Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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Having confirmed that battles and leveling up can indeed yield candies, Li Xiang began preparing for the next test:

Catching a Pokémon.

Additionally, he wanted to test whether defeating a wild Pokémon could also generate candies. He planned to include some light training for the captured Pokémon to determine whether the candy limit was one per day across the board or one per Pokémon per day.

These tests were relatively straightforward but still a bit tedious and time-consuming.

Of course, Li Xiang had no intention of truly raising the Pokémon he would capture for testing.

Firstly, he hadn't yet fully figured out how to raise Litten, so rushing to care for another Pokémon was out of the question. The "bridge" between him and Litten had only just begun to be built.

Secondly, he wasn't fond of raising too many Pokémon, preferring a more focused, high-quality approach with Pokémon he genuinely liked—like Litten.

Thus, after completing the tests, he planned to reward the captured Pokémon and release it, candies included.

Yes, even if the captured Pokémon yielded candies, he would still let it go.

No matter whether the number of Pokémon someone could catch was restricted by age or profession, Li Xiang firmly believed that his Pokémon were family members who would accompany him for life.

Each one was deeply significant, akin to choosing a lifelong partner.

Sure, he could treat one Pokémon as a "tool Pokémon," pushing it to train tirelessly, using it to battle other Pokémon, and ultimately feeding Litten with the candies it generated, enabling Litten to grow stronger quickly.

But Li Xiang felt that the source of the candies—the synergy between his mysterious ability and the Pokémon's effort—meant they belonged equally to both.

The candies were shared property, with contributions from both sides.

In theory, both he and the Pokémon had the right to decide their use.

Would a Pokémon share its achievements? Likely, yes—these incredible creatures often displayed unwavering loyalty and kindness.

However, if the "tool Pokémon" also aspired to grow stronger and didn't wish for its hard-earned rewards to serve as someone else's stepping stone, what would he, as its Trainer, do?

Would he stubbornly favor one over the other?

Forget about fairness—"I'm your master, your owner, and I decide everything for you"?

Could the relationship between Trainers and Pokémon really be so simplistic and one-sided, akin to that of a beast tamer and their ferocious animals?

Li Xiang didn't believe so. His cherished memories had long nurtured a perspective in which Pokémon were family.

Even though their appearances differed, and their languages weren't mutually intelligible, he could never see them as mere pets to be controlled at will.

Pokémon were fundamentally different from the cats and dogs of his previous life, and past experiences made that distinction abundantly clear.

Hence, when he looked at Pokémon now, there was no way he could adopt Uncle Liu's approach, treating disliked Pokémon as tools.

Wild Pokémon were relatively uncommon within the city limits, yet they weren't a rare sight either.

This world was one where humans and Pokémon coexisted peacefully, even within cities.

Utility poles, sewers, roadside bushes, and countless large and small city parks all served as habitats for various Pokémon.

If someone lacked the money to buy a Pokémon from a breeding center or didn't dare venture into the wilderness, they could always try persuading these city-dwelling Pokémon to join them.

Such instances weren't rare at all.

Li Xiang's destination was the nearest park to his home, known for its abundance of gentle Grass-type Pokémon. Pokémon like Rattata, Caterpie, and Sentret were also plentiful there.

As for bird Pokémon, they were practically everywhere—almost every large tree had one perched among its branches.

The park had staff to oversee its operations, but they generally didn't interfere with Pokémon-catching activities unless the methods were excessively cruel. Only then would they step in to stop or advise against it.

"Our target this time is a lone Caterpie. Remember to hold back your strength and show restraint—no fire attacks. Also, stay safe," Li Xiang instructed Litten and Purugly.

Purugly looked thoroughly uninterested and meowed a few times at Litten, essentially leaving everything to it. It wasn't going to participate, and not tattling to Mrs. Yin was already an act of mercy.

Li Xiang hadn't expected much from Purugly anyway. His instruction to both was more about having Purugly relay the message to Litten.

"Five PokéBalls... that should be enough, right?"

He patted the bag on his back, which contained five red-and-white PokéBalls he had stashed away earlier. Now was the perfect time to put them to use.

At the park.

Without needing to venture too deeply, Li Xiang quickly found a green, chubby caterpillar munching on fresh leaves in a shrub.

It was a Caterpie, a Bug-type Pokémon.

"That'll do."

Standing about twenty meters away, Li Xiang gestured toward Litten with a nod and whispered, "Go. Approach slowly and use Crunch."

"Meow..."

Litten replied softly, lowering its body and circling around to the Caterpie's blind spot to launch its attack.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang took out a PokéBall from his bag, expanding it as he nervously licked his dry lips.

Catching a wild Pokémon for the first time was nerve-wracking.

Ahead, Litten crept closer, its sharp yellow eyes gleaming with menace. Its soft paws tread silently, showcasing a cat's natural stealth.

On this scorching summer day...

The Caterpie, lounging in the shade and enjoying its meal, remained blissfully unaware of the impending danger.

Life in the park was peaceful. Attacks from bird Pokémon were infrequent, and passersby often intervened when they occurred.

As a result, the Caterpie's vigilance—crucial for survival in the wild—had significantly diminished.

Thus—

"Meow!"

A sudden, low growl startled the Caterpie. It flinched, but before it could turn, a wide-open maw and glowing dark fangs loomed large in its vision!

Bang!

Pain erupted alongside a muffled crackle, and the Caterpie blacked out.

From a distance, Li Xiang saw the green Pokémon collapse onto the grass, with Litten adding a swipe for good measure.

His eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he rushed toward them.

Li Xiang's PokéBall-throwing skills were terrible. During his at-home practice, he had missed nine out of ten throws, much to Purugly's amusement.

To avoid the embarrassment of missing, he decided to close the distance before attempting the capture.

"Meow!"

Litten kept a paw pressed firmly on the dazed Caterpie, preventing its escape, and turned to meow urgently at the approaching Li Xiang, as if urging him to hurry up.

"Coming, coming!"

He crouched down beside them, holding the PokéBall to the Caterpie's body.

If luck was on his side, he'd succeed in one go, just like Go the one-ball wonder from the anime.

If not...

Li Xiang was ready with a second PokéBall.

Pop!

The PokéBall opened, enveloping the Caterpie in red light and pulling it inside.

Li Xiang stepped back, watching anxiously as the PokéBall wobbled on the ground.

Litten, alert as ever, extended its claws slightly. If the Caterpie broke free, it would pounce immediately to restrain it again.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Ding!

The red light on the PokéBall's button abruptly dimmed.

Capture successful!

Both Li Xiang and Litten heaved a sigh of relief.

From the outskirts, Purugly licked its paw, clearly unimpressed.

It had been standing in a position to block the Caterpie's escape route, expecting the capture to fail and the bug to run its way.

"Hahaha, my first wild Pokémon capture! I was so nervous!"

Li Xiang plopped onto the grass, letting out a long breath. He reached over to scratch Litten under its chin.

When it came to his Pokémon, he always spoke candidly, saying whatever was on his mind.

"Meow~"

Litten rubbed against his hand before lifting the paw it had just used to pin down Caterpie and licking it. Whether that was a form of unusual cleanliness, Li Xiang couldn't tell.

But compared to Litten's satisfied mood, Li Xiang's expression soured as he calmed down.

"Ah... So there's no shortcut after all."

The capture hadn't produced a candy, and earlier, defeating the Caterpie hadn't either.

This meant the next test would involve a "friendly match."

The plan? Have the newly caught Caterpie battle against Litten. In theory, any victory from either side should result in a candy.

Li Xiang hoped this self-contained battle strategy could yield results.

From what he had pieced together, candy production seemed tied to Litten's growth: training, leveling up, or defeating opponents all contributed to its strength and produced candy.

But why didn't defeating wild Pokémon yield candy? Could it be because the capture wasn't a complete "victory"?

That made no sense—Caterpie had been knocked out cold. If that didn't count as a win, what did? Unless... the power gap was too large?

Back home.

Li Xiang released Caterpie under the backyard tree.

The bug Pokémon, confused and a bit jittery, scurried up the tree as soon as it emerged from its PokéBall. It nervously watched Li Xiang and the two large cats from above.

The PokéBall's quality must not be very high.

Li Xiang was surprised. He had expected Caterpie to grow closer to him after being caught—wasn't that how it usually worked?

Apparently not.

"Hello, sorry for ambushing you earlier, but I need your help with something. I'll offer this as compensation," Li Xiang said, pulling out a stack of leaves and some small flowers he had prepared earlier.

These came from the trees and flowerbeds his father, Li Zihan, maintained. According to him, brewing tea with the leaves could clear phlegm and moisten the throat, while the flowers had eye-clearing and invigorating effects.

More importantly, both were highly enticing to Bug-type Pokémon, especially Caterpie-like species.

And indeed—

The moment Caterpie saw the leaves and flowers and caught their aroma with its antennae, it was utterly captivated.

It let out strange cries, though Li Xiang had no idea what they meant.

No matter— Purugly understood. 

Grabbing a leaf from Li Xiang's hand, Purugly climbed the tree with surprising agility despite its size. It placed the leaf near Caterpie and meowed softly.

Completely entranced by the offerings, Caterpie nodded fervently to whatever Purugly was saying, oblivious to what was to come.

For Caterpie, this marked the beginning of a less-than-pleasant experience.

"Caterpie!"

A pitiful cry echoed as the bug Pokémon collapsed, unconscious.

Litten exhaled a puff of white smoke, its expression calm and composed.

This opponent was too weak; it couldn't even withstand two Ember attacks. There was no challenge here whatsoever.

Li Xiang also shook his head, albeit for a different reason.

His disappointment wasn't with Caterpie's lack of strength but with the results of his tests—all of which had failed.

First: Battling teammates yielded no candy.

To rule out any potential quirks, he had tested this scenario three times, spending three hours and carefully communicating with Caterpie throughout.

Why did three battles take so long?

Because even with berries and potions to heal, Pokémon needed rest after fighting at full strength.

Second: When they captured Caterpie earlier, Litten hadn't yet earned its candy for the day.

Li Xiang wanted to use Litten as a benchmark.

Sure enough, combining the experience from three battles with some simple move training later that day, Litten produced a single candy.

Meanwhile, Caterpie's move training yielded nothing.

The conclusion was obvious:

With training alone, only one candy could be earned per day, regardless of how many Pokémon participated or who they were.

"At this rate, if the candy limit stays at the original value—six Pokémon per team, with each maxing out at 1,200 candies—how much time would that take?"

Fifty or sixty years? A century or two?

Li Xiang felt increasingly frustrated with this cryptic "golden finger" ability of his.

Just figuring out how it worked was already eating up so much of his time.

But there was no other choice. While questions like how many candies could be consumed, their maximum effects, or the rules for using them could be set aside for now, uncovering the conditions for their appearance was critical.

"Thank you for your help, Caterpie," Li Xiang said, picking up the bug Pokémon.

Back in his room, he treated its injuries with potions and offered it more leaves and flowers.

Once Caterpie seemed to have recovered, he returned it to the park before sunset, ensuring his mom, Mrs. Yin, wouldn't catch him.

Though Caterpie found the day's events baffling, it chose not to hold a grudge, given all the delicious leaves and flowers it had received.

Maybe someday, it could even brag about this peculiar experience to other Pokémon.

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