Cleanup Mission and an Unexpected Twist

In less than half a month, Tetsuya had successfully spent 500,000 Alliance Coins.

He had used up all his previous extra earnings. It was also the first time Tetsuya had spent so much money in one go.

Of course, the results had been good. Pidgeotto had reached Level 36 at more than twice the speed of its previous normal training—without throwing 500,000 Alliance Coins at it.

Tetsuya had a feeling that Pidgeotto was only one step away from evolving.

However, whether it was the data he had analyzed on the computer, the data Zero had provided, or the Training Plan, all of them showed that Pidgeotto's progress had essentially stalled for the time being.

Tetsuya felt that it might still be lacking something.

After all, Pokemon evolution was a mysterious process. No one knew exactly what it took to evolve successfully.

Perhaps it lacked energy, perhaps it needed the stimulation of battle, or perhaps the Pokemon's own wishes played a role. There were many possibilities.

For now, he would take on some missions, earn some money, and wait patiently for the right moment. Tetsuya remained perfectly calm.

Evolving into a Pidgeot was not that easy, even if his Pidgeotto's aptitude was exceptional among its kind.

Besides, so many Pidgeotto in the world had failed to evolve.

There was no use rushing. The experience shared by many veteran Trainers on the Forum, as well as the solutions in books, all advised letting nature take its course.

Some Pokemon evolved while eating, some naturally evolved during training, and some evolved after a grueling battle. There were plenty of precedents.

In any case, Tetsuya had full confidence in himself and Pidgeotto. At the very least, it would not be like some Pokemon that could not evolve into their Final Form even after months or years. Its aptitude and the resources invested in it spoke for themselves.

Tetsuya first took Pidgeotto to the Pokemon Center to recover, then had lunch there with his Pokemon.

Casually recalling Pidgeotto into its Poke Ball, Tetsuya headed to the nearby Bounty Hunter Center to see what missions he could take on and ease his financial pressure.

When he arrived at the Mission Hall, Tetsuya smoothly inserted his ID Card into the machine as usual and began browsing the missions.

"Mission No. 19789170519. Mission Rank: B. Requirement: One freshly shed Arbok skin, no older than one week. Reward: 250,000–400,000 Alliance Coins, subject to professional appraisal." Long-term purchase.

"Mission No. 28798579871. Mission Rank: B. Requirement: More than fifty Beedrill venom stingers. Reward: 2,100 Alliance Coins per stinger." Long-term purchase. Small quantities not accepted.

"Mission No. 67846169849. Mission Rank: C. Requirement: 300 ml of Gloom Flower Nectar. Reward: 35,000 Alliance Coins." Long-term purchase. Small quantities not accepted.

"Mission No. 69657462445. Mission Rank: C. Requirement: Protect an Outskirts farm from Pokemon disturbances for at least three days. Reward: 10,000 Alliance Coins per day." Long-term valid.

"Mission No. 76466400178. Mission Rank: C. Requirement: 100 g of Red Heart Grass. Reward: 40,000 Alliance Coins." Countdown: 1 day.

"Mission No. 78074861986. Mission Rank: C. Requirement: Clear out the Caterpie colony beside the main road in Viridian Forest. The strongest are four Butterfree approximately at Peak Ordinary strength. Reward: 70,000 Alliance Coins." Countdown: 11 hours.

Most long-term missions took too much time, so their returns were not as efficient as temporary missions for Tetsuya.

A mission like collecting Arbok Shed Skins was not bad, but unfortunately, Tetsuya could not defeat such a ferocious Hunter.

Tetsuya focused on the two temporary missions that had caught his eye.

After thinking it over, Tetsuya still accepted the second cleanup mission.

A colony like that was just right for Pidgeotto to handle. The first mission was simple, but it took longer and paid less.

Tetsuya also wanted to see how much Pidgeotto had improved over the past few days. While the data and battles against Trainers gave him a rough idea, nothing was as intuitive as an intense battle in the wild.

Unfortunately, he could only accept one mission of the same rank as his Hunter rank at a time. He could accept up to three lower-rank missions, otherwise he could have completed the other one along the way.

Tetsuya was used to that rule. Its main purpose was to prevent one person from accepting too many missions and leaving nothing for everyone else.

Why not collect the materials while carrying out the cleanup, turn in the cleanup mission, then accept the collection mission and submit it immediately? Why not pull off that kind of trick?

Well, the other Hunters were not idiots. Plenty of people were willing to take those collection missions. It looked like this one had just been posted, which was why no one had accepted it yet. By the time Tetsuya finished all that and came back, it would have long since been gone.

After accepting the mission and successfully registering the information, Tetsuya pulled out his ID Card and headed outside.

Since he had brought various Potions and items with him for morning training, he did not need to prepare anything else.

Tetsuya opened his Pokemon Watch, and the target's activity area had already been sent to his personal map.

Following the main road, he soon reached the Caterpie colony's approximate location.

Hiding behind a tree, Tetsuya observed the Pokemon's positions and numbers. The Butterfree were collecting flower nectar.

"This colony must have migrated here recently. This location really is too close to the road. They could easily attack passersby," Tetsuya analyzed.

Do not think Butterfree were gentle by nature. Their wings were coated in toxic scales that repelled water droplets. When Butterfree forcibly vibrated their Wings, those scales scattered into the air. Inhaling them caused discomfort. Other powders were sometimes mixed in as well, potentially causing drowsiness or paralysis.

That was no small matter. Pokemon posed a tremendous threat to human bodies, and a moment of carelessness could cost someone their life.

Tetsuya released Pidgeotto and made a hand gesture.

Pidgeotto understood immediately, spreading its wings and flying into the air to circle overhead.

Tetsuya used Zero to inspect the entire colony. It was roughly consistent with the mission details; only three Butterfree had reached Peak Ordinary strength.

Tetsuya frowned. An unexpected variable had appeared. Zero had judged one Butterfree to be Elite Level. It had probably just broken through.

Its potential was also the only one at Elite Level, so it was not Worth Being Surprised. Still, it was troublesome for Tetsuya.

If there had only been four Butterfree at Peak Ordinary strength, then even with more than twenty insignificant Caterpie and Metapod interfering, Pidgeotto would have been able to handle them.

Tetsuya considered giving up on the mission. At worst, he would be unable to accept another mission for three days.

After all, dealing with one Butterfree that had just entered the Elite Level, along with three Butterfree at Peak Ordinary strength, would not be so easy for Pidgeotto.

Tetsuya furrowed his brow. If Pidgeotto had not improved so much, Tetsuya would never have dared accept such a mission before breaking through to Elite Level. There were too many variables.

This mission had happened to run into an Elite Level wild Butterfree.

Come to think of it, this was also Tetsuya's first time encountering a wild Pokemon this strong, and it was in such an Outskirts area near Viridian City.

After calculating things in his head, he realized an Elite Level Butterfree could sell for 1,000,000 on the Black Market. If that Butterfree also knew Confusion, he could directly earn 2,000,000.

Tetsuya gritted his teeth. He would do it.

It was dangerous, but the enemy was in the open while he was hidden. If he found the chance to take out two Butterfree first, his odds would be excellent.

Tetsuya first withdrew some distance and called Pidgeotto back to his side.

Trainer and Pokemon carefully circled around the colony, constantly searching for a chance to strike.

The four Butterfree had no idea that a Hunter was watching them in secret. They leisurely collected flower nectar.

Farther and farther apart, the four Butterfree split into pairs to gather food, and the distance between them continued to widen.

Tetsuya and Pidgeotto quietly followed the two Butterfree that were only at Peak Ordinary strength.

Once the other two Butterfree were no longer in sight, Tetsuya decisively commanded Pidgeotto to move in.

"Use Quick Attack to close in, then Wing Attack! Finish them quickly!"

Yes, after its training, Pidgeotto had successfully mastered Wing Attack. Its power was impressive.

Pidgeotto shot toward the two Butterfree with a faint glimmer of light, moving too fast for them to react, and slammed them to the ground.

Then Pidgeotto made a nimble turn in midair. It beat its wings as white energy gathered over them, then launched another attack at the Butterfree.

Only then had the Butterfree climbed back to their feet after the sudden assault.

As they struggled to flap their wings, Pidgeotto spread its massive Wings. Carrying tremendous momentum and Flying-type energy on its wings, it streaked between the two Butterfree.

"Bang." The two Butterfree were sent flying by Pidgeotto's wings.

Tetsuya showed no mercy. "Agility, then Tackle. Finish them off completely."

Pidgeotto immediately used the move, its entire body becoming lighter as it rammed at tremendous speed into the two Butterfree, who could no longer get up.

"Bang." "Bang." Two muffled impacts sounded in succession.

The two Butterfree had no chance to use any moves to resist. They completely lost their Combat Capability and fell unconscious.

Tetsuya watched Pidgeotto's dazzling string of movements and Nodded in satisfaction.

Wing Attack had made up for one of Pidgeotto's current shortcomings. It had been fast before, but it did not have many offensive moves.

Twister took too long to prepare, while its other attacks lacked this level of damage, making it difficult to end battles quickly.

That was why Tetsuya had only been able to fight and retreat against the Beedrill last time, wearing them down bit by bit. If it were now, with Wing Attack, Pidgeotto could easily deal with five or six Beedrill around Level 20.

Tetsuya threw out Poke Balls and captured the two Butterfree. They were part of the mission proof.

After putting the shrunken Poke Balls into his backpack, Tetsuya fed Pidgeotto an Oran Berry to restore the stamina it had just expended, then quietly returned to the Butterfree colony's nest.

Now, only one Elite Level Butterfree and one Peak Ordinary Butterfree remained.

Tetsuya patiently waited for them to return, ready to seize the right moment and kill with a single blow.

The moves' power did not strictly follow game data. After all, having Twister at 40 power while Tackle had 50 would be rather awkward, even though one was an area attack and the other was single-target. Therefore, Twister was set to have Dragon-type attributes and greater power, but it required charging. Likewise, because of its Dragon-type attributes, it could cause the enemy to Flinch.