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The storm of thoughts swirling through Kael's mind made him momentarily lose control over the Water-type energy coating his body.
The Aqua Ring destabilized.
Within the dense shadows of the forest, his faint blue form began to reappear.
"Damn it."
Kael cursed inwardly.
Panicking, he hurriedly tried to circulate the water energy within his body again, attempting to reactivate Aqua Ring and conceal himself once more.
But unfortunately—
That brief instant of exposure had already been noticed.
Wendis, who had been idly observing her surroundings, suddenly turned toward Kael's direction.
A sharp glint flashed in her golden eyes.
She had been wondering why, after walking through the forest for so long, she hadn't encountered a single Pokémon.
And now—
Kael's sudden appearance filled her with excitement.
Her gaze locked onto the small, blue Pokémon standing there in a fluster.
Her heart melted instantly.
The perfectly balanced proportions that were so beloved in anime somehow felt just as adorable in reality.
A body structure that would never exist in the real world gave him a unique, almost unreal kind of charm.
Those watery blue eyes.
Slender limbs.
That curled tail.
Combined together, the effect on the girl was overwhelming no less than a newborn kitten.
The moment she saw him, Wendis made up her mind.
She wanted him.
No matter his rarity.
No matter his potential.
She was going to catch him.
Without hesitation, she activated the system's built-in scan function on the Pokémon before her.
---
Species: Sobble
Quality: Deep Purple
Type: Water
Category: Water Lizard Pokémon
Ability: ???
Moves: Pound, Growl, ???, ???…
Individual Value Potential: Dark Gold
---
The twin-tailed girl froze.
Her lips parted slightly.
"My god…"
There was no doubt about it.
This adorable Pokémon was just as rare as it was cute.
Even though she didn't recognize the species, the system stats alone told her everything she needed to know.
Deep Purple quality.
She had never even heard of such a rarity since the game launched.
Even her brother, the leader of a large guild had pooled resources from the entire guild just to buy a starter Pokémon with Light Blue quality.
And that alone had caused a massive uproar on the forums.
But now—
The Pokémon standing in front of her had a quality level beyond imagination.
Deep Purple.
And when her eyes moved down to the next line—
She froze again.
"Dark Gold?!"
She knew exactly what that meant.
Her brother had explained it before she entered the game.
Perfect IVs.
A legendary wild 6V Pokémon.
And now, it was standing right in front of her.
Wendis could already imagine the chaos this would cause among Pokémon enthusiasts.
With how insanely popular the game already was, she was certain that wealthy players would offer tens of thousands maybe even hundreds of thousands of credits for it.
Even she, who had grown up in a wealthy family and only wanted to casually explore the game, felt her heart stir with desire.
Whether she gave it to her brother to boost his guild's early advantage—
Or kept it for herself to raise and admire—
She had to catch it.
Immediately.
Without hesitation, Wendis pulled out a standard red-and-white Poké Ball from her system inventory and threw it toward Kael.
----
Meanwhile—
Kael, already shaken from being exposed, grew even more tense the moment he saw the Poké Ball.
He knew exactly what that meant.
In his previous life as an Ampharos, he had experienced it firsthand.
As a Pokémon, once captured inside a Poké Ball—
If he failed to break free—
What awaited him was subtle, gradual mental conditioning.
At first, he might resist.
Refuse commands.
Even rebel.
But over time, under the influence of the Poké Ball's hidden technology, his thoughts would slowly shift.
His will would bend.
He would begin to accept the trainer.
Trust them.
Obey them.
For a wild Pokémon, that was terrifying.
Back when he had been a Mareep at Bali Ranch, the effect had been minimal only because he had already accepted his trainer.
But that didn't mean he didn't understand how dangerous it truly was.
Whoosh!
The Poké Ball spun rapidly through the air, cutting through it with a sharp whirling sound.
Even though Wendis herself lacked physical strength, the system ensured her throw was fast and precise.
Kael's body tensed.
At that moment, the speed boost from Deoxys's Cosmic DNA surged to its peak.
His limbs and tail pushed off the soft forest ground with explosive force.
Bang!
Like a streak of blue lightning, his small body shot sideways into a nearby bush.
The spinning Poké Ball narrowly missed him—
It struck the tree trunk behind him instead with a sharp crack before bouncing to the ground.
"…Hah."
Kael exhaled, his chest rising and falling.
He stared at the Poké Ball on the ground, a lingering trace of fear in his eyes.
"That was close… If that had hit me, things would've gotten bad."
On the other side, Wendis frowned slightly.
She felt a hint of regret.
"That was too hasty…"
The shock of encountering such a rare Pokémon had made her forget the most basic rule of being a trainer—
Weaken the target first.
Then throw the Poké Ball.
"I can't let him get away!"
Without wasting another second, she quickly pulled out another Poké Ball and threw it toward Kael again.
But this time—
The Poké Ball wasn't empty.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!