Chapter 6: Defeated, Setting Off on a Journey!

After Treecko’s speed increased again, Squirtle still retreated into its shell.

“Treecko, slam into Squirtle from the side and flip him over. That way, his shell will be useless!”

In the next instant, Treecko rushed up beside Squirtle. Carrying the tremendous momentum born of its speed, it slammed into Squirtle with devastating force.

At Zhang Feng’s prompt, Treecko carried out the order at once.

There had once been a kindergarten principal who said, speed is power. Ever been kicked by light?

Treecko’s speed could not match the speed of light, but the acceleration from Quick Attack was still enough to overturn Squirtle.

Very soon, with the impact of Quick Attack, Squirtle was sent flying off the ground. When it landed, it was already sprawled helplessly on its back.

Seeing Squirtle lying belly-up, unable to get back to its feet, Zhang Feng was overjoyed.

“Now, Treecko, close-range Bullet Seed!”

After receiving Zhang Feng’s command, Treecko was equally delighted. From the looks of it, its trainer’s orders truly were having a good effect.

With Squirtle helplessly overturned, there was no power left to resist. This was the chance.

In other words, the trainer he had met this time had finally turned out to be reliable.

Treecko itself longed to grow stronger, so it naturally loved battle rather than feared it, unlike many other creatures.

For Zhang Feng, who aspired to become a powerful trainer, the most basic requirement for his partners’ growth was not to resist battle. Better yet, they should yearn for it.

Only then would they have the drive and potential to grow stronger.

“Put more force into it!”

At Treecko’s shout, a far fiercer volley of Bullet Seeds poured out at once, all of them slamming into Squirtle’s abdomen.

The close-range barrage nearly blasted Squirtle away.

Without the protection of its shell, Squirtle’s belly was already its weak point. Add to that the double effectiveness of Treecko’s attack, and it could no longer hold on, instantly losing its ability to fight.

“Ding dong, simulation battle concluded. Treecko wins and gains seventy-five experience points!”

With the system’s cheerful prompt, Squirtle’s form vanished at once.

“Would the host like to continue the simulated battle?”

Zhang Feng chose no.

The battle had just ended, so Treecko should have a brief rest.

“Treecko, from now on this will be your home. This is my personal space, and only those who become my partners can live here.”

“You can also use this place for simulated battles and training whenever you like. You can even have Rayquaza train under divine pressure!”

“Trust me. Follow me, and you will only keep growing stronger!”

Meeting Zhang Feng’s eyes and seeing the sincerity within them, Treecko finally broke into a grin. Then it bit down on a leaf and extended a hand toward Zhang Feng.

Looking at the little creature’s somewhat proud expression, Zhang Feng smiled as well and reached out his hand.

Human and partner, their hands meeting at this moment, were destined to write a future legend in the Hoenn League.

“Ding dong, Treecko’s intimacy increased by ten. Current intimacy: one hundred and ten.”

...

After leaving the system space once more, Zhang Feng tossed some of his clothes into it, bought food and necessary supplies in the shop in Littleroot Town, and prepared to leave this starting point behind.

After all, if he wanted to travel and compete in the League, he would have to journey through the eight gyms of the Hoenn League, earn eight badges, and challenge the Ever Grande Conference.

The only uncertainty was whether Ash was now in the Kanto region or the Hoenn region.

If he was in Hoenn, then perhaps Zhang Feng might meet him at the Ever Grande Conference.

Once all preparations were complete, Zhang Feng headed toward Oldale City.

His first stop was the Petalburg Gym in Petalburg City, the only direct destination from Littleroot Town.

If he wanted to challenge the other gyms, he would have to detour through Petalburg City first.

Thus, Zhang Feng set his first destination as Petalburg Gym.

The gym leader of Petalburg Gym, Norman, the father of May and Max in the original story, was hailed as the strongest trainer in the Hoenn League apart from the Champion and the Elite Four.

Norman specialized in Normal-type creatures, particularly Slaking, Vigoroth, and Slaking.

Perhaps only upon reaching Petalburg City and seeing whether May and Max were still at Petalburg Gym could he determine the original timeline of the plot.

However, the road from Littleroot Town to Petalburg City required passing through Petalburg Woods.

Petalburg Woods was vast, much like Viridian Forest in the Kanto region. It covered nearly the entire area around Petalburg City, and no matter where one departed from Petalburg City, one had to pass through Petalburg Woods.

In the world of creatures, the wild itself belonged to the monsters, so forests, lakes, and mountains were everywhere teeming with wild creatures.

Only high-resource regions could support more creatures, and rarer ones at that.

With anticipation for the unknown and hope of meeting new partners, Zhang Feng set out on the road of his own journey.

...

Travel was like this: in the beginning, it was wonderfully interesting and full of expectation.

But once the fatigue set in, it became a burden, making one want nothing more than to stop and rest.

Those with weak will would even abandon their dream of challenging the League.

After wandering and stopping for half a day, Zhang Feng was leaning beneath a large tree to rest. He released Treecko to scout the surroundings, and only then did the pair truly feel at ease.

Along the way, Zhang Feng encountered many wild creatures.

However, most ordinary Grass-type creatures held no hostility toward humans. Even when they saw people, they would flee in a hurry.

Creatures such as Oddish and Skiploom almost never provoked humans.

But if they were Bug-type creatures, especially ones like Beedrill and Dustox, then Zhang Feng would be in for a hard time.

Fortunately, the creatures he had encountered over the past half day were all in their initial forms, so there had been no major trouble.

On the other hand, Treecko had fought several battles along the way and had consumed some stamina. So Zhang Feng once again took some berries from the system space, letting Treecko eat its fill and recover.

As for himself, he took out some berries along with bread and rice balls, made do with them, and restored his strength.

After eating, Zhang Feng continued toward Petalburg City.

As he walked, he somehow wandered into a flock of Pidgey.

“Why are there suddenly so many Pidgey?”

At that moment, looking at the flock of birds in the trees before him, along with a great many Pidgeotto, Zhang Feng could not help but feel surprised.

He casually scanned them and found that most of the Pidgey had white potential, with only the occasional green one. There were also several Pidgeotto, all of them green.

After spotting Zhang Feng, the flock completely ignored him, all eyes fixed on the Pidgeotto at their head.

“Pidgey!”

At the lead Pidgeotto’s furious cry, countless Pidgey began to answer in unison.

The next moment, the flock of Pidgey took to the sky, stirring up a considerable storm. Then, from the distance, another group of Flying-type creatures came charging toward them.

It looked like they meant no good...