Deep in the forest.
Roy was feeding them enthusiastically. Pidgeot lowered its head and ate ravenously. Pikachu held a jar of Ketchup and dipped bread into it, its cheeks bulging. Eevee was lying directly on the ground, holding its food, its little belly round and full.
Delia squatted to the side, handing over snacks from time to time with a gentle smile.
Misty stood with her hands on her hips, looking at the group of foodies and couldn't help but complain: "Are you Pokemon or bottomless pits?"
Just as she finished speaking.
Roy's Aura Power suddenly stirred.
Hmm?
He raised an eyebrow slightly and took a discreet glance at the bushes not far away.
There, a faint Aura was quietly approaching.
Carefully.
Sneakily.
And a bit... greedy?
The corner of Roy's mouth curled up slightly. He pretended not to notice and continued feeding Pidgeot.
After a while.
A white head suddenly popped out of the bushes.
Round.
Two small eyes darted around.
Below the nose, two dark nostrils were particularly prominent.
A Mankey!
At the same time Roy saw the Mankey, a sound instantly rang in his ears.
Ding!
[Triggered Task: Capture the Mankey without provoking it!]
[Task Reward: intermediate rare candy * 2]
Roy's eyes lit up.
Another intermediate rare candy?
His team's combat power was almost all about to break through the level 30 Elite threshold.
The more intermediate rare candies, the better!
He glanced at the Mankey peeking in the distance.
That white head popped out for a bit and then retracted, clearly observing the situation.
But those eyes were staring intently at the pile of pokéblocks in front of Pidgeot, almost glowing green.
Roy quickly recalled in his mind.
In the original script, there was indeed a rather special Mankey near Celadon City.
Irritable, but with quite good potential.
It had a characteristic—it especially liked human food.
So whenever Trainers passed by, it would actively jump out to ask for food.
But the problem was that this guy's temper was too explosive.
In the original script, that unlucky guy James encountered it once. Not sure what went wrong in his head, but he went up and gave it an "Evolution Kick."
As a result, the Mankey evolved into a Primeape on the spot and chased him for a whole episode, finally beating him into a pit and still not letting him go.
But this time...
The Mankey didn't rush out like in the original script; instead, it kept peeking and observing the situation.
Roy was puzzled for a moment, then looked at the mountain-sized Pidgeot beside him.
Understood.
Although Mankey has a hot temper, it's not stupid.
With such a huge Pidgeot standing there, its claws bigger than the Mankey's head, if it dared to rush out and steal food, it would probably be flattened into a monkey pancake with one claw.
So it only dared to hide in the bushes and peek secretly.
Watching while drooling.
"Just right," Roy chuckled to himself. "It's easier to capture if it's well-behaved."
He clapped his hands and stood up.
Misty was squatting and organizing the food. She looked back at him: "Where are you going?"
Roy didn't speak. He took a pile of food and simply walked towards those bushes.
Delia carefully followed his gaze and soon discovered the white head, gently pulling Misty's sleeve: "Over there."
Misty looked over, her eyes lighting up: "A Mankey?"
"Are you going to capture it?" She tilted her head and looked at Roy: "You want to capture it? Wouldn't a direct battle be better? Why walk over?"
Roy smiled: "Maybe we don't need to fight?"
Misty blinked: "You're not thinking of using food to lure it, are you?"
"Is that not okay?"
"It's okay, I guess..." Misty curled her lip. "But one that can be lured and captured with food is just a greedy pig, isn't it? No backbone at all."
Just as she finished speaking.
Pidgeot, who was buried in its food, suddenly paused.
Tilted its head.
Its big eyes blinked.
Pikachu, who was nibbling on bread, also stopped.
Tilted its head.
Its ears twitched.
Eevee, lying on the ground holding its food, was also stunned.
Tilted its head.
Its little paws still held the food suspended in mid-air.
The three Pokemon all looked at Misty in unison.
Their eyes were full of: "Are you talking about me?"
Misty: "..."
Delia covered her mouth and giggled to the side.
Roy looked back and was amused: "Alright, alright, she wasn't talking about you. Keep eating."
Only then did Pidgeot continue to eat ravenously.
Pikachu continued to nibble.
Eevee continued to lie flat.
Roy smiled and waved his hand, continuing towards the bushes.
...
Inside the bushes.
The Mankey was incredibly nervous.
It watched helplessly as that human walked towards it.
Should it run?
But... the things that human was holding smelled so good!
As the scent drifted over, the Mankey's nose couldn't help but twitch.
It secretly swallowed its saliva.
Closer.
Even closer.
The Mankey's hind legs were already tensing, ready to bolt at any moment.
But just then.
The human stopped.
He stopped about three or four meters away from the bushes.
Then, he squatted down.
He placed the food in his hands on the ground.
Golden pokéblocks.
Fragrant Pokemon snacks.
And a small bag of jerky of some unknown brand.
The Mankey's eyes instantly fixed on them.
It stared intently at the pile of food, its nostrils dilating and its breathing quickening.
Dammit.
I want to eat it so bad.
But that human is right there!
And that big eagle over there!
A fierce mental struggle was going on in the Mankey's head.
To eat, or not to eat?
That is the question.
Just then.
The human suddenly stepped back a few paces.
He backed away directly to five or six meters away.
Then he just stood there, looking at the bushes with a smile.
That look seemed to say: Come out, it's all yours.
The Mankey was stunned.
It looked at the pile of food.
Then at the human who had backed away.
Then back at the pile of food.
Then at the big eagle still eating ravenously over there.
Finally, it came out.
A white head first peeked out from the bushes, looking left and right.
Then the little body.
Then the two short legs.
The Mankey tiptoed to the pile of food.
It looked up at Roy.
Roy didn't move.
The Mankey looked down at the food again.
Then up at Roy.
Then down at the food.
Finally, it couldn't help itself.
It grabbed a pokéblock and stuffed it into its mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
The Mankey's eyes instantly lit up!
Delicious!
Truly delicious!
It began to gorge itself, using both paws, wishing it could just pour the food into its mouth.
Roy smiled and slowly approached.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
He squatted down and slowly reached out his hand, preparing to pat the Mankey's head.
But as soon as his hand reached out—
"Sss..."
The Mankey suddenly pulled back its neck, bared its teeth, and made a warning sound, its small eyes screaming "Don't touch me!"
Oh?
Roy was amused: "Protecting your food?"
The Mankey ignored him and continued to eat ravenously, but while eating, it kept glancing at Roy out of the corner of its eye, ready to turn hostile at any moment.
Roy wasn't in a hurry either; he just squatted nearby and watched.
Soon.
The food was finished.
The Mankey licked its paws, licked its mouth, and then looked up at Roy.
Tilted its head.
Its big eyes blinked.
That look seemed to say: Is there more?
Roy chuckled to himself.
Of course not.
He had intentionally only brought this much.
The goal was to make this little guy unable to stop.
He spread his hands: "None left."
The Mankey was stunned.
It looked down at the empty ground.
Then up at Roy.
Then down at the ground again.
Then, its expression visibly collapsed.
Its small eyes were full of disappointment.
It looked just like a left-behind monkey that hadn't had enough to eat.
Roy suppressed a laugh and leaned in a bit.
This time, he didn't reach out to touch it.
Instead, he directly released his Aura Power.
A gentle mental fluctuation softly enveloped the Mankey.
The Mankey's whole body stiffened.
It felt something touching its head, but it wasn't a hand; it was an indescribable, very comfortable feeling.
Immediately after, a voice rang directly in its mind:
[Do you want to eat more?]
The Mankey's eyes widened suddenly, and it looked around.
Who? Who's speaking?
[It's me.]
The Mankey's gaze fell on Roy.
It was stunned.
This human? This human was talking to it? Talking directly with his head?
Roy smiled and continued to communicate with Aura:
[Of course there's more food. As long as you're willing to follow me, I can take you to eat delicacies from all over the world in the future. How about it?]
The Mankey tilted its head, its small eyes full of doubt.
It could indeed clearly understand this human's words.
It wasn't like the usual guessing; it was a clear meaning stuffed directly into its brain.
So magical.
But...
Human delicacies from all over the world?
Images instantly appeared in the Mankey's mind.
Golden pokéblocks.
Fragrant jerky.
And those sweet, soft things whose names it didn't know.
It swallowed its saliva.
But soon, it shook its head.
No, no!
It wasn't an ordinary Pokemon!
How could it be lured by food!
The Mankey waved its little fists and made "Jigu Jigu" sounds.
Roy's Aura Power translated it simultaneously:
[I'm very strong! Food can't lure me! To capture me, you must battle!]
Roy raised an eyebrow.
Oh, quite some backbone.
The Mankey continued to wave its fists:
[But!]
It paused and secretly glanced at that huge Pidgeot over there.
[I... I won't fight that big eagle!]
Roy was stunned for a moment.
Then he was amused.
Good heavens, so it really was afraid of Pidgeot.
No wonder this little guy was so well-behaved today; it turned out it was scared.
He suppressed a laugh and nodded: "Alright, no fighting Pidgeot."
He turned around and pointed at the group of Pokemon eating behind him:
"Those are also mine. Pick one, who do you want to fight?"
The Mankey immediately looked in the direction he pointed.
Pikachu.
Yellow, small, round, still nibbling on bread there, its cheeks bulging like two little buns.
Bulbasaur.
Carrying a large garlic bulb on its back, looking a bit silly, but its expression wasn't great; it probably couldn't fight well.
Charmeleon.
This one looked a bit dangerous, with fire burning on its tail, clearly not one to be trifled with.
Wartortle.
Tucked away to the side quietly eating, looking quite honest, but probably also not easy to fight.
The Mankey scanned the group quickly.
Then—
Its gaze fixed on Pikachu.
That yellow mouse!
Small!
Round!
Looks the easiest to bully!
The Mankey raised its paw, pointed at Pikachu, and made excited sounds:
[That one! The yellow mouse! Come out! That's the one! I want to fight it!]
Roy followed its paw.
Pikachu was happily nibbling on bread, completely unaware of what was happening.
Roy suppressed a smile and nodded.
"Alright, you wait."
He turned and walked towards Pikachu.
...
Pikachu was eating happily.
Suddenly, a hand reached over and picked it up.
"Pika?"
Pikachu blinked, half a piece of Ketchup bread still in its mouth.
Roy set it on the ground and pointed at the Mankey over there: "Got some work to do."
Pikachu looked over.
The Mankey was standing there, waving its little fists, looking overbearing.
Pikachu tilted its head.
Then looked at the Pidgeot over there.
Then at Roy.
That look seemed to ask: Why me?
Roy squatted down and whispered: "He specifically asked to fight you, do me a favor."
Pikachu sighed.
It swallowed the half piece of bread in its mouth.
Then it walked towards the Mankey with its short legs.
...
Seeing Pikachu walk over, the Mankey was already overjoyed.
This little mouse, its walk is all wobbly, how strong could it be?
It took a deep breath and took a fighting stance.
Its two small fists clenched.
Its two short legs slightly bent.
Its small eyes were full of fighting spirit.
Pikachu stopped three or four meters in front of it.
It just stood there.
Its little paws hung naturally.
There was no expression on its face.
It even looked a bit sleepy.
The Mankey was stunned.
This mouse... why isn't it taking a stance?
Whatever!
Strike first!
The Mankey pushed off with its legs and rushed at Pikachu!
Its small fists were clenched tight, aiming for Pikachu's head.
"Jigu!"
A punch thrown!
Then.
Pikachu moved.
It just slightly tilted its body.
The Mankey's punch flew past its ear.
The Mankey was startled.
Before it could react, Pikachu's tail suddenly lit up with white light.
Iron Tail!
A silver-white arc sliced through the air.
Boom!!!
The tail slammed solidly into the Mankey's belly.
The Mankey's entire body instantly flew out.
It rotated three and a half times in the air.
Then it hit the ground with a splat, bounced up, fell again, and rolled twice.
Finally, it lay at the base of a large tree.
The Mankey's mind was blank.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What just happened?
It struggled to crawl up.
But just then.
Pikachu's voice rang out:
"Pika—chu!"
Thunderbolt!
Golden electric light erupted from both sides of Pikachu's cheeks, turning into a thick bolt of lightning that accurately slammed into the Mankey!
Zzzt zzzt zzzt!!!
The Mankey was wrapped in electric light, its fur standing on end, its body shaking violently.
"Ji, gugugugugugu..."
Even its screams had electronic sound effects.
Two seconds later.
The electric light vanished.
The Mankey fell straight back onto the ground, black smoke rising from its body, its limbs still twitching slightly.
It stared with wide eyes at the sky.
Its eyes were full of confusion.
This... what kind of mouse is this?
So... so powerful???
It was the strongest Mankey in this forest!
It had fought Spearow, fought Rattata, and even fought a Fearow to a draw!
As a result...
It was sent flying by a mouse's tail and then one-shotted by an electric shock?
The Mankey's worldview collapsed.