"Pidgey!"
Hearing the call and watching Pidgey place the fish gently on the ground as an offering, Aiden Flint couldn't help but smile.
"Pidgey… have you been waiting here for me this whole time?"
"Pidgey~"
Seeing Pidgey nod, Aiden accepted the fish. He took a small knife from his pack, skillfully cleaned it, and stored it away to cook later at noon. Only then did he turn his attention back to Pidgey.
"Pidgey, your flock has lost its territory. Do you still have somewhere else you can go?"
At those words, Pidgey lowered its head.
The memory of the flock's defeat clearly weighed on it. Its posture slumped, its eyes dull—like a Pokémon that could no longer see a future for itself or its kin.
Seeing this, an idea suddenly formed in Aiden's mind.
"Pidgey… if you're willing, why not become my Pokémon?"
"I'll take you out of Petalburg Woods. We'll challenge Gyms together and compete in the League. What do you say?"
The moment Aiden finished speaking, Pidgey's eyes lit up with excitement.
It was clearly tempted.
After all, Aiden was the one who had saved it. Pidgey already held deep affection and trust toward him. The thought of traveling together with its savior, experiencing countless adventures, filled it with anticipation.
But in the very next moment, Pidgey hesitated.
It glanced back toward the forest—toward its flock.
Seeing Pidgey's conflict, Aiden continued gently,
"If your flock still hasn't found a suitable place to live, I actually have a place you could take them to."
Pidgey tilted its head in curiosity.
A place… in Petalburg Woods?
Aiden smiled.
"Come with me. I'll show you my System Space."
"It's enormous—far larger than this forest. There are almost no Pokémon living there right now, and none of your natural enemies."
"You could live there safely, multiply, and recover from this loss."
"And honestly, your flock took heavy casualties. That place would let you regain your strength slowly."
Only after receiving Pidgey's consent did Aiden bring Treecko and Pidgey into the System Space together.
The moment Pidgey entered—
Its eyes widened.
An endless paradise unfolded before it.
Vast plains, untouched land, and rows upon rows of fruit trees stretching across the horizon.
Pidgey grew visibly excited.
But then—
It noticed the presence in the sky.
High above, Rayquaza lay coiled among the clouds, resting.
In an instant, every feather on Pidgey's body stood on end.
This wasn't fear born of thought—it was instinct.
Rayquaza's Legendary pressure wasn't restrained in the slightest. To an ordinary Pokémon, it felt like encountering the ultimate apex predator of the wild.
A true world-level boss.
"Pidgey!"
Hearing the urgency in its cry, Aiden immediately reassured it.
"Don't worry, Pidgey. Rayquaza is also my Pokémon."
"He's the balancer of this space. As long as he's here, nothing will threaten you."
"How about it? If you think this place is suitable, you can go back and tell your flock."
"Until they find a new territory, they can live here."
"This space is huge. Even if your flock grows several hundred times larger, there will still be more than enough room."
Hearing Aiden's words—and seeing that Rayquaza showed no hostility, with Treecko also nodding in agreement—Pidgey finally made its decision after a long moment of thought.
It would return to persuade the flock's leader.
If the flock agreed, they would move here together.
If not—
Then Pidgey would still choose to follow Aiden, become his Pokémon, and travel the world with him.
Receiving this answer, Aiden felt a surge of joy.
Truthfully, ever since obtaining the System Space, he'd hoped to fill it with life.
To turn it into a different kind of Pokémon world.
To bring in Pokémon he liked, let them settle, reproduce, and thrive.
The sense of accomplishment that came with that idea was immense.
So… maybe I really can become a rancher inside the System Space, Aiden thought with a smile.
And with Rayquaza—the guardian who quelled conflicts even among Legendary Pokémon—serving as the balancer, the ecosystem here would never spiral out of control.
With over eight million square kilometers of space, the idea of ecological collapse was laughable.
Even if Aiden captured hundreds of Pokémon every single day, he likely wouldn't see imbalance in his lifetime.
After bringing Pidgey and Treecko back out of the System Space, Pidgey flew off to gather its flock, leaving Aiden and Treecko to wait.
Nearly an hour passed.
Then—
A massive shadow swept across the ground.
Leading the flock was none other than Pidgey.
Seeing Aiden, it let out an excited cry, urging its companions to descend.
Many Pokémon in the flock had been ones Aiden saved the day before. Upon recognizing him, Pidgey and Pidgeotto alike chirped in greeting.
After learning that Aiden had a place they could live, they were persuaded to come and see it for themselves.
If the new habitat wasn't suitable, they would have no choice but to leave Petalburg Woods and search farther away.
When the leading Pidgeotto approached, Aiden spoke clearly,
"I'll open a passage. Once you enter, you'll see the land prepared for you."
The next moment, as Aiden focused his thoughts, a gateway to the System Space opened.
Aiden, Treecko, and Pidgey stepped through first.
The Pidgeotto hesitated briefly—
Then followed.
With their leader entering, the rest of the flock quickly followed suit.
And then—
They saw it.
A true, untouched paradise.
Countless fruit trees, diverse environments, endless space.
For Pokémon, this place had no predators, abundant food, and freedom without limits.
It was nothing short of a dreamland for a flock.
The Pidgey and Pidgeotto burst into excited movement, immediately beginning to search for suitable nesting areas.
There was only one small incident—
When Rayquaza awoke and greeted Aiden, the entire flock nearly thought they were doomed.
Only after realizing that such a terrifying Legendary was also Aiden's Pokémon did they finally relax.
Pidgey, meanwhile, formally became Aiden's third Pokémon, entering a Luxury Ball of its own free will.
"Ding! Pidgey's friendship increased."
"Current friendship: 160."
By solving the flock's habitat crisis, Pidgey's friendship surged past even Treecko's, reaching 160.
As for the flock that moved into the System Space—
Their total number came to 515 Pokémon.
500 Pidgey15 Pidgeotto
After checking them all, Aiden confirmed that only one Pidgeotto possessed Blue-tier potential.
All the others were White or Green-tier.
The only Blue-tier Pidgey among them…
Was the very one Aiden had just captured.
Which meant—
Out of the entire flock, the Pidgey who chose Aiden truly was the one with the greatest potential.
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