Ash, with his invincible physical body, wants to become a Pokémon Master.

Chapter 4 The Gray-Black Unicorn Beetle

"Ah, there's a bug, a bug, a bug..."

The whole morning was spent amidst Xiaoxia's screams.

After all, there are more insects in Viridian Forest than raindrops in the sky, and Misty is extremely afraid of insects.

Ash, however, was very excited: "What? Another wild Pokémon? Pikachu's Thunderbolt!"

A flash of lightning struck, and the caterpillar lost its ability to fight.

[Ding! Pikachu's friendship level +2]

My affinity with Pikachu has reached 96, and now I only need two more battles to complete it.

"Ash, why do you make Pikachu go through so many battles?"

Xia has been watching them fight for the past few days without stopping.

"Because it can increase the synergy between the trainer and the Pokémon during battle." Ash put down his backpack and took out a bottle of ketchup.

"But we really need to rest, Pikachu, come here."

After giving the tomato sauce to Pikachu, Ash hugged it and vigorously rubbed its head.

Seeing this, Misty smiled and said, "You have a really good relationship with your Pokémon."

"Of course, we're the best of partners."

"Pikachu!"

[Ding! Xiaoxia's favorability +5]

[Legendary Quest Series: The Mermaid of Cerulean (Part 1) Completed, Reward: Increased chance of catching a Water-type Pokémon by 5%]

[Ding! New Legendary Quest Series Triggered: The Mermaid of Hualan (Part 2): Reach 20 Affinity with Xiaoxia. Reward: Obtain the Water Gun skill]

Xiao Zhi was taken aback when he heard the system notification.

How did Xiaoxia's favorability rating rise so quickly?

After all, unlike Pokémon, humans with a favorability rating below five are strangers.

A score below ten indicates acquaintances with whom you have no ill feelings; a score above ten indicates someone you can be considered a friend.

Therefore, it is very difficult to increase human affection. When Ash was in Pallet Town, the only people with affection levels above ten besides his family were his best friend Gary and Professor Oak.

Of course, it could also be related to the fact that he often stays at home to exercise and doesn't go out much.

However, judging from the situation, Xiaoxia can also be considered a treasure trove.

According to this pattern, every 10 points of favorability gained will grant a water-related reward.

Previously, there were no rewards for increasing other people's favorability.

Misty, it's so great that your dream is to become a Water-type Pokémon Master!

And this time the reward is a water gun, which is the first skill reward Ash has ever seen.

If he gets the reward, his opponents will definitely have some interesting expressions when they see Ash's Grass-type Pokémon use Water Gun in future battles.

However, the increase in human favorability is always irregular, and whether or not you can get the reward is entirely up to fate.

"Speaking of which, Xia, why did you come on this trip with me before?"

While petting Pikachu, Ash asked the question that had been on his mind: "Didn't we already compensate you for the bicycle?"

"Haha, I'm also traveling alone. I didn't think you were a bad person, so I was worried you might get lost in the forest and thought I'd come and help you."

Xiao Zhi's eyes were fixed on Xiao Xia's face, making her look increasingly guilty.

"Come on, it's clearly just that you're too scared to walk through this insect-filled forest by yourself."

"No way!" Xiaoxia immediately denied it firmly.

"Look at your shoulder, a unicorn bug just landed there."

Stiffly turning her head, Xiaoxia indeed saw a unicorn beetle on her shoulder and their eyes met.

"ah----!"

Xiaoxia quickly threw the Weedle to the ground and hurriedly hid behind Xiaozhi, trembling.

"Quick! Ash, chase it away!"

What appeared was a gray-black unicorn beetle.

I vaguely remember that the unicorn beetle's shimmer wasn't grayish-black.

Without giving it much thought—after all, rainbow colors are reasonable in the real world—Ash immediately gave Pikachu a command.

"This is a rare Pokémon! Pikachu, we must catch it! Use Quick Attack!"

A white light flashed from Pikachu as it charged toward Weedle, but unexpectedly, Weedle dodged the attack.

"No ordinary Weedle could outrun Pikachu." Ash was shocked.

I heard from Professor Oak that shiny Pokémon in the wild possess abilities that surpass those of ordinary Pokémon.

Because without exceptional talent, shiny Pokémon that are ostracized by their species due to their skin color cannot survive in the wild.

"It seems this gray-black Weedle has extraordinary speed." Ash wanted it even more.

After dodging Pikachu's attack, the gray-black Weedle immediately countered with its String Shot.

However, simply spitting out strings isn't enough for Pikachu right now.

"Pikachu doesn't need to dodge, it can use Thunderbolt directly!"

The 100,000-volt electric shock charred the silk and flew straight towards the unicorn, which was unable to dodge this time.

After more than ten days of training, Pikachu's strength has improved by leaps and bounds, defeating nearly 50 bugs and earning it the title of "bug slayer".

With just one hit, the unicorn beetle collapsed to the ground, its body charred and spitting out black smoke, losing its fighting ability.

Pikachu's friendship level +2

"Now's the time, Poké Ball, go!" Ash seized the opportunity and threw the Poké Ball.

After a few flashes of red light, the Poké Ball stopped shaking, and the Pokémon was successfully caught!

"Weedle, I caught it!" Ash excitedly ran to pick up the Poké Ball and immediately turned around to show off to Misty behind him.

Little did Xiaoxia know that she couldn't be happy at all; she was terrified of insects.

"The bug... Ash, shall we release it?" Misty cried and clung to Ash's arm.

Xiao Zhi's attitude was also very firm.

"No, rejected. Pleading won't work. I've already tamed it, so it's an important partner of mine now. I'll definitely raise the unicorn beetle well."

"Don't worry, Pokémon like Weedle evolve very quickly. Once it evolves into Beedrill, you won't be afraid."

Xiaoxia was afraid of caterpillar-like insects, so she had no choice but to give up after hearing what Xiaozhi said.

"You can't lie to me. You have to protect me when other bugs appear." Only when bugs are mentioned does Xiaoxia, this tough girl, act like a delicate girl.

"Of course, Misty, I will definitely protect you." Ash patted Misty's shoulder and made a confident promise.

[Ding! Xiaoxia's favorability +1]

"Why is that?" Ash was puzzled by the increase in affection. "Is Misty someone who easily gains affection for others?"

Having never properly spoken to a girl in both his lives, Xiao Zhi decided to stop thinking about this complicated issue.

Put away the Poké Ball and take Pikachu to find the next wild Pokémon.

——————Son of Zeus——————

Perhaps Ash was too harsh in sweeping away Caterpie and Weedle before.

They searched for a long time in the afternoon before finally finding a small rattata in an inconspicuous patch of grass.

Pikachu used Quick Attack twice in a row, and Rattata fell to the ground.

Pikachu's friendship level +2

[Ding! Side quest completed: Masterful Demeanor: Raise the friendship level of your starter Pokémon to the maximum.]

[Rewards: +2 Free Attribute Points; the right to choose any type of wild Pokémon that will appear next.]

"Pikachu's friendship level has finally reached 100."

After many days of hard work, Xiao Zhi put all his free points into speed.

Ash's speed is indeed at a slight disadvantage compared to other types.

Then Xiaoxia held Pikachu so it could recover its strength.

Xiao Zhi needs to take advantage of the break to complete his daily task: 1000 sit-ups.

After resting, Xiaozhi first set up the temporary campsite and then asked Xiaoxia to help prepare dinner.

They then took Pikachu to an open area near the camp.

With everything finally ready, it's time to select the species of the next wild Pokémon to appear.

The system provided two options.

Please select one random Pokémon of a chosen type.

Please select one Pokémon of the selected type with whom you have a Bond Pact.

Ash carefully read the system instructions, and the first option was to randomly teleport a Pokémon that met the requirements to his vicinity.

Choosing the Fire element might send you Charmander or Entei, with a huge difference in potential outcomes.

The second option is to send a Pokémon that is related to Ash in the future of the original timeline in the current world and meets the requirements.

The second Pokémon you choose to teleport will also have initial affinity and the title of "Fated Partner".

[Title: Fated Partner (Increases affinity and intimacy by 50%)]

This made Xiaozhi hesitate for a moment, but he quickly figured it out.

I'll choose the second one. If I choose the first one, even if a divine beast is teleported to me, it's not something I can subdue in my current state.

His current trainer level is very low, so Pokémon with initial affinity are the most suitable for Ash.

Having made up his mind, Ash confirmed the attributes and then pressed the option.

A moment later, an unusual noise came from the bushes directly in front of Ash.