!

"I'm a noble, you know, and you dare—"

"I don't care who you are."

Gong Qiying put on a contemptuous expression and said, "The moment you looked down on Caterpie for being weak, you already proved yourself a shortsighted fool."

So it's called Caterpie, huh? But it really did feel super weak, though.

Vierde took a deep breath, telling himself to stay calm. This guy in front of him seemed to know a lot about these strange monsters called "Pokémon," so he needed to get on good terms and pry some information out of him.

But where did this guy even come from? This dungeon should only have members of the Bede family and the hired adventurers.

"Since Mr. Sakaki is here too, how about we cooperate? 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 too?"

"Ah," Vierde paused. He felt the other's words were a bit strange, but what exactly was off about them?

Right—he treated Pokémon as equals, as companions. But Vierde, stuck in his deep-rooted mindset, still saw Pikachu as just an unusual monster.

For some reason, a pang of shame welled up in Vierde's chest at that moment.

"Looks like you're just a rookie trainer. Fine, since we've locked eyes, let's have a battle!"

"A battle?" Vierde asked, confused. "I didn't provoke you—are you a bandit or something!?"

"No, I mean a Pokémon battle."

Gong Qiying tossed the Poké Ball in his hand into the air and said:

"I choose you, Beedrill! Let this kid see what a Bug-type can do."

Looking back, it feels a bit awkward and I'm not sure how to fix it—please go easy on me.