Pokemon: Trait Master

When Serena first ate Ash's cooking, 

all she felt was a wave of relaxation, 

so comforting that she nearly moaned out loud. 

At the time, Ash hadn't said anything, 

so she had no idea how she actually looked back then. 

She only knew that the food made her body feel amazing while eating! 

But now, Serena finally understood— 

her posture, her expressions, her sounds while eating— 

what they actually looked like! 

This wasn't just embarrassing— 

this was pure social death! 

Misty, too, realized just how ridiculous she must have looked while eating, 

to the point where she almost suspected Ash of drugging the food! 

For a moment, neither of them dared to pick up their chopsticks again. 

Ash cleared his throat and reassured them, 

"It's okay. This reaction only happens the first few times you eat my cooking." 

"If you don't believe me, ask Pikachu." 

The two girls turned to Pikachu. 

Holding a small spoon, Pikachu continued eating his tomato-egg noodles, 

barely nodding his head as if to confirm Ash's words. 

Ash added, "Actually, my cooking can relieve physical fatigue." 

"You both haven't eaten it much before— 

especially Misty, since this is her first time 

and since you were both already exhausted, 

your reactions were a bit more exaggerated." 

"Just eat a few more times, and you'll get used to it. Trust me!" 

With Ash's reassurance, the two girls finally resumed eating. 

In reality, they just needed an excuse to keep eating. 

Because Ash's cooking— 

wasn't just good—it was heavenly! 

And this wasn't really a "side effect"— 

it was just so delicious that they couldn't hold back their reactions. 

--- 

Lunch ended quickly. 

Ash cleaned up the leftovers, 

getting ready to dispose of them somewhere. 

But just then— 

a wild Caterpie appeared in his line of sight! 

Completely ignoring the repellent spray, 

it charged straight at him! 

"Pika!" 

Sensing the Caterpie, Pikachu instantly stepped in front of Ash. 

The Bug-type barely managed to stop itself, 

but its gaze remained locked onto the leftovers in Ash's hands— 

its hunger and longing were obvious. 

"…Interesting," Ash muttered. 

"For food, this Caterpie is willing to ignore bug repellents and isn't even afraid of people?" 

"That's extremely rare among Caterpie." 

Ash stroked his chin, 

his gaze filled with intrigue as he examined the small, determined Bug-type. 

Then, his Trait System activated— 

[Pokémon: Caterpie] 

[Gender: Male] 

[Trainer: None] 

[Type: Bug] 

[Level: Beginner Mid-tier] 

[Ability: Run Away] 

[Moves: String Shot, Tackle] 

[Talent: Gym-level] 

[Special Moves: None] 

[Traits: Breaking Free from the Cocoon (Red), King of All Bugs (Orange), Gigantamax (Purple)] 

[Breaking Free from the Cocoon] (Red) 

- After evolving into Butterfree, there is a 90% chance of Talent upgrading to Elite Four-level, 

- And a 10% chance of Talent upgrading to Champion-level. 

[King of All Bugs] (Orange) 

- One in ten thousand Caterpie are born as a Bug King. 

- Bug-type move power increases by 20%. 

- Effects of Bug-type weaknesses (moves and items) are reduced by 30%. 

[Gigantamax] (Purple) 

- Upon Dynamaxing, it transforms into Gigantamax Butterfree. 

A Gym-level Caterpie with three traits, 

where the weakest trait was already Purple-tier?! 

This was by far the strongest Caterpie Ash had ever encountered! 

Over the years, Ash had fought hundreds—if not thousands—of Caterpie, 

but he had never seen a single one with a Purple trait, 

let alone an Orange or a Red trait. 

But today, it was as if he'd struck gold— 

he had found a Caterpie with both a Red and an Orange trait! 

Even though it only had three traits, 

to Ash, trait quality mattered far more than trait quantity. 

His Trait System could always add more traits to a Pokémon. 

Any Pokémon he trained would eventually have maxed-out traits. 

However, he couldn't control the quality of those traits. 

And this Caterpie's traits— 

were top-tier for its current level! 

- [Breaking Free from the Cocoon] ensured it would evolve into a Butterfree with a minimum Elite Four-level talent—or possibly even Champion-level! 

- [King of All Bugs] boosted Bug-type moves and weakened Bug-type counters. 

- [Gigantamax] would allow it to Gigantamax upon Dynamaxing. 

A Gym-level Caterpie was already one in ten thousand. 

After all, Caterpie was inherently a weak species. 

Nobody actually believed a Caterpie could evolve into something like Rayquaza, right? 

But this red-tier trait… 

If any other Trainer had caught this Caterpie, 

even if it evolved, the trait might not activate. 

However, with Ash's system, there was no uncertainty. 

If he caught this Caterpie— 

he was guaranteed a minimum Elite Four-level Butterfree! 

Talent didn't determine a Pokémon's final strength, 

but it did affect their growth rate, move-learning speed, and ability to break through bottlenecks. 

Most Pokémon that reached the Elite Four level struggled due to hard work and bonds with their Trainers. 

But they were the exception, not the rule. 

That was why Talent was so important to Pokémon. 

And a trait that directly upgraded Talent— 

was something Ash had never encountered before! 

Not to mention— 

this Caterpie also had a Bug-type damage boost 

and a resistance against Bug-type counters. 

No matter how he looked at it— 

this Caterpie was an absolute gem! 

Ash's eyes glinted as he grinned. 

"…Caterpie, you want to eat this, don't you?" 

The plump Caterpie nodded enthusiastically. 

"If you become my Pokémon, 

I'll let you eat as much as you want." 

Caterpie hesitated for three seconds, 

then nodded again. 

Without wasting a moment, 

Ash pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it at Caterpie. 

The ball shook three times, 

then clicked shut with a final chime— 

Caterpie was caught! 

The entire process took less than two minutes. 

Serena and Misty, who had been watching everything, 

were completely dumbfounded. 

Ash just caught a new Pokémon… just like that?! 

Earlier, Froakie had defeated countless Pokémon, 

many of them far stronger and rarer than Caterpie. 

Yet Ash hadn't caught any of them. 

So why— 

of all Pokémon—did he suddenly catch Caterpie?!