“Kai, do you want to catch any of these Weedle?” Rick asked after seeing his lack of interest in the defeated Weedle.

  Kai heard the question in pensive silence. Should he be satisfied with catching one of these Weedle?

  The Beedrill line was one of the weakest in the game, with abysmal stats and a lacking move pool. The game’s creator mitigated some of that with a few buffs, but even then, Beedrill continued to be an unappealing choice for him.

  On the other hand, he could imagine himself raising one of these Weedle.

  He would create a bond with it, no, he would love it, they would be partners, facing many battles together.

  It was a happy thought.

  But he could just as easily imagine them losing many battles, Weedle, now a Beedrill, getting frustrated with the onslaught of defeats, comparing itself with his other pokémon and feeling inferior.

  If he were to only battle in small leagues where these weaker pokémon thrived, he could very well make this decision immediately, but what he wanted was to win the Indigo League, where any pokémon was allowed, and all the strongest trainers gathered.

  To have a pokémon is to be responsible for it, so he had to consider his pokémon future happiness before choosing it.

  To be sure, he approached the Weedles and touched them. Immediately, a flood of information rushed into his mind.

  Recently hatched, no egg moves, average IVs, and neutral natures.

  Kai shook his head. They were not built for the big leagues, and while there were ways to perfect a pokémon’s IVs in the game, it would take a fortune that he didn’t think he could muster now that this world was a reality.

  “No, I don’t. Let’s look for a little while longer before deciding.” He answered honestly.

  Then he put two Oran Berries beside the Weedles, so they could recover faster.

  “Yeah! Let’s go deeper into the forest!” Sammy had already recovered his mood and was back to his excited self.

  “Kar!” Karrablast also responded, full of energy after being treated.

  “Ha ha ha! Let’s go and capture a legendary pokémon!” Jo also looked excited, with her Scyther seconding her.

  Meanwhile, Rick was carrying Dwebble in his arms, his face contorted into a smile full of an enthusiasm he could feel but struggled to express.

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  Seeing his group like this filled Kai with a strange feeling of pride and fulfillment.

  These people were here solely to help him, and not only did they not complain, but they even encouraged him to continue.

  To be honest, he was prepared to go into the forest by himself if it was needed. It would be difficult, but if he were careful, he might not get hurt.

  He normally didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of depending on others, but was surprised to notice that with these three, he didn’t seem to mind.

  Sammy went ahead, full of a childish bravado that persisted no matter how many defeats he faced.

  He liked Sammy more than he expected at first. Sammy was loud, brash, and very dumb, which could be an infuriating combination sometimes, but he was also very kind to others, always ready to help, and most importantly for their friendship, he didn’t get offended easily.

  He had lectured Sammy many times, and sometimes he used harsh words that could have started a fight if he were saying them to anyone else, but with Sammy, it never got to that point.

  Then there was Rick, who, as always, was trying to keep up with Sammy. His steps were heavy as he struggled under the weight of his own backpack, which he knew would be full of anything that one might need when walking into a forest.

  Rick may be an anxious little boy who wouldn’t take the initiative to do anything, but he was also the most dependable in hours like these.

  It was Rick who taught him some common sense about the world, going so far as to lend him his old books, full of notes, to guide his studies.

  Whenever he had a question, he would look for Rick, and he knew that both Sammy and Jo felt the same way. It was no secret that without Rick, Sammy wouldn’t be anywhere near graduation.

  Following him was Jo, who seemed the most excited about exploring the forest. She looked almost too eager to go on this little adventure, really.

  She was all smiles, her face morphing into the image of a puppy who stayed indoors all day and would now finally be taken for a walk.

  His gaze, however, didn’t linger on her bright smile, but was drawn to the shadows that covered her eyes from time to time, to the short pauses, to her silent sighs, and to the stealthy glances she directed at him.

  He understood that he would never be able to see her the same way after last night’s conversation. She let herself be vulnerable before him, and there was no turning back from that.

  Did he want to turn it back?

  The image of her troubled face appeared in his mind.

  Did he want both of them to forget the previous night?

  Her red eyes.

  Her crying.

  Their laughter.

  The idea made him feel nauseous.

  Once again, he felt that scary premonition, the one telling him that he was in the middle of a pivotal moment, the one locking him in the moment, making him feel that he couldn’t run away because this was real.

  What is this? Why am I like this?

  This hurts, but is also good?

  Kai struggled to understand what it was he was feeling.

  There was a warmth emanating from his heart and embracing his body.

  It felt good.

  He felt embraced and energized.

  But before he could understand what this meant, he saw Jo turn back and run towards him.

  Behind her, Rick and Sammy were also running with fearful expressions.

  And behind them was a swarm of dozens of Beedrills.

  Before he could register what had happened, Jo had already grabbed him and jumped towards a bush nearby.