"Misty, Misty... let go of me first..." Ash had decided to catch the Caterpie. After all, he was soon going to challenge the Pewter Gym, and he didn't want to lose to Brock initially like in the anime. He wanted to succeed on his first try.

"What are you going to do?!" Misty, however, seemed to sense Ash's intent, her face filled with panic. "Are you... are you going to catch that Caterpie?!"

"Of course! I only have Pikachu right now. How can I challenge a gym with just one Pokémon? Besides, Caterpie evolves into a very useful Butterfree, which is perfect for my current team!" Ash explained earnestly.

"But, but..." Misty bit her lip. If Ash caught the Caterpie, it meant she would have to face Bug-type Pokémon regularly throughout their journey!

"It's also good for you!" Ash took advantage of the moment Misty relaxed a bit, turned to face her, and looked into her eyes. "I know it's hard for you to overcome your fear suddenly, but if I catch it, and you spend every day with Caterpie, eventually you'll get over your fear."

Though her mind was a whirl of emotions, Misty understood Ash's words. She didn't want to hold Ash back, and she realized that Caterpie could indeed be a great addition to his team.

"Okay, okay..." Misty reluctantly let go of Ash's clothes, quickly stepping back several paces as if afraid the Caterpie might suddenly run up to her.

"Ready now!" Seeing Misty step back, Ash breathed a sigh of relief and then turned his attention to the Caterpie, which seemed to sense danger and was attempting to flee.

"You won't get away! Pikachu, go!" Ash waved his right hand, signaling Pikachu to get ready for battle.

"Pika, Pika—!" Pikachu trotted forward a few steps, dropped into a battle stance, and faced the Caterpie with a determined expression. Even though its opponent was just a Caterpie, this was still Pikachu's first encounter with such a Pokémon!

The Caterpie, sensing Pikachu's fighting spirit, retreated timidly. Having lived in the forest all its life, it knew when it was being challenged, and it seemed to realize that this human intended to capture itself!

"Since you're not making the first move, we won't be polite!" Seeing that the Caterpie didn't initiate the attack, Ash immediately went on the offensive. "Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

"Pika—!" A translucent white glow shone around Pikachu, who then sped towards the Caterpie with incredible velocity.

"Spit—!" Alarmed by Pikachu's actions, the Caterpie quickly spat out a white string from its mouth, a common move among Bug-type Pokémon called String Shot.

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String Shot, a Bug-type move, has no damage effect but is a status move that slows down the target's speed by one stage, which is 25%.

Caterpie's String Shot was indeed timely, but under the effect of Quick Attack, Pikachu's speed was too great. Nimbly dodging the incoming string, Pikachu closed in on Caterpie before it could react and headbutted it squarely on the head.

"Bang—!" Caterpie was knocked several meters away, tumbling to the ground and sliding even further due to the impact.

Despite both being at a basic level, Caterpie was at a lower tier compared to Pikachu, who was nearly ready to advance to the normal level. The disparity in their strength was evident.

The hit had significantly weakened Caterpie, draining its stamina and leaving it visibly deflated.

"Another hit, use Thunder Shock!" Ash pressed the advantage without hesitation, knowing that Caterpie was not yet out of the fight, and a Poké Ball might not guarantee a successful capture.

A blank Poké Ball costs 200 Pokémon dollars, which is quite expensive. Ash couldn't afford to waste them; he needed to ensure a hit was definitive.

"Pika—!" Electric energy surged, and arcs of electricity from Pikachu's cheek pouches combined into a bolt of lightning, shooting straight at Caterpie.

"Spit—!" Seeing the oncoming Thunder Shock, Caterpie panicked. In a desperate move, it slammed the rear half of its body against the ground, using the recoil to spring up and dodge Pikachu's electric attack!

"What?!" Both Ash and Pikachu, and even Misty watching from behind, were stunned. None of them expected Caterpie to pull off such a maneuver, let alone dodge Pikachu's attack.

As the Caterpie leapt into the air, it quickly spat out a thread from its mouth, latching onto a nearby tree's treetop and swinging across, attempting to escape.

"We can't let it get away, Pikachu, use Thunder Shock again!" Ash's eyes narrowed. Allowing the Caterpie to escape now would be a blow to his pride.

"Pika, Pika—!" Pikachu took a couple of quick steps forward, targeting the airborne Caterpie, and launched another Thunder Shock. Golden sparks cut through the air with a crackling sound, zooming towards their target.

The Caterpie in mid-air was in a panic, finding it increasingly difficult to evade Pikachu's attack.

But at that moment, a dark figure burst out from the neighboring bushes. It seemed that the dense foliage had obscured its view, and it hadn't noticed the ongoing battle until it emerged and saw the approaching electric attack. Caught off guard, it collided directly with the Thunder Shock meant for Caterpie.

"Pidgey—!" The struck figure let out a pained cry as it fell to the ground, a wisp of smoke rising from its body, clearly incapacitated.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the confusion, the Caterpie used the tension in its thread to reach the tree, quickly spinning more silk to pull itself further away from the scene.

"What... what... what just happened here..." Ash stood dumbfounded, watching this unexpected turn of events. He had intended to capture a Caterpie, but now, a Pidgey lay defeated on the ground.

This sudden twist left Pikachu also frozen in place, forgetting to chase after Caterpie. As for Misty, who was still recovering from her fear of Bug-types, she had never experienced anything like this since becoming a trainer.

"So... am I supposed to catch a Pidgey now?" Ash approached the Pidgey, which was now out of combat strength. Throwing a Poké Ball would easily secure its capture.

"A Pidgey... well, that's not too bad either, it's just that..." Ash's expression was odd. He had previously let a Pidgey go, and now, in Viridian Forest, he had encountered another Pidgey by such an odd coincidence...