Viridian Forest, the largest primeval forest in Kanto, stretches across Viridian City and Pewter City. Its southernmost reaches even border the Johto continent. Within its more than three million square kilometers live hundreds of millions of Pokémon of every kind.
At this moment, deep within Viridian Forest, in a desolate corner untouched by human presence, a teenage boy—about 1.7 meters tall, with a long black ponytail tied neatly behind his head—was sprinting at full speed across the grass. His youthful yet handsome face was lit with a mix of excitement and lingering fear.
Unable to resist, he glanced back.
All he saw was a streak of purple hurtling out of the shrubbery behind him. Its thick, powerful body moved with an agility that defied nature itself, nimbly avoiding fallen logs and tangled vines. Wherever that purple phantom passed, the grass was crushed flat, leaving behind a long, winding trail like the track of a giant serpent.
Its reared-up body stood nearly half a man tall. Along its swollen neck, the flared hood-bones bore symmetrical, terrifying patterns—like the eyes of a demon. One glance was enough to send a chill creeping up from the depths of one's heart.
It was an adult wild Arbok.
Over five meters long, thickly muscled, and armed with lethally potent venom… these traits made it a creature with virtually no natural enemies in the wild.
If it weren't weakened from shedding its skin, he thought, I'd have been caught long ago.
Listening to the ominous hissing drawing ever closer, a bitter smile tugged at Kael's lips. If he had any other choice, who the hell would want to provoke a monster like this?
Fortunately, he had already laid out everything in advance. The operation was dangerous, yes—but as long as things went according to plan, nothing would go wrong. And once the plan succeeded, the reward waiting for him would be more than worth it…
At that thought, the last trace of worry vanished from his face, replaced by a bold, surging confidence.
"Lulu, how much longer until you can use Teleport?" Kael asked, tightening his hold on the little creature in his arms as he lowered his head.
A small green head suddenly popped out from the collar of Kael's camouflage jacket. Green hair, shaped like an overturned bowl, covered half of her head, and two small red horn-like protrusions—one in front, one behind—sat atop it. She looked almost exactly like a human little girl.
She was a Ralts.
"Ten more breaths~ Then Lulu can use Teleport!"
The childish, milky voice rang directly in Kael's mind. This was Ralts' special ability—telepathy. By linking psychic power to human brainwaves, she could communicate freely without speaking aloud.
Ten seconds, Kael calculated silently.
He gently pressed the squirming little head back into his jacket, took a deep breath, and poured all his strength into a mad dash toward the northeast.
At the far end of the shrubs there lay a cliff—103.2 meters wide.
Kael had spent an entire day calculating that distance down to the centimeter. When your life depended on it, no amount of caution was excessive.
The ten breaths passed in the blink of an eye. The Arbok behind him was now barely thirty meters away. Wary of its venomous darts, Kael had been running in a shallow S-pattern the entire time. Coupled with the dense forest terrain, even his well-trained body couldn't reach its full speed.
He burst out of the last line of bushes—
And a bottomless ravine opened before him.
He didn't hesitate for even a moment. He had rehearsed this scenario dozens of times. His right foot slammed against the rock at the cliff's edge, and using that explosive force, Kael stretched out his body and launched himself into the air like a soaring eagle.
"Lulu—Teleport!" he roared.
Before gravity could claim him, a mysterious force wrapped around his entire body. As space twisted and tore around him, Kael's face lit up with the joy of surviving a brush with death.
The next instant, his body vanished abruptly from midair.
When he reappeared, he was already on the opposite side of the cliff.
"Hahahaha—!"
He crashed heavily onto the grass, rolled once, and sat up. Ignoring the pain wracking his body, Kael let out a loud, unrestrained laugh and thrust his middle finger straight at the Arbok across the ravine, which was rearing up and roaring in fury.
Lulu's maximum Teleport range was one hundred meters. The cliff spanned 103.2 meters. The distance shortened by his sprint and leap perfectly made up for the missing 3.2 meters.
The bounty mission—completed flawlessly.
...
"Lulu, once we turn this mission in, we're going to be rich," Kael said cheerfully as he rode an off-road bicycle along a rarely traveled forest path. The breeze brushed against his face, and in his already buoyant mood, he couldn't help but close his eyes in contentment.
Perched on his shoulder, the Ralts excitedly waved her little hands.
"Lulu wants vanilla Poké Puffs! Strawberry Rare Candy! And—and—chocolate-flavored Pokeblocks!"
"Buy it all. Whatever you want, I'll buy it," Kael replied indulgently, glancing fondly at the bouncing little Pokémon on his shoulder.
He pressed hard on the pedals, and man and Pokémon rode together toward the setting sun, heading in the direction of Viridian City.