Deep in the forest.
Roy was withdrawing his hand with satisfaction.
Wild Pokémon lay scattered across the surrounding grass: Rattata, Raticate, Spearow, Caterpie...
All of them had been zapped until they were charred on the outside and tender on the inside, smoke rising from their bodies. However, none had fainted; they just lay on the ground trembling, their eyes filled with the plea: "Big brother, have mercy."
This forest level-grinding session had brought a huge wave of growth to Roy's team.
[Pokémon: Pikachu, Level: lv43→lv46]
[Pokémon: Bulbasaur, Level: lv33→lv35]
[Pokémon: Pidgeotto→Pidgeot, Level: lv35→lv36]
[Pokémon: Wartortle, Level: lv18→lv20]
[Pokémon: Charmeleon, Level: lv18→lv24]
[Pokémon: Horsea, Level: lv15→lv16]
[Pokémon: Gastly, Level: lv12→lv14]
Pikachu, with the bonus from the vip experience badge, saw its experience bar rise like it was on a rocket, directly gaining three levels.
Charmeleon wasn't bad either; the experience bonus from the Legendary Trial allowed it to jump directly from level 18 to 24. It wouldn't be long before it could evolve into Charizard.
Wartortle and Gastly also saw improvements.
As for Horsea...
Because it was a Water-type, it spent most of its time on land inside its poké ball. With pitifully few chances to appear, its level progression was the slowest.
It couldn't be helped; there were just too few rivers and ditches along the way.
However, what satisfied Roy the most was Pidgeotto.
Even though it only gained one level.
But it was this one level that allowed it to complete its final evolution—Pidgeot!
Roy looked up at the behemoth before him and couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap, it's huge."
Pidgeot stood before him like a small airplane.
Pidgeotto's size had already been massive at over two meters tall, but now it was invincible; its standing height alone was nearly five meters.
Its feathers were a gorgeous golden-brown, shimmering in the sunlight. Especially those wings—when spread, they were at least a dozen meters wide!
Pidgeot lowered its head and nuzzled Roy.
Roy was nudged into a stumble. He reached out and stroked its beak. "Alright, alright, stop acting like a baby."
Delia stood to the side, looking up at Pidgeot, her beautiful eyes full of wonder. "So big... it's really too big..."
Misty's mouth was also wide open. After a long while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Is... is this really what Pidgeotto turned into?"
Roy smiled. "That's right."
"Then..." Misty blinked. "Can it carry the three of us to fly together now?"
Roy looked at Pidgeot's back.
Broad, flat, and with soft feathers. Visually, it seemed like sitting three or four people would be no problem at all.
"It should be possible."
During its Pidgeotto stage, it could only carry Roy alone.
But now?
Forget three people; two more would be fine.
Roy suddenly imagined a scene: himself riding Pidgeot, with Delia sitting on the left and Misty on the right, the three of them soaring through the clouds.
Now, who could tell the difference between me and the Return of the Condor Heroes?
"Goo~"
Pidgeot nuzzled Roy again, its large eyes blinking, filled with expectation.
Roy understood instantly.
He pulled a large bag of Pokémon food from his backpack, opened the packaging, and poured a pile in front of Pidgeot with a clatter.
Pidgeot lowered its head, opened its beak, and took a peck.
Gulp.
It swallowed it.
Then it raised its head again, looking at Roy, its big eyes continuing to blink.
Roy: "..."
Roy poured another pile.
Pidgeot took another peck.
Swallowed again.
Raised its head to look at him again.
Big eyes blinking.
That look seemed to say: Master, I just started my appetizer.
Delia covered her mouth and giggled from the side.
Misty burst out laughing. "Hahaha, Roy, your bird seems to have quite an appetite!"
Roy was also happy. He directly took out compressed pokéblocks and continued feeding.
"Eat! Eat as much as you want!"
He was a man worth over two million now!
Could a mere Pidgeot really eat him into poverty?
One piece, two pieces, three pieces...
Pidgeot ate more and more happily, its tail even perking up.
...
In the distance.
Behind a massive rock, three heads peeked out cautiously.
Jessie held a pair of binoculars with only half a lens left, trying hard to peer toward Roy's direction.
Through the half-lens, she saw that massive Pidgeot.
Then her whole body shuddered, and she nearly threw the binoculars away.
"My goodness..." she murmured.
James and Meowth looked at her nervously.
James: "Jessie, what did you see?"
Meowth: "Yeah, yeah, what did you see, meow?"
Jessie swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly. "That brat's... bird..."
James was stunned. "What?"
Jessie: "That brat's bird! It's really big! Super big!"
As she spoke, she shoved the binoculars to James. "See for yourself!"
James took the binoculars and looked. For a moment, his mind went to the wrong place.
He awkwardly lowered the binoculars and stuttered, "This... this... how about no? I'm not really interested..."
Jessie slapped him on the back of the head. "What do you mean not interested? Look!"
James had no choice but to raise the binoculars again.
This time, he finally saw clearly—the super, incredibly massive Pidgeot.
"Whoa!" James was also startled. "This is way too big!"
Meowth was jumping with anxiety. "Let me see too, meow! Let me see too, meow!"
Jessie handed the binoculars to Meowth.
Meowth took a look, its cat eyes widening into circles. "Holy meow! That brat's bird really is huge, meow!"
The trio fell into a brief silence.
Then they looked down at the wooden sticks they were holding.
They were sticks they had picked up randomly by the roadside, one for each person, intended as weapons for a sneak attack to steal Pikachu.
Sticks.
Ordinary wooden sticks.
The thickest part wasn't even as thick as a wrist.
Then they looked at that Pidgeot's talons.
Those talons were thicker than their sticks, longer than their sticks, and the sharp nails glinted coldly in the sunlight.
If one talon came down, forget the sticks—the three of them combined wouldn't be enough for it to grab.
The trio looked at each other again.
Jessie: "Retreat?"
James: "Retreat."
Meowth: "Retreat quickly, meow!"
The three of them ducked back behind the rock in a flash, not even daring to breathe loudly.
After a long while, once they were sure there was no movement from that side, they finally let out a long breath.
"That was too close, too close..." Jessie patted her chest. "We almost gave ourselves away for nothing."
James took out a map, spread it on the rock, and pointed to a city marked on it. "We are... here. The nearest big city to us is..."
His finger moved across the map and finally stopped at a location.
"Celadon City!"
Meowth leaned in to look. "Celadon City, meow... that's a huge metropolis, meow!"
Jessie's eyes lit up. "A metropolis? Does that mean... there are lots of rich people?"
James nodded. "Definitely! Celadon City has a Gym, a large department store, and all sorts of shops. It's one of the most prosperous cities in the Kanto region!"
Meowth's cat eyes also lit up. "Does that mean... there's lots of good food, meow?"
Jessie slapped Meowth on the head. "All you think about is eating! We need to get money!"
She paused, a confident smile appearing on her face. "First we get money, then we buy some decent equipment, and then we come back to steal that Pikachu!"
"And steal that big bird too while we're at it!" James added.
"That's right, meow!" Meowth clenched its paws. "That big bird looks like it's worth a lot of money, meow!"
The trio looked at each other again, the light of hope igniting in their eyes.
"Let's go! To Celadon City!"
"Let's move!"
"Charge, meow!"
The three of them packed up their sticks, slung their tattered backpacks, and scurried off toward Celadon City.