The next morning, Alex rose at dawn.
As a trainer dedicated to mastering both wilderness skirmishes and regulated battles, he adhered to strict physical conditioning—a baseline discipline maintained even during holidays, his daily training regimen unbroken.
Physical training was his invigorating ritual.
'Haaah—'
After a brisk slap to his cheeks and freshening up, Alex powered through a quick breakfast—efficiency overriding indulgence even on rest days.
After briskly changing into workout gear and fueling up, Alex methodically prepped Caterpie's bowl with ample Pokéblocks and electrolyte mix—his pre-adventure ritual as precise as a Gym Leader's battle prep.
Once awake, the little creature would dutifully eat its nutrient-packed Pokéblocks and begin practicing Dragon Ascent drills alongside other regimen exercises—Alex's role reduced to strategic oversight rather than micromanagement, a testament to their battle-synced partnership.
A Caterpie with both innate talent and self-discipline that seems mirroring its trainer's grit—a specimen this exceptional is a rare gem even if you combed through every meadow with a lantern..
Alex was thoroughly satisfied with Caterpie being his starter Pokémon. The bond between a trainer and their Pokémon is fundamentally simple—when they click, they become lifelong partners.
Pokémon aren't just a trainer's... No, they're humanity's greatest companions.
Pokémon are inherently pure and benevolent creatures. Though possessing intellect rivaling humans, their psyche remains uncomplicated—once imprinting on a person, they persist in offering affection and loyalty even if mistreated. These guileless beings prioritize emotional bonds over transactional logic.
If a trainer offers sincere devotion to their Pokémon, those creatures will reciprocate with a hundredfold, thousandfold, ten-thousandfold of unwavering fidelity—affection exponentially amplified by bonds transcending mere numerical calculation.
"Scree!"
At the street's edge, Alex tilted his head skyward as a murmuration of Spearow and Taillow sliced through the air above him—wingbeats syncing into solar-aligned flight paths before dissolving behind cumulus veils, their silhouettes erased from his tracking gaze.
Lining the streets stood sentinel trees whose branches heavy with perennial foliage hosted non-migratory avian Pokémon—species like Pidgey and Pidove, creatures of more docile dispositions, instinctively selecting these towering evergreens as prime nesting sites where seasonal leaf-shed wouldn't jeopardize their brood.
Through the verdant undergrowth darted a trio of sly-eyed Rattata—their whiskers twitching with schemes of where to feast today. From shadowed alleyways, a pack of Meowth locked predatory gazes on the rodents, claws unsheathed in silent ambush prep.
Amidst the vermilion planter boxes, Oddish crowned with vibrant foliage periodically emerged from nutrient-rich soil—their rounded forms tilting toward pedestrians strolling the garden paths as if sharing in the dappled sunlight's cheer.
Alex returned the smile, tweaking the center leaf of the Oddish with practiced gentleness. The little Pokémon responded with a contented shiver, a sweet trill bubbling up from its core.
"Mii~"
Leaving the Oddish to its leafy repose, Alex jogged toward the park gates—his preferred spot for morning workouts that doubled as a community hub where children's laughter mingled with elderly locals' tai chi rhythms.
Beneath the arched footbridge, a school of Goldeen and Seaking cut through the water with balletic precision—their gilded fins shimmering as they navigated the geometric waterway toward the lake basin in migratory unison.
Occasionally, a clueless Psyduck would mistake the shimmering school for kin, waddling with endearing clumsiness as it attempted to tag behind the fish—its sluggish paddling doomed the pursuit from the start. Sooner than later, a scent-guided Golduck would swoop in to retrieve the wayward duckling, their familial bond overriding even the densest aquatic confusion.
Alex planted his sneakers on the footbridge's weathered planks as a current of commuters streamed past.
the foot traffic mirroring the world below where humans and Pokémon shared symbiotic space. Retirees shuffled by with Slowpoke-leashed shopping carts while teens debated battle strategies, each demographic united by partners perched on shoulders or trailing at heels.
Human and Pokémon coexistence formed a dreamlike tapestry.
"Haaah—"
An hour later, sweat-drenched Alex slumped onto a park bench, his morning routine wrapped up. He sat catching his breath, surveying the stream of humans and Pokémon flowing past—a living diorama of the bond he'd mused on earlier, now animated in real time.
The park was steadily filling up. Graduation season meant Alex wasn't alone—rookie Trainers everywhere had received their starter partners, their excited chatter about type matchoffs and Gym strategies buzzing like Combee swarms.
Rookie Trainers buzzed with starter-fueled adrenaline, their Pokémon partners in tow as they roamed every accessible path. Parks with communal battle arenas naturally became their stomping grounds—open spaces where tentative strategies could evolve through trial and error.
Even before the system's advent, Alex had made a habit of bringing his Caterpie to these park gatherings, swapping Pokémon-raising insights with fellow enthusiasts—each anecdote adding threads to the community's collective breeding wisdom tapestry.
"Aah.."
Alex sprawled against the bench's weathered slats, craning his neck to track a Braviary's contrail across the cerulean expanse—his post-workout stretch syncing with the rhythmic creak of the park's ancient oaks, a symphony of human exertion harmonizing with nature's tempo.
The tension in his shoulders abruptly lifted.
Perhaps this was the human-Pokémon world's quiet gift to a Pokémon devotee like him—an unspoken affirmation that his passion aligned with existence's fundamental harmony.
"Hey, how's your Rookie Cup prep coming along?"
"Ah, I'm not gunning for rankings—putting in the grind's enough. The joy's in the hustle."
"Then watch me and my crew dominate! We've been grinding for weeks to crush you clowns at this Rookie Cup—consider the trophy pre-registered in my name."
Nearby, several people with their Pokémon were discussing the Rookie Cup.
The Rookie Cup is an annual entry-tier tournament for novice Trainers, restricted to current-year graduates competing exclusively with their officially registered starter Pokémon.
The competition's difficulty is manageable, but these rookie tournaments attract media coverage—offering spotlight-seeking trainers a viable stage to flex their skills.
It is an annual tournament of moderate influence.
Alex had initially signed up for the Rookie Cup.
As the Rookie Cup's commencement was slated for a month later, Alex was confident his Caterpie would reach Butterfree status within that timeframe through disciplined training.
By then, a Butterfree having mastered an arsenal of utility moves under Alex's command would've made claiming victory in the Rookie Cup a cakewalk—such a triumph would be trivial for a strategist of his caliber.
What maneuvers could greenhorn Trainers—fresh off receiving their Pokémon just a month prior—pull off? In the Rookie Cup arena, a Butterfree might even stand as a formidable contender.
Alex might as well have had victory in the bag.
Then, the system emerged and disrupted his plans.
Even with ample time to compete normally, Alex would've been barred from deploying his Compound Eyes Butterfree's sleep tactics to dominate the Rookie Cup bracket—a regrettable twist denying novice Trainers their baptism by drowsy fire.
"'Home it is.'
Alex stood up and walked toward the park gates, beginning his journey back.
On his way home, Alex swung by a Pokémon specialty store to stock up on Bug, Flying, and Dragon-type kibble—though the Dragon-type blend's luxury price tag nearly made his wallet hemorrhage.
The Trainer vocation truly is a money furnace.
The silver lining lay in Pokéblock production—Alex could craft them from Berries himself, saving substantial costs. As a Pokémon husbandry major who'd earned his Junior Breeder Certification in high school, formulating species-specific diets fell squarely within his expertise.
Moreover, this vexing system—while bombarding his Caterpie with buffs and doling out migraine-inducing quests—had inadvertently sharpened Alex's own competencies.
[Linguistics Lv.3: Multilingual fluency achieved—daily conversations flow effortlessly, written exams cleared with eyes shut (metaphorically speaking, pending ocular safety protocols).]
[Pokéblock Crafting Lv.3: Expertly utilize nutrient-dense Berries to produce high-quality Pokéblocks—your encyclopedic knowledge of botanical synergies minimizes waste and sidestepping common formulation errors, with output consistently exceeding nutritional benchmarks for optimal Pokémon performance (metabolization rates may vary by species).]
These skills were rewards Alex earned after completing the [Become a 10k-Follower Streamer] and [Obtain a Starter Pokémon] missions.
Since he'd already completed those quests, the system had automatically deposited the rewards upon its activation.
The initial reward nullified linguistic barriers across regions—Alex could now decode Unovan street slang as effortlessly as parsing Kalosian café menus, his tongue automatically mapping phonemes to localized lexicon databases.",
The subsequent grant established a self-sustaining Caterpie cultivation loop: foraged Berries → optimized Pokéblock formulae → accelerated Metapod metamorphosis cycles, effectively converting biomass into battle-ready Butterfree at 73% below market rearing costs.
Alex's resentment toward the system had marginally abated with these skills—at least its core directive was verifiably augmenting his capabilities, not just pelting him with grief-spiking quests.
"Hey, did you hear? Hoenn's been hit by some catastrophic shit."
"Ugh, those two teams—messing around with their damn expansion projects for kicks. Now look what they've dragged in: a full-blown cataclysm even Kyogre's crying about."
Word is a jade draconid descended from the stratosphere to quell the primal beasts—acting like some deific arbiter. Keep that sky sovereign on retainer and bam, crisis aversion on autopilot.
As Alex approached home, the voices of elderly neighbors discussing recent news reached his ears.
Alex's smile stiffened awkwardly. While the elders remained oblivious to how Rayquaza had quelled Groudon and Kyogre that day... he, as the catalyst, knew the draconid's intervention with painful clarity.
Legendary Pokémon?
Try Alex and his Caterpie—collateral casualties caught in that crossfire.
At that moment, the elderly neighbors noticed Alex and enthusiastically greeted him.
With a strained smile, Alex hurried home after responding to the elders' greetings.
Watching Alex's retreating figure, the elders demonstrated MI6-level prowess, discussing details even he himself remained unaware of.
"Hey, I recall a young lady came by asking about Alex recently—anyone else catch that?"
"Yeah, that girl looked a few years older than Alex and was quite the looker—could she be his girlfriend?"
"The kid's all grown up... But that girl you mentioned—she looks familiar. I think I've seen her on TV a few times."