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In Kael's sharpened perception, the Sentret charging toward him seemed unbearably slow.
As if the world had slipped into slow motion.
Like time itself had entered a kind of bullet time.
His tensed legs pushed hard against the ground—
And with speed several times greater than his opponent's, he effortlessly slipped past the thick tail Sentret swung at him.
The air dragged sluggishly across his cheeks.
In the span of a single instant, Kael's small blue body had already reached Sentret's side.
His blue eyes narrowed slightly.
The oval brown form reflected clearly within his calm gaze.
Time seemed to freeze.
He could see every detail—
The fine fur on Sentret's body is being pushed backward by its own motion.
The way its simple features were scrunched together from exertion.
Those tiny, bead-like eyes—
Filled with hesitation born from a lack of confidence.
And deep within them, just beginning to spark—
A flicker of panic.
A faint smile curved across Kael's otherwise tranquil face, as still as a mirror-like lake.
"Water Gun."
The Water Stone curled within his tail emitted a soft, sapphire glow.
Moisture gathered rapidly in the air.
Pure Water-type energy condensed in his throat.
Shhhhhh—
Like a high-pressure hose blasting through flames, the stream of water surged forward.
Enhanced by the Water Stone, the attack became more concentrated, more forceful.
In the next moment—
Sentret's clumsy body, still carried forward by inertia, was completely swallowed by the rushing torrent.
It was blasted backward.
Bang!
With droplets scattering across its fur, Sentret's round brown body slammed violently into a tree trunk.
"Chi—!"
A painful cry rang out.
The dull thud of impact.
The rush of water splashing through the air.
All of it blended together with the girl's sharp scream—
Forming a chaotic symphony of pain and defeat, but Kael didn't stop.
He never showed mercy to opponents who had already attacked him.
The combat instincts he carried from past lives told him one thing—
Only overwhelming, relentless pressure could truly end a fight.
His slender limbs moved swiftly across the ground.
His small body shot forward like a phantom, closing the distance in an instant.
"Bind."
The thick tail coiled behind him suddenly unfurled.
A faint blue energy wrapped around it, strengthening it, tightening it.
Whip!
With a sharp crack through the air, the long tail struck out like a constricting serpent.
Before Sentret could even react, it was completely caught.
Wrapped.
Crushed.
A pained cry echoed through the forest.
"Still holding on…?"
Kael's blue eyes were cold.
He could clearly feel the struggling force coming from within his tail.
Even after being utterly overwhelmed, the weak little Pokémon still refused to give up.
"…Tch."
Kael let out a quiet sigh.
His gaze hardened.
His slender right arm slowly lifted.
Hummmm—
A low vibration filled the air as bright white light gathered along his arm.
"Pound."
A flash of white cut through the dim forest.
For a brief moment, everything was illuminated.
Then—
Silence.
The cries stopped instantly.
The forest returned to its suffocating stillness.
Kael lowered his arm.
He watched as Sentret's body dissolved into white light and returned to Wendis.
A thoughtful expression flickered in his eyes.
"So… the system retrieved it."
It seemed that in this world, Pokémon belonging to trainers didn't truly die.
They simply lost the ability to fight and were recalled.
Just like the games from his previous life, there must be some method for restoring them.
And that assumption was correct.
"Pokémon: World," the first fully immersive virtual Pokémon game, retained many mechanics from earlier generations.
While the developers had greatly increased difficulty—even making starter Pokémon hard to obtain—
They had still left players a way to revive their Pokémon.
Not as simple as visiting a Pokémon Center and healing instantly—
But revival was possible.
At a cost.
This system both extended the game's lifespan and prevented players from quitting after losing their Pokémon.
From a design perspective, it was a smart decision.
But for Kael—
It made things troublesome.
As long as players had enough resources, their Pokémon could keep coming back.
Endlessly.
Killing them wouldn't truly eliminate them.
"…In that case, I should be more careful with my actions in this world."
Even though he believed that overwhelming strength could crush any number of enemies, he still chose caution.
At least until he grew stronger.
Keeping a low profile was necessary.
After all—
Players.
The so-called "Fourth Calamity."
In real life, they might be cheerful girls next door or friendly office workers.
But inside a virtual world—
They were fearless.
Reckless.
Mad.
With endless revival and system-granted privileges, they acted without restraint.
There was a saying:
If it has a health bar, players will find a way to kill it.
And knowing their persistence…
It wasn't entirely a joke.
Of course, right now, Kael was just a small Sobble.
He didn't need to think that far ahead.
Stay low.
Grow steadily.
As long as he didn't provoke players or draw attention—
He would be fine.
For now.
Kael turned his head.
His gaze fell on the blonde girl standing across from him—
Her eyes filled with unmistakable longing.
"So strong."
"I want him."
That kind of look.
He sighed helplessly.
"…Guess I'll have to send you off too."
"Water Gun."
Shhhhhh—
A powerful stream of water burst forth, surging straight toward the slender girl.
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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!