Lin Shou scanned the area. No one was paying attention—perfect. He moved in for a High Five Surprise Attack. Before the unsuspecting Oddish could even react, it flinched and fell into a cowardly state.
With his Technical Expert perk boosting his efficiency, the strike had shaved off nearly half of Oddish's HP in one clean move. Still, the system didn't ping. He sighed and gave it a few more sharp jabs until the health bar hovered near one-tenth.
Finally—[Defeat: Oddish (1/200)]Special Reward: Gold Perk – Learning Device(Allows all Pokémon not in a near-faint state to gain half the EXP from battles they don't directly fight in.)
Lin Shou grinned. "Nice. Squirtle's going to love this."
Golden light merged into him, and for a moment, he imagined himself as some mysterious master descending from another world.
Since he'd scored a rare perk, he decided to be generous. Using his last few Potions, he healed the Oddish back up, then handed it one of Latina's custom-made emerald energy cubes. Even Squirtle had once declared them "worth fighting over."
Oddish blinked in confusion. Who was this strange human? Attacked me, healed me, gave me the best food I've ever tasted… Odd day.
From there, Lin Shou kept his hunting selective. Crowded areas were trouble, so he picked off lone Pokémon—hit fast, hit hard, get out. Those further away? He'd soften them with a Wave Missile first, then rush in to finish the job.
By sunset, he'd fought about ten Pokémon. A few dropped what looked like useless white-tier loot, but the grind bumped him up to Level 8.
[Forest Hunter ♂ | Normal-type | Lv. 8]HP: 25/39 | ATK: 36 | DEF: 36 | Sp. ATK: 36 | Sp. DEF: 36 | SPD: 36Weakness: Fighting ×2Entries: Imposing Cloak (Blue), Technical Expert (Gold), Learning Device (Gold)Skills: High Five Surprise Attack, Wave Missile
He was careful—never pushing opponents into near-faint status. He wasn't here to catch them, just to complete the quest.
By the time darkness rolled in, his muscles were aching, his energy spent. He turned in early, knowing tomorrow would be the real grind.
Word traveled fast in the reserve. By midnight, wild Pokémon were whispering about a "humanoid Pokémon" that popped out of nowhere, smacked you around, then vanished.
Morning came with luxury. Turns out, paying 1,500 Alliance Coins a night had its perks—Lin Shou woke fully rested, HP and stamina topped up. After demolishing the free breakfast and paying for another day, he grabbed a couple slices of bread and boiled eggs for the road.
The mission counter loomed in his mind: [15/200]. Still a long way to go.
He spotted a Pidgey pecking at the ground and bent to pick up a stone—when a furious shout shattered the calm.
"Why?! That's five Poké Balls already! These hotel balls are garbage!"
Pidgey startled and took off before Lin Shou could even move. He turned toward the racket.
A bulky man with a thick gold chain was locked in a battle—his Lopunny against a wild Meowth. The system revealed Meowth was still at half HP… but it was acting like it was about to keel over, just to toy with him.
The man's voice carried across the entire clearing, and Lin Shou realized there was no way any other Pokémon would come near with this noise.
He walked over and tapped the guy's shoulder. "That Meowth's faking. It's got at least half its health left."
"No way," the man scoffed. "Look at it—it's more dead than alive."
Meowth, overhearing, went into an even more dramatic performance, swaying like a faint breeze might finish it.
Lin Shou didn't waste time arguing. In one motion, he darted past the man and slapped Meowth across the face with High Five Surprise Attack.
"Hey! What's your problem—stealing my fight?!" the man barked.
"Shut it," Lin Shou snapped, glaring him into silence before laying into Meowth with sharp blows, keeping one eye on the system. The man's earlier bravado shriveled under that stare.
[Defeat: Meowth (16/200)]
Satisfied, Lin Shou stepped back. The man flinched like he expected a punch next.
"You've hit it already, so… don't hit me," the man muttered, looking more than a little embarrassed.
Lin Shou smirked. "I said throw the ball. Now's your chance."
"Oh! Right!" The man fumbled a hotel Poké Ball from his stash and tossed it. It clicked without a struggle—Meowth caught.
"Little brother, you're amazing!" the man said, clapping Lin Shou's shoulder with newfound respect.
"We're all brothers here. Just… maybe keep it down a bit, yeah?" Lin Shou started to walk off, but the man blocked him.
"You helped me. I have to thank you." He pulled out a crocodile-leather wallet and peeled off 1,000 Alliance Coins. "Not much, but if I wasn't betting on catching the most Pokémon, I'd be treating you to a big dinner right now."
At that, an idea sparked in Lin Shou's mind. His own strikes were good, but nothing beat the raw efficiency of a trained Pokémon's attacks.
What if… he let this guy's Pokémon do the heavy lifting, while he just managed HP levels for the quest? Twice the results, half the work.
Now that was efficient.