: First Capture, Reward: Potential Enhancement Fruit

Jiangchuan carried Xiaoxia on his back and made steady progress through the Viridian Forest.

Hanako followed beside her, while Ibuki nimbly scouted ahead, occasionally pricking up his ears to alert himself to any sounds around him.

"Jiang... Jiangchuan..." Xiaoxia buried her face in Jiangchuan's neck, her voice muffled, "Are you tired from walking? Am I... a little heavy?"

She could feel that Jiang Chuan's steps were steady and his breathing was even, but she still felt bad about being carried on his back for so long.

"It's alright." Jiang Chuan said honestly, deliberately lifting his hand to weigh it in his hand. "It's lighter than I expected. You usually look quite energetic, I didn't expect you to be so thin."

"Right? I have a great figure, right?" Xiaoxia said instinctively, but quickly realized that this was not the time to talk about that.

She could clearly feel Jiang Chuan's hands supporting her knees and buttocks; his warm palms, through the thin fabric of her shorts, almost burned her skin.

Especially when he occasionally adjusted his position, his fingers would accidentally brush against the sensitive skin on the inside of her thigh, and that feeling...

She could only cling tightly to Jiang Chuan's neck, pressing herself more closely against his broad back, as if that could ease the inexplicable flutter in her heart.

Hanako saw everything, her smile deepening, but she considerately said nothing. Instead, she carefully observed their surroundings, clearing away any unnecessary "sources of fright" for them.

As Jiang Chuan walked, he quietly unleashed his waveguide power.

An invisible ripple of perception emanated from him and slowly spread outwards to the surrounding forest.

According to the waveguide's perception, the forest is filled with life energy of varying sizes and strengths.

Most of them are Bug and Flying types, and their energy is generally weak, but there are a few that are relatively bright.

He was searching for that particular green caterpillar from his memory.

Waveguide power can not only sense location, but also vaguely sense the "quality" of life energy.

What he was looking for was that energy that stood out among the weak, that was exceptionally resilient, active, and even a little agile.

As Jiang Chuan traveled, he also used waveguides to search for the high-potential green caterpillar.

Of course, any other wild Pokémon encountered along the way, as long as they weren't actively avoided or seemed to have potential, became experience packs for Pikachu and Eevee to level up.

After their battles, Pikachu and Eevee's teamwork became increasingly seamless.

After most of the day, Pikachu's level had increased significantly.

[Pokémon: Pikachu, Level: lv14→lv17]

As long as you avoid actively provoking large, aggressive groups like Beedrill and Finch, and stay away from individuals with particularly strong energy reactions, the outskirts of Viridian Forest are indeed a good place for newbies to level up.

It allows you to accumulate practical experience and steadily improve your level.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu delivered a clean and swift electric shock, knocking out a Rattata that was trying to sneak up on it.

After the battle ended, the little guy wiped away non-existent sweat and looked at Jiang Chuan as if seeking credit.

"Well done, Pikachu," Jiang Chuan praised, stopping in his tracks and taking out some specially made Pokémon food and a few berries from his backpack. "Take a break and replenish your energy."

He carefully placed Xiaoxia on a clean, large rock.

Xiaoxia didn't scream this time, but her feet were still a little weak when they landed. She sat down close to Jiang Chuan and looked around warily.

Jiang Chuan squatted down and began feeding Pikachu and Eevee.

Hanako also took out a water bottle and handed it to Xia: "Have some water, Xia. You must be tired from the journey."

"I... I'm not the one who's suffering. It's Jiang Chuan who's suffering..." Xiaoxia took the water bottle and mumbled apologetically, but her eyes kept sneaking glances at Jiang Chuan's focused profile.

Watching him carefully break the food into small pieces, and seeing Pikachu and Eevee eating happily, his eyes were filled with tenderness.

Xiaoxia suddenly realized that Jiangchuan was quite charming.

He looks much better than when he was making boastful claims.

There were no Bug-type Pokémon around for the time being, only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional bird calls from afar.

The atmosphere was momentarily peaceful and warm.

Seeing that the insectoid creatures around had been cleared away, Xiaoxia became a little bolder and tried to leave the big rock to stand by herself for a while.

But just as her toes touched the ground and she was about to stretch, she suddenly...

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of something moving in the bushes behind Hanako's position!

"Insect, Hanako-nee, watch out! Behind you!"

Xiaoxia almost screamed, instinctively jumping back again, and with a whoosh, she skillfully shrank back onto Jiang Chuan's back, instantly wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him.

"Huh?" Even Hanako, who wasn't afraid of insects, was startled by her sudden scream and quickly turned around to look.

Upon seeing this, Hanako was slightly taken aback and subconsciously took a half step back.

A green caterpillar slowly crawled out of the bushes behind her.

But this caterpillar is unlike any other caterpillar I've ever seen before!

It is noticeably larger than its kind, and its body has a deeper, more lustrous emerald green color, resembling the finest jade.

Its two red antennae on its head trembled slightly, and its small, dark eyes looked exceptionally bright, even carrying a sense of composure and spirituality that seemed out of place for its species.

Unlike ordinary caterpillars that would panic and run away or attack blindly upon seeing humans, it stopped in place, raised its head slightly, and curiously looked at Jiang Chuan and the other two, its gaze lingering especially on Jiang Chuan and the Pikachu beside him for a while.

"This green caterpillar..." Hanako said in surprise, "It looks really special."

Jiang Chuan looked up in that direction, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

At the same time, a system notification sounded in his ear right on time.

[Ding, side quest triggered: First capture.]

[Mission Objective: Complete your first Pokémon capture through battle.]

[Mission Reward: 1 Beginner Potential Enhancement Fruit – Permanently increases the potential level of Pokémon below Elite Four level by 1 upon use.]

The triggering of the script point also confirms that this green caterpillar is extraordinary.

However, upon seeing the phrase "through combat" in the mission description, Jiang Chuan immediately laughed.

"Which rich guy is this subtly criticizing?"

He couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath.

The best way for a novice trainer to capture a Pokémon is to send it into battle, weaken it, and then capture it with a Poké Ball.

Does that mean you can catch it by hitting it with a Poké Ball?

Whether you're a person or a trainer, you can't be too extravagant.

"Pikachu." Jiang Chuan lifted Xiaoxia up a little on his back so that she could lie more steadily, and then gave the command to Pikachu, who had rested enough.

"Prepare for battle. Use Quick Attack to get close, then use Electric Shock to defeat the caterpillar. Just defeat it, don't go too far."

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu perked up, tiny sparks of electricity flickering in its cheek pouches, and its figure instantly transformed into a streak of yellow lightning, charging fiercely towards the peculiar caterpillar.

The caterpillar remained calm despite the Pikachu rushing towards it.

A glint of fighting spirit flashed in its eyes, and its fat body twisted suddenly, managing to roll a short distance to the side in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding Pikachu's lightning-fast head-on collision!

"Huh?" Xiaoxia, who was clinging to Jiang Chuan's back, forgot her fear and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

This green caterpillar's reaction and speed far surpass those of its peers!

…………

After several moves, Pikachu finally defeated it.

The caterpillar was struck by the electric current, its body twitched a few times, and finally collapsed helplessly to the ground, losing its ability to fight. However, there seemed to be no resentment in its eyes, only exhaustion.

This Caterpie is really something, it even managed to exchange a few blows with Pikachu. Although Pikachu isn't at full strength right now and has been through a few battles before, it's still far beyond what an ordinary Caterpie can do.

However, the gap in hard power still exists.

Pikachu can easily handle a caterpillar.

After a few moves, the caterpillar collapsed to the ground.

Without hesitation, Jiang Chuan took out an empty Poké Ball from his waist, weighed it slightly in his hand, and then flicked his wrist. The Poké Ball drew a precise arc and hit Caterpie.

The red light absorbed it.

The Poké Ball landed on the grass and wobbled.

One, two, three...

"Ding!"

A crisp sound effect of taming rang out.

The Poké Ball stopped shaking, and the button in the center lit up with a steady glow.

[Ding! Side quest "First Capture" complete!]

[Mission Reward: 1 Beginner Potential Enhancement Fruit, already sent to your system inventory.]

Jiang Chuan stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the Poké Ball that had captured Caterpie.

Slightly heavy to start with.

As he picked up the Poké Ball, Caterpie's control panel was immediately connected to the system and appeared clearly in his mind.

[Pokémon: Caterpie]

[Attribute: Insect]

[Level: lv6 (Beginner)]

[Potential: Dojo Level]

[Ability: Scale Powder - Immune to additional effects from opponent's moves.]

[Skills: Impact, Silk Shooting]

【Items to bring: None】

[Special Enhancement: None]

Jiang Chuan glanced at the panel and felt satisfied.

It truly is a high-potential caterpillar.

In the Caterpie population, those that reach the Elite level are considered excellent, and those that reach the Gym level are extremely rare.

And this one's potential is actually as high as the gym level!

The potential of these Bug-type Pokémon is often related to their vitality, lifespan, and some kind of hidden spirituality.

The higher the potential, the stronger its vitality and the longer its lifespan, which can help trainers transition for a longer period of time in the early stages.

In addition, the Caterpie evolution chain requires relatively few experience points, and it can quickly evolve into Metapod, and then emerge from its cocoon as Butterfree.

Once it evolves into Butterfree, it can immediately form a considerable fighting force, mastering a variety of practical skills such as psychic powers, illusions, hypnotic powder, and paralyzing powder, making it extremely valuable in tactics.

Basically, Jiang Chuan planned to focus one of the core strengths of his early-game lineup on this caterpillar.

It is very suitable for quickly building up combat strength to deal with the first gym and even the rest of the journey.

"Jiang Chuan, are you really going to raise this green caterpillar?"

Seeing that Caterpie had been successfully caught and that Jiang Chuan looked satisfied with the Poké Ball, Xiaoxia finally dared to slide off his back and land on her feet.

But she still clung tightly to Jiang Chuan, her little hand gripping his arm, looking at the Poké Ball and expressing the doubts in her heart.

"This isn't exactly a Pokémon worth putting too much effort into, is it?"

Xiaoxia received formal and comprehensive Gym Leader training from a young age. Although she mainly focuses on Water-type Pokémon, she also has a systematic understanding of common Pokémon of other types, especially basic Pokémon like Caterpie that new trainers inevitably encounter on their journey.

She was well aware of the common perceptions and drawbacks of green caterpillars.

With a relatively short lifespan and a fixed, short evolutionary cycle, Butterfree's base stats in its final form are relatively low among its final evolutions.

Aside from a few trainers who specialize in Bug-type Pokémon or for certain tactical needs, most trainers treat Caterpie as a "test kit" for newcomers to practice on and accumulate early experience, or they catch it and quickly release or trade it, rarely raising it as a main force for later stages.

Along the way, Jiang Chuan had been giving Pikachu all the Caterpie and Weedle that it encountered to practice with, so why did he catch this one of them? And why raise it?

Out of concern for her companion and her own doubts, the straightforward Xia blurted out the words that "it's not worth training."

She feared that Jiang Chuan, due to a lack of understanding, would waste precious resources and effort on this "ordinary" caterpillar.