Chapter 2: Crisis

Chapter 2: Crisis

“Ding!”

A crisp chime suddenly rang out in Lu Yun’s mind.

He paused, surprised, and noticed a faint red dot had appeared on the system icon in the lower right of his field of view.

Just like an app notification on a smartphone in his previous life, he guessed the system had undergone some new change.

“Could it be that my cheat is about to activate?”

Unable to contain his excitement, Lu Yun focused his attention and opened the system.

“Experience +1”

A message appeared in the system’s notification bar.

Lu Yun tugged at the corners of his mouth. (A caterpie should be able to do that… right?)

“What a waste of excitement.”

“But if eating can raise my experience, that’s not bad either. If it followed the game’s rules and only allowed experience gain through defeating other Pokémon, then with my current stats I’d only be able to get lucky and pick up scraps.”

Thinking this, Lu Yun cheered up again, lowered his head, and happily munched on more leaves.

After a satisfying meal, Lu Yun cautiously made his way back to the tree hollow.

With his hunger resolved, it was time to think about his future.

Species: Caterpie
Level: 1 (6/100)
Skills: Tackle, String Shot
Evaluation: An ordinary, newly-hatched Caterpie at the bottom of the Viridian Forest food chain. You shouldn’t be imagining you’re a Rayquaza (fog).

Staring at his stats, Lu Yun pondered.

“If I’m a Caterpie, there should be a two-stage evolution.”

“I think the order was Caterpie—Metapod—Butterfree.”

Lying in his tree hollow, Lu Yun made up his mind.

“Once I evolve into Butterfree and have some ability to defend myself, I’ll explore the area.”

After all, Lu Yun was currently only a Caterpie, and even his final evolution, Butterfree, was hardly notable in the Pokémon world.

Yet as a proud transmigrator, though his circumstances were dire, he still harbored grand ambitions in his heart.

Exploring his surroundings and seeking opportunities to grow was essential.

The Pokémon world was mysterious and full of endless possibilities; from what Lu Yun knew, there was more than one way to break through his limits.

“Totem Aura!”

“Life Energy!”

“Aura Power!”

“…”

Of course, all of these were far out of reach for him for now. His main goal was simply to survive and develop.

Once he completed his final evolution, then everything would be much easier.

In the Pokémon world, quickly becoming stronger or even breaking through one’s limits in the wild was extremely difficult.

However, if you had a reliable or wealthy trainer, then special training methods and a wealth of rare resources would be at your disposal.

That way, leveling up fast and breaking limits would be no problem.

Thinking of this, Lu Yun’s eyes brightened.

“No, that’s not right.”

“Besides those rookie trainers just starting their journeys, who would choose an ordinary Caterpie?”

“Even if I was caught, I’d probably end up unused, lying forever in a Pokéball.”

Lu Yun shivered at the thought.

“Forget it, I’ll think about that later. For now, it’s best to rely on myself.”

Though Lu Yun’s plan was to develop cautiously, that didn’t mean he would simply idle away, waiting for death.

He decided that apart from foraging and resting, all his time would be spent strengthening his body and perfecting his skills.

That way, even if danger came, he wouldn’t be helpless.

Lu Yun didn’t know any advanced training methods, but he did know that diligence makes up for lack of talent, and practice makes perfect.

As long as he kept using his skills over and over, their proficiency would surely increase.

With some basic physical training as well, his strength was bound to improve.

…

Three days later.

Bang!

…

Bang!

On the branch of a tall tree, the sound of something hard striking and scraping against the trunk rang out intermittently.

A green caterpillar with a red, Y-shaped antenna stood quietly on a branch, faint white energy swirling around it.

Suddenly, the energy condensed and focused on the antenna atop its head, turning the crimson tips pale and radiating waves of power.

The Caterpie lunged forward, slamming hard into the tree trunk.

Bang.

The dark bark split open, revealing the tender white wood beneath.

Seeing this, Lu Yun’s headache seemed to ease, and he nodded in satisfaction.

“Not bad. My method really works!”

“Hmm… I’ve trained Tackle enough for today. Time for String Shot.”

Lu Yun inched to the edge of the branch.

Raising his upper body, he inhaled deeply and then spat forward.

Ssssss.

Sticky white threads streamed from the Caterpie’s mouth, tightly wrapping the tree trunk opposite him, covering it in white.

“Heh heh.”

“Not bad, even if I say so myself.”

Seeing the fruits of his recent efforts, Lu Yun couldn’t help feeling pleased and opened his system again.

Species: Caterpie
Level: 2 (12/100)
Skills: Tackle, String Shot
Evaluation: An ordinary Caterpie at the bottom of Viridian Forest’s food chain. You shouldn’t be imagining you’re a Rayquaza (fog).

Though he’d only gained one level, Lu Yun’s strength had improved far more than that.

Through diligent training over the past two days, his skills and physique were vastly superior to when he’d first hatched.

He also discovered that besides eating, he could gain experience through training as well.

This delighted Lu Yun, who did two extra rounds of Tackle practice, feeling one step closer to evolution.

With training over, it was time to forage.

Though he called it foraging, Lu Yun’s meals were always the leaves closest to his den.

While he was somewhat stronger, it wasn’t enough for him to get cocky and venture farther, risking more danger for food.

As usual, Lu Yun moved cautiously—but he was clearly much swifter now; his recent hardships hadn’t been for nothing.

Munch, munch, munch…

Lu Yun buried his head and ate with gusto.

Suddenly, the Y-shaped antenna on his head quivered violently.

Sensing something, Lu Yun looked up—and his heart leapt into his throat.

A black shadow flashed across the sky, diving straight for his position.

“Too fast!”

He couldn’t even see what it was—he simply reacted on instinct, unleashing the String Shot skill he’d trained so diligently.

“String Shot!”

Ssssss…