[Dragon Ascent Progress: 20% Unlocked]
"Not bad."
Alex nodded in satisfaction while checking the system panel.
Each boost in Caterpie's strength brought a corresponding rise in his confidence.
The mastery of 'Dragon Ascent' improves through daily move training. With system assistance, Caterpie has mastered the mechanics and nuances of this Rayquaza-exclusive move through its innate talent and relentless effort.
Yet even rookie Trainers who just received their first Pokémon understand that merely drilling moves does little to boost a Pokémon's combat prowess.
Alex understood this principle perfectly well.
In reality, methods to enhance a Pokémon's strength fundamentally boil down to two aspects.
Those are training and battling
These dual facets of rigorous training are not merely complementary but inseparable — only through their synthesis can one truly unlock a Pokémon's latent potential, systematically harnessing its innate talent to translate into tangible combat prowess.
Factoring in Caterpie's biological limitations as a Pokémon species, Alex had long since architected a meticulous growth roadmap...
Back when the system had not yet emerged, Alex's plan focused on rigorously drilling Caterpie's core moves while integrating physical conditioning. he consistently invested premium training resources to rapidly unlock its potential, ensuring the accumulated energy reserves would sustain its post-evolution training stamina even after metamorphosing into Metapod.
This training regimen entirely excluded battle practice.
After all, Caterpie and Metapod simply lack any real combat viability.
Through legitimate means, Caterpie can only learn four moves in total, and not every Caterpie can acquire 'Electroweb'.
Alex refused to follow the standard Bug Catcher template of hauling sacrificial bug Pokémon to be EXP piñatas for starter-wielding rookies.
Thus, his original blueprint involved nurturing Caterpie through its Metapod phase until fully unlocking its latent potential in that form, then allowing it to metamorphose into Butterfree — a Pokémon with frontline combat capabilities and strategic moves — before entering official battles. Yet this meticulous plan now lay in ruins, reduced to an obsolete blueprint.
"Meee!"
Having finished its Berry Scone, Caterpie squinted at Alex — who was deep in strategizing about missions and the upcoming Rookie Cup — before chirping an eager trill.
"Hmm... Oh."
Alex snapped back to attention at the sound of Caterpie's apparent call.
"You've diverged from Caterpie's natural evolutionary trajectory."
After a beat of contemplation, Alex studied the overdeveloped specimen before him — its physique dwarfing peers — and delivered the assessment through weeks of biometric tracking and field observations.
"So there's no need to delay battles until your evolution into Butterfree. While the system strictly warns against prematurely revealing Dragon Ascent in public matches, your current stat spread — even limited to String Shot, Tackle, Bug Bite, and Electroweb — already overmatches most rookie Trainers' starters."
Now, augmented by Dragon Ascent's modifications, Caterpie's lifeform has transcended its species parameters even without activating the true Rayquaza evolution path — gradually metamorphosing into an entirely novel existence.
Put simply, its stats have been boosted.
Caterpie has now become capable of frontline combat!
"In a few days... No, no point delaying. Today I'll take you to find challengers — we're starting live combat drills."
Scratching his hair, Alex swiftly mapped out the day's battle regimen.
By Alex's calculations, Caterpie had already fulfilled all evolutionary prerequisites for Butterfree, meaning the optimal window to commence live battle conditioning was barely ahead of schedule.
Henceforth, their training grounds shifted from the backyard's move-practice dummies to wild Pokémon habitats teeming with low-tier specimens perfect for live combat conditioning.
Gearing up to engage wild Pokémon.
Originally, Alex had scheduled wilderness conditioning as an ancillary objective during his impending Rayquaza expedition in Hoenn — a tactical overlap maximizing mission efficiency per Pokémon Ranger Corps' dual-operation protocols.
The problem lies in Hoenn's escalating danger levels. The region has unilaterally blocked all incoming routes — current residents can still evacuate, but outsiders can't access the area through normal transportation channels.
Unless Alex forcibly crosses the sea by riding a Pokémon...
In the current climate, such a scenario is clearly impractical.
Thus, Alex shifted focus to wild Pokémon habitats near his residence. The previously shelved 'Rookie Cup' also resurfaced in his strategic planning.
"They're all EXP fodder anyway — perfect chance to experience the combat gap between wild Pokémon and Trainer-raised ones."
Clapping his hands, Alex headed toward the warehouse to gather camping and wilderness survival gear.
Before entering the warehouse, Alex turned to see Caterpie poised to head back to the courtyard for more move drills, and promptly halted its routine.
"Mee~"
Caterpie narrowed its eyes and hummed in response to Alex's caring tone.
Afterward, the oversized cerulean larva docilely undulated its prolegs before settling into the handpicked nook Alex had curated, eyes gently closing in contented repose.
"Mii~"
Nothing beats resting after all.
Training's such a grind after all..
Truth be told, Caterpie isn't exactly a model of diligence in the Pokémon world.
Though gifted with exceptional potential, it's chosen since hatching to coast through life in low-effort existence — after all, most Bug-type Pokémon have naturally truncated lifespans. Even with a Trainer's care, their longevity rarely extends enough to match other types' capacity to journey alongside the child who chose them as a starter.
The cruel irony — despite being a prodigy by innate metrics (IVs/Base Stats), it remains bound by its unassuming existence as a Caterpie...
Caterpie has always known — Butterfree has inherent limitations.
Even with its freakish efficiency in mastering moves — its body honed to exceptional resilience, its energy manipulation bordering on virtuosic — Butterfree's ceiling remains outclassed by the starter trifecta next door: Bulbasaur's strategic versatility, Squirtle's tactical endurance, Charmander's raw evolutionary potential.
Given that... time to embrace the grindless life.
Despite being chronologically young, Caterpie with its precocious psyche made the executive decision to coast on autopilot.
It also reasoned that given its disposition, the odds were against encountering a Trainer willing to adopt it.
Then came Alex.
The first time it glimpsed the striking youth, Caterpie's core vibrated with unprecedented stirring — an instinctive urge to dash over and nudge him with affection. Instead, it found itself unintentionally locking eyes with Alex.
Clearly, Caterpie had resolved not to seek out a Trainer. But upon hearing Alex's proposition — 'How about becoming my Pokémon? I'll dedicate myself to your growth.' — it nearly shook its head off in fervent agreement.
And thus, Alex and Caterpie forged an unconventional partnership.
Could this be... fate? The bond between Trainer and Pokémon truly is something that defies definition.
Back in the makeshift base, Caterpie's antennae twitched with cognitive dissonance as its self-proclaimed Trainer meticulously outlined customized training regimens — a far cry from its envisioned retirement plan.
A touch of complexity, no doubt, but undeniably joyous.
"Would this boy actually commit to raising a Caterpie..."
Alex is honoring the promise made when they first met.
From that day, Caterpie abandoned its past lethargy, wholeheartedly following Alex's regimen — drilling moves with military precision, metabolizing scheduled doses of Pokéblocks and stat-boosting held items. Its exponential growth in combat prowess became a metamorphosis the larva could scarcely have conceived during its idle days.
Perhaps it could become the world's strongest Butterfree — Caterpie has faith in Alex.
Hmm. Not in itself, but Caterpie places unshakable trust in its Trainer.
But the Trainer's capacity to surpass expectations proved infinitely vaster than its wildest calculations..
On that fateful day, Caterpie and Alex locked eyes in mutual bewilderment — only to be engulfed in the radiant light of evolution, emerging reborn as Rayquaza.
What happened next is known to all.
Perhaps this is what they mean when heaven ordains greater purposes — not just Alex, but the cosmos itself rejected Caterpie's path of idle complacency.
Butterfree's limits?
Butterfree is no longer your evolutionary cap.
Caterpie: "I reject my Caterpie existence!!!!!"
"Meep."
Opening its eyes to the sight of Alex—sweat-drenched and rummaging through the warehouse for tools—Caterpie's gaze couldn't help but reveal a glint of determination.
"Meep!"
I'll prove worthy of your faith!
I'll make you the World Champion!