Perhaps because he had taken a bath the night before, Cheng Tian slept exceptionally soundly, until the 6 AM alarm clock woke both of them up.
Cheng Tian yawned and climbed out of bed.
Seeing Bai Yun roll over and fall back asleep, Cheng Tian decided not to wake him.
After washing up, Cheng Tian decided to leave first.
He packed all the purchases from the previous day into his backpack, then touched the Poké Ball clipped to his waist.
"Time to begin."
He went alone to a street-side breakfast stall and ordered a bowl of *doufunao* (tofu pudding) and two *youtiao* (fried dough sticks).
After finishing his meal quickly, Cheng Tian hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to the Bingzhou highway entrance.
This highway entrance connected to National Highway 488.
After getting out, Cheng Tian slipped past the toll booth staff when they weren't looking, then vaulted over the guardrail next to the highway.
He started making his way toward the mountains.
Bingzhou is situated in the southwest of the Loess Plateau, characterized by endless mountains and ridges, which translates to a rich and diverse variety of Pokémon species.
Within Bingzhou territory runs the Fen River, a tributary that eventually flows into the Yellow River.
Cheng Tian's goal for the next two days was to continuously explore in that direction.
After walking for about an hour, Cheng Tian had fully entered the mountains.
Signs of human activity were rare here, and he could already spot many Pokémon within the dense woods.
Cheng Tian dared not be careless.
He took out a Poké Ball and summoned Yamper.
With a flash of red light, Yamper appeared.
"Woof woof!"
As soon as Yamper appeared, it tried to lick Cheng Tian, who gently stroked Yamper's small head.
"I'll be relying on you now, Yamper.
I need to capture a Pokémon of my own," Cheng Tian said seriously.
Finally, the man and the dog began moving forward.
However, he wasn't plunging straight into the depths.
National Highway 488 was behind him, and Bingzhou was to the west, forming an 'L' shape with the highway.
If he explored along the longer side of the 'L,' he would eventually reach a section bordering the Fen River, and Cheng Tian planned to advance roughly eight kilometers along this edge.
Are you kidding?
Cheng Tian wasn't some reckless fool; plunging straight into the depths would be pure suicide.
Deep in the mountains lurked many terrifying Pokémon, any one of which could kill him with a single move.
Even if he didn't care about his own life, he had to protect Yamper.
Cheng Tian certainly didn't believe he was some destined Chosen One.
In his previous life, he had spent ten consecutive days grinding without ever hatching a single Shiny Gastly, so why would any great fortune suddenly favor him?
It was better to stick honestly to the peripheral areas.
And so, Cheng Tian continued forward with Yamper.
Starting with one man and one dog—all gear acquired by scavenging!
Cough cough...
They hadn't walked far when Cheng Tian witnessed an interesting sight: a Weedle was clinging to a distant tree, munching on leaves, while a Spearow circled overhead, clearly intending to make a meal of it.
This phenomenon is common in the Pokémon world; there is no ready-made food in the wild, so wild Pokémon must hunt to survive.
The Weedle was clearly Spearow's preferred prey.
The Spearow circled for a while, growing impatient.
A faint light began to gather on its beak.
The Spearow dove down at an extremely fast speed and viciously pecked the Weedle's body.
It was super effective!
The Flying-type attack dealt noticeable damage to the Bug-type Weedle.
The Weedle writhed in agony, dropped from the tree, and hit the ground.
The Spearow had clearly done this many times before; it circled once in the air, then flew down again and used the Peck attack.
It showed no mercy, for in its eyes, this was simply its meal.
In the wilds, it is survival of the fittest!
However, something unexpected occurred: the Weedle desperately endured the sharp pain, its horn flashed purple, and then it was launched.
Poison Sting!
This was the only offensive move the Weedle possessed to fight back.
The rapidly descending Spearow hadn't expected the Weedle to manage a dying counterattack.
It couldn't dodge in time and was struck.
However, Peck also landed on the Weedle.
The Weedle not only lost its ability to battle but its breathing became extremely faint—it clearly wouldn't live much longer.
Meanwhile, a purple hue spread across the Spearow, indicating it had fallen into a poisoned state.
Cheng Tian's eyes lit up.
He patted Yamper's small head.
"The opportunity is here.
Let's launch a sneak attack.
Yamper, prepare to Charge."
Charge boosts the power of the next Electric-type attack.
Current appeared on Yamper's body, poised for action.
"Very good."
Cheng Tian nodded.
As soon as the Spearow landed and began pecking at the Weedle, Cheng Tian issued the command.
"Use Quick Attack and Nuzzle!"
The moment he gave the command, the crouching Yamper dashed forward at incredible speed, slamming hard into the Spearow.
The Spearow, which had been peacefully enjoying its meal, never expected an ambush.
It merely felt something heavy collide with its body.
"Gah!"
It was knocked too far away; Nuzzle had missed.
Cheng Tian's mind already displayed the Spearow's data.
Pokémon: Spearow.
Gender: Male.
Nature: Hasty.
Ability: Keen Eye.
Level: 15.
Egg Moves: None.
Moves: Leer (lv6), Peck (lv8), Growl (lv7), Pursuit (lv5).
Taught Moves: None.
Although it was three levels higher than Yamper, its typing was weak to Electric, and combined with the poisoning effect, they might actually win!
The Spearow tried to fly, but Yamper didn't give it the chance, clamping its jaws onto the Spearow's leg.
The Spearow flapped its wings but couldn't take off.
Light gathered on its beak again, and it used Peck, striking toward Yamper.
"Let go!
Use Nuzzle!"
Yamper released its grip, dodged the Peck, and simultaneously rubbed its face against the Spearow's body.
Full power!
Boosted by the Charge move, Nuzzle's power was also increased by one stage, delivering an excellent effect against the Flying-type Spearow.
The flapping Spearow went completely numb and fell into a state of paralysis.
Seeing the Spearow paralyzed, Cheng Tian's anxiety finally eased.
After all, this was his first time commanding a Pokémon in battle, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.
Cheng Tian would have felt terrible if Yamper had been harmed due to his own mistake.
Fortunately, the outcome was good.
Yamper then relentlessly used Bite, successfully causing the Spearow to lose its ability to battle.
Cheng Tian walked over and patted Yamper's head encouragingly.
"Well done."
"Woof woof!"
Yamper clearly enjoyed Cheng Tian's praise.
So, what should he do with this Spearow?
Logically, capturing it now would be an excellent choice, but Cheng Tian genuinely didn't care for this particular Pokémon.
Spearow has a terrible temper, and frankly, its combat power is low.
It only evolves once, and Fearow's appearance is quite forgettable.
Its base stats are also low.
After thinking for a long time, Cheng Tian decided against capturing it.
"Never mind.
Let's keep going."
Cheng Tian led Yamper and continued forward.