The car jolted forward, moving slowly along a country road between fields.
Through the window, a vast stretch of lush green fields could be seen.
The Bug-Catching Zone was located right there, covering a large area of fertile lands and wooded hills. It was considered one of the main breeding grounds for Bug-type Pokémon in the entire League.
Soon, the vehicle stopped in front of a huge stone stele. From afar, the area could already be seen surrounded by an iron fence.
If one looked up at the sky from time to time, several flying figures could also be spotted flitting around: small Flying-type Pokémon patrolling carefully against any mishaps.
Since it was still early, a crowd of trainers ready to participate in the tournament had already gathered at the entrance of the zone.
Bug-type Pokémon, known for being easy to raise, had always been the favorite choice of less wealthy trainers. That was why every time the catching tournament was held, it attracted a large number of participants.
Upon arrival, Ethan Black immediately headed to one of the staff members to register. After showing his tournament entry ticket, the staff quickly noted him down as a participant and handed him a flare gun along with six special Poké Balls.
During the competition, trainers could only bring one Pokémon with them. All other personal items had to be stored by the organizers.
The tournament rules were quite simple: use the Poké Balls provided by the organization to capture Bug-type Pokémon. Then, performance would be evaluated based on the number and type of Pokémon captured.
Final results were ranked according to those scores. If one managed to place among the top ten, they could keep one of the Pokémon they had caught and also receive a cash prize.
Even if you didn't make it into the top ten, it was still possible to buy the Pokémon you had captured at a much lower price than on the market. And the higher your rank, the greater the discount.
That was one of the main reasons why so many trainers showed up for the tournament.
In fact, many knew they wouldn't place well, but came motivated by the bargains.
Of course, this was also a commercial strategy by the breeding center to sell their own Bug-type Pokémon.
In addition, the breeding center could take advantage of the participants catching Pokémon for them, making them the true beneficiaries of the tournament in the end.
...
As time passed, at eight in the morning, the gates of the zone finally opened, officially marking the start of the tournament.
Ethan Black squeezed his way through the crowd with great effort and eventually managed to enter the grounds. Soon, participants began to scatter, each looking for their target.
"Come out, Cacnea!"
Upon entering, Ethan Black immediately released Cacnea to accompany him.
Although most of the Bug-type Pokémon in the area were docile, there were also some aggressive ones like Beedrill and Pinsir, so it was best to stay on guard.
Participating in this catching tournament was, in a way, like getting a head start on a survival test in the wild. Ethan Black intended to use it as a training exercise.
After all, compared to the real wilderness, this zone was much safer. If danger arose, all you had to do was fire the flare gun and staff would soon come to the rescue. There were basic safety guarantees.
Of course, using the flare gun also meant you declared your participation over, and you would then be withdrawn from the grounds, fixing your score at that point.
Even so, there were cases of trainers who, by not using the flare gun in time or by provoking too many Bug-type Pokémon, couldn't be rescued in time and ended up injured or even dead.
Therefore, not even the catching zone could guarantee total safety. From time to time, there were always one or two unfortunate ones who came out badly hurt.
So trainers had to be cautious when trying to catch Bug-type Pokémon, avoiding provoking those that were clearly stronger than them.
In Ethan Black's case, from the start he had no intention of using the flare gun—unless he faced a life-or-death situation. Otherwise, the training would be meaningless.
Once inside the zone, Ethan Black didn't rush to capture the Pokémon he found along the way. Instead, he headed straight for the deeper forested areas of the park.
The deeper you went, the more Pokémon you'd find, and they were also rarer. There were fewer competitors as well, so all those aiming for the top ten usually ventured further inside.
"Hm, is that a Caterpie?"
"Cacnea, use Magical Leaf!"
Of course, if he came across any Pokémon along the way, Ethan Black didn't waste them: he ordered an attack with Magical Leaf and then used one of the tournament's Poké Balls to capture it.
After walking for over half an hour, Ethan Black had reached the depths of the grounds. By now, hardly any other participants could be seen.
At this point, he had already used up all six of his Poké Balls.
Fortunately, the catching zone had already anticipated this. At certain distances, staff were stationed.
Upon finding them, one could hand over the filled Poké Balls and receive new ones.
Ethan Black handed over his six Poké Balls and then, seeing the huge bag of Poké Balls next to the staff member, his eyes lit up: he immediately expressed his desire to take all of them.
According to the rules, if you managed to capture six Pokémon, you could then request unlimited Poké Balls.
"With all these Poké Balls, I can really let loose and go all out!"
After a brief negotiation, Ethan Black happily took the large bag of Poké Balls and, with Cacnea's help, continued moving forward.
"Just as I thought, there are very few rare Pokémon here..."
"Most are Caterpie or Weedle. Even spotting one like Venonat or Ledyba is rare."
Ethan Black shook his head, but didn't seem too worried and kept heading deeper.
"Bzzzzzzz!"
He hadn't walked far when he suddenly heard a buzzing sound. Looking into the distance, he saw a dozen Beedrill hovering among the trees.
(End of chapter)