Somewhere in an unknown forest, Sato had assigned Hauo keep watch while he resumed his role as a caretaker.

  Larvitar's food was the least of his s—hard bck stones were still the best option for its diet. Of course, rocks didly have the most appetizing taste, so Sato had prepared a special jar of spicy paste made from Tamato Berries.

  Dipping rocks in hot sauce… a bination no sane person would attempt, but Larvitar happily munched away.

  "Zor!"

  Zorua was busy boung around, pying with the someampered Spinarak. As the only female in the group, Spinarak's position withieam was… unusually high.

  However, the moment Zorua caught the st of its own meal—a bowl filled entirely with meat and a dessert of face-t sour Lemon Berry cake—it immediately dashed over.

  Haunter, ever since being spoiled by "premium-grade" food from Wester's stash, had pletely lost i in ordinary meals.

  After shamelessly askier about it, Sato learhat it was a family-exclusive Ghost-type delicacy—a solidified mist infused with life energy.

  Thankfully, with a "friendship dist," Sato could barely afford to treat Hauo one serving per day. At other times? If it wasn't expending energy, what reason did a Ghost have to eat at all?

  But the biggest headache inarak.

  Spinarak's potential had been an immense surprise, but at the same time, it brought new challenges.

  Wester's words about fully developing a Pokémon's potential still lingered in Sato's mind. Even among the same species, Pokémon with different potential required distinct trainihods.

  As a neointed caretaker, Sato had no choice but to rely on past experiend cross-refere with the data from the Pokémon Potential Analyzer.

  With that, he made adjustments to Spinarak's inal training pn.

  To pletely awaken its Poison-type potential, Sato even used his knowledge of the Ghost Ship anization to hato their database.

  Unfortunately, the best he found was a training manual for Pseudo-Elite Four level Ariados.

  Bug-type Pokémon with true strength were rare, and the Ariados line was mostly reized for its versatility rather than overwhelming power.

  Because of this, very few trainers bothered to raise them seriously. Even within a mid-tier assassin anization, finding a Pseudo-Elite Four training manual was already a fortue.

  Of course, Sato also copied over training guides for /Poison-type Pokémon. By paring them, he hoped to piece together a more refiraining regimen.

  "Zzz! Zzz!"

  Spinarak dangled upside-down from Sato's arm, its light body barely affeg his movements. It enjoyed swinging bad forth—perhaps as a way of expressing itself.

  Or maybe… it was simply letting Sato know.

  It was hungry and couldn't wait any longer!

  The moment its meal was ready, Spinarak obediently lined up o Zorua, its rge, round eyes fixed ily on the food tray in Sato's hands.

  As a venomous Bug-type, Spinarak had no dietary restris—it ate both meat and pnts. pared to the specialized diets of Larvitar and Haunter, it was much easier to care for.

  After lunch, Sato let Larvitar and Haunter rest while he took Zorua and Spinarak to search for sparring oppos.

  In just two days, Spinarak had already moved past its infant stage. The rapid growth of Bug-types was truly remarkable. Now, it was time to start actual bat training.

  "Buzz~"

  After a short search, a Ledyba suddenly shot out from the bushes. Without hesitation, Sato issued a and.

  "Spinarak, String Shot!"

  "…Zzz!"

  Spinarak just stood there, staring bnkly for a sed before it finally realized that Sato was talking to it.

  Spinarak hurriedly spat out a String Shot. Fortunately, it mao hit Ledyba's right leg, causing it to stumble. The unprovoked attastantly ehe Bug-type.

  "Baa-bi!"

  A barrage of Swift stars shot toward Spinarak. The small spider simply stared at them, seemingly mesmerized by their shimmering glow—pletely unaware that getting hit would hurt.

  "Spinarak, use Poison Sting to ter!"

  "Zzz!"

  Spinarak instinctively fired a series of poisonous needles. The two attacks cshed midair, scattering yellourple dust in all dires.

  "Zzz! Zzz!"

  Spinarak gleefully lifted its front legs, as if trying to gather the beautiful, floating powder.

  "Spinarak, move left!"

  "Zzz?"

  Still distracted, Spinarak failed to rea time.

  Ledyba rammed into it with a Tackle, sending the small Bug-type tumbling across the ground. Spinarak froze in shock—teary-eyed, feeliremely wronged by the sudden pain.

  "Spinarak, atack is ing—charge forward!"

  Hearing that it was about to get hit again, Spinarak panicked. It filed its tiny legs and bolted forward as fast as it could, narrowly dodging Ledyba's ackle.

  "Now, it up with String Shot!"

  "Zzz!"

  Realizing it had successfully avoided an attack, Spinarak chirped happily. This time, it reacted much faster to Sato's and. It fired a relentless barrage of silk, pletely binding Ledyba into a co.

  "Now, use Poison Sting!"

  Purple-tipped needles pierced through the silk, striking Ledyba directly. With just a si, Ledyba colpsed, uo titling.

  With the messy skirmish between two inexperienced Bug-types finally over, Sato quietly exhaled in relief.

  Spinarak's potential was extraordinary—he could tell from the sheer potency of its Poison Sting. But in terms of battle awareness, it was pletely clueless. If he wao nurture its fighting spirit, losing its first battle was not an option.

  Even after tless high-level battles in his previous life, Sato had almost fumbled against a wild Ledyba.

  "Your reflexes aren't bad… but you're a little slow," Sato ented while patting the ed Spinarak.

  "Zzz!"

  Spinarak protested, but after remembering its earlier mistakes, it sulked and quietly accepted the criticism.

  "How about another battle?" Sato asked while administering an Antidote to the fainted Ledyba.

  Spinarak hesitated, its tiny mind processing the question. The Tackle from earlier had hurt a lot… but winning had felt amazing.

  "Zzz!"

  It nodded eagerly, raising its front legs with enthusiasm. It waain—to prove it wasn't slow!

  "The's find something a little strohan Ledyba this time."

  "Zzz! Zzz!"

  Just a little! Spinarak wasn't afraid!

  Before long, Sato found a small Rattata for Spinarak to challenge.

  After a tough battle, the young spider mao poison its oppo and secure another victory.

  What surprised Sato, however, was the high poisoning rate.

  Both Ledyba and Rattata had been poisoned immediately after being struck!

  To firm his suspis, Sato had Spinarak engage in several more low-level battles, repeatedly using Poison Sting. As expected, its poison activation rate was absurdly high—almost a 50/50 ce!

  A terrifying Poison-type potential!

  This realization made Sato even more eager to see Spinarak's progress. Right now, it was still too young to utilize its ied moves, but o matured, Toxic Spikes would be an absolute game-ger in team battles.

  "Zor…"

  Zorua yawned out of boredom. Watg Spinarak's painfully slow battles had made it sleepy.

  "If you're that bored, why don't you go find an oppo for yourself? You should be close to a breakthrough anyway."

  "Zor!"

  Zorua perked up, its eyes gleaming with excitement. Without another word, it dashed into the forest, eager to finally fight something more iing.