At night, most of the Pokémon active around the forest outskirts were Oddish, so those were the ones Icarus encountered most frequently.
Of course, Pidgey's sharp eyesight wasn't just for show. Although nighttime visibility was reduced, any poorly hidden Weedle could still be spotted.
Caterpie, however, were much harder to find. The forest was mostly green, and since Caterpie knew they were among the weakest Pokémon, they usually relied on natural camouflage to rest at night. With the added cover of darkness, Icarus rarely found them during night hunts.
In a way, they escaped disaster.
---
"Pidgey, use your claws to deal with it!"
Seeing that only one Oddish was still barely breathing, Icarus immediately used it as a training target.
"Pidgey!"
He extended his claws and began slashing fiercely at the weakened Oddish.
"Duoo—! Woo—!"
The Oddish tried to cry out, but Bellsprout quickly bound its mouth with vines. The only sounds that escaped were muffled whimpers of pain.
"Pidgey! Pidgey—!"
As he continued, Pidgey grew more excited. The sensation of claws tearing into living flesh was nothing like scratching tree bark.
"It's cruel… but this is natural selection. Don't worry—it'll be over soon."
Looking at the body covered in claw marks, Icarus was oddly reminded of a character from a novel in his previous life, practicing a vicious claw technique in madness.
"Pidgey!"
With an excited cry, he drove his claws deep into the Oddish's body—then tore them out violently.
Pfft!
Blood splattered.
The Oddish was finally freed from its suffering.
---
"Come here. Let me see your claws and beak."
Tonight, as usual, Icarus had left one target specifically for Pidgey's claw training.
At noon, he had already applied wound medicine and bone-strengthening powder. After removing the medication in the afternoon, he allowed Pidgey to resume real combat sharpening.
"Pidgey~"
He flew over obediently.
His once-white claws were stained red. Icarus pulled some weeds and wiped them clean before lifting the visor of his protective helmet to examine them closely.
"They're darker… and sharper."
He lightly touched one claw with his finger and immediately felt a sharper sting than yesterday.
Without proper measuring tools, this crude method was all he had. Back home, he could inspect them again under strong light. The tree behind the house would also serve as a benchmark—he could compare scratch depth.
"Alright. Let's find one or two more and then head back."
He checked the electronic watch on his wrist. It was almost time.
"Pidgey~"
He affectionately rubbed his head against Icarus's hand before flying off to scout again.
"Sprout!"
Meanwhile, Bellsprout had already dragged the corpses of three Oddish back to him.
"Good job. Stand guard while I clean up."
"Spri~"
Understanding that nighttime battles favored Pidgey, Bellsprout stayed close to Icarus whenever possible, guarding him carefully.
Soon, Pidgey discovered two more Oddish basking in the moonlight.
"Let's go. Quick finish."
"Sprout!"
At night, the routine was simple: Bellsprout restrained and controlled, while Pidgey dealt heavy damage with Flying-type moves.
"Whoosh—!"
The wind swept over the bound Oddish, and within moments, Pidgey's sharpened beak ended both.
They quickly collected the spoils and headed back toward town.
---
"Seven Oddish and two Weedle tonight. Not bad, considering we only fought for less than two hours."
Icarus nodded in satisfaction.
Back in town, he chatted briefly with the gate guard before heading to the grocery store to sell materials.
Maintaining relationships mattered. Since the guards were willing to greet him warmly, he naturally reciprocated.
"7,500 Pokédollars tonight. That's decent. Should stay around this level."
He took out 1,700 from the daytime earnings, added 800 to make an even 10,000, and deposited it.
"There's 140,000 in the card now… and a little over 6,000 in cash. Not bad."
Looking at the numbers on the ATM screen, he smiled. Things were steadily improving.
"For a moment I almost thought making money was easy… A low-grade Leaf Crystal is only 20,000. If I just wanted a Normal high-level Victreebel, I could probably manage. I could live comfortably in this town."
He immediately slapped his forehead.
That was a dangerous thought.
Yes, if he wanted to live his entire life like the town guards, that would be enough.
If Bellsprout evolved into Weepinbell without using a high-energy Leaf Crystal, he could save money. At Normal level, he might gather 400,000 Pokédollars for a mid-grade Leaf Stone. Even with a lucky aptitude increase, the best result would be a strong Normal high-level Victreebel.
His life ceiling would likely be squad captain of the guard team.
But after that?
The Elite barrier would be insurmountable.
Without further evolution, unless he encountered a miracle-level treasure like a Miracle Seed, advancement would be impossible.
And what were the odds of a civilian Trainer obtaining something like that?
Almost zero.
---
If he wanted to break through to Elite level and beyond, then for a Bellsprout with only good low-tier aptitude, the first evolution was critical.
He would need high-quality Leaf Crystals to temporarily raise aptitude during evolution. Then, at Normal high-level, he would require a top-grade Leaf Stone for the second evolution.
The same logic applied to Pidgey.
The difference was that Pidgey didn't require an evolution stone—but to improve aptitude, he would need large amounts of Flying-type energy crystals.
Unlike Leaf Crystals, Flying-type crystals were artificial creations. There was no such thing as a natural "Flying Stone."
To meet the energy demands of Flying-type evolutions, scientists developed Flying-type energy crystals based on natural attribute crystals and General-type crystals.
As for how they were made, Icarus only vaguely remembered hearing that powerful Pokémon infused them with concentrated energy.
Price-wise, they were identical to naturally occurring crystals.
However, true natural crystals were becoming increasingly rare. Most crystals on the market were man-made.
If someone discovered a natural attribute crystal in the wild, they would likely conceal it carefully. If it matured into a true evolution stone, its value would skyrocket.
Because current technology still could not manufacture genuine evolution stones.
And the higher the grade of an evolution stone—
The higher its worth.
(End of Chapter 71)
---------------Author---------------
Read 40 advanced chapter
👉 patreon.com/Master_fic
U can read 10 chapters ahead just for 5$
Every 50 power stones= 1 chapter
Every 5 reviews = 1 chapters