The trio left the Management Office. Misty followed behind Roy, carrying a basket of poke balls, her steps as light and lively as a chirping Pidgey.
Delia walked at the very back. She glanced back at the closed door, then turned her head to look at Roy's back.
The scene that had just unfolded in the room was still spinning in her mind.
The way Roy stood there.
The revolver floating in mid-air.
The sight of Kaiser kneeling on the ground, his face covered in blood.
Delia took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions.
The three passed through the entrance tunnel of the Wild Area, and the view suddenly opened up.
A vast prairie stretched out before them, the grass undulating in layers blown by the wind, like green ocean waves.
In the distance, groups of Pokemon could be seen running, foraging, and sunbathing.
"Wow!"
Misty placed a hand over her brow, standing on her tiptoes to look into the distance.
"Now this is the real Wild Area! Being delayed so long in that tiny broken room by that weird old man, I was almost bored to death!"
She hoisted the basket of poke balls in her hand a bit higher and turned to look at Roy, her eyes sparkling.
"Roy, Roy, which way should we go?"
Roy scanned the prairie and pointed in a direction.
"That way."
"Alright!"
Misty skipped along at the front, Delia followed behind her, and Roy strolled leisurely at the back.
From time to time, the silhouettes of Pokemon could be seen on the grass.
A few Nidoran♀ had their heads down, rooting around in the grass, their round bodies wiggling as their pink skin shimmered slightly under the sunlight.
Nearby were two Nidoran♂, using the horns on their heads to butt each other, making "clack clack" colliding sounds.
A bit further away, a group of Rhyhorn lay on the ground, their grey skin as rough as stone, nostrils snorting hot air as they lazily basked in the sun.
"These Pokemon are quite docile."
Misty crouched down, watching a Nidoran♀ clumsily run past her, its short legs moving rapidly as its round eyes glanced at her in a panic.
Misty was amused by that little look and reached out to pet it, but the Nidoran♀ ran even faster, diving headfirst into the grass, leaving only a round bottom sticking out.
Delia couldn't help but laugh.
"Misty, you scared it."
"I'm not a bad person!"
Misty pouted as she stood up, brushing the grass clippings off her hands.
Roy had already taken out a poke ball, weighing it in his hand.
He took aim at a Nidoran♀ that was eating grass and casually tossed it.
The poke ball traced an arc in the air and accurately struck the Nidoran♀ on the forehead.
A flash of red light followed, and the Nidoran♀ was pulled into the ball.
The poke ball fell onto the grass, wobbled twice, and then went still.
Roy walked over to pick it up, tapping it with his finger, and the status panel popped up.
Mediocre potential.
A very ordinary Gym-level.
"Not bad."
He casually put the ball into his pocket and took out another poke ball.
Another Nidoran♀ was still foolishly eating grass, completely unaware that one of its companions was missing.
Roy tossed another one.
The same action was repeated several times for Nidoran♀, Nidoran♂, and Rhyhorn; he threw at every one he saw, his movements as casual as tossing paper balls into a trash can.
Misty's mouth twitched as she watched.
"Hey, Roy."
She leaned over, tilting her head as she watched him capture another Rhyhorn, and couldn't help but ask.
"Why are you catching so many Pokemon with average aptitude? Even I can see that this Rhyhorn's potential is quite mediocre."
Roy spun the poke ball in his hand and glanced at the panel.
Gym-level potential.
Very ordinary.
But it didn't matter.
The candy quest required a certain number of captures, and ordinary ones counted just the same.
"To experience the joy."
Roy put the ball away and replied casually.
The three continued forward, and Roy had already used over a dozen poke balls from his pocket.
They were all individuals with mediocre aptitude.
The legends of the Wild Area were purely because Kaiser had discovered a Dratini back then; after the news leaked, it spread from one person to ten, then to a hundred, becoming more and more fantastical until the entire region was mythologized.
In reality,
The Pokemon here were no different from those elsewhere; the vast majority had ordinary aptitude.
Occasionally a few good ones would appear, but the number was extremely small.
The only thing of true value was that Dratini.
Roy knew clearly that the Dratini was the true treasure of this area.
His primary goal in coming to the Wild Area was that.
But before that,
There was another target he absolutely had to capture.
At that moment, a dull thumping sound of running suddenly came from the distance, like thunder Rollout across the ground.
Misty raised her hand to shade her eyes and looked into the distance.
"What is that?"
On the horizon, a large group of Pokemon was charging wildly in their direction.
It was a herd of Tauros.
There were about thirty or forty of them, their brownish-tan bodies running frantically across the prairie, their four legs kicking the ground in turn and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The leading Tauros were the largest, with thick, curved horns, white hot air snorting from their nostrils, and tails whipping like lashes.
The momentum of the entire herd running felt as if it would overturn the prairie.
"So many Tauros!"
Misty shouted excitedly.
"Roy, look! That one is so huge! And that one! Its horns are almost as thick as my arm!"
Delia also looked over, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
She had seen Tauros before, but never so many gathered together.
That sense of wild power came rushing at them from the distance.
Roy narrowed his eyes, his gaze scanning through the Tauros herd.
The aptitude of this Tauros herd was indeed quite good.
Much stronger than the previous Nidoran♀ and Rhyhorn.
But still not top-tier.
His gaze fell toward the very back of the herd.
Not here yet.
The Tauros he wanted hadn't appeared yet.
"Let's catch a few first."
Roy took out poke balls and threw them in succession at the Tauros charging at the front.
The poke balls flew out one by one, accurately hitting the running Tauros.
Red light flashed repeatedly.
Three Tauros were pulled into the balls, and the poke balls fell to the ground, rolling a few times before stopping on the grass.
The rest of the Tauros herd bypassed them, the rumbling sound of hooves gradually fading away.
Roy walked over to pick up the balls, checking the panels one by one.
Gym-level potential.
quasi-Gym-level potential.
Gym-level potential.
They were all okay, but not good enough.
Misty leaned over and blinked.
"Roy, are you planning to open a cattle ranch? Why are you catching so many bulls?"
"I'm looking for a good one!"
Roy put the balls away and stood in place, his eyes looking into the distance.
"A good one?"
Misty followed his gaze but saw nothing.
"The best one."
When Roy said this, his tone was very calm, but Misty could feel a light in his eyes.
Another sound of hooves came.
This time the hoofbeats were heavier and duller, like drumsticks heavily striking the earth.
Misty snapped her head around to look.
"Another herd is coming!"
Roy's eyes narrowed.
He saw it.
At the very front of this newly arrived herd of Tauros, there was one whose body size was clearly a size larger than the others.
That Tauros's coat was darker, its brownish-tan fur shimmering with a deep, dark luster under the sun.
Its horns were thicker than any other's, with a greater curve and tips that had an ivory-like texture.
Its four legs were a full circle thicker than an average Tauros's, and its muscles bulged and retracted as it ran, the flow of power visible to the naked eye.
It ran at the very front, and the Tauros following behind it all consciously lagged half a body length behind.
That kind of aura.
Pure.
Primal.
Arrogant.
A natural-born leader.
The corner of Roy's mouth curled slightly.
It's here.
This is the one.
"Misty, Delia, you two step back a bit."
After saying that, Roy took a poke ball from the basket and held it in his hand.
Misty and Delia immediately retreated several steps, the two of them standing a bit further away, watching nervously.
Roy stood in place, staring at the leader Tauros as it ran closer and closer.
Three hundred meters.
Two hundred meters.
One hundred meters.
He could see the Tauros's eyes now.
Those eyes were dark brown, filled with wild irritability.
Every time its four hooves landed, they smashed a small pit into the grass, with soil and grass clippings splashing behind it.
Fifty meters.
Roy didn't move.
Thirty meters.
The leader Tauros discovered the person standing in front of it, and two blasts of hot air suddenly snorted from its nostrils.
It didn't slow down.
It never slowed down for anyone.
The leader Tauros lowered its head, aiming its horns forward, and its speed actually increased.
It was going to gore this thing that dared to stand in its way.
Misty was so nervous her palms were covered in sweat.
"Roy... it's not slowing down!"
Delia's heart was also in her throat.
She saw the Tauros charging as if it had gone mad, so fast she could barely see its horns.
But Roy still didn't move.
Twenty meters.
Roy's muscles tensed, his whole body like a fully drawn great bow.
His wrist suddenly flicked.
The poke ball left his hand, making a sharp whistling sound through the air.
The trajectory of the ball's flight coincided with the trajectory of the charging Tauros.
Head-on, direct, and with extreme precision, it struck the center of the leader Tauros's forehead.
"Thud!"
A dull sound.
Red light exploded.
The leader Tauros, which had been in a wild charge, had its massive body suddenly sucked into the red light, vanishing into the air.