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[Newbie Ash: Caterpie? Why? Isn't Caterpie a relatively weak Pokémon?]
Tactician Ash's suggestion left Ash a bit confused. Even as a rookie, he knew that Bug-type Pokémon, especially Caterpie and Weedle, which are common in Kanto, are quite weak.
Even if they evolve quickly, even reaching their final form, they can't be used for too long. They grow fast, but they are also eliminated quickly.
[Tactician Ash: Caterpie is weak? You tell that to my Focus Sash, Compound Eyes, Sleep Powder, and Tailwind.]
[Newbie Ash: Wh... what are those?]
[Champion Ash: Haha, those are very dirty tricks... Butterfree, Caterpie's final evolution, has an ability called Compound Eyes, which increases the accuracy of all moves by thirty percent. Moves like Sleep Powder usually don't have high accuracy, but with Compound Eyes, the accuracy will greatly increase.]
[Champion Ash: Butterfree's base stats aren't particularly high, but it's exceptionally fast. So, a Compound Eyes Butterfree, as long as it can use Sleep Powder first and then Tailwind, can quickly set up the field for the next Pokémon. Even if it can't move first, when holding a Focus Sash, it won't be knocked out in one hit by the opponent. It's a very useful support Pokémon.]
[Newbie Ash: ...]
To be honest, he didn't understand at all. This strategy felt too profound, sounding very impressive, but he couldn't imagine how to implement it.
[Tactician Ash: Anyway, first catch a Caterpie, preferably one with good potential. Although the bond between a Pokémon and a Trainer can break inherent limitations, if such a thing were so easy to achieve, it wouldn't be called a miracle between a Trainer and a Pokémon.]
[Tactician Ash: After you catch a Caterpie, first train him into a Butterfree. Then I'll tell you how to implement Butterfree's tactics. I really enjoy using Butterfree to turn the tide in battles.]
[Newbie Ash: I understand. Then I'll go check out Viridian Forest.]
...This was part of the chat content between Ash and the group members last night. Catching a Caterpie, and specifically one with good potential, was Tactician Ash's suggestion.
Still, the same old saying: if there's no choice, then a slightly less talented one is fine. As long as he's treated with care once he becomes your Pokémon.
If it were a matter of catching them one by one, then realizing their potential was poor and immediately releasing them, then all the Ashs in the group, including the Ash in the real world, would not approve of this approach.
But the real-world Ash possesses Breeder Ash's Insight Eye. With this powerful ability, it would be a pity not to use it.
Being able to discern a Pokémon's potential before catching it, then simply catching one with good potential from the start and training him diligently, wouldn't that be better?
Surely, when one can see a Pokémon's potential, one shouldn't deliberately go and catch weak Pokémon to train, just to prove that there are no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers, right? That's just asking for trouble.
This Caterpie he caught this time is probably one of the most talented Caterpies in Viridian Forest. Although he hasn't shown his full potential yet, Ash believes that Caterpie will definitely shine in his hands—with the help of the big shots in the group.
After catching Caterpie, Ash released him again and sprayed him with Potion.
Pikachu's damage wasn't high, merely knocking Caterpie unconscious, but if left untreated, such injuries would take a day or two to fully recover. Spraying Potion would only take an hour or so.
In the following time, because Ash wanted to quickly train Caterpie to evolve into Butterfree in a short period, he was constantly looking for Pokémon to battle. He even encountered some boys in the forest wearing shorts or carrying bug nets.
These were the rumored Bug Catchers and Short-Pants Kids who reside in the forest.
The skill level of these two types of people was only slightly stronger than ordinary wild Pokémon, but they could also increase Ash's experience in Trainer battles.
Before entering Viridian Forest, the only Trainers Ash had battled were those few idiots who invaded the Pokemon Center.
Days passed, and three days flew by.
During these three days, when they were tired, they rested, ate some instant food, reminisced about the food at the Pokemon Center, chatted about future plans, and the direction of Pokémon training. Occasionally, they battled wild Trainers in the forest, and while traveling, they also took the opportunity to train Pikachu and Caterpie's moves against roadside Pokémon, increasing their battle experience.
All in all, these three days were incredibly fulfilling for Ash, but for Misty, it was not so good.
Misty, who originally had entomophobia, was almost numb after these three days.
Her biggest regret in this life was leaving her bicycle in Viridian City and choosing to walk with Ash to Pewter City.
She had originally intended to enjoy the scenery along the way and the fun of traveling, but now, what fun?! Every minute and every second in Viridian Forest was torture for Misty! She had even grown somewhat accustomed to the presence of Ash's Caterpie.
Besides the daily nuisance of bugs, Misty would also give Ash some pointers during battles. Ash was quite curious, as Misty seemed to be around his age, yet she knew so much, and her command skills were clearly much stronger than his.
Although he was a novice, under the daily influence of the big shots in the group, he felt his command skills were improving by leaps and bounds every day, but compared to Misty, he was still a bit lacking... How strong were Misty's command skills? This was a question buried in Ash's heart.
"...How much longer until Pewter City, Ash?" Misty asked Ash weakly. It was already nearing noon on the fourth day, and she felt her small feet were about to be worn out.
"Let me see... We're already past halfway, faster than I expected," Ash said, comparing the map with some surprise.
If they had been constantly on the move, covering half the distance would be normal, but he had been battling wild Pokémon and Trainers these past few days, which should have slowed down their progress. Yet, their speed was almost the same as if they had been walking continuously.
Misty rolled her eyes and said grumpily, "Of course! Didn't you see I'm not even tugging on your clothes anymore? To get out of Viridian Forest quickly, I've temporarily overcome my fear of bugs!"
"Overcome... where's the overcoming? Didn't you still scream when Caterpie got close to you? Caterpie really likes you, you know, you're hurting his feelings~"
"Don't joke around! Just seeing him within a meter of me and not running away is already because he's our partner, alright! Get closer? Do you want me to die?" Misty's mouth twitched as she replied.
"Well, by the time you can accept him, he'll probably have evolved. I feel Caterpie's evolution will happen in the next day or two. He's accumulated enough experience, it's just a matter of when he'll cocoon... Are your legs giving you trouble?" Ash said, inadvertently glancing at Misty and noticing she was limping a bit, so he asked with some concern.
"What do you mean 'legs giving me trouble'? Can't you speak properly? My feet just hurt a bit. You think everyone's like you, with a monster-like physique, never getting tired physically or mentally?" Misty stopped and rubbed her toes through her shoes.
If she kept walking like this, her feet would definitely get chafed; she needed to rest... Before Misty could suggest resting, Ash had already knelt down in front of her: "Get on."
"Get... get on what?"
"I'll carry you on my back. Don't you want to leave Viridian Forest early? At this rate, even if you rest, your feet won't get better quickly, and our departure from Viridian Forest will probably be delayed by two or three days. It's better if I carry you."
"But... this... that..." Misty's fair face flushed slightly, unsure if it was from exhaustion or embarrassment at Ash's words.
"Don't be so wishy-washy... Are you worried you're too heavy and will crush me? It's fine, even if you weigh two hundred pounds, I can..."
"Who are you calling two hundred pounds?! I don't even weigh ninety pounds!!!" Ash's words were cut off by Misty's angry voice.
Immediately after, Ash felt a soft body press against his back. Just as Misty said, she was truly very light.