The side effects from using Iron Tail finally went away by the next morning. Seeing Finn Ray's tail was no longer stiff, the strong Raticate leader, looking tired and annoyed with dark circles under his eyes, finally fell asleep deeply.
The world of Pokémon didn't just have a rounder moon, the air was also especially fresh, particularly after a light rain during the night.
Mealtime was Finn's least favorite time. The Raticate diet included small bugs, grass roots, plants, small fish and shrimp, and berries.
Delicious berries were common in Viridian Forest, but for the Rattata group, such luxuries were hard to get. Eating small fish and shrimp wasn't easy either. Places with water always had many scary Pokémon. Besides, Finn couldn't eat uncooked food. Bugs were the same.
Finn had already eaten grass roots and flowers for several days. The taste was hard to describe. * If I become the first transmigrator to starve to death, will I at least be remembered? *
He took Quip out to find food. As soon as they left the cave, he saw many mushrooms growing near the entrance because of the rain. Finn's mouth watered. He never thought mushrooms could look so tempting.
* I remember hearing when I was young that colorful mushrooms are poisonous, and the ugly ones are safe to eat. * So, Finn happily started chewing on an ugly brown mushroom.
Crunchy, tasted like chicken. So good.
Life as a Rattata often turns tragic when you think it's a comedy. About one minute after eating the mushroom, Finn felt something was wrong with his body.
* Who said to eat the ugly mushrooms? I'll beat him up if I find him! * Quip was perfectly fine after eating many colorful mushrooms.
Then, Finn experienced diarrhea every two minutes for half an hour. He felt completely drained, walking lightly as if he could float away any moment.
* No, I think I can still be saved! * Struggling, he crawled to the cave entrance and chewed two colorful mushrooms.
Sharp pain hit his head. * Oh no, I forgot Quip is also Grass type, it's poisonous! * That was his last thought before losing consciousness.
Finn's sinful Rattata life didn't end so quickly. When he woke up again, seven hours had passed. Why seven hours? Maybe it was the will of 7.
This time, lying in his nest, Finn didn't refuse the bugs Quip brought him. If he was really going to starve, he couldn't be picky. Crunchy, tasted like chicken. Delicious. But it was strange why everything tasted like chicken.
Being a Pokémon, his body recovered quickly. After filling his stomach, he was full of energy again. When Finn checked his status using the system, he found he had learned the move Toxic.
* The Pokémon world is truly amazing. You can learn a move just by eating poisonous mushrooms. What if I get struck by lightning? * Stop, stop. Finn didn't dare to continue down that path of self-destruction.
* Can't I just be a peaceful special attacker? Why do I keep getting physical moves... * A move like Toxic definitely needed a medium, like teeth. If he sprayed poison like Water Gun or Flamethrower, he'd probably shrivel up into a dried rat instantly. The image was too horrifying to imagine.
System detected the host is an incurable slacker. Mandatory Quest Issued: Path of the Strong 1.
Goal: Reach level 6 within three days.
Failure Penalty: Something very scary will happen.
* What? I'm a Rattata with ambition and drive, and you call me a slacker? Wait, what scary thing will happen if I don't level up? * Yes, Finn was scared. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone so many days without leveling up once.
* The Pokémon anime world is full of beauties. It's rare to transmigrate here, indeed... * He glanced at the female Rattata in the nest and felt he had missed out on too much.
* Hey, why are you looking at me like that? Don't the female Rattata usually look at me with admiration? Why do they look disgusted today? *
The strong Raticate leader, who usually watched him warily, now looked at him with pity, as if looking at an idiot. What was that hint of gloating in his eyes?
"Quip, do you think I've changed?"
"Boss, the fur on top of your head is gone! You're bald! Bald..."
Finn touched the top of his head with his front paw. The smooth feeling was different. Was this a side effect of eating the poisonous mushroom and learning Toxic? Getting stronger really requires a price. I got stronger, and I also got bald.
"Quip, do you know the song?"
"What?"
"Only you~ can go with me to level up, only you~ can battle wild Pokémon and grind, only you~ can protect me, so the big snakes and birds can't eat me. You are the most capable, it's only you..."
Finn didn't have the courage to find out the unreliable system's punishment. He decisively took Quip out to level up.
The rules of the Pokémon world were like a game. You level up faster by constantly battling. Leveling up through training requires good equipment and food, which wild Pokémon don't have.
Thinking about training, Finn suddenly remembered a training method: one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run every day. * System, I'm already bald. If I follow this training method, can I become super strong? *
Heh heh~
* System, I'll heh heh your face. *
Finn's destination was the riverbank. To train, of course, you should choose places with many strong opponents.
"Quip, I heard there are many strong Magikarp by the river who know the incredibly powerful move Splash. Let's go challenge the strong ones to level up!"
"Boss, you are so brave! Truly the hope of our Rattata group."
Sometimes, dreams almost die on the way, like the Bug Catcher who appeared halfway. This was the first time Finn had seen a legendary human. As expected, there were no ugly people in the cartoon. This Bug Catcher was actually a cute young boy.
Finn had no interest in this boy because he represented the poor and short commoners of the Pokémon world. The legendary rich kids supposedly bonded with pseudo-legendary or rare and powerful Pokémon from a young age.
A Weedle stood on the boy's shoulder, currently drooling while looking at Quip. A Shiny Pokémon, even a weak Rattata, was a rare encounter.
"Let's battle, Shiny Rattata!" Such a dramatic declaration.
Seeing the data showed this Weedle was only level three, basically free experience points, Finn quickly stopped Quip. "How could I let you handle such a dangerous thing? Let me go first. If there's danger, you run quickly."
The wind blew, the hero departed, never to return. Quip was so moved, tears streamed down his face.
* Hey, kid, what's with that disdainful look? I despise you, you short poor kid! * Finn snorted coldly.
"Since you're so annoying, let me defeat you first before catching that Shiny Rattata."
Being looked down upon by someone he looked down upon was the most frustrating thing in the world. Finn was angry. Feel the wrath of Rattata!
Weedle seemed weak in the games, but facing one for real, Finn still felt some pressure. A caterpillar as big as a mouse is quite scary, okay?
"Weedle, use Poison Sting!" The horn on Weedle's head glowed and shot needles over.
* Wasn't this supposed to be a duel between men? Ranged attacks are the worst. * Complaining like sour grapes, Finn used Quick Attack with resentment.
Finn's idea was good, but this was his first time using Quick Attack, and he couldn't control himself at all! * Seriously, what's with this Quick Attack? Why am I spinning in circles? I can't stop! *
"Weedle, watch the Rattata and use String Shot!"
But Finn couldn't control his Quick Attack move. He was spinning very fast and couldn't stop. He spun all around the Weedle like crazy.
Finn's wild spinning made the Weedle dizzy. Finn got dizzy too from spinning so much. Both Pokémon wobbled.
The Bug Catcher saw Finn spinning near his Weedle. Then he saw both get dizzy. But he got the wrong idea about why it happened. He got emotional and said, "Are you protecting your friend? You gave yourself up for him! So touching."
* Oh my god, this world is so dramatic! * Finn thought. Pokémon heal fast. Finn stopped feeling dizzy very quickly. Quip looked touched by the boy's words. Finn grabbed Quip, and they left the crying boy behind.
Congratulations Host for unlocking achievement: First Battle!
Reward: Low-Grade Attack Berry x1, Special Attack Berry x1, Defense Berry x1, Special Defense Berry x1, Speed Berry x1, HP Berry x1.
Note: The Host experienced a battle that shamed the system. Experience -1.
* System, I feel that -1 is an insult to me. *
Congratulations, the Host has learned to answer quickly. Your understanding is correct.
Finn couldn't give the system-rewarded berries to Quip, so he ate them himself. Yes, they were crunchy and tasted like chicken. * Finn suddenly had a terrible thought, maybe Rattata taste buds just taste everything as... *
Finn felt like the chosen one. Just when he needed to level up, a small opponent appeared. Yes, in front of the two Rattata was a Caterpie.
As an introduced species, the Caterpie's life was tragic. It could only live cautiously. This skinny Caterpie was clearly underdeveloped.
Finn stared at the Caterpie, which was level four like himself. This time, he wanted to taste victory.
Big eyes stared at small eyes for five seconds, ten seconds, a minute passed.
Tackle, Quick Attack, Iron Tail. Finn used a combo of moves, earning a look from the Caterpie as if pitying an idiot.
"Caterpie, let's battle!" That was just warming up the moves, the real battle was about to begin.
The wind rose, the battle began!