Probably because he'd taken a bath the night before, Cheng Tian slept like a log—until the six-o'clock alarm jolted the two of them awake.
Cheng Tian yawned, climbed out of bed, and watched Bai Yun roll over and fall back asleep. He didn't wake him.
After washing up, he chose to head out first. He stuffed yesterday's shopping bags into his backpack, then brushed the Poké Ball at his waist.
"Let's get started."
Alone, he walked to a roadside breakfast stall and ordered a bowl of rice and two eggs.
He wolfed them down, hailed a cab, and asked to be dropped at the Bingzhou On-Ramp.
The ramp connects to National Highway 488. Once out of the car, Cheng Tian slipped past the toll-booth staff while their backs were turned, vaulted the guardrail, and headed for the mountain. (Don't try this at home.)
He began working his way uphill.
Bingzhou lies on the southwest edge of the Loess Plateau—endless rugged peaks, which means a rich variety of pokémon.
Within Bingzhou, the Fen River—eventually a Yellow-tributary—meanders through. Cheng Tian's goal for the next two days was to scout along it.
After an hour of walking he was deep in the mountains, human traces scarce. Through the dense woods he could already see plenty of pokémon.
Not daring to be careless, he took out a Poké Ball and released Yamper. A red flash, and Yamper appeared.
"Woof-woof!" Yamper tried to lick him at once; Cheng Tian scratched the little head.
"I'm counting on you, Yamper. I want to catch my own pokémon."
Man and dog set off together.
But Cheng Tian didn't Charge straight into the depths. Behind him lay Highway 488; to the west, Bingzhou city—together forming an "L".
The long leg of that "L" borders a stretch of the Fen River, and he planned to follow that edge for about eight kilometres.
No way was he some reckless kid—plunging headlong into the deep wilds was suicide.
Terrifying pokémon lived deep in the mountains; a single move from any of them could kill him.
Even if he didn't care about his own life, he had to protect Yamper. Cheng Tian didn't believe he was some chosen hero.
In his last life he'd gone ten straight days without finding a single shiny Gastly—no miracle was going to favor him now.
Safer to stick to the fringe.
So Cheng Tian and Yamper pressed on.
One man, one dog, starting from scratch—gear scavenged as they went!
Ahem… Not far along, an interesting scene appeared: a Weedle nibbling leaves on a distant tree while a Spearow circled overhead, clearly planning to snatch a meal.
Such scenes are common in the Pokémon world; the wild offers no ready-made food, so wild pokémon must hunt to survive.
Weedle is exactly what Spearow loves to eat.
The Spearow wheeled for a while, growing impatient. Its beak began to glow.
It dived at blistering speed and struck the Weedle hard.
Super-effective! The flying type move dealt obvious damage to the Bug Type Weedle. Writhing in pain, the caterpillar slipped off the branch and fell to the ground.
Clearly no novice, the Spearow circled once, swooped again, and used Peck.
No mercy—it saw only food.
In The Wilds, the strong prey on the weak!
But then, against expectations, the Weedle endured the agony; its horn flashed purple and fired a barb.
Poison Sting—the only counter-attack Weedle possessed.
The diving Spearow hadn't expected a death-thrust and failed to dodge, taking the hit squarely.
Yet its Peck also landed. Weedle was now not only knocked out but breathing faintly—clearly dying—while purple seeped across the bird's brow: poisoned.
Cheng Tian's eyes lit up. He scratched Yamper's head. "Chance! Sneak attack. Yamper, Charge up."
Charge would boost the next electric move. Crackling energy wrapped Yamper, ready to explode.
"Good." Cheng Tian nodded. When the Spearow landed to feed, he gave the order.
"Quick Attack and Charm—go!" The instant the words left his mouth, Yamper shot forward like a bullet, slamming into the bird.
The unsuspecting Spearow squawked as something crashed into it. "Gah!"
Yamper overshot; Charm missed.
Cheng Tian already had the Spearow's data in his mind.
pokémon: Spearow
Gender: Male
Nature: Hasty
Ability: Keen Eye
Level: 15
Egg moves: None
Natural moves: Glare (lv6), Peck (lv8), Growl (lv7), Pursuit (lv5)
Taught moves: None
Three levels higher than Yamper, but weak to electric and already poisoned—beatable!
The Spearow tried to take off, but Yamper clamped its beak on the bird's leg.
Flapping frantically, the bird couldn't lift off. Its beak glowed again—Peck—aimed at Yamper.
"Let go—Charm!" Yamper released, dodged the Peck, and rubbed its cheek against the bird.
Full power! With Charge boosting it, Charm hit even harder, superbly effective against the flying type.
The Spearow's wings seized—paralyzed.
Seeing the paralysis, Cheng Tian finally exhaled.
It was his first real command; nerves were inevitable. If his mistake hurt Yamper, he'd never forgive himself.
But the outcome was perfect. Yamper followed up with Bite after Bite until the Spearow collapsed.
Cheng Tian stepped up, praising Yamper with a head-rub. "Well done." "Woof!" Yamper basked in the praise.
Now what? Technically it was a perfect moment to catch the bird, yet Cheng Tian didn't like Spearow at all.
They're bad-tempered, mediocre in battle, evolve only once, and the resulting Fearow is… let's just say its base stats are nothing to brag about.
After long deliberation he still chose not to capture it.
"Forget it—let's keep moving." Man and dog continued onward.