The Wilds

(I'm beaten into submission, guys. I went through this chapter from beginning to end, and I have no idea what violated the rules.)

Perhaps because of his bath the previous night, Cheng Tian slept especially soundly, until the six o'clock alarm woke them both.

Cheng Tian yawned and climbed out of bed. Seeing Bai Yun roll over and fall asleep again, he left him alone.

After washing up, Cheng Tian decided to head out first. He packed the bags of supplies he had bought yesterday into his backpack, then touched the Poké Ball clipped to his waist.

"Let's get started."

He went alone to a roadside breakfast stall and ordered a bowl of tofu pudding and two fried dough sticks.

After quickly finishing his breakfast, Cheng Tian hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take him to the Bingzhou expressway entrance.

The entrance connected to National Highway 488. After getting out, Cheng Tian slipped past while the tollbooth staff weren't looking, then vaulted over the guardrail beside the expressway. (Dangerous stunt. Please do not imitate.)

He began making his way up into the mountains.

Bingzhou lay in the southwestern part of the Loess Plateau, its towering mountains and rugged ridges stretching endlessly, which also meant a rich variety of Pokémon.

The Fen River ran through Bingzhou, a tributary that eventually flowed into the Yellow River. Cheng Tian's goal for these two days was to keep exploring in that direction.

After walking for about an hour, Cheng Tian was well inside the mountains. Signs of human activity were scarce here, while he could see plenty of Pokémon in the dense woods.

Not daring to let his guard down, Cheng Tian took out a Poké Ball and summoned Yamper. A flash of red light, and Yamper appeared.

"Woof, woof!" The moment Yamper appeared, it tried to lick Cheng Tian, who stroked its little head.

"I'm counting on you from here on, Yamper. I want to catch a Pokémon of my own," Cheng Tian said earnestly.

Then the boy and the dog began moving forward.

They weren't simply charging deeper into the mountains, though. National Highway 488 lay behind Cheng Tian, with Bingzhou to the west, forming an "L" with the highway.

Farther along the longer side of the "L," part of the Fen River met it, and Cheng Tian planned to follow that side for roughly eight kilometers.

He wasn't kidding himself. Cheng Tian wasn't some reckless kid. Plunging blindly deeper into the mountains was just asking for death.

Many terrifying Pokémon lived deep in the mountains. Any one of their moves could kill him.

Even if he threw his own life away, he still had to protect Yamper. Cheng Tian certainly didn't believe he was some chosen child of destiny.

In his previous life, he had ground away for ten straight days without finding a single shiny Gastly. Why would any miraculous encounter favor him?

He would stick sensibly to the outskirts.

And so Cheng Tian continued onward with Yamper.

Start with one man and one dog, and scavenge all your gear!

Ahem...

They hadn't gone far when Cheng Tian spotted an interesting scene. A Weedle clung to a distant tree, munching on leaves, while a Spearow circled overhead, clearly hoping to eat it.

This was common in the Pokémon world. There was no ready-made Pokémon food in the wild; wild Pokémon had to hunt for themselves to survive.

Weedle was clearly one of Spearow's favorite foods.

After circling for quite some time, Spearow grew impatient. Light began gathering on its beak.

Spearow plunged down at tremendous speed and drove its beak viciously into Weedle.

It was super effective! The Flying-type attack inflicted obvious damage on the Bug-type Weedle. Writhing in unbearable pain, Weedle fell from the tree and landed on the ground.

Spearow had clearly done this plenty of times before. It circled overhead once, then swooped down again, using Peck.

It showed no mercy whatsoever, because in its eyes, this was simply food.

In the Wilds, the weak were prey to the strong!

But something unexpected happened. Fighting desperately through the agony, Weedle's horn took on a purple glow, then fired out.

Poison Sting! This was Weedle's only offensive move with which to fight back.

Diving at full speed, Spearow hadn't expected Weedle to mount a dying counterattack. Unable to dodge in time, it was hit.

But Peck also struck Weedle. This time, Weedle not only lost the ability to battle, but its breathing also became extremely faint. It clearly didn't have long to live.

A purple tinge appeared between Spearow's eyes as well. It had clearly been poisoned.

Cheng Tian's eyes lit up. He stroked Yamper's little head. "Here's our chance. Let's launch a sneak attack. Yamper, get ready to use Charge."

Charge could raise the power of the next Electric-type attack by one stage. Electricity appeared around Yamper as it gathered strength, ready to strike.

"Good." Cheng Tian nodded. Once Spearow landed and began pecking at Weedle, he gave his command.

"Use Quick Attack and Nuzzle!" The instant he finished speaking, Yamper sprang from its crouch, rushed over at incredible speed, and slammed into Spearow.

Spearow had been enjoying its meal in peace. How could it have expected an ambush? All it felt was something crashing hard into its body. "Squawk!"

The impact knocked it too far away, and Nuzzle actually missed.

The information on this Spearow had already appeared in Cheng Tian's mind.

Pokémon: Spearow

Sex: Male

Nature: Hasty

Ability: Keen Eye

Level: 15

Egg Moves: None

Known moves: Leer (lv6), Peck (lv8), Growl (lv7), Pursuit (lv5)

Tutored moves: None

Although he was three levels higher than Yamper, Yamper had the type advantage, and he was poisoned as well. Winning wasn't out of the question!

Spearow tried to take flight, but Yamper gave him no chance, opening its mouth and biting down on his leg.

Spearow flapped his wings but couldn't get airborne no matter how hard he tried. Light gathered on his beak again, and he used Peck, striking at Yamper.

"Let go and use Nuzzle!" Yamper released its jaws and dodged Peck, while rubbing its cheek against Spearow.

Electricity at full power! With Charge boosting it, Nuzzle's power had risen by one stage as well. It was devastatingly effective against the Flying-type Spearow.

Spearow's whole body went numb as he flapped his wings. He had been inflicted with paralysis.

Seeing Spearow paralyzed, Cheng Tian finally let go of the worry hanging over his heart.

After all, this was his first time commanding a Pokémon in battle. It would have been a lie to say he wasn't nervous. If a mistake of his caused Yamper to get hurt, Cheng Tian would feel terrible.

Fortunately, things turned out well. Yamper followed up with a relentless barrage of Bite, successfully knocking Spearow out.

Cheng Tian walked over and stroked Yamper's head encouragingly. "Great job." "Woof, woof!" Yamper clearly loved Cheng Tian's praise.

So what should he do with this Spearow now? Logically, catching him would be a good choice, but Cheng Tian really wasn't fond of this kind of Pokémon.

Spearow had an awful temper, and frankly, its combat strength wasn't high. It only evolved once, and the looks of its evolved form, Fearow, truly left him speechless. Its base stats were on the low side, too.

After thinking it over for a long while, Cheng Tian decided not to catch him.

"Forget it. Let's keep going." With Yamper beside him, Cheng Tian continued onward.