After resting overnight in Lavender Town, Ash and his companions set off westward toward Saffron City.
Between Lavender Town and Saffron City stretched a smooth, elevated road with an open view. On both sides lay endless forests and shrubs, lush and vibrant with life.
From time to time, wild Pokémon darted past or leapt out of the bushes, startling the trio into repeated yelps.
Before long, dusk fell. Seeing that reaching Saffron City that night was impossible, the group decided to camp on a patch of open rocky ground.
Nearby, the ever-reliable Brock had already set up the cooking table and stove. His eyes sparkled as he hummed cheerfully, clearly in high spirits as he prepared dinner.
"Mi-mi~~"
"Mi-mi~~"
Suddenly, several butterfly-like Pokémon fluttered out from the bushes.
They had translucent white wings, soft blue bodies, and large red eyes. Not exactly beautiful—adorable was the better word.
As they flew, sparkling white powder drifted down from their wings, scattering around Brock. He subconsciously spread his hands to catch it.
For a moment, the scene looked almost holy and immaculate.
Ash & Misty: "..."
Damn it—Brock's art style is getting stranger the longer you look at him!
Once we reach Saffron City, we're locking him in the Pokémon Center!
Twenty-five straight hours staring at Nurse Joy—he must rediscover the pure radiance of rock-solid willpower!
The trio's attention shifted to the two Butterfree hovering above.
"Beep. Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon.
An evolved form of Metapod."
The Pokédex announced automatically.
Ash immediately released his own Metapod.
A flash of red light later—thud!—a massive, green, banana-shaped Pokémon slammed into the ground, leaving a small crater.
This Metapod was at least 150% the size of an ordinary one. Its gaze was resolute, and the black cracks running across its green shell exuded a faintly mystical aura.
It tilted its eyes upward, taking in the Butterfree's graceful flight—and a strong sense of disdain arose within it.
You could've evolved into a sky dragon, yet you chased short-term pleasure and became a winged insect instead?
Foolish!
There is nothing in this world more tempting than evolving into Rayquaza (as Caterpie)!
Ash was swept up by its fighting spirit. He slapped Metapod hard, ignoring the metallic clang echoing from his palm, and shouted:
"Exactly! We're going to evolve into the strongest Rayquaza (as Caterpie), and soar across the skies of Kanto one day!"
"Pod—pod!!"
Trainer and Pokémon burned with passion.
Misty: "..."
Why do both of my companions seem to have something wrong with their heads right now?
Just then, something unexpected happened.
The Pokédex didn't fall silent after finishing its entry. Instead, it let out a sharp ding, as if receiving a notification, and spoke again in a mechanical voice:
"'So this is how Butterfree take off—Saffron City citizens were left kneeling in shock!'"
The trio: "?"
"Over the next week, level-7 southeast winds will blow in the eastern outskirts of Saffron City.
Passing travelers may witness a mass Butterfree migration—truly a rare sight!
Next, please enjoy the detailed data prepared by our editor.
Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokémon, is a gentle and kind Pokémon that rarely attacks humans…"
The trio: "???"
Ash hurriedly tapped the Pokédex to pause the audio and switched back to the main interface.
Only then did he realize—without knowing when—it had installed several apps.
Vermilion Highlights
Vermilion Headlines
LeafTok
FastLeaf
There were nearly ten pop-up news alerts.
"If your monthly salary reaches 3,000, you should visit the Seafoam Islands at least once"
"Master these tricks and even a Rattata can defeat Champion Lance"
"Dark secrets the Pokémon League has never made public"
Ash scratched his head. Shockingly, he felt a strong urge to tap them.
He shook his head hard and yelled, holding firm to his principles:
"Damn it! When did I ever install all this stuff?!"
"Beep. Trainer passed through Vermilion City and connected to public Wi-Fi.
The system installed them automatically."
The reason there'd been no notification for days was simple—
All these apps came with a 15-day silent installation period by default.
First, lie low.
After fifteen days, they've already taken root.
Where fallen leaves dance, the fire lives on.
Ash flew into a rage. This was bundled software! He absolutely could not tolerate this nonsense.
"Delete all of it! I want a pure Pokédex!"
"Beep. Deleting Vermilion Headlines."
"Beep. Deletion failed."
"Beep. Initiating Plan A: Installing Vermilion Manager."
"Beep. Attempting to delete Vermilion Headlines using Vermilion Manager."
"Beep. Deletion failed."
Ash: "?"
"Idiot, Ash! How can you use Vermilion's antivirus to delete Vermilion's apps?!" Misty scolded him.
"Misty, please don't use vulgar language!"
Brock interrupted righteously, eyes wide and solemn.
Misty: "..."
Ash's eyes rolled, and a new brilliant idea struck him.
"Pokédex! Install Pallet Town Security Manager for me!"
Pallet Town—a town pure and pristine. There was no way it had any shady bundled software.
Then he'd use Pallet Town Security Manager to wipe out Vermilion Manager in one sweep!
"Searching…"
"Pallet Town Security Manager not found. Replacing keywords."
"Viridian Security Manager installed successfully."
"Mt. Silver Antivirus installed successfully."
"Alola Guard installed successfully."
The Pokédex installed three antivirus programs at once.
Misty & Brock: "..."
You can install four different antivirus programs on the same device?!
Isn't the Pokédex going to explode?!
But Ash's eyes shone brighter than ever. He slapped the Pokédex and declared passionately:
"Then let them delete each other! Let's see who survives!"
Damn it!
I really am a genius at repairing Pokédexes!
Brock & Misty: "..."
Legend has it that in a remote region of Sinnoh, there once existed ancient tribes with a brutal method of training Poison-type Pokémon.
They would throw Arbok, Drapion, Toxicroak, Scolipede, and Toxtricity into a confined space and let them fight to the death.
They called this method—Gu-raising.
In the end, only one Pokémon would emerge alive:
the strongest Gu King.
Cruel and bloody, yet capable of producing a true apex toxin.
Of course, the tribe was reportedly reported by local residents last month. The entire group was taken away for reform and education, embracing more modern values.
And now, Ash's jaw-dropping act of installing four antivirus programs simultaneously on a Pokédex…
The resemblance was uncanny.
You can even use a Pokédex to raise Gu?
Impressive, Ash. Truly impressive.
Soon, Ash placed the Pokédex atop a rock. Its fan began spinning furiously, signaling extreme CPU load.
Inside, a savage digital Gu-raising battle raged on.
The three quickly retreated several meters away, afraid the Pokédex might explode at any moment.
"Ash… your Pokédex isn't made by Silph Co., is it?" Misty asked cautiously.
Ash grinned confidently.
"Relax. People from Pallet Town all use IP-rated hardware!"
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