After washing up, Gary checked out at the front desk and rode his bicycle past the Pokémon Center.
Overnight, the police had finished their investigation. The cordon had been removed, and workers were already replacing the shattered skylight glass.
Everything seemed peaceful.
The wanted poster that had hung on the notice board the day before was gone as well.
It should be fine now.
Satisfied that the situation was under control, Gary didn't linger. He mounted his bike and headed north.
His next stop was Pewter City.
To reach Pewter City from Viridian, he had to pass through Viridian Forest.
The forest was notorious. Dense foliage and twisting paths had turned it into a natural maze over the years, and countless Trainers had gotten lost wandering through its depths. Nowadays, though, main roads had been cleared and marked. As long as you stayed on the path and didn't venture into the trees, reaching the other side was straightforward.
But Gary had no intention of playing it safe.
Viridian Forest was teeming with Bug and Flying-types, and Gary intended to capture a Pidgey with solid potential here. The Green Champion Team required Pidgeot, and if he missed this opportunity, finding a high-quality Pidgey elsewhere would be significantly harder.
Beyond Pidgey, the forest was also home to three relatively rare species: Bulbasaur, Pinsir, and Scyther.
Gary already had Exeggutor as his Grass-type, but that didn't mean Bulbasaur was useless. It had dual typing—Grass and Poison—making it a viable candidate for a dedicated Poison specialist on his team.
But the Pokémon he truly hoped to encounter were Scyther and Pinsir.
Both were among the absolute ceiling of Bug-types, and both had access to Mega Evolution. Scyther in particular could evolve into Scizor, which gained the Technician ability. After Mega Evolution, a single Swords Dance combined with Bullet Punch could sweep entire teams.
And critically, Scizor had virtually no exploitable weaknesses. Its only vulnerability was Fire—and as long as it avoided Fire-types in battle, Scizor was nearly unstoppable in both offense and defense.
"Squirtle, help me scout the area. Let me know if you spot anything unusual."
At the entrance to Viridian Forest, Gary released Squirtle and settled it on the front of his bike.
Exeggutor was too large and heavy—there was no way the bicycle could support both Gary and a fully-grown Exeggutor at the same time.
Once inside the forest, Gary slowed his pace, scanning the undergrowth as he rode.
He saw plenty of Bug-types almost immediately. Caterpie, mostly. Dozens of them, crawling lazily across tree trunks and dangling from low-hanging branches.
"Are these Caterpie not afraid of people at all?" Gary muttered, puzzled.
Viridian Forest was crawling with Bug Catchers—novice Trainers who specialized in Bug-types. Caterpie was almost always their first choice. You'd think the wild population would have learned to scatter by now.
Gary had zero interest in Butterfree's juvenile form.
Sure, Butterfree had its own Gigantamax variant, but it wasn't particularly strong. More importantly, Butterfree's viability window was far too short.
Bug-types had a fatal flaw: their lifespan.
Butterfree lived only about ten years. Of those ten, its peak competitive years lasted maybe five. After that, physical decline set in fast.
Even with high potential extending its lifespan slightly, the peak period never exceeded a decade. That was the hard biological limit for certain species.
Pokémon lifespans varied wildly. Some had competitive windows measured in mere years. Others could be passed down across generations.
Dragonite, for instance, had an absurdly long lifespan. A well-trained Dragonite could serve a Trainer's great-grandchildren without issue.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
Suddenly, Squirtle began waving frantically, calling out in excitement.
"What's wrong—wait. Caterpie?!"
Gary followed Squirtle's gaze and spotted a yellow Pokémon clinging to the bark of a nearby tree.
It was incredibly shy. The moment it realized it had been seen, it immediately tried to camouflage itself by pressing into a cluster of dense foliage.
[Caterpie ♂ — Level 8 — Gym-tier]
[Ding! Mission Released: Capture your first Shiny Pokémon.]
[Reward: Shiny Charm ×1 (Increases the probability of encountering Shiny Pokémon to 1/1000.)]
Gary's eyes widened.
A Shiny Caterpie?!
This was the first time he had ever encountered a Shiny Pokémon in the wild since being reborn into this world. And it had triggered a system mission on top of it.
There was no way he was letting this one escape.
"Squirtle—Water Gun!"
Gary's command was immediate.
As a Trainer, capturing rare Pokémon was already important. But if you stumbled across a Shiny? You caught it. No exceptions.
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle leapt into the air and fired. But instead of releasing a single concentrated stream, it split the Water Gun into multiple smaller spheres—a technique Gary had been training it to use. The power was reduced slightly, but the coverage and versatility were far superior.
Pah! Pah! Pah!
The water projectiles struck Shiny Caterpie in rapid succession. The timid Bug-type didn't even try to resist. It tumbled from the tree, too dazed to react.
"Go—Poké Ball!"
Gary grabbed a ball from his belt and threw it in a clean arc. The ball struck Caterpie mid-fall, pulling it inside in a burst of red light.
Thunk.
The Poké Ball hit the ground and rocked once. Twice. Three times.
Click.
The red indicator light went dark.
[Ding! Mission complete. Rewards have been distributed to the space backpack.]
Gary exhaled slowly, then grinned.
[Ding! Follow-up Mission Released: Capture 10 Shiny Pokémon.]
[Reward: Advanced Shiny Charm ×1 (Increases the probability of encountering Shiny Pokémon to 5/1000.)]
A follow-up mission.
Gary blinked in mild surprise. An Advanced Shiny Charm with a 5/1000 encounter rate was roughly equivalent to a 1/200 chance. That was actually fairly high.
Still, he wasn't particularly obsessed with Shiny Pokémon.
Unless a future Shiny he encountered was genuinely worth training, Gary planned to send most of them back to Professor Oak's lab. His grandfather had always been fascinated by unusual Pokémon variants—he'd take excellent care of them.
Gary was certain that sending this Caterpie back would make the old professor's week.
He parked his bike, walked over, and picked up the Poké Ball. Then he activated the Eye of Insight.
text
[Pokémon: Caterpie (Shiny)]
[Type: Bug]
[Level: 9]
[Potential: Gym-tier]
[Ability: Shield Dust (Protected by Shield Dust, will not be affected by additional move effects.)]
[Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite]
[Intimacy: 100 (maximum 255)]
Shield Dust. That'll become Compound Eyes once it evolves into Butterfree. Useful in the early stages.
Gary considered the data thoughtfully.
He didn't plan to raise Caterpie as a permanent member of his team, but its potential was solid enough to justify short-term investment. At the very least, it would be useful for certain Gym matches down the line.
Sabrina of Saffron Gym, for instance, specialized in Psychic-types. Bug-types had a clear advantage there.