Two days later, approximately 15 kilometers from Pikachu Valley.
Aomori was crouched low in the tall grass, moving cautiously. Ten meters ahead of him, several Oddish, which looked like clumps of weeds, were huddled together, sound asleep.
The Dungeon Quest was three Grass-type Pokémon short of completion. Who would have thought that in such a vast forest, Grass-type Pokémon would be the rarest, with Bug and Flying-types making up the vast majority?
Aomori had searched for a long time to find these last few Grass-types and naturally did not want them to escape.
He waved his hand, and dozens of grinning Pikachu slowly surrounded the sleeping Pokémon.
When the distance was appropriate, Aomori tightly clenched his fist. The commanded Pikachu threw the prepared vine nets over the Oddish, easily covering them.
The startled Oddish trembled under the aggressive gaze of the surrounding Pikachu.
Aomori pulled out the 13 Totem Pole, activated it, and it transformed into a two-meter-long staff.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Three strikes sounded, and three Oddish collapsed immediately.
Ding!
[Main Quest 1/3: Super True Rookie (Defeat 50 Grass-type, 50 Bug-type, and 50 Flying-type Pokémon alone within 10 days) is complete! Obtained ☆☆☆. Reward: 2200 EXP, 200 Points, six standard Poké Balls.]
Ding!
[Main Quest 2/3: Goal: Pokémon Master!]
[Quest Summary: Goal: Pokémon Master! Not only must you be able to solo Pokémon, but the Pokémon you capture must also not be lacking.]
[1) Capture six Pokémon within 10 days ☆]
[2) Capture six Pokémon within 5 days ☆☆]
[3) Capture six Pokémon within 1 day ☆☆☆]
After reading the quest, Aomori immediately picked up his staff, knocked out the remaining few Oddish, pulled out the six newly acquired Poké Balls, and threw them at the Oddish.
Ding! Ding! Duang!
All captures were successful! Pokémon, get da ☆ze☆!
Aomori ignored the simulated effects from the System and saw that Main Quest 2 was already marked complete, rewarding him with EXP, Points, and a Pokémon Egg.
He released all the newly captured Oddish and looked at the third quest:
Ding!
[Main Quest 3/3: Goal: Pokémon Master 2!]
[Quest Summary: Goal: Pokémon Master 2! Defeat all Trainers you encounter, and you shall become the next Pokémon Master!]
[1) Defeat 20 Trainers within 20 days ☆]
[2) Defeat 30 Trainers within 15 days ☆☆]
[3) Defeat 50 Trainers within 10 days ☆☆☆]
Defeating 50 Trainers in 10 days was neither simple nor overly difficult, but it certainly meant he couldn't stay in the forest any longer.
...
Two days later, at the small waterfall.
During these two days, Aomori's morning exercises included anti-pressure training under the small waterfall.
The training under the waterfall had increased his attributes by a few points, but a few days of persistence had allowed him to fully adapt to the waterfall's pressure. Therefore, today, Aomori decided to take it a step further.
Against the immense pressure of the small waterfall, he slowly began to stand up.
Ding!
[Friendly Reminder: The Pokémon Egg in your backpack is about to hatch. To prevent injury to the Pokémon, please remove the Egg from your backpack and place it in a suitable location.]
The sudden System prompt caused Aomori to briefly lose focus. His foot slipped, and the current washed him off the large rock.
Splash!
Aomori leaped ashore and put on his animal-skin pants. He didn't dwell on the imminent hatching of the Pokémon Egg, but rather on his distraction caused by the System prompt. It seems his training of focus is far from enough. To lose focus during battle would be suicide.
He didn't attribute the problem to the System prompt, as external interference factors were more numerous and varied. Changing himself was the fundamental solution.
While contemplating how to improve his focus, Aomori walked toward the cave. On the way, he encountered many chasing and playing Pichu and Pikachu. Seeing him, they greeted him warmly, and he responded to each with a sincere and polite smile.
In Pikachu Valley, his reputation had already been raised to Revered.
To prevent the Pikachu's electric skills from collapsing the cave, Aomori had moved his special training grounds to the open area near the cave entrance.
As Aomori approached this clearing, the small bodies of the few Pikachu there collectively shuddered, and they focused even harder on the spiral-shaped foxtail grass in front of them.
They were currently undergoing Special Training 2.0. The previous Special Training 1.0 had been a great success. Aomori's ability to control electric energy had risen a level, and his Lightning Affinity in the System had upgraded from Level 2 to Level 3. He could now simply control the flow direction of electric energy.
The Pikachu participating in the training also gained many benefits. Not only had they grown noticeably larger, but their Electric-type skills were more than twice as strong as before. However, the constant coming and going had caused psychological trauma to many Pikachu, and they feared Aomori, the emotionless Great Demon King.
Since Special Training 1.0 was outdated, Aomori, the self-proclaimed Great Demon King, decided to launch Special Training 2.0 to develop alternative Electric-type skills, paving the way for him to create new techniques later.
That's right, the Pikachu couldn't escape their role as Guinea Pigs.
As the saying goes, "electromagnetism does not separate." According to the theory Aomori learned in his previous life, a spiral current generates a powerful directional magnetic field.
Special Training 2.0 was about teaching the Pikachu to utilize a spiral current. If successful, would the Pikachu then learn the Railgun ability?
Or, being even bolder, was the Super Railgun not just a dream?
Aomori looked forward to future developments. He temporarily ignored the Pikachu who were pretending to work hard and entered the cave.
Behind him, the Pikachu, who had been watching Aomori's movements at all times, simultaneously let out sighs of relief. They were genuinely terrified that Aomori might suddenly introduce a new training method.
"But, it feels like ever since I started Aomori bro's special training, the berries taste better, and my back doesn't hurt anymore. Wait, could it be that Aomori bro's special training has a miraculous effect in that area?"
Blindly-believing Pikachu No. 1 firmly believed he had discovered a crucial point, and his fighting spirit soared again.
"Pika Pika!" He reprimanded the other Pikachu, then concentrated on the spiral foxtail grass in front of him, imagining his own internal current spiraling like that, and then...
And then what? Pikachu No. 1 fell into deep thought.
...
On the other side, after entering the cave, Aomori first rolled the straw into a small nest, then retrieved the Pokémon Egg from the System Backpack and placed it in the nest.
The Pokémon Egg looked the same as when he first received it, with no abnormalities.
But since the System said so, it must be about to hatch.
Aomori sat cross-legged and began practicing energy manipulation on his own.
After a short while, there was a sudden strange noise in the cave. The prepared Aomori immediately exited his training mode. He looked up, and the Pokémon Egg was trembling, emitting a flickering white light.
Has it begun?
Aomori walked forward, watching the egg's white light grow increasingly intense up close before it began to change shape.
With a soft "Clink," the white light receded, and the appearance of the newborn Pokémon was revealed to Aomori.
Its body was small and canine-shaped, almost entirely white. A blue, crescent-shaped, scythe-like horn extended from the right side of its head. Its bangs and fur were shaped like a magatama, making its entire head resemble a complete taiji symbol. Its slender tail was partially curved, like a scythe. Its newly opened, pure eyes looked at Aomori with confusion. Its mouth opened, letting out a soft cry.
"I remember this one is called..."
Ding!
[Congratulations to Player Aomori for obtaining the Rare Pokémon Absol. Please check the Pet page for Pokémon details.]
It was indeed it! Absol, the Disaster Pokémon!
Aomori opened the Pet page. The first slot was replaced by Absol's image. Aomori chose to view the details.
[Species Name: Absol]
[Individual Name: Unnamed]
[Level: Lv1]
[Contract Status: No Contract (Contracting provides the player with bonus EXP from enemies defeated by the pet)]
[Title: None]
[Type: Dark]
[Three Primary Attributes: Physique 7, Energy 10, Spirit 7]
[Affection: Lv1]
[Ability: Justified]
[Skills: Leer (LV1), Tackle (LV1)]
[Introduction: Commonly lives deep within rugged mountainous areas and rarely appears in populated places. However, it is said that disaster follows its appearance before humans, hence the nickname 'Disaster Pokémon.' It actually possesses the ability to sense changes and imbalances in nature, and is often driven by its Justified ability to warn humans when disaster is imminent. Over time, humans mistakenly assumed it to be an ominous Pokémon that brings calamity.]
No species values, individual values, or effort values unique to the Pokémon world—it's directly converted to the System template? Tch! Lazy System. But this is fine, the attribute comparisons are less confusing.
Aomori chose not to change the nickname and would simply call it Absol. He closed the System and looked at the Pokémon.
Unlike the mischievous Pichu, Absol stayed obediently in the nest, neither crying nor fussing, merely widening its pure eyes and observing the cave's contents with curiosity.
Noticing Aomori's gaze, Absol quickly turned its head and looked back at him timidly.
Aomori squatted down, a gentle smile on his face, and extended both hands toward Absol.
"Absol?" The Pokémon looked at him confusedly. After a long moment, it tentatively extended its head and gently licked Aomori's fingers. Finding that Aomori made no other movements, Absol grew bolder, slowly approaching and resting its small head on his palm, rubbing it a couple of times.
"Absol~" Absol cried out contentedly, then jumped right into Aomori's arms.
The newborn Absol was only the size of an adult cat. Aomori easily held it close and rubbed its small head.
"I am Aomori. Let's do our best from now on."
"Absol~"