Wen Qi saw the Flying Mantis fall, and he knew in his heart that his opportunity had arrived. Just now, through the system, he had examined this Flying Mantis and discovered that not only was it exceptionally powerful, but judging by its condition, it was still young. The aura it exuded was that of a seasoned warrior, a natural-born combatant.
Pokémon: Flying Mantis Level: 40 Type: Bug + Flying Ability: Technician (Boosts the power of low-power moves when attacking) Talent: Deep Yellow Moves: Leer (Proficient), Quick Attack (Proficient), Fury Cutter (Mastered), False Swipe (Proficient), Wing Attack (Proficient), Double Team (Proficient), Double Hit (Proficient), Slash (Proficient), Focus Energy (Proficient), Agility (Mastered), Air Slash (Proficient), X-Scissor (Mastered), Swords Dance (Proficient), Close Combat (Proficient), Substitute (Proficient), Aerial Ace (Proficient)
Seeing that the Flying Mantis had three mastered moves, it was no wonder it was so formidable. Wen Qi didn’t dwell on it for long. Just as he was pondering how to capture this Flying Mantis, a system task that had been absent for a while suddenly popped up. Wen Qi truly couldn’t figure out the pattern of these system tasks—sometimes they appeared, sometimes they hid.
But here was the system task: System Task: Capture the Flying Mantis Failure Penalty: Deduct 5,000 points Success Reward: Award 5,000 points
Since the task had arrived, and he was already captivated by this Flying Mantis, Wen Qi led his Pokémon toward where the Flying Mantis was.
The Flying Mantis had actually noticed Wen Qi and his group as soon as it stepped out of the forest, but at that time, it had to focus all its energy on fighting and couldn’t spare any attention. Now, seeing Wen Qi approaching, even though its stamina was completely drained, it still forced itself to stand up and assumed a battle stance. From the look of it, if it weren’t for its exhaustion, it might have launched an attack first.
Wen Qi didn’t walk straight up to the Flying Mantis. Instead, he stopped about five meters away. He knew the Flying Mantis was highly alert at this moment, so he didn’t approach directly. Upon reaching this spot, he even activated his Tokiwa power to soothe the Flying Mantis.
Though the Flying Mantis remained wary, it felt the reassuring aura emanating from Wen Qi, and its fighting spirit instantly dissipated by half. Still, it kept its eyes fixed on Wen Qi, not letting him come closer.
Wen Qi looked at the Flying Mantis, still struggling to hold on, and said: “Flying Mantis, hello. I’m Wen Qi, both a farm owner and a trainer. I mean you no harm. Think about it—if I wanted to hurt you, I would have acted long ago. Why would I be here talking to you? I can see you’re badly injured. I can heal you, so don’t be agitated.”
With that, he stared at the Flying Mantis across from him, waiting for its response.
The Flying Mantis, in turn, was mulling over Wen Qi’s words. Seeing the peaceful aura around him and that he hadn’t attacked, it gave a slight nod in agreement.
Seeing the Flying Mantis agree, Wen Qi immediately released Turtwig and said to it: “Use Grassy Terrain.”
In the mystical field created by Grassy Terrain, the Flying Mantis seemed to regain its former might and strength. Its battered body slowly recovered under the nourishment of the grass, wounds healing, and power quietly returning. The Flying Mantis swung its blade-like scythes, once again displaying its overwhelming offensive prowess, as if under the protection of this grassy field, it could crush any formidable foe.
Wen Qi was surprised to see that the Flying Mantis’s injuries and stamina had fully recovered. He hadn’t expected that despite the significant level gap between Turtwig and the Flying Mantis, the healing effect would be so remarkable.
As for the Flying Mantis, though it was fully restored, its gaze toward Wen Qi had softened slightly but still held a hint of wariness. Wen Qi understood that healing the Flying Mantis could reduce its hostility a bit, but it wasn’t nearly enough to get close to it.
Thinking this over, a sly idea suddenly popped into Wen Qi’s mind. He abruptly said to the Flying Mantis: “Flying Mantis, haven’t you been unable to improve your strength for a long time?”
At these words, the Flying Mantis fell silent, because Wen Qi had hit the nail on the head. The Flying Mantis came from a tribe deep in the forest, and its father was the tribe’s leader. Though it was the leader’s son, its talent was inferior to some of its siblings in the group. It knew this was a limitation of its aptitude. Its father, a Pokémon at the peak of the Gym Leader level, nearly quasi-Champion tier, had told it that without a special opportunity, it would struggle to level up further unless it found certain rare Bug-type treasures.
But even for the entire tribe, such treasures were extremely rare. Even as the leader’s son, it couldn’t enjoy them. Helpless, it could only keep honing its skills. Later, unable to improve its strength for a long time, it resolutely left the tribe to venture out, hoping to find a treasure that could enhance its talent. Unfortunately, after a long search, it found nothing. The earlier chase by Pinsir happened because it tried to probe whether the Pinsir family had any treasures, which led to the pursuit.
Now, the Flying Mantis didn’t understand why Wen Qi had brought this up, but it still replied: “Indeed, I feel I’ve reached my limit. I haven’t improved in a long time.”
Wen Qi immediately followed up: “Flying Mantis, I want to capture you. I can give you a treasure that will enhance your talent.” As he spoke, he pulled out the last bottle of green talent potion.
At first, the Flying Mantis was angered by Wen Qi’s desire to capture it, but upon hearing his next words and seeing the bottle in his hand, At that moment, the Flying Mantis truly felt that the potion in Wen Qi’s hand could help it improve its talent. It was a deep, instinctive craving from the very core of its being—a burning desire for life’s advancement. This feeling surged like a tidal wave from the most hidden corners of its body, utterly genuine.
The Flying Mantis stared intently at the potion in Wen Qi’s hand. If not for the fact that Wen Qi had just saved it, and the Flying Mantis’s pride forbade it from stealing from its savior, it might have acted.
Seeing the look in the Flying Mantis’s eyes, Wen Qi knew it was desperately yearning for the potion. “How about it, Flying Mantis? Would you consider becoming my partner? Then I’ll give you this potion.”
The Flying Mantis still hesitated. Should it really agree to this human’s request? It fell into a conflicted state, taking a long time to respond.
Wen Qi noticed the Flying Mantis’s hesitation and realized that the potion alone wasn’t enough to capture it. After thinking for a moment, he said: “How about this, Flying Mantis? Let’s have a battle. If you win, I’ll give you the potion. If you lose, you become my partner, and the potion is still yours.”
The Flying Mantis considered this. It seemed it wouldn’t lose out either way. After a brief thought, it agreed to Wen Qi’s proposal.