"So do you understand? Catching a Caterpie can indeed quickly give you combat power in the early stages, but once you reach the professional level, Bug-type Pokémon will have a very weak role, unless you specialize in Bug-type Pokémon.
Only a Trainer who specializes in Bug-type Pokémon can maximize their power, allowing them to become strong even in the later stages." Xiao Xia earnestly advised.
Bug-type Pokémon are not incapable of reaching the pinnacle; it's just that, unlike other Pokémon, making Bug-type Pokémon stand at the pinnacle requires the Trainer to research this attribute to the extreme to fully develop the Bug-type Pokémon's potential, and even unleash power beyond their potential.
Therefore, generally speaking, apart from those Bug Catching Boys and a small number of Trainers, most of the remaining Trainers who use Bug-type Pokémon specialize in them.
Only through specialization can Bug-type Pokémon reach the pinnacle.
"I know, but this Caterpie is different, and to defeat the first Gym, I also need new Pokémon, and no matter what kind of Pokémon they are, I have confidence that I can train them to be very, very strong! Believe me, Xiao Xia." Ash showed Xiao Xia a confident smile, a smile that made Xiao Xia swallow the words she still wanted to say.
Although Ash can be reckless at times and even childish, when Xiao Xia saw that smile of Ash's, she didn't know why she involuntarily wanted to believe him.
Since Ash said and did this, there must be his reasons…
Ash slowly approached the Caterpie, and various data about the Caterpie appeared in his eyes.
[Species: Caterpie]
[Gender: Male]
[Level: Novice Intermediate]
[Ability: Shield Dust]
[Skills: XXXXX]
[Base Stats: Attack D (C) Special Attack C (B) Defense D (C) Special Defense D (B) HP D (B) Speed D (A)]
This Caterpie's talent can be said to be visibly strong; except for physical attack and physical defense, all other ability values are B-rank, and even its Speed has reached A-rank.
Along the way, Ash had encountered more than a dozen Caterpie, but he hadn't caught a single one, precisely because all those Caterpie had E-rank talent.
If there were no other options, then it would be fine, but the entire Chang Pan Forest is so big; Ash didn't believe he couldn't find a Caterpie with an ability cap of D or even C.
And the appearance of this Caterpie now also confirmed that Ash's choice to wait was correct.
For ordinary Pokémon, C-rank is already considered good talent, while B-rank talent is the kind that is one in a thousand, and A-rank is one in ten thousand or even one in a hundred thousand.
As for S-rank… perhaps one might not even appear among millions of Pokémon, excluding Legendary Pokémon.
After battling more than thirty Bug-type Pokémon and encountering nearly a hundred Bug-type Pokémon, Ash also realized one thing: the ability cap of Bug-type Pokémon is lower than that of ordinary Pokémon.
This might also be one of the reasons why Bug-type Pokémon are more difficult to train in the later stages.
The Caterpie he encountered now not only has an overall B-rank ability cap, but also one ability value, the most important one, has reached A-rank.
This was also the reason why Ash decided to catch him the moment he saw the Caterpie.
"Let's battle, Caterpie, a capture battle!" Ash clenched his fists and shouted at the Caterpie.
The Caterpie, who was happily eating its lunch, looked up, tilted its head, and looked at Ash in confusion, then continued eating.
Ash: …
"Darn it, ignoring me! Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!"
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder, and then a golden electric current suddenly shot out from its body, striking the Caterpie's side.
The Caterpie, who was eating, was startled and belatedly jumped to the side.
However, Pikachu's Thunder Shock was not meant to attack the Caterpie, but rather to give the Caterpie a warning, or rather, a declaration of war.
At this moment, the intimidated Caterpie finally took Ash and Pikachu seriously, and a hint of fighting spirit also appeared in its large eyes.
"That's more like it! As for eating, you can eat your fill once you become my Pokémon! Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" Pikachu placed its four limbs on the ground and transformed into a golden flash, rushing towards the Caterpie.
The Caterpie retaliated by spitting out a pure white silk thread—String Shot!
Pikachu, moving at high speed, tapped its toes and dodged the direct String Shot.
After circling to the side, it exerted force again, and its entire body crashed into the Caterpie.
"Bang!" The Caterpie was sent flying.
Ash pressed the attack, shouting, "Now! Use Thunder Shock!"
"Pika—chu!" The golden electric current streaked across the sky, directly hitting the Caterpie.
After letting out a miserable cry, the Caterpie collapsed weakly to the ground, losing its ability to battle.
"Now! Go, Poké Ball!" Ash took out his first empty Poké Ball and threw it towards the Caterpie.
The throwing technique he had practiced since childhood was displayed at this moment.
The Poké Ball accurately hit the Caterpie, and a red light pulled the Caterpie into the Poké Ball.
After three shakes, the Poké Ball made a soft sound, indicating that Ash had successfully caught the Caterpie.
Seeing this, Ash excitedly rushed to the Poké Ball, picked it up, and exclaimed, "I caught a Caterpie!"
"Pika Pikachu!!"
Catching a Pokémon for the first time was quite novel and exciting for Ash.
When he set out on his journey, he wanted to catch many, many Pokémon; he wanted to catch all the Pokémon he hadn't seen before.
But under the advice of various experts in the group, he ultimately chose to focus on training Pikachu first and not to catch Pokémon rashly, so he endured until now to throw his first Poké Ball.
In contrast, Gary might have already caught a dozen or twenty Pokémon by now.
Xiao Xia, who was standing nearby, twitched the corner of her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
One reason she had previously advised Ash not to catch Bug-type Pokémon was her extreme aversion to Bug-type Pokémon.
But now that the deed was done, she could only see if she could try to overcome it, or simply step away when the Caterpie was released by Ash.
She didn't dislike Bug-type Pokémon; she just disliked Pokémon with a caterpillar appearance.
So, once the Caterpie evolved into a Metapod, she should have no problem.
Before that, it was better to avoid it for now.
Ash, meanwhile, looked at the Poké Ball in his hand, recalling the advice given last night by one of the group's experts, Tactician Xiao Zhi.
[Tactician Xiao Zhi: …To deal with the Ni Bi Gym's Pokémon? Grass-type or Water-type are best, because these two types have a four-times effectiveness against most of Ni Bi Gym's Pokémon, making it incredibly easy to clear the Ni Bi Gym.
But if you don't encounter Pokémon of these two types, then I recommend you catch… Caterpie.]