"Congratulations on catching a new Pokémon!"
Gary stepped forward to offer his congratulations, then muttered, "Since things are settled here, I'll head back first.
I still need to get my car repaired; what a hassle!"
Hearing this, Caster's expression became awkward.
Pichu was his Pokémon now, which, rounding up, was basically like he'd wrecked Gary's luxury convertible.
Lucky for him, Gary was loaded; he didn't care about a bit of money at all. Otherwise, if Caster had to pay for it, the little money he had probably wouldn't even be enough to scratch the surface.
"Let's exchange contact info!"
Caster caught up, grinning. "We can have another match next time there's a chance."
Gary didn't refuse.
Although he'd only been on his journey for about a month or so, there weren't many opponents Gary found challenging. Caster barely counted as one.
Moreover, Caster had just convinced Pichu to follow him voluntarily with just a few words. Even Gary was surprised by that kind of ability.
This might be a worthy rival!
After recalling Gyarados, Caster returned to the Pokémon Center with Gary.
Gary went to get his car repaired, while Caster first handed Pichu over to Nurse Joy for examination. After confirming there were no problems, he registered it.
"Come on out, Pichu!"
Finding a quiet corner, Caster pressed the Poké Ball's button and released the tiny, adorable electric mouse again.
"Pichu~"
Pichu moved its two short yellow legs, first snuggling up affectionately to Caster, then got straight to the point.
It pointed at Caster, then at itself.
Meaning: I'm your Pokémon now.
So let's continue!
I want more of that really comfortable thing from before!
Caster couldn't help but laugh. "You little..."
"Pichu, from now on, I'm your trainer."
However, before giving out an Energy Orb, Caster said seriously.
"You have to listen to me from now on, understand? As long as you behave, there'll be delicious food and Energy Orbs too..."
"Pichu~"
Pichu blinked its eyes and snuggled up to Caster again.
I'll listen, I'll listen!
I promise I'll listen!
Hurry up!
Caster's face showed some helplessness. "You really leave me no choice!"
This Pichu was just too good at acting cute!
Especially when Pichu smiled, its eyes turned into crescent shapes, and it tilted its head, looking incredibly adorable.
Truly worthy of being part of Pokémon's number one cute family!
This charm made even a straight-laced guy like Caster feel like he couldn't resist.
One could imagine that fans of fluffy, cute things would probably explode on the spot!
Unable to help it, Caster mentally controlled an Energy Orb to float out and merge into Pichu's body once more.
"Pichu~"
The comfortable sensation descended again, and Pichu immediately surrendered, its eyes becoming dreamy.
But similarly, this delightful feeling didn't last too long.
"Pi~ Pichu~"
Having gotten a taste, Pichu wanted to ask for more Energy Orbs, but Caster wasn't willing to give out too many at once and raise Pichu's threshold too high all at once.
Otherwise, the team would be hard to manage in the future.
"Pichu, Energy Orbs are a reward for you. As long as you behave and perform well going forward, I'll consider continuing to reward you..."
Caster dangled the carrot, coaxing it along.
"Pichu~"
Pichu's two diamond-shaped black ears swayed back and forth, clearly very happy.
The nourishment from two Energy Orbs had obviously brought them much closer together.
So Pichu acted very clingy toward Caster, completely without the unfamiliarity of having just been caught.
"Now then, let me first understand your basic situation."
Caster's face showed anticipation. "Pichu, show me all the moves you've mastered!"
"Pichu~"
Pichu immediately cooperated obediently.
Crack!
After gathering a bit of power, electricity surged from the electric sacs on Pichu's cheeks. Before long, a small bolt of lightning shot out.
Boom!
The small lightning bolt hit a nearby sapling, immediately charring it black and making it continuously emit black smoke.
"This should be Thunder Shock!"
Caster thought to himself.
Thunder Shock was a basic Electric-type move that sends an electric current to attack opponents and sometimes paralyzes them. It made sense that Pichu could master it.
"Pichu~"
Looking at the completely charred and smoking sapling that had suffered such abuse, Pichu was somewhat surprised.
It remembered its Thunder Shock move shouldn't have had this much power.
Most critically, because it was still young, Pichu wasn't skilled at using electricity yet.
So when performing discharge attacks, it would always paralyze and char itself too.
This was also why Pichu didn't like battling. It would avoid confrontation when possible and endure when it could.
But now... how had it suddenly become so much stronger?
At this moment, Pichu was incredibly glad to have become Caster's Pokémon.
Because it knew all this was brought about by Caster.
"Pi~"
After its surprise, Pichu performed another move.
This time it was a thin, weak electric wave. Nothing abnormal happened when it hit the tree, but seeing it made Caster beam with joy.
Because he knew this was the Thunder Wave move, which could paralyze opponents when it hit.
Pokémon in a paralyzed state not only have their speed greatly reduced, but when using moves, there's a significant chance they'll fail to execute them.
A total crowd-control move!
Especially for Pichu's Pokémon, which were fragile but high-speed Pokémon; its importance went without saying.
"Pi~ Pichu~"
Next, Pichu struck a cute kissing pose and emitted a heart-shaped pink light.
"This should be Sweet Kiss. I didn't expect Pichu had even mastered a Fairy-type move?"
Caster was pleasantly surprised again.
The Pichu Pokémon could theoretically master quite a few Fairy-type moves, like Sweet Kiss, Charm, Disarming Voice, Play Rough, etc. But in reality, few could learn them on their own; they usually required teaching.
After resting briefly, Pichu's whole body flashed with dazzling light, like a searchlight suddenly turning on, so bright Caster couldn't even keep his eyes open.
After quite a while, Caster finally regained his vision and muttered, "This should be the Flash move, right? It really does hurt the eyes. No wonder it can lower opponents' accuracy."
"Are there any more?"
Caster rubbed his eyes, still looking expectant.
But unfortunately, Pichu shook its head.
"Four moves? That's pretty good!"
Caster picked up Pichu and praised it.
After all, Pichu wasn't some powerful Pokémon, and it was wild without training. Having mastered four moves was already quite good.
However, thinking about the combination of Thunder Wave, Sweet Kiss, and Flash, Caster looked at the adorable Pichu in his arms with a somewhat odd expression.
"Paralysis, confusion, and lowered accuracy; three out of four moves are negative status moves.
This Pichu looks sunny, cheerful, and super cute on the surface, but its moves are secretly so underhanded?!"
But thinking that the underhanded tactics would be used on others while the joy was his own, Caster felt at ease.
Pichu didn't know Caster was roasting it internally. Thinking it was being praised, its eyes immediately turned into crescents, looking quite pleased, and it nuzzled Caster's face.
Then the next second, accompanied by a crackling sound, Caster was paralyzed.
After Caster finally recovered, he stared at Pichu seriously. "Before you can skillfully control electrical current, you absolutely cannot nuzzle me with your cheeks. Understand?"
"Pichu~"
Pichu looked aggrieved, eyes brimming with tears. Seeing this made Caster feel ashamed and heartbroken.
"Fine, fine! Just be more careful next time."
Caster sighed, his tone softening.
Afterward, Caster decided to go fishing.
Because as long as he obtained a few more Energy Orbs to nourish Pichu, its abilities in all aspects would improve significantly.
Then controlling electrical current at will would naturally be a piece of cake.
"Let's fish!"
Arriving at the lakeside, Caster baited his hook and cast his line, waiting quietly for a big fish to bite.
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones