In the grove north of Pallet Town:
"This should be the spot!"
Satoshi stopped and looked around.
The grove on Route 1, north of Pallet Town, was where players who chose the Kanto Region first encountered wild Pokémon and fought to level up. The Pokémon here were generally level 2–5, ideal for Rookie Trainers.
Satoshi recalled his memories from his previous life and, after confirming them, turned his attention to the Caterpie in front of him.
He glanced at his Pokédex, where the information about the Caterpie was displayed:
[Name: Caterpie
Attribute: Bug
Ability: Scale Powder (Protected by scale powder, it is immune to additional effects of moves.)
Level: 6
Potential: Elite
Held Item: None
Skills: Tackle, String Shot
Habitat: Lives in grass and forests].
"Level 6? And elite potential? This means this Caterpie can potentially reach gym leader-level strength with just a bit of training! How is it possible to encounter such a high-potential Pokémon so easily?"
Satoshi's mouth twitched in disbelief. A level 6 Caterpie with elite potential appearing in such a beginner area was unheard of.
In his previous life, this area never had high-potential Pokémon. It was supposed to be an entry-level zone, offering weak Pokémon for players to practice on.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence. Still, level 6 is manageable. If it were another player, they might struggle, but with Charmander, I can handle this!"
"Charmander! Use [Flare Blitz]!"
"Gah!"
At Satoshi's command, Charmander roared. Flames engulfed its body, and it charged toward the unsuspecting Caterpie.
The Caterpie, initially basking in the sun, ignored Satoshi. But as it noticed the fiery Charmander rushing toward it, it squirmed in an attempt to escape.
Charmander was too fast.
With a burst of flames, Charmander's body collided with the Caterpie, knocking it out instantly.
> "Ding! Charmander gained 67 experience points!"
"Ding! Charmander leveled up to Level 6!"
"Fire counters Bug-types, so it's no surprise we won. But still, the sheer power of [Flare Blitz] is incredible—despite the side effects."
[Flare Blitz: A move that engulfs the user in flames to attack the opponent, causing significant damage. However, the user takes recoil damage equal to one-third of the damage dealt].
Charmander sustained minor injuries due to the recoil.
"This skill has a drawback, but thanks to the Power of the Evergreen, I can handle a bit of damage like this."
Satoshi walked over to Charmander, smiling as he crouched down and extended his hand.
The Power of the Evergreen activated, and a faint white light enveloped Charmander, healing its injuries completely.
"Haha? Haha!"
Charmander looked at itself, momentarily confused before chirping happily.
"That's better. Let's keep leveling up, Charmander!"
"Haha!"
The pair moved on, soon encountering another wild Pokémon: a Weedle.
[Name: Weedle
Attribute: Bug
Ability: Scale Powder
Level: 7
Potential: Elite]
Satoshi: "······"
"Charmander! Use [Flare Blitz] again!"
Charmander charged forward, and the Weedle was knocked out in one powerful strike.
> "Ding! Charmander gained 80 experience points!"
"Ding! Charmander leveled up to Level 7!"
"Ding! Charmander learned [Ember]!"
"These high-potential Pokémon must be a coincidence. Surely the next one will be weaker."
Satoshi treated Charmander again and continued leveling up.
However, it seemed the world was playing tricks on him. His next encounter was just as extraordinary.
[Name: Pidgey
Attribute: Flying/Normal
Ability: Sharp Eyes (Prevents accuracy reduction in battle.)
Level: 7
Potential: Elite]
Satoshi: "······"
This time, he didn't use [Flare Blitz], as it was unlikely to hit a flying opponent. Instead, he had Charmander use its newly learned move, [Ember].
After a challenging battle, the Pidgey was defeated.
> "Ding! Charmander gained 70 experience points!"
"Ding! Charmander leveled up to Level 8!"
Silently, Satoshi healed Charmander again and opened the game's built-in forum.
To facilitate player discussions, the game developers had included a forum feature that allowed players to chat and share experiences while playing.
The server had just launched, yet the forum was already flooded with posts. Satoshi clicked on a thread about leveling.
"I'm in the grove north of Pallet Town. The wild Pokémon here are too weak—mostly level 2–4."
"Same here. I'm leveling in the same area, and the strongest Pokémon I've encountered is level 5."
"I'm in the Johto Region, near New Bark Town. The Pokémon here are just as weak."
"Same in the Hoenn Region near Littleroot Town."
"Is it just me, or does leveling feel really slow?"
"Definitely. I beat a level 5 Caterpie with my level 5 Oddish and only got 10 experience points."
"Yeah, it's ridiculous. I've defeated over 20 wild Pokémon and I'm still only level 6. This game is going to be a grind."
Satoshi silently closed the forum and looked at his own battle record.
Charmander, at level 7, had defeated a level 7 Pidgey and gained 70 experience points—enough to level up to 8.
"...Am I playing a different version of the game?"
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he scrolled back to the system prompt he'd received upon entering the game.
> "Ding! The Pokémon world is welcoming you. You have entered the game Pokémon Generation α."
"Alpha? Oh my god... I really am playing a different version!"
Satoshi recalled that the game in his previous life was simply called Pokémon Generations, without the α suffix.
"But if I'm in a different version, why did I see other players in Pallet Town earlier? Could it be that public areas are shared, but the wild zones are separated?"
"The Pokémon here are stronger, give more experience, and have higher potential compared to the standard version."
"There are probably more differences between the versions, but for now…"
A grin spread across Satoshi's face.
"It's time to grind!"
> "Ding! Charmander gained 50 experience points!"
"Ding! Charmander gained 53 experience points!"
"Ding! Charmander leveled up to Level 9!
> "Ding! Charmander gained 66 experience points!"
"Ding! Charmander leveled up to Level 10!"
"Ding! Charmander learned [Smokescreen]!"
> "Ding! World Announcement! Congratulations, Kanto Region player 'Satoshi'! Your Pokémon is the first in the game to reach Level 10. The Pokémon level leaderboard has been unlocked. Let's celebrate player 'Satoshi' as the game's leader!"
> "Ding! World Announcement! Player 'Satoshi' has received system rewards: 5,000 Alliance Coins, 20 Great Balls, TM: Flamethrower, and a Silver Crown!"
The notifications kept coming, but Satoshi wasn't done.
"Let's keep going, Charmander!"
And so, Satoshi's leveling spree continued.
End of Chapter
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