Taking out a Poké Ball no larger than a tennis ball from his pocket, Yellow did not dare to open it rashly. He said to Charmander, "Charmander, a Pokémon might come out and attack me in a moment. Can you help me handle it?"
Charmander let out a confident cry.
Charmander: "Step aside, you little blonde punk."
Enlarging the Poké Ball, a beam of red light released the Spearow he had just captured.
The moment Spearow came out, it was furious, glaring fiercely at Yellow. Charmander was not to be outdone; standing opposite, it bared its teeth.
The two Pokémon shouted at each other. Although Yellow couldn't understand them, judging by their expressions, they were probably swearing up a storm.
Spearow barely reached Charmander's belly in height, but it charged forward instantly. Before Yellow could even speak, Charmander struck Spearow down with a single scratch.
Charmander: "Acting arrogant again, aren't we, little bro?"
Knowing he hadn't captured Spearow through legitimate means, Yellow could only muster his courage, squat down, gently pick up Spearow in both hands, and say, "Spearow, the circumstances earlier were a bit special, and I didn't get your consent. Would you like to come on an adventure with me? If you don't want to, I'll let you go, door-to-door delivery included."
Spearow struggled with its wings. Reluctantly, Yellow let Spearow go.
Spearow turned back and walked a few steps, but seeing that it was already late, leaden clouds hung low, and the sun was half-set behind the mountains—perhaps out of fear—it returned to Yellow's side and stood right there in place, locking eyes with him.
Spearow: "It's so dark, I'm so scared, with no mom or dad, I need someone to keep me company."
"Would you like to come on an adventure with me?" Yellow asked tentatively.
Spearow nodded. Only then did Yellow use a Poké Ball to take both Pokémon back.
Making a Pokémon willing to be captured from the heart was the most important thing; otherwise, if the Pokémon harbored resentment inside, it might just summon an inside agent during battle.
Gou Hou: "You talking smack again? Woof woof woof! You talking smack again!"
Returning home, Linzi had already cooked dinner and called out, "You're back, son. Come eat. What Pokémon did you choose today?"
"Charmander, and I also caught a Spearow."
Linzi covered her mouth in surprise and exclaimed, "You caught a Pokémon on your very first trip out? Spearow's temper is notoriously bad."
Yellow sat down to eat his steak and replied, "Just lucky, I guess."
The steak had a hint of red wine flavor; it was tender and delicious. Yellow asked Linzi, "Mom, what Pokémon do you have?"
Looking very pleased, Linzi took six Poké Balls from her handbag and boasted, "Back in the day, your mom was quite something too! Venusaur, Butterfree, Beedrill, Sandslash, Nidorina, and my ace, Arcanine. I even participated in the Kanto Region League tournament back then, though I stopped at the Top 16."
As her voice trailed off, Linzi's smile lingered, as if she were reminiscing about the past.
After finishing dinner, Yellow returned to his room, aligned Charmander's Poké Ball with the circular hole on the Pokédex, and the two naturally snapped together. Information then appeared on the Pokédex screen.
[Species: Charmander (Male)]
[Level: 6]
[Nature: Serious]
[Ability: Blaze: Powers up Fire-type moves when the Pokémon's HP is low.]
[Moves: Scratch ( relatively low power )]
[Growl ( lowers the target Pokémon's Attack )]
"It displays everything quite thoroughly."
Yellow opened the Pokémon Modifier in his backpack. The slate had a depression in the middle, and Yellow placed Charmander's Poké Ball right into the slot, a perfect fit. The very next moment, the Poké Ball vanished, and several floating stone tablets appeared.
[Individual Values] [Effort Values] [Nature & Ability]
Clicking on Individual Values, Charmander's information was displayed.
HP: 14 | Attack: 9 | Sp. Atk: 21 | Defense: 14 | Sp. Def: 7 | Speed: 7
Yellow clicked on HP and turned the wheel on the right. The individual values actually started to rise, finally hitting the maximum cap of 31.
In just two minutes, Yellow maxed out all six individual values to 31.
Next, he clicked on Effort Values. Every 4 effort values translated into one stat point, and each Pokémon could be allocated a maximum of 510 training points. He maxed out Charmander's Speed and Special Attack effort values to 252 each, and put 6 points into Defense—that way, the allocation was complete.
Yet Yellow's hand slipped, and the gear turned one extra notch, bringing the 6 defense effort points to 7.
Yellow was dumbfounded. In his mind, everything from the Cretaceous period to future civilizations intertwined; figures from Black Cat Detective to the deities of the Heavenly Court made joint appearances; his soul shuttled back and forth between the vast universe and a septic tank, and the fragments of memory in his mind rushed forth like tigers and dragons breaking out of their cages, ceaselessly.
"Huh?" In disbelief, Yellow turned the gear again—the effort values were still rising!
In the end, all six of Charmander's stat effort values maxed out at 255.
A total of 1530! So satisfying for a perfectionist!
What did this concept mean? It meant that this Charmander of his had unbeatable innate individual values combined with unbeatable acquired effort values. All it needed was to level up step by step, and the number one Charizard in the Pokémon World would be safely in his pocket.
What kind of innate national top-tier holy physique was this?
He adjusted the nature to Timid (+Speed, -Attack), maximizing strengths and cutting weaknesses. Perfect! While early-game Special Attack was important, being able to crush opponents with speed was paramount. After all, Pikachu's little legs hadn't even figured out how to scramble today; if it had run a little faster, it wouldn't have gotten beaten up.
Releasing Charmander from the Poké Ball again, its height was already over ninety centimeters. He touched its skin—it felt rough, likely the effect of the dual defenses. The flame on its tail was twice as large, its appearance immaculate!
Yet Charmander scurried away to the corner of the wall in a flash, looking rather frightened of the trainer before it.
"Charmander, come here," Yellow called out softly, but Charmander kept hiding, acting as if it didn't recognize him at all.
Charmander: "So scared, so scared of the blonde punk..."
Yellow rested his chin in his hand to think. He had previously assumed that modifying the nature would only affect numerical stats, but he hadn't expected it to genuinely turn Charmander into a timid Pokémon.
Moreover, the previous data hadn't displayed Charmander's six specific combat stats, which meant that while innate individual values and acquired effort values were certainly important, a Pokémon was a living creature after all, and its actual combat power depended on real-world conditions.
On top of that, the modifier couldn't alter friendship levels. This was only natural; forcing a living being to suddenly become affectionate belonged in the realm of memory modification.
If a battle broke out, whether a timid disposition would dare to attack was still up in the air.
[Yellow: Charmander, attack the opposing Pokémon!]
[Charmander: Attack your mom, I don't dare!]
Putting Charmander back into the Poké Ball, he modified its nature back to Serious, so that all stats would neither increase nor decrease—a perfect all-around hex-fighter. When the time truly came to adjust its nature, it would undoubtedly be during an immensely difficult battle.
Releasing Charmander once more, it grinned and smiled at Yellow again.
Yellow stroked Charmander's head and whispered softly, "Start your invincible life just like this."
He made another round of modifications, maxing out Spearow's individual values and effort values as well, and changing its nature to Serious. Spearow's physique also showed a very noticeable improvement; even its pair of claw nails looked like they hadn't been clipped in two and a half years.
That way, he had two perfect and obedient Pokémon.
Spearow and Charmander walked around the room, while Yellow sat on the bed, watching with gratification. Two rising stars—who wouldn't love them?
Yet, on second thought, talented trainers like Red and Green, along with Ash, were all adventuring alongside him; they would affect his chances of winning the championship.
All you guys lose is a championship, but I'm losing my life here! Right now, the most important thing is still to improve my strength.
Recalling both Pokémon, Yellow hurried downstairs.
"Where is my son going this late at night?" Linzi asked.
"Going on an adventure! While the excitement is still fresh, I won't come back to sleep tonight!" After all, he had never once gone to bed to sleep in the games.
The moon was already high in the sky. Fortunately, illuminated by the spark on Charmander's tail, he could clearly see the path ahead.
Taking a deep breath, the air was vastly better than in his past life. He felt as though his throat had opened up—yes, little bro, this is the exact flavor.
This must be the idyllic country life people yearned for—provided there were no outhouses.
Yellow jogged all the way until he reached Route 1, diving straight into the tall grass whenever he saw it. As it happened, a Rattata was inside, letting out a sharp squeriek.
It was very dark, but Rattata's pair of eyes glowed frighteningly bright. Its front incisors grated against its little paws, emitting a hissing sound.
"Holy crap! A South American mega-rat!" Startled, Yellow took two steps back. Just as he thought about engaging in hand-to-hand combat, his hand brushed against the Poké Ball in his pocket, and instantly his confidence surged again.
Seeing Yellow retreat, Rattata assumed its imposing aura had frightened him, and it pressed forward another two steps. Yet that trainer simply hurled a Poké Ball directly at its forehead.
When Rattata opened its eyes again, Charmander was already standing in front, wagging its tail as puffs of fire bounced about.
Taking out the Pokédex, information began to appear.
[Rattata, the Mouse Pokémon. Extremely tenacious in vitality, able to survive no matter where it lives. Possesses a strong sense of vigilance.]
"Charmander, use Scratch. Keep it light, huh."
With blinding speed, Charmander leaped in front of Rattata, raised its claw, and scratched, knocking Rattata straight to the ground.
Yellow tossed a Poké Ball, which hit Rattata and burst into red light, pulling Rattata inside. The Poké Ball wobbled a few times.
Click!
Capture successful.
Yellow packed the Poké Ball into his backpack and continued forward. "Rattata isn't very strong, so I won't train it. I'll just count it toward expanding the Pokédex."
Rattata: "Buddy, I heard every word of that from inside the Poké Ball."
"Charmander, use Scratch on Bellsprout!"
"Charmander, use Scratch on Oddish!"
"Spearow, use Peck on Pidgey!"
...