The dream of becoming a Pokémon master

Kyosuke walked alone in the grove.

Heading to the next city. Don't ask which city it is, that's up to fate.

There was originally no path in the woods, but as more people walked there, the trees on both sides of the path tore the sky apart, leaving a slit, so that one could clearly see the bright sky while walking along the path.

The ground beneath my feet was mud, with only one or two wild grasses peeking out, but they were always easily crushed and easily regenerated.

The feeling of walking on the soil was completely different from the uninhabited area inside the Viridian Forest. The solid feel underfoot, and the absence of all sorts of mysterious plants creeping up your legs to caress your skin, made Kyosuke exclaim, "This is the right way to travel!"

A Pidgey flew overhead.

"A wild flying Pokémon."

A groundhog walked by.

"A wild ground Pokémon."

An Arbok snake crawls in a dark corner.

"A wild Poison-type Poison Pokémon."

A large bee appeared in Kyosuke's field of vision.

"A wild poisonous insect... wait, a beedrill?"

Beedrills don't live alone!

slip away...

"I'm Billy from Greenwood Town, the trainer over there. Let's have a Pokémon battle!" A head popped out of the grass behind Beedrill.

A wild trainer—no, a wild ATM. Kyosuke's eyes lit up.

There are some unspoken rules among traveling trainers. If the allowance from their parents isn't enough and they need more, trainers confident in their abilities can challenge other trainers they encounter on their journey. The winner receives a certain amount of money from the other trainer, usually less than three hundred. However, if they lose even their last penny, they'll have to wait until they reach the next town to work and earn money.

Of course, to prevent experienced trainers from bullying newcomers, the default playstyle is generally adopted for novice trainers under the age of fifteen.

But this Billy looks like he's already twenty! He's all muscle, making you want to keep your distance.

"No, thank you," Kyosuke refused. Although he could tell from Beedrill that this person was not of high rank, Kyosuke did not like people who broke the rules of the game.

"A thousand! If you win, I'll give you a thousand dollars! For a kid like you, a thousand dollars is a lot of money, right? And if you lose, you only need to give me 500!" Billy took out a wad of cash from his pocket and waved it at Kyosuke.

This guy has already swindled a lot of kids out of their money. Looks like I'm the one to punish the bad guys! Kyosuke nodded and said to Billy, "No, I want ten thousand. If you lose, I'll give you five thousand." He then took out five thousand dollars from his bag, showed it to Billy, and then put it back.

Billy, seeing the money, didn't care about anything else: "Come on! My Pokémon is him! Come out, Machamp! After this job, we can rest!"

"Hey!" Gollum shouted to Kyosuke as he made his entrance, flexing his muscles with both hands.

"Using a low-level Beedrill to give the illusion of a low-level character, luring newbies into the trap with a high price tag, and then using Machoke to solve the problem. Not a bad strategy, but this Machoke looks too weak." Kyosuke looked at the Machoke in front of him and silently complained to himself.

Machamp is usually a heavily trained Pokémon with a muscular build, but this Machamp seems underdeveloped. It has muscles but they're not prominent, and it's shorter than the average 1.5 meters. Fighting-type Pokémon are generally judged by their height and muscle mass, and this one is definitely only good enough to bully newcomers.

"This is someone without talent," Kyosuke thought to himself.

Ultimately, there are too many people in the world who lack talent. Some people spend their entire lives without ever evolving their starter Pokémon even once, and the Pokémon they capture are among the weakest in their species.

Of course, most people choose to study or work at the age of ten, and only a minority ultimately become trainers.

After all, only children think that becoming a trainer doesn't require money.

Just by applying, you have a chance? You must be living in a dream. Does the League have ten thousand Dittos breeding every day?

Some children from impoverished families also have the opportunity to travel, which naturally occurs after a transaction, carrying the hopes of their families on their journey.

However, the vast majority of people aspire to become trainers. Even if they know they lack the talent, they will still try their best.

Many adults only own one or two Pokémon, mostly because they gave up when they couldn't become trainers or get stronger, and later acquired ordinary Pokémon due to work, company assignments, or personal purchases.

Fortunately, he could be considered somewhat talented! Kyosuke felt relieved and took out a Poké Ball: "Come out, you crybaby!"

During this period of travel, Kyosuke's Nidoran has gradually gotten used to, and even come to enjoy, fighting.

From birth, he encountered the highest-level Pokémon he had ever met, and after being taken away by Kyosuke, he was subjected to a series of high-pressure or high-energy battles. Under such circumstances, it would be difficult to enjoy battles; no, it would be quite difficult not to cry.

After leaving Viridian City, Nidoran felt like his spring had arrived. He'd been thrashed by Charmander in the morning, and by noon a newbie with his Charmander was already delivering free kills to him. He'd accidentally gotten a beating from Caterpie for being too sarcastic, and soon after, a trainer with Butterfree would come to challenge him.

Hahaha! The confident and powerful me now! That's the real me! After roaming the high-level maps, Nidoran can easily take down any Pokémon he encounters back in the starting village, right?

He was so engrossed in his fantasies that he couldn't break free, and even being tortured by the little dragon every day couldn't distort his smiling face.

This time, he also appeared with a smile on his face.

Huh? This level of power? What a weakling.

"Huh? A Nidoran of this level? What a weakling." Billy laughed loudly when he saw the Pokémon that Kyosuke sent out.

For trainers of their caliber, it's not just their own abilities and Pokémon level that are lacking; their eyesight is also miles behind that of elite trainers.

They can only judge a Pokémon's strength by simply looking at whether it has reached its final evolution form, rather than focusing on how well the Pokémon has been trained.

In his eyes, Nidoran was just a Pokémon with Machop strength, and he couldn't possibly flip this luxury car.

Nidoran, of course, wouldn't be easily mocked. He fights ten opponents of this caliber every day! What's this Machoke compared to that?

"Since I initiated the fight, I'll naturally go first!" Billy chuckled. "Horsepower, use your bare-handed chop!"

"Crybaby, take it!" Kyosuke gave the order.

Machamp's right hand struck Nidoran directly. Nidoran didn't tremble at all, but Machamp's face turned blue and purple.

"Poison needle, finish him off."

Nidoran used his poison needles. The effect was mediocre. Maurice was knocked down.

Solved, that's so easy.