Prehistoric Pokémon

How could ordinary people be so agile? In Kaelan's memory, the main force of the hunting team was usually humans, while Butterfree were just support.

They'd use Stun Spore to paralyze their enemies, allowing the hunting team to move in and restore peace.

The thought of that bloody scene sent a shiver through Kaelan.

Super newbie... thrilling!

"Let's go, kid!"

Korrin picked up the daydreaming Kaelan and jumped toward the highest cave.

People in the Green Worm tribe generally wore only grass skirts, with bare upper bodies. The women made feeble attempts to cover themselves, but that was mainly for show, having little effect.

The coverage provided by grass skirts was, as one could imagine, minimal.

Kaelan was carried like a Rattata, enduring the visual and olfactory assault from Korrin's lower area.

Goodness, didn't these cavemen ever bathe?

Kaelan felt like he might vomit.

However, Korrin was fast, and soon they reached the cave at the mountain's peak.

In front of the cave was a large, lush tree.

This was the sunniest spot on the shaded side, where dozens of Metapod hung from the large tree to bask in the sunlight, along with various sizes of Caterpie resting on the branches.

Inside the cave was where Caterpie eggs were stored.

The Metapod on the tree acted as guardians, and there were also guards inside.

Korrin set Kaelan down, and he nearly retched.

Half from motion sickness and half from the odor.

"Go on in!" Korrin chuckled, giving Kaelan a gentle push.

"Alright."

Kaelan slowly walked into the cave, and the Metapod hanging on the trees, seeing Kaelan was a tribe member, merely glanced at him before returning to their sunbathing.

These Metapod were reserves for the hunting team; if a Butterfree was lost, these Metapod would be selected to evolve and join the hunting team.

But…

"Sigh, how do you evolve without leveling up? And how do you level up without battles?"

Just sunbathing and eating—how can that lead to evolution?

But Kaelan wasn't sure, after all, reality is different from games; otherwise, the Green Worm tribe could continuously battle to gain experience and eventually raise a godly Pokémon.

Of course, without a Pokémon Center and with insufficient medicinal herbs, treating injuries was difficult; leveling up through battles was merely an ideal scenario.

As he walked into the cave, Kaelan felt a cool breeze.

According to Kaelan's memory, it should be spring, but given the subtropical location, it was usually warmer.

The cave widened as he walked, and although the light was dim, he could still make out shapes.

The passage wasn't long, and soon a stone platform appeared ahead, on which lay an elderly Butterfree. One of its wings was partially missing, and the other drooped uselessly, giving the impression that it was asleep.

A one-winged Butterfree!

Behind the old one-winged Butterfree were two neat rows of Caterpie eggs laid out on hay—all in all, about a dozen.

The eggs had a mix of white and green shells, each with different patterns, looking quite beautiful.

"White Butterfly Grandpa, I'm here to choose my partner."

Kaelan tried to keep his voice low.

This was the "White Butterfly Grandpa," or "Grandpa Butterfree."

It was said that this Butterfree existed when the chief's grandfather was still a child.

Having no idea how many years this Butterfree had lived, it had already been a Butterfree when the Green Worm tribe migrated to this small hill, and it was still alive today.

Legend had it that its other wing was torn during a battle with the Yellow Worm tribe soon after it arrived.

The Butterfree lay on the stone platform, breathing lightly, and upon hearing Kaelan's voice, its single right wing flapped slightly.

A blue light emerged from the two rows of eggs, selecting one and gently floating it over to Kaelan.

Kaelan could tell from the Butterfree's eyes what it meant: "This is yours."

Confusion!

While the move Confusion might be common in games, in reality, there weren't many Pokémon that could learn it.

This was reality, not a game. There were so many Butterfree in the Green Worm tribe, but only this old Butterfree could teach Confusion, illustrating the difficulty of learning moves.

He guessed that this White Butterfly Grandpa was of a high level.

"Thank you, White Butterfly Grandpa!" Kaelan exclaimed, hugging the egg.

Seeing Kaelan embrace the egg, Butterfree settled back down to rest, its steady breathing almost immediately resuming.

It had fallen asleep again.

Kaelan calmed his excited heart, tiptoeing with the egg in his arms as he made his way out of the cave.

Finally, he had it! A little Pokémon!

Even though he had crossed over here against his will, even though the prehistoric era was dangerous, and even though life was tough...

This was a little Pokémon!

He couldn't count how many people in his past life longed to raise a little Pokémon but had to settle for playing games instead.

Now he had his own Pokémon!

"Hehe."

Kaelan grinned stupidly, slowly making his way back out of the cave.

"Caterpie, hehe, my Caterpie."

Sure, it was the weakest of the weak, but it was still better than a Magikarp, right?

And Butterfree was so beautiful, so lovely.

As an Ash Ketchum anime fan, aside from the regrets over Greninja, Charizard, Sceptile, and the series of aspirations unfulfilled,

The greatest regrets and most touching moments were definitely with Pidgeot and Butterfree.

Let's not even get started on Pidgeot crying in Viridian Forest; just the fact that Ash's Butterfree was carried away by a shining Butterfree was an eternal pain in Kaelan's heart.

Back then, when Kaelan watched Ash Ketchum say goodbye to Butterfree, he cried his eyes out.

And now, he had his own Caterpie!

He vowed that no matter what, he would never give up on his Pokémon!

Of course, Ash Ketchum didn't give up either.

The guarding warriors greeted Kaelan as he walked by:

"Kaelan, have you made your choice?"

"Hey, Kaelan has changed his mind!"

"Of course! Green Worm is the strongest!"

The strongest... where did that confidence come from...

Kaelan took a deep breath and smiled as he responded to each warrior.

Even if it wasn't the strongest, he was determined to raise it well; this was his first Pokémon!

"Remember to feed it plenty of leaves once it hatches! The more it eats, the better for evolution! Haha! It should hatch soon!" Korrin's shining Butterfree rested on his head, looking quite...

Well, how should he put it? Like a rugged guy wearing a big pink bow.

"Alright!"

Kaelan carefully carried the egg back to the cave and set it down on the pile of hay.

"Phew."

He let out a breath and then started to grin stupidly.

He was so happy! He had caught a Rayquaza!

Hehe.

Just then, a small figure rushed in, holding two pink, Pecha Berrys.

It was his good friend—Torak—who had just gathered some berries.

"Kaelan! Did you get a Green Worm egg?" Torak ran over barefoot, his eyes shining. "You're not fighting with the chief anymore?"

Seeing Torak's rough bare feet, Kaelan decided he would get some sandals in a couple of days.

People here didn't have the concept of wearing shoes, and neither did Kaelan; it felt strange.

Noticing Kaelan staring at his feet, Torak lifted one of his dirty feet to look at it. "What's up, Kaelan?"

"Nothing." Kaelan turned away, not wanting to look at his face, but he smiled again when he saw the Caterpie eggs. "Do you want to touch them?"

Torak nodded, then carefully crept closer to the Caterpie eggs and crouched down.

"I really want one too…"

Torak stared wide-eyed at the Caterpie eggs, setting his Pecha Berrys aside, then gently stroked the Caterpie eggs.

He was only nine years old and still had a year to wait before he could receive an egg.

"There are still plenty of eggs, so yours is definitely among them!" Kaelan said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Torak nodded happily.

The Green Worm tribe had a total of just over forty people, with only five or six children, and more than a dozen eggs.

"Come on, eat this Pecha Berry." Torak picked up a pink fruit and handed it to Kaelan.

Kaelan took it and bit down.

"It's so sweet!"

With juice filling his mouth, Kaelan locked eyes with Torak and broke into a joyful laugh.

The instincts of this body told him that Torak was someone he could trust and get close to.

But just then, an urgent whistle pierced the air, accompanied by Korrin's anxious shout:

"Yellow Worm tribe! The Yellow Worm tribe is attacking!"

Kaelan's expression changed, and Torak became panicked. "The Yellow Worm tribe?! How did they get here? What do we do? The chief isn't around, what do we do…"

"Torak, stay calm and stay here. I'll go take a look."

Kaelan quickly composed himself, put down the Pecha Berry, and carefully stood up to head outside.

"Kaelan, come back! The Yellow Worm tribe is here; it's dangerous!" Torak worriedly grabbed Kaelan.

Kaelan turned slightly, made a "shh" gesture, then bent down and continued moving forward.

The cave sloped gently to prevent rainwater from coming in, and Kaelan almost crawled as he slowly made his way toward the cave entrance.

Torak felt anxious but couldn't stop Kaelan; he could only follow cautiously toward the entrance.

Finally, the two raised their heads and could only see vague silhouettes standing on the slope, with a swarm of Beedrill below.

"Jarek, what are you doing here?" 

Kaelan recognized Korrin's voice.

"You Green Worm fools, it's none of your business!"

"Who are you calling a fool?!"

"I'm calling you and your Green Worm partner fools! Ha, Green Worm, how ugly!"

"Damn it, White Butterfly, Hurricane（Gust）!" 

"Hmph, Bumblebee, Twin Needle Attack (Twineedle)!" 

...

In an instant, the two sides clashed.

Kaelan slapped his forehead.

He felt speechless.

Seriously! What kind of conversation is this? Why do they start fighting after just a few words?!

As he looked closely, he saw Korrin's Butterfree rapidly flapping its pink wings, creating powerful gusts aimed at the enemy, while the other four warriors commanded their Butterfree to unleash Hurricane (Gust).

On the opposite side, there were over a dozen Beedrill, and behind them stood several people, the leader being a towering man nearly six feet three tall.

That man, named Jarek, had wild hair falling over his shoulders and a face marked with pitted scars.

He pointed at Butterfree and shouted, "Bumblebee, Twin Needle Attack (Twineedle)!"

Although Butterfree was strong, and Hurricane (Gust) was effective against Beedrill, five against more than ten made it impossible to win.

The dozen Beedrill broke through the Hurricane (Gust) and attacked Butterfree, continuously stabbing at it.

Butterfree retaliated with Tackle.

However, there were only five warriors remaining; they couldn't match the numbers of the Yellow Worm tribe.

"Sigh, what a hassle."

It was time for some words to save the day.

Kaelan straightened up and ran out, shouting as he went:

"Stop! Hold it!"

Torak, unsure of why, timidly followed Kaelan outside, closely trailing behind him.

He was worried for Kaelan's safety.

"Jarek, why are you attacking our tribe?" Kaelan's voice was loud; that's the advantage of being a child—his voice carried.

"Why? Do we need a reason to fight you?" Jarek replied with a grin, despite seeing that Kaelan was just a kid.

A reason? How could there be no reason?

This season was the best time for hunting; instead of going into the jungle to feed your tribe, you come to attack us?

What's wrong with you?

"Kaelan, get back! It's dangerous out here!" Korrin shouted as soon as he spotted the two children running out.

The elderly and weak had already hidden inside the cave.

"It's fine, Uncle Korrin," Kaelan replied briefly before turning to Jarek. "You can attack us, but the cost will be that the rest of your Yellow Worm tribe will starve! Even if they don't starve, our chief will come back and take revenge!"

The hunting team was usually made up of strong young adults, while the elderly and weak stayed behind in the tribe.

If the hunting team failed to bring back enough food, some might end up starving.

If they sneak attacked the Green Worm tribe, the Green Worm Chief would definitely retaliate when he returned at night.

The most likely outcome would be mutual destruction!

On one side was the Green Worm tribe, busy hunting and full of prey, while the other side, the Yellow Worm tribe, would gain nothing wasting their time attacking Green Worm.

The result was obvious.

"Oh? The Green Worm kid is pretty clever," Jarek said thoughtfully.

In reality, it wasn't particularly deep logic; the two sides just had deep-rooted prejudice. If it were an ordinary tribe passing by, Korrin wouldn't have reacted this way.

Living in the prehistoric era, the most important thing for a tribe was to be cautious; otherwise, they could easily face annihilation.

Besides, they were just passing through.

"We're leaving!" Jarek seemed wary, swiftly waving his hand to lead the Yellow Worm hunting team away.

The Beedrill that had been attacking Butterfree followed their master, leaving the Green Worm tribe behind.

The five warriors, including Korrin, looked at Kaelan and Torak with astonished expressions.

Not everyone had the courage to run out during a battle, especially someone without a monster partner; this was evident from the elders and weak who had hid in the cave.

Moreover, it was rare to remain calm and logical at such a critical moment.

"Uncle Korrin, I'm heading back now," Kaelan called out, then turned to give Torak a nod.

Torak, still a bit dazed, followed Kaelan back into the cave.

Once they arrived, he snapped out of it and looked at Kaelan in awe. "Kaelan, you're so amazing!"

"It's nothing," Kaelan replied, shaking his head.

Korrin and the others just hadn't expected it.

However, after sitting down, Kaelan couldn't shake off a growing sense of unease.

Why would the Yellow Worm tribe risk conflict by coming into the Green Worm territory?

"Could they be looking for something important?"

Kaelan speculated to himself.

Meanwhile, Torak continued to admire him. "Kaelan, you're really incredible!"

Kaelan smiled but didn't think much of it.

He didn't even have a skill like a mouth attack; he might as well not consider himself an Earthling.

Besides, it wasn't really a mouth attack; he had just said a couple of words.

Even if it came to a fight, Jarek wouldn't truly engage; at most, he would fake an attack, primarily aiming to complete some sort of mission.

Going all out to the death was no good for anyone.

Kaelan planned to go out and share his thoughts with Korrin—what if the other side was looking for some treasure? The Green Worm tribe couldn't let that opportunity go by.

But just then, a faint sound caught his attention.

Kaelan instantly pushed all his thoughts aside.