Chapter 14: Goal Achieved, Subduing the Starter Trio

Chapter 14: Goal Achieved, Capturing the Starters

Northwest of Shenhui City, beside an unnamed volcano.

Since leaving the Evergreen Forest, Xia You had been wandering around this massive volcano for two full days.

Originally, he had planned to head straight to the Shenhui Gym, but after hearing that Charmander appeared in this vicinity, he changed his mind on a whim, making the capture of a Charmander his primary objective.

His urgency wasn't just because Charmander's final evolution, Charizard, was incredibly powerful; more importantly, its design was incredibly cool. Since his past life, Xia You had been a huge fan.

Unfortunately, aside from some Diglett, Zubat, Geodude, and Karakara, he had traversed more than half the volcano without encountering a single trace of a Charmander.

As the sky darkened once more and night began to shroud the land, just as Xia You was putting down his backpack to set up camp, Eevee, who had gone ahead to scout, suddenly rushed back in a hurry.

Seeing Xia You, Eevee ran up to him, letting out several anxious cries.

Although Xia You couldn't understand the meaning of the cries, he immediately perked up when he remembered the task he had assigned to Eevee.

"You found a Charmander!?"

Eevee nodded and turned around, gesturing for Xia You to follow.

Without a second thought, Xia You grabbed his backpack and followed Eevee. After bypassing a vast field of scree, they finally discovered dozens of points of light within a mountain crevice.

These lights were particularly prominent at this hour. As they drew closer, they could see clearly that it was a colony composed of Charmander and Charmeleon. When Xia You looked up, he could even faintly see several Charizards soaring through the clouds.

Those lights were the life flames constantly burning on their tails.

After so many hardships, Charmander, I have finally found you!

However, how could he capture it without alerting the Charmeleon and Charizards?

One had to realize that while Charmander's temperament was relatively gentle within its family, the Charmeleon and Charizards certainly wouldn't allow Xia You to barge in so ostentatiously to catch one.

Crouching in the dense forest, Xia You looked around. As he accidentally glanced down at his backpack, his eyes lit up; an idea formed in his mind.

He opened his backpack, pulled out a flashlight, and tore off several small strips of tape, sticking them to the front of the flashlight, leaving only a tiny circular hole.

Then, he took out a canned ration, opened the lid, and placed it behind a large boulder large enough to hide behind.

Having finished this, he waved his hand, signaling his Pokémon to hide in the surrounding area.

"Time is tight this time, so we won't be doing any formal rule-based battles. Once we lure the Charmander here, everyone strike together. We must finish the battle before the Charizards notice us. Do you understand?"

"Squirtle, Squirtle!"

Seeing his Pokémon nod one after another, Xia You returned alone to the tree where he had been hiding to observe carefully.

The Charmander's appearance was somewhat similar to a carnivorous dinosaur, with an orange body and cream-colored undersides on its belly and tail. Its most striking feature was the flame on its tail.

That flame could reflect its health and mood: it burned brightly when the Pokémon was energetic, grew weak when it lacked motivation, flickered when happy, and burned intensely when angry.

It was said that when the flame on its tail went out, the Charmander's life would also end. However, as long as it was healthy, the flame would burn vigorously even if its entire body were soaked.

At this moment, the Charmanders were playing leisurely, unaware of Xia You's presence. After scanning for a long time, Xia You finally fixed his gaze on a particularly unique Charmander.

Although this Charmander was also playing and frolicking with its companions, perhaps due to a somewhat careless personality or using too much strength without knowing how to control it, it often provoked its peers, leading to angry shouts and scoldings.

Seeing its somewhat "not-so-bright" expression, Xia You felt certain. *Great, I choose you!*

Taking out the flashlight, Xia You switched it on and aimed it at the target.

The narrow beam of light pulsed a few times, hitting the Charmander's face. Because the light didn't scatter, it didn't attract the attention of the other Charmander.

Initially, the Charmander didn't care about this piercing light; it merely blinked and turned its head away. But as the light followed the movement of its head and swept across its face again, it finally drew its attention.

?

A large question mark seemed to appear over its head. The Charmander looked left and right, then curiously began walking toward Xia You's hiding spot.

Seeing the target taking the bait, Xia You slowly retreated behind the large boulder.

When the Charmander followed the guidance of the flashlight to this spot, it suddenly found that the light had vanished, replaced by a strange, fragrant food sitting in the clearing.

It sniffed hard with its nose and had just taken two steps forward when it heard a command to attack. Several figures rushed out from all directions simultaneously. Before it could even react, it was struck in an instant by a Water Gun, Confusion, Vine Whip, and a Headbutt. It collapsed immediately, its vision going black as it lost consciousness completely.

"Excellent!"

Seeing the Charmander fall, Xia You lunged out from the side, hurriedly pulled out a Poké Ball, and threw it.

With a flash of red light, the Charmander was drawn into the ball. It didn't even shake once before the capture was successful.

Staring at the Poké Ball, Squirtle was slightly dazed. A somewhat uncomfortable memory surfaced, making it feel that this capture scene seemed... strangely familiar?

"What are you standing there for!" Xia You tapped its head. Even in the dim darkness, the smile on his face seemed incredibly bright to Squirtle. "The capture was successful. Let's get out of here before the others notice!"

Late at night, at the Pokémon Center in Shenhui City.

In the empty restaurant, Xia You leaned back in a dining chair with his legs crossed, sipping vegetable juice with a relaxed expression.

As of today, he had finally achieved a milestone: he had collected all the Kanto region starters!

Of the five Pokémon beside him, four were eating, while only the newly captured Charmander was staring blankly at the unfamiliar environment.

Its memory was fragmented, as if it had fallen asleep and woken up to find the world had changed.

It didn't even know why it was here.

And why had this human suddenly become its trainer?

And why had these Pokémon suddenly become its companions?

Seeing the Charmander sitting there dazed, Xia You pushed some food in front of it.

"Eat more. What? Your head is still a bit fuzzy? Don't worry, after today, I think you'll get used to it very quickly!"