I understand you want reader engagement, especially since I think it's your first novel, that's why I try to read recent novels and try to comment on every chapter.

My opinion is that your novel is acceptable, it's not shocking, but it's great. You will notice reader engagement increase when you have at least 10 chapters, this is normal, many people don't even bother reading novels with just a few chapters thinking they can be abandoned.

Because it's about pokemon, I think you can focus on the secondary characters and their relationships with the protagonist. Something you could try to do if you think about leaving Kanto is to go to a fictional region, maybe even create a group that will follow the protagonist in his adventure.

I split the message because it exceeded the 500 letter limit.