"Eevee, Tail Whip! Make the opponent let their guard down!"
"Quick Attack!"
"Tackle!"
A poor little Rattata fell to the ground, turning into Eevee's battle experience.
Of course, in the real world, calling it "experience points" as in the games wouldn't be accurate—it should be called battle experience!
Eevee defeated the Rattata and gained a certain amount of battle experience.
"Eevee!"
Returning to Nozomi's side, Eevee groomed its fur, its tail wagging back and forth.
So far on this journey, it had defeated six Pokémon.
Rattata, Caterpie, Weedle—none of these Pokémon had posed any challenge, all becoming Eevee's defeated opponents.
"Eevee isn't weak at all," Nozomi thought.
Eevee's displayed strength and battle talent far exceeded Nozomi's expectations. Thinking back to Eevee's aloof demeanor, it was probably judging those rookie trainers as unworthy.
The more he thought about it, the more satisfied Nozomi felt with Eevee.
He opened the system panel.
[Normal Quest: Behind every trainer, countless wild Pokémon have been knocked down.Quest objective: Defeat fifty wild Pokémon before reaching Viridian City (6/50).**Quest reward: One normal lottery draw.]**
This was the task that had been generated earlier. It was because of this quest that Nozomi had extended his claws toward these weaker Pokémon.
"Fifty… that's going to be troublesome!"
It had taken him over an hour just to find these five Pokémon. Others either fled immediately upon seeing him or completely ignored his provocations, refusing to battle.
"Am I going to have to spend the night out here?" Nozomi thought.
Giving up the quest was out of the question—it was unthinkable in his lifetime. But at his current pace, tracking down and defeating fifty wild Pokémon would take a whole day.
"Bulbasaur, help me watch the forest for other wild Pokémon." Nozomi released Bulbasaur from its Poké Ball, letting it join the battle.
With Bulbasaur's help, their efficiency in defeating wild Pokémon improved significantly.
After all, Bulbasaur was Nozomi's starter Pokémon and far stronger than Eevee.
Just as Bulbasaur used Vine Whip to ensnare another fleeing Rattata, preparing to finish it off with Razor Leaf, a rustling sound came from the nearby bushes.
"Who's there?"
Nozomi asked.
Eevee perked its ears up, alert.
In the wild, Pokémon attacks on humans weren't uncommon, so being cautious was justified.
Under Nozomi and Eevee's wary gaze, the bushes parted.
A girl with bright orange hair, wearing a yellow top and denim overalls, carrying a fishing rod, stepped out. She looked at Nozomi and asked,"Hello, have you seen a boy riding a bicycle with a Pikachu?"
"Misty?" Nozomi was surprised.
He immediately recognized her as the protagonist of the original TV series.
From what she said, she seemed to be looking for the boy who had stolen her bicycle—Ash?According to the story, Ash was probably being chased by a flock of Spearow.
"I haven't seen him, but the boy you're talking about with a Pikachu… I think I know him," Nozomi replied.
He hadn't actually seen Ash.
"You know him? That's great!" Misty breathed a sigh of relief. "He rode off with my bicycle—I need to get it back. Can you contact him?"
Probably not, Nozomi thought, but he didn't say it aloud. He shook his head. "Ash doesn't have a phone. If you want to contact him, you'd probably have to go see Professor Oak. He set off from Professor Oak's lab as a rookie trainer."
"I see…" Misty looked a bit conflicted.
Seeing her hesitation, a sudden idea struck Nozomi. "How about this—I'll take you to him."
He remembered the Spearow chasing Ash. If he defeated them, he could complete his quest. Plus, Professor Oak had asked him to look after Ash—he couldn't just stand by while Ash was in danger.
"!"
Misty didn't look happy—she was suspicious. "You're not one of those bad guys who lure young girls, are you?"
To her, Nozomi was just a stranger. A sudden invitation from a stranger was highly suspicious.
"…"
Nozomi gave her a look of disbelief. "Do I look like a bad guy?"
Even if he had been a league investigator in his past life, that had nothing to do with being a villain.
Misty scrutinized him from head to toe. "Very suspicious!"
"…"
To clear his name, Nozomi produced his Pokédex as proof of his identity.
Misty realized her mistake and blushed, quickly apologizing.
"All right! Come with me. If we're late, your bicycle might get into trouble."
With that, Nozomi, to Misty's surprise, tossed a Poké Ball containing Metagross.
The massive Metagross appeared in the forest, immediately toppling two large trees and scaring off countless wild Pokémon.
"That's… a pseudo-legendary Pokémon from the Hoenn region—Metagross!"
Misty recognized it instantly.
As one of the successors of the Cerulean Gym, knowing Metagross, Hoenn's renowned pseudo-legendary, was normal.
"Aren't you a rookie trainer?"
She doubted him again.
"Are you getting on?"
Nozomi leapt onto Metagross and asked.
Misty thought for a moment—she didn't really have a choice.
If Nozomi were a bad guy, she probably couldn't defeat him.
Realizing this, Misty stopped hesitating, grabbed Nozomi's arm, and climbed onto Metagross's back.
"Let's go, Metagross! Find the boy with a Pikachu!"
"Buzzz—!"
Metagross acknowledged the command and took off into the sky. After scanning from above, it quickly locked onto the target and sped away.
At this very moment, Ash stood with arms wide, shielding Pikachu, shouting at the flock of Spearow in an attempt to scare them off.