POKEMON: PICK UP THE MYSTICAL POKEMON DIANCIE AT THE BEGINNING

Chapter 8: Outskirts of the Forest

On the second day of winter vacation, Victor and Carbink took a Steelix taxi to an unknown forest outside Celestia.

The Nameless Forest had been explored countless times by trainers from both inside and outside Celestia, and the distribution of Pokémon within it was well-known to many trainers.

Most of the outer areas of the Nameless Forest are inhabited by novice-level Pokémon. Only by venturing deeper into the forest can trainers encounter more powerful, ordinary-level Pokémon.

As a result, this forest is the first choice for novice trainers to battle wild Pokémon and capture them every year.

Although the ecosystem here is ideal for beginner trainers, most trainers recently have been focused on training their initial Pokémon or battling other novices.

Taking advantage of the less crowded environment, Victor could enjoy a battle with Carbink.

---

After entering the forest with Carbink, no Pokémon immediately attacked Victor and his Pokémon.

Many Pokémon with a strong desire to attack, such as Spinarak and Rattata, simply closed their eyes and pretended not to see Victor and Carbink as they passed by.

Since people frequently visit this forest every year, many of the Pokémon in the outer areas are reluctant to attack, as it is uncomfortable to fight and draw attention, prompting other trainers to quickly intervene.

As expected, the guide had been correct: the Pokémon at the forest's edge weren't likely to attack unless provoked.

Victor had no choice but to take out a small box of general Pokémon food from his backpack.

Victor took out a handful of Pokémon food and quietly approached the Rattata pretending to be blind.

After Victor walked within five meters of the Rattata, which had been pretending not to see them, the Rattata suddenly opened its eyes and bared its teeth at Victor and Carbink.

Although wary, the Rattata couldn't hide the longing look in its eyes as it gazed at the food in Victor's hand.

Noticing this, Victor immediately used his Waveguide to connect with the Rattata and conveyed his goodwill to it.

While transmitting his goodwill, Victor said to the Rattata, "We mean no harm. If you battle my Carbink, the food in my hand will be yours. If you're injured, we'll help you recover."

"Rattata!" After hearing this, the Rattata felt that Victor was trustworthy and immediately took a fighting stance against Carbink.

Pokémon: Rattata

Attributes: [Normal]

Gender: [♂]

Ability: [Run Away]

Level: [12]

Moves: [Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Charge Beam, Bite]

The Rattata was four levels higher than Carbink, but Victor believed that Carbink could still handle the battle easily.

As a mouse Pokémon, Rattata has a small lavender-colored body and quick movements, especially its sharp front teeth. The incisors are Rattata's primary means of attack and are sharp enough to bite through hard wood.

The Rattata began by using Normal-type energy to gather around its front teeth. According to Victor's observation, it was preparing to use a Normal-type move, Charge Beam, which would allow it to focus its attack on its opponent's weaknesses.

After gathering the energy, the Rattata immediately used Bite to charge toward Carbink.

Victor called out, "Use Tackle!"

"Na na!" Carbink's body glowed with a white light, and it charged straight at the oncoming Rattata.

"Bang!" There was a loud collision, and as expected, Rattata was knocked back by Carbink, while Carbink remained unharmed.

The Rattata struggled to rise but had been knocked back with such force that it could barely move. It could only watch as Victor approached.

Victor took out a bottle of wound spray from his backpack and gently applied it to Rattata's swollen head.

The medicine worked quickly. Victor left the promised food for the Rattata and continued to search for his next opponent with Carbink.

Enticed by the food, many wild Pokémon were knocked down by Carbink's powerful blows.

As dusk approached, the gray body of Carbink, which had just defeated a Nidoran, shimmered with light, and its aura grew even more concentrated.

Victor treated Nidoran's wounds, handed it the promised food, and then looked over at Carbink's status panel.

Pokémon: Carbink [Mutation 7%]

Attributes: [Rock, Fairy]

Gender: [None]

Characteristics: [Clear Body]

Level: [11 → 12]

Moves: [Tackle, Harden, Dazzling Gleam, Meteor Beam, Reflect, Light Screen, Power Gem, Defense Curl, Knockdown (New)]

By the end of the day, Carbink had reached level 12 and learned a new move: Knockdown, which targets flying Pokémon.

---

After a full day of training, Victor and Carbink took the Steelix taxi back home.

Victor hung his empty backpack on the wall and took out the pink diamond from thin air.

The backpack concealed Victor's ability to retrieve items from the system space, but for now, there was no need to hide it in a private room.

After placing the pink diamond next to Carbink, Victor turned on his room's computer and found the Pokémon animated series "Princess Pikachu and Her Knight Aledo" to watch.

Besides battling, Victor also hoped Carbink would develop other interests. After all, working overtime in the Crimson Alliance usually earned a generous salary, and Pokémon also needed a balance between work and rest. Victor decided to let Carbink enjoy some cartoons that evening.

"Princess Pikachu and Her Knight Aledo" was an animated movie about Princess Pikachu and her knight Aledo, who were sent ahead by the king to escape after their kingdom was overtaken by villains.

As the plot unfolded, Princess Pikachu and Knight Aledo encountered many new friends while traveling, and ultimately stormed the villain's castle, defeated them, and rescued the king.

The animation was meticulously produced, and the professional voice acting of Pikachu, who voiced Princess Pikachu, captivated viewers despite the simple storyline.

Even Carbink, who was more focused on the pink diamond, seemed intrigued by the show. Victor, too, found the cartoon surprisingly entertaining, and it was no wonder it had a high rating of 9.8 online.

After a quick glance at the cartoon, Victor forced himself to sit at the desk, take out his notebook, and began organizing the day's training progress and future plans.

Since Carbink had already learned Harden and Light Screen, there was no immediate need to strengthen its defenses.

Instead, before its transformation into Diancie, it needed to focus on improving its offensive capabilities.

As Carbink's level increased, it would encounter more diverse opponents.

There would undoubtedly be opponents who used status-altering moves, and Carbink's slower speed could make it an easy target for these moves. It would be difficult to avoid such status effects.

Victor thought of two possible solutions. One was the move Mystical Shield, which could protect Carbink from status effects. Unfortunately, learning Mystical Shield was more difficult for Carbink, but it could be acquired through systematic training.

Learning Mystical Shield would cost 1000 system credits, and after two days of battling, Victor had earned 100 system credits from completing the constant task of "Fight and Win."

While collecting the necessary credits would take time, Victor preferred the second option: improving Carbink's offensive capabilities.

Victor remembered that the Pokémon illustrated book from his previous life described Carbink as having the ability to emit high-energy beams from the gem embedded in its body, capable of destroying any incoming enemies.

This meant that Carbink should be highly adaptable to light-based moves such as Dazzling Gleam and Meteor Beam. Victor decided to focus on improving these abilities.

With that, Victor continued planning late into the night. Meanwhile, Carbink had fallen asleep while watching the cartoon and was soon carried to its crib by Victor.

Victor turned off his desk lamp, lay down in bed, and slowly drifted to sleep.