With a slight thought, Roy took the initiative to spread his Aura Power.
The life force in the forest immediately bloomed in his consciousness like ink on paper, and several slightly irritable avian Auras appeared within Roy's perception.
Clear outlines, short wings, and forked tail feathers.
They were Spearow.
Not long after setting off, Spearow... This familiar plot progression instantly reminded Roy of that irritable little bird from the original story.
However, he had no interest in this Spearow.
Its potential was mediocre, and its personality was troublesome; capturing it would just be a waste of a slot.
What he was thinking about now was that high-potential Pidgeotto that might be inhabiting the open clearing deep in the forest.
Capturing it would be an excellent choice, whether as a combat supplement or as an aerial mount after it evolved into Pidgeot in the future.
"Let's go this way."
Roy took Delia's hand, preparing to bypass the Spearow's territory.
Delia nodded obediently, her heart feeling sweet as her hand was held by Roy.
But the two had only walked a few steps.
A piercing screech suddenly exploded from the canopy ahead and to the side!
Rustle, rustle!
The branches and leaves shook violently, and a dark brown figure lunged out, hovering aggressively in the air ahead.
It was precisely that Spearow!
Its eyes were wide and round, its wings flapped rapidly, and the feathers on its neck were standing on end, looking absolutely furious as if its territory had been invaded.
It really is... impossible to avoid.
Roy sighed helplessly.
Is this the forced power of the script?
[Ding!]
The system notification sounded at the right time.
[Triggered Quest — First Battle: Command Pikachu to defeat the irritable Spearow!]
[Quest Reward: Basic Rare Candy *3 — Directly increases the level of a Pokemon below level 30 by one when used.]
Fine then.
Since it can't be bypassed, then we'll fight.
"Delia, step back a bit."
Roy let go of her hand and took a few steps forward.
At the same time, with a thought, he took out the [Light Ball] from the system inventory that he had received as a previous quest reward.
A yellow sphere the size of a fist, its surface swirled with fine golden electrical sparks; as soon as it appeared, a faint crackling sound echoed in the surrounding air.
"Pikachu, take this."
Roy handed the Light Ball to his shoulder.
"Pika?"
Pikachu curiously held the Light Ball with its small paws.
The moment it touched the sphere, buzz!!!
The Light Ball suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden light!
Countless tiny electric arcs burst from the surface of the sphere, wrapping around Pikachu's body like living things, before finally all sinking into the electric sacs on both sides of its cheeks.
The electricity around Pikachu's body surged visibly to the naked eye!
The tail, which had previously only occasionally emitted a few sparks, was now actually wrapped in a solid layer of current, crackling loudly.
In its dark, bead-like eyes, there also seemed to be lightning flowing.
Pika!
Pikachu let out a high-pitched Roar, its fighting spirit instantly ignited!
It leaped lightly from Roy's shoulder, landing steadily on the ground, tail stiff, forelimbs slightly crouched, assuming a standard battle stance.
At the same time, Roy looked up at the Spearow in the air.
With Aura Power combined with the system's basic inspection function, the information surfaced:
[Pokémon: Spearow]
[Level: Novice Level]
Since it wasn't his own Pokémon, he could only see the general stage.
But it was enough.
Electric-type against Flying-type, double effectiveness.
Plus the Light Ball, it could directly double Pikachu's Special Attack!
With both combined, even if this Spearow's level might be slightly higher than Pikachu's, it definitely wouldn't be able to withstand a few hits.
The real trouble lay in the flock behind it.
This forest was one of the habitats for Spearow and Fearow; once the battle commotion became too great, or if this Spearow sent out a distress signal, it would likely attract a siege of dozens or even hundreds of Spearow.
Perhaps he could rely on Pikachu to go into overdrive at the critical moment... but to pin his safety on a probabilistic event?
Roy wasn't that naive.
"Let's finish this quickly."
His gaze sharpened, and he had already made a decision.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to close the distance!"
Pika!
Pikachu's four limbs suddenly pushed off the ground!
Its body turned into a yellow afterimage, lunging forward at extreme speed.
In the air, the Spearow clearly hadn't expected this yellow mouse to be so fast and was stunned for a moment.
Now's the time!
"Circle the tree to the back right, avoid a straight line, and then..."
Roy spoke at a rapid pace.
Pikachu understood perfectly; just as it was about to hit a tree trunk, it swiped its small paw to the side, its body flexibly drawing an arc as it circled around the side of the tree.
This angle was exactly a brief blind spot in the Spearow's vision.
"Volt Tackle!"
Roy's command fell!
Pika—chu—!!!
Pikachu's entire body erupted with blinding golden light!
Violent currents surged out from within its body, instantly wrapping its entire being into a brilliant ball of electricity!
Its back legs exerted force again, and the electric ball, like a cannonball, crashed fiercely toward the Spearow in mid-air.
The Spearow had only just turned its head when it saw a ball of golden light rapidly enlarging before its eyes.
It tried in terror to flap its wings and gain height, but it was too late!
The electric ball slammed solidly into the Spearow's chest and abdomen.
The Spearow let out a shrill scream, its body sent flying by the powerful impact, smashing hard against the trunk of a tree behind it before sliding to the ground.
It was charred all over, its feathers standing on end, and its eyes had turned into spirals; it had already lost consciousness.
From start to finish, the battle had lasted less than ten seconds.
Clean and efficient.
[Pokémon: Pikachu, Level: lv12→lv13]
This Spearow's level was indeed not low, and the experience it provided directly leveled up Pikachu.
[Ding! Quest "First Battle" completed! Reward: Basic Rare Candy *3, delivered to the system inventory!]
The first battle quest was also successfully completed.
Roy was in a good mood.
This is how it should be.
A novice Trainer who just left home should follow a positive cycle of defeating wild Pokémon, getting rewards, and leveling up.
Rather than being chased to the ends of the earth by a flock of Spearow at the start, nearly losing their life in the forest.
Pika~
Pikachu trotted back to Roy's feet, looking up with a small face that said, "I'm amazing, right? Hurry up and praise me."
Roy smiled and crouched down, rubbing its head.
"Great job."
Pika pika~
Pikachu squinted its eyes happily, its small tail wagging like a fan.
Only then did Delia lean in from behind, looking at the unconscious Spearow on the ground with lingering fear.
"Is... is it over? That was so fast..."
She hadn't seen clearly just now; she only felt a flash of golden light, and that fierce-looking Spearow had fallen.
"Roy, you're amazing! Your commands were so calm!"
In the eyes Delia used to look at Roy, there were even more little stars of admiration.
Roy stood up and observed the surroundings.
"We need to leave here quickly. Spearow are social creatures; the commotion just now might attract its companions."
"Ah? Okay, sure!"
Delia nodded hurriedly.
The two didn't delay any further; Roy identified the direction and led Delia quickly away from the area.
Sure enough, less than five minutes after they left, a noisy "caw caw" sound came from the distant sky.
A dozen or so Spearow flapped their wings and arrived at the scene, circling and squawking around their unconscious companion, but they could no longer find any trace of the "culprit"... After bypassing the Spearow territory, the rest of the journey was much smoother.
The whole way was without alarm or danger.
By evening, the two had already covered more than half of the distance.
At this rate, they would be able to reach Viridian City before noon tomorrow.
As the sky grew dark, Roy chose a clearing near a small stream as tonight's campsite.
The terrain here was flat, the view was relatively open, and getting water was convenient.
"Delia, you prepare dinner. I'll set up the tent."
Roy took out the folding tent from his backpack.
"Okay~ leave it to me!"
Delia replied full of energy, also taking off her backpack and starting to pull out cookware and ingredients.
She had come very well-prepared this time, with various seasonings, canned goods, vegetables, and even a small bag of rice.
Soon, the campfire was lit, rice was cooking in a small pot, and sausages and mushrooms were frying in another skillet, an enticing aroma beginning to spread.
Pikachu crouched by the campfire, staring expectantly at the skillet, the corners of its mouth suspiciously glistening.
Eevee sat elegantly beside Delia, occasionally sweeping the ground with its tail, its posture composed.
On Roy's side, the tent frame was already propped up, and he was fixing the rainfly.
His movements were practiced; he clearly wasn't doing this for the first time.
Just as he leaned over to tighten the last guy line, his Aura Power suddenly picked up a faint, abnormal fluctuation.
Roy paused, turning his head sharply to look at the dense bushes behind Delia.
There... was something there.
And it was moving slowly.
Delia was humming a song while frying sausages when she suddenly felt Roy's gaze and subconsciously looked up.
Seeing Roy staring in her direction, and with a gaze that was a bit... focused?
Delia was stunned at first, then her cheeks flushed red.
She followed Roy's line of sight and looked down at herself.
Because she was leaning over to fry things, the collar of her tracksuit was slightly open, revealing a glimpse of a deep, snowy cleavage and black lace.
"Oh my~"
Delia gave a coquettish cry, but her heart was sweet.
Instead of pulling her collar tight, she quietly bent her waist even lower, making that enticing curve even more prominent.
Then she raised her watery eyes, licked her lips, and said in a voice with a hook:
"What are you looking at~ you big pervert..."
"That matter... we'll talk about it after we eat~"
"Let's focus on the important stuff for now~"
As she spoke, she subconsciously pressed her legs together, the blush on her face deepening.
Clearly, Delia thought Roy was once again lusting after her body.
Although Delia's seductive posture, as if ready for the taking, was indeed enticing, Roy really wasn't thinking about that right now.
"Woo~ hao~"
At that moment, a faint, somewhat eerie sound suddenly drifted out from the bushes behind Delia!
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