Pokemon: Starting With a Psyduck

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After putting away Teddiursa, Jack took a closer look at the cave. The cave was completely dark at the moment. He had anticipated this situation before his trip and bought some torches in advance; otherwise, it would have been really difficult.

After lighting the three torches, the dark cave instantly brightened up significantly. Coincidentally, a huge rock stood outside the cave, completely blocking the front of the cave entrance, and the outside was already invisible. However, there wasn't much fog inside the cave.

This cave was very large, more than enough to accommodate five or six adults. There was some hay in one corner, and in another, there were bones of Pokémon or animals.

Jack checked everywhere, feeling a little uneasy. Judging from the bones in the corner, there must have been more than just this baby bear living in the cave. There was a strong possibility that an Ursaring also lived there.

But now, with the entire cave illuminated by fire, there were no other Pokémon except Jack and his two Pokémon.

"Did it go out?" Jack thought to himself.

With the thick fog outside, it was impossible for Jack to go out again. If the Ursaring who lived in the cave was planning to come back, it would likely have returned by now. Given the current weather, it might have gotten lost in the thick fog.

Thinking of this, Jack decided not to dwell on it. He began to clean up and prepare a place to stay. "Psyduck, come help. Ariados, you go outside the cave to make arrangements."

Hearing Jack's words, Psyduck approached to help build the tent, while Ariados first tied spider silk to a raised stone in the cave and then tied the other end to its body before heading out.

Ariados wanted to set up a perimeter outside the cave. Regardless of the situation, it was essential to be prepared for the Ursaring's sudden return. Even if Ursaring didn't return, caution was still necessary to ward off other threats.

Not long after the tent was set up, a small fire was lit not far from the tent. Given the dense fog outside, the fire inside the cave wouldn't be visible.

Psyduck and Jack quietly warmed themselves by the fire. The cave at night was quite cold, and even though people in this world generally had physical resilience several times stronger than those in the previous life, the chill was still hard to bear.

Time passed slowly until there was a sound at the entrance of the cave. It was Ariados returning.

Ariados walked slowly along the spider web tied to the stone. "Psy! Psy!" Psyduck greeted it, and Ariados nodded in response.

"Thank you, Ariados!" Jack said.

Ariados had arranged a lot of alert spider silk outside the cave. Once any creature touched the silk, Ariados would sense it immediately.

This way, they could prepare to deal with any situations that might arise.

Time in the cave was long and uneventful. The network communication in this world was only available in cities, and in remote areas like this forest, even though it was close to human civilization, there was no signal. Entertainment on phones was out of the question.

"Good night then, Psyduck, Ariados," Jack said.

As the fire in the cave gradually dimmed, Jack said goodnight to his Pokémon and climbed into the tent. The journey would continue tomorrow, and staying up late was not an option.

The tent was spacious, and Psyduck followed Jack inside, settling down to sleep at the tent's entrance as usual.

Seeing Jack and Psyduck enter the tent, Ariados began surveying the cave, walking slowly and observing its surroundings. This was its first time leaving its original home, and the unfamiliar environment sparked a sense of novelty. However, the excitement didn't last long, and Ariados soon lost interest. It found a secluded corner and stayed there, remaining motionless. Thanks to its [Insomnia] ability, Ariados had no need for rest.

Hundreds of meters away from Jack's cave, in a large crater, an Ursaring's lifeless body lay sprawled. On top of it rested the corpse of a massive snake-like Pokémon: Arbok, the evolved form of Ekans. If Jack had been there, he would have immediately recognized it.

Standing next to the two corpses was a thin, middle-aged man. Beside him stood a gray, dog-like Pokémon with black fur covering its tail, back, and limbs, glowing red pupils, and yellow sclera—Mightyena.

The man's expression was grim as he stared at the bodies of Ursaring and Arbok. He was a trainer who had turned to the profession later in life, and Arbok had been his only professional-level Pokémon. Not long ago, he had completed the certification process to become a professional trainer.

This venture into the Forest of Clouds and Mist had been his attempt to capture a new professional-level Pokémon with the help of Arbok and Mightyena. However, after wandering through the forest for a long time, he had yet to find a suitable candidate. Just as he was about to abandon his search, he stumbled upon a lone Ursaring.

With his years of experience with Arbok and his familiarity with professional-level Pokémon, the man quickly assessed that this Ursaring's strength wasn't too high. It seemed on par with his Arbok. Driven by the opportunity, he decided to engage.

But what he hadn't anticipated was Ursaring's ferocity. Despite being outnumbered and facing the combined assault of Arbok and Mightyena, Ursaring unleashed an immense fighting spirit, ultimately defeating both opponents and killing Arbok in the process.

The man's face now reflected his frustration and bitterness. Losing his only professional-level Pokémon meant he would fail the upcoming annual review, stripping him of his professional trainer status. He had only recently begun enjoying the privileges of his certification, and now it was all slipping away.

Surrounded by the dense fog, the man acted decisively. Being a seasoned wilderness survivor, he placed the bodies of Arbok and Ursaring into his space backpack. Pokémon meat still held significant value on the black market.

In this world, some trainers cherished Pokémon as partners, while others saw them merely as tools.

The man soon found himself standing in front of Jack's cave. He hesitated. Traveling through the forest at night was dangerous, especially in tonight's unusually heavy fog. With Arbok gone, his ability to confront dangers was severely diminished. Reluctantly, he decided to take shelter in the cave for the night.

As he approached the cave's entrance, he failed to notice the faint spider web clinging to his pants—a subtle alarm that had already begun alerting Ariados.