<...Help! Newbie player stuck. How do I get past this level?..>
On a popular Pokémon-themed forum, a new Infinite World player posted this desperate plea...
Within minutes, the comments section exploded with over a hundred replies.
<...Stuck? What game? Which level?..>
The original poster tearfully responded:
<...Stuck in the starter town! There's a boss that's way too strong... dozens of us have tried to take him down and failed!..>
Someone replied:
<...There's no way a starter zone has a boss that hard. What idiot designed that game?..>
<...Can't you just go around it? Skip the boss and head to the next town?..>
The original poster wailed:
<...NO! If we don't beat him, the main quest won't unlock! T_T...>
Netizens were speechless at this. The consensus advice?
<...If you can't beat that boss, just quit. No big deal...>
...
~Littleroot Town~
A crowd of players (all roleplaying as rookie trainers) huddled around a computer in Professor Birch's lab, silently reading these replies.
"What now?" Terrence glanced at Miles for guidance.
Miles frowned and thought for a moment, before replying, "His Pokémon are overleveled. I bet that Dragonite is holding a power-boosting item, otherwise, there's no way it could oneshot my Blastoise with just two Twisters."
Terrence sighed, then said, "Is the Infinite World insane? Putting a veteran player as a starter zone boss..."
Miles scanned the hopeful newbies who were awaiting their strategy. His eyelid twitched. He then addressed them, "Talking won't help at this point. We need to grind. Let's train our Pokémon properly first."
"Guess we have no choice."
"Exactly! This is only our first day after all! 'Easy come, easy go. Every dog has its day!' If we train hard, we'll beat that Bug Catcher someday!" The trainer whose Surskit had been obliterated delivered this impassioned speech.
"Damn, what a cringe... Dude should lay off the web novels, " Terrence muttered.
With their plan set, the players fanned out across Route 101 before sunset, hunting for Zigzagoons and Poochyenas to battle.
Terrence's face fell as he used Scout on the Zigzagoons and Poochyenas, "Why are they all under Level 10?! How are we supposed to grind?!"
While the newbies battled enthusiastically, the veterans stood frozen on the path.
"Sigh," Miles turned to his friend, "We only have one option left..."
"What is it?" Terrence perked up.
Under his hopeful gaze, Miles declared gravely: "We have to battle each other..."
Since fainted Pokémon in this mission instantly respawned at home/Pokémon Centers, they could exploit this to grind EXP off each other's teams...
...
Meanwhile, with Caleb...
The sunset bled like orange juice across the horizon. A breeze stirred the grass into emerald waves...
The Bug Catcher's work for the day had officially ended! Caleb summoned the Youngster, Felix, and handed him 2 000 Pokédollars from his wallet.
Felix's hands trembled, his voice stuttering, "Th-this much?!"
Normally, he only earned 100-200 per battle, with no guarantee of winning. Losses also meant paying the opponent instead.
This also resulted in him only being able to earn 200 or 300 Pokédollars a day, and some days, he barely broke even.
Caleb barely glanced at the money, he was too busy admiring his +108 bonus points...
Then, he looked at little Felix and casually waved off, "Meh, it's not that much."
Having seen millions before, this paltry sum couldn't even make his heart flutter.
Felix's eyes shone with admiration, "Boss, will you be back tomorrow? I can keep rounding up challengers!"
'Boss'... a title the Youngster had overheard from those rookie trainers when they referred to Caleb...
At first, he hadn't understood. But after witnessing Mimikyu and that overpowered Dragonite, enlightenment struck, 'Wow! I never expected my neighbor, the Bug Catcher, to actually be a hidden boss!'
As for Caleb, he shamelessly accepted the Youngster's zealousness... 'Free labor is free labor.' he mused.
Then, Caleb nodded and said, "Of course. Same time tomorrow... Uh, let's say 8 AM?"
"Perfect! Boss is so wise!" Felix's bootlicking grin could rival a Growlithe's.
Caleb couldn't bear to look at the innocent little sucker. Waving the Youngster off, he carried the drowsy Lily toward Oldale Town.
Since Felix lived next door, he happily trailed behind...
...
~Oldale Town~
Nestled in southern Hoenn, Route 101 led south to Littleroot, while Route 102 connected west to Petalburg City, and Route 103 stretched north to Slateport City...
The small town, surrounded by forests, featured houses with light brown wooden roofs. Sometimes, Pokémon cries echoed from the trees.
Following the signs, Caleb reached a red-roofed modern building... the world-famous Pokémon Center, where injured or status-afflicted Pokémon could heal.
Next door stood a blue-roofed, white-walled structure... the Poké Mart, where potions and Poké Balls were sold...
Pushing through the glass doors, Caleb found Nurse Joy lounging behind the counter.
She instantly straightened, flashing her trademark smile: "Welcome!"
Caleb turned sideways to conceal the existence of the Inventory and awkwardly fished out Mimikyu and Dragonite's Poké Balls while balancing Lily.
Noticing the sleeping girl, Nurse Joy smiled understandingly, and kindly took the balls herself.
"Thanks." Caleb smiled and thanked her.
Then he glanced at Lily who was sleeping peacefully on his shoulder, and gently shook her awake.
After a day of adventures, her pigtails were hopelessly crooked. Blinking blearily, she looked at Caleb for a moment, then mumbled, "Onii-chan... Are we home yet?"
"Not yet." Caleb sighed, "What do you want for dinner? I'll grab something."
The ultimate bro-con immediately replied: "I'll eat whatever Onii-chan eats!"
Caleb's head throbbed. Babysitting wasn't his forte... yet the Infinite World kept assigning him little sisters...
Back in his past life, dinners had been rushed affairs between work shifts...
A Chansey brought two glasses of water.
Setting Lily down to drink, he pondered the eternal question: 'What the heck should I cook tonight?'
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Read ahead on my P@treon...
[email protected]/MayaMatengele01