Seeing the newcomers, Caleb patted the dust off his pants and stood up, picking up the Bug Catcher's signature bug net...
Earlier, he had felt his outfit didn't quite match his role, so he had sent Lily to "borrow" a straw hat from a nearby scarecrow in the fields.
As for the bug net? He "acquired" it from a kid catching butterflies in the flower bushes.
"You need any help?" Shorts-wearing Felix whispered as he sidled up.
Caleb shook his head in refusal, "Keep rounding up more people over there. I've got this handled."
With that, the Youngster left, glancing back every few steps...
Meanwhile, Miles and Terrence received a notification on their panels:
[A Bug Catcher with his little sister has challenged you!]
Miles didn't move. He studied the young man before him and asked bluntly, "Player?"
Caleb's expression didn't flicker. In a deadpan tone, he replied, "What player? I'm just an ordinary Bug Catcher. Now, send out your Pokémon and battle me!"
"Bro, you're taking the roleplay too seriously…" Terrence couldn't help but interject.
Caleb dropped the act, sighing, "...Fine, yeah, I'm a player. Can we start now? You know the rules... if you don't beat me, you can't get to Oldale Town."
Seeing the other party admit it, Terrence grinned, then said happily, "Let's do this, man!"
He tossed a Poké Ball, and with a flash of white light, a massive Snorlax materialized on the path.
Caleb discreetly used Scout, and the Snorlax's level appeared on his panel:
[Snorlax: LV52]
'Hmm. Snorlax is Normal-type.'
Without hesitation, Caleb sent out Mimikyu.
Terrence, who had also used Scout, nearly choked when he saw Mimikyu's level, "What the–, how is this fair?! All my Normal-type moves are useless now…"
But the battle had already begun, so there was no backing out.
Gritting his teeth, Terrence commanded, "Snorlax, use Rollout to break its Disguise!"
- Rollout: The user curls into a ball and attacks repeatedly (up to five times), with each hit increasing in power.
The two-meter-tall Snorlax instantly curled into a giant sphere and barreled toward Mimikyu. Since Rollout was a multi-hit move, it could bypass Disguise entirely.
Caleb immediately abandoned his original plan of using Hone Claws under Disguise and ordered, "Mimikyu, Double Team!"
Mimikyu split into over a dozen illusory copies, leaving Snorlax with no target. It plowed straight into the bushes, failing to break the Disguise.
Caleb's eyes gleamed, "Mimikyu, Play Rough!"
"Snorlax, keep using Rollout!" Terrence countered.
"Double Team again!" Caleb snapped.
Snorlax curled up once more, then charged forward.
Meanwhile, Mimikyu's tiny body glowed pink, a stark contrast to the behemoth bearing down on it.
At the last second, Mimikyu replicated its earlier tactic, surrounding Snorlax with clones from all directions.
*Poof! Poof!*
Two illusions vanished under Snorlax's onslaught, but with nothing left ahead, the rolling titan screeched to a halt.
Then, Play Rough connected!
A burst of pink energy sent Snorlax flying into the bushes, where its head smacked against a rock, knocking itself out cold.
Terrence: "..."
Caleb: "..."
Terrence reached for a second Poké Ball, but the system blocked him:
[Current mission rules: Players may only use one Pokémon per battle...]
[Challenge failed. Please pay the opponent 500 Pokédollars!]
Terrence complied, only for the world to go black. When his vision cleared, he was back in his Littleroot Town home...
...
~Route 101~
Caleb and Miles stared at each other.
"Where'd he go?" Caleb asked.
Miles thought for a moment before replying, "He probably got warped home… This world's mechanics really are just like the games."
"Ah." Caleb nodded, "Your turn."
Miles shook his head in refusal, "I'll pass for now. Gotta go find him in Littleroot."
"See you around, then." Caleb sighed but didn't press the issue...
...
Once Miles left, Felix soon returned with a fresh batch of wide-eyed newbies...
"Whoa, a real Bug Catcher!" one gushed excitedly, "He wants to battle? Bring it on! Let me show you what I've got!"
He sent out his Pokémon, a Surskit with four delicate legs.
Caleb checked its level with Scout:
[Surskit LV3]
Caleb: "...."
Free points were free points. Ruthlessly, he had Mimikyu oneshot it with Shadow Sneak.
The newbie blinked, then vanished as he was teleported away.
The remaining players gaped.
"He's way too strong! Bug Catchers in the games are just kids, right?"
"And why does a Bug Catcher have an Alolan Mimikyu instead of, like, a Caterpie?!"
Caleb wordlessly recalled Mimikyu and sent out Dragonite instead.
The newbies' jaws hit the floor.
"OH CRAP, A SHINY DRAGONITE?!"
"I'm so jealous…"
"Since when do Bug Catchers have shiny Dragonites?!"
One quick-witted player finally pieced it together: "Wait! He's not an NPC! He's also a player!"
"Damn, what a flex! Absolute legend!"
"Big bro, can't you go easy on us? We're all players here!" a female player wheedled.
But Caleb's heart was sealed in ice. He gazed coldly at these naive lambs and declared mercilessly, "Sorry, mission rules. You can't advance to Oldale Town without beating me. And even if you sneak past, the plot won't trigger!"
'Of course, once I've farmed 999 points, I'll let you all go...' He added the last part silently in his heart.
Left with no choice m, the players lined up obediently to challenge him, only to be promptly swept aside by Dragonite's Twister, then got teleported back to Littleroot Town.
Caleb checked his bonus points tally: [+8]
He sighed, "Sigh. Still a long way to go..."