In this world, most trainers came from ordinary backgrounds.
Not everyone was like the kids in the anime, receiving a starter Pokémon with top-tier talent from a regional Professor the moment they turned ten.
Only children of the League’s core families—or veterans who had laid down their blood and sweat for the League—could receive starter Pokémon with generally high potential at the right age, provided their families paid exorbitant annual fees from the day they were born.
For commoners, starter Pokémon were nothing more than a pipe dream.
What could someone do if they wanted to become a trainer?
If they had a trainer in the family, that relative could help them catch a starter.
But if they didn’t, and still wanted to walk the path of a trainer, Beedrill was the perfect option.
Weedle were easy to catch.
As long as one took care to avoid their poison stings, anyone could safely obtain a Pokémon.
Furthermore, Beedrill’s growth cycle was extremely short, requiring minimal time and resources to produce a respectable battler.
Only after securing a Beedrill would a trainer gain the means to capture other Pokémon.
Even for those with established trainers in their families, Beedrill was often their top pick for an initial Pokémon precisely because it grew quickly, possessed decent potential, and packed a punch in battle.
Of course, high-ranking trainers looked down on Beedrill.
Not everyone was Giovanni—able to encounter a wild Pokémon with extraordinary talent and invest astronomical resources to raise it exactly according to plan.
Given those resources and time, one was far better off raising a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, which would become a top-tier powerhouse once fully evolved.
Aoki had also considered raising a Beedrill in his past life, but the idea had ultimately fallen through.
It was simply too difficult.
Elevating a Beedrill to average combat strength was quick and easy, but attempting to push it higher yielded diminishing returns.
The investment simply was not worth the reward.
On top of that, Beedrill had a short lifespan.
Before a trainer could even finish cultivating one to perfection, its strength would begin to plummet due to old age.
Not everyone possessed Viridian Power like Giovanni to hold off the ruthless hand of time.
Still, as a transitional Pokémon, Beedrill was quite solid.
Besides, with Mega Evolution not yet discovered, Beedrill—being a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution—held a certain degree of long-term cultivation value.
Regardless, that was a matter for the future.
Right now, Aoki and Murkrow had to deal with five furious Beedrill flying straight toward them.
As the five Beedrill drew near, Aoki used his microchip to scan them all.
Five almost identical status panels appeared before his eyes.
[Pokémon: Beedrill (Red)] [Gender: Male] [Level: 14] [Type: Bug / Poison] [Ability: Swarm] [Held Item: None] [Egg Moves: None] [Basic Moves: Twineedle, Fury Attack, Rage] [Tutor Moves: None] [TM Moves: None] The data for all five Beedrill was nearly identical, as if stamped out of the same mold.
Aoki breathed a faint sigh of relief.
Luckily, only five had come, and neither their levels nor their talents were particularly high.
“Murkrow, use Astonish!” Aoki issued the most optimal command for the situation.
Astonish could cause target Pokémon to flinch, which would reduce the number of Beedrill Murkrow had to face at once and ease the pressure on him.
Even if none of the Beedrill flinched, the area-of-effect damage from Astonish would still inflict solid harm.
“Gah!” Murkrow shrieked.
A sharp, piercing screech shot directly at the five unsuspecting Beedrill.
Instantly, the grating sound blasted into their minds.
Two Beedrill froze midair, their bodies stiffening, the trembling tips of their double needles betraying the terror in their hearts.
The other three Beedrill, after a momentary pause, continued charging toward Murkrow.
A light purple glow sparkled at the tips of their extended needles—they were activating Twineedle!
“Murkrow, use Gust on the three in front!
Take them down first!” Aoki instructed cleanly.
The next moment, Murkrow vibrated his wings.
Familiar Flying-type energy gathered between them.
With his growing mastery over Gust, Murkrow could now channel Flying-type energy to release the move far faster than before.
With a light flap of his wings, a white whirlwind materialized in front of the three Beedrill, engulfing them in an instant.
Bound by type weakness, the three Bug-type Beedrill were swept into the air, spinning out of control inside the vortex.
When the wind faded, the Gust move had dealt massive damage.
Two of the Beedrill crashed to the ground, knocked out of the fight, while the last one wobbled unsteadily in the air, barely able to stay aloft.
A single move had knocked out two Beedrill, left another nearly incapacitated, and left the remaining two just recovering from their flinched state.
Aoki was quite pleased with the result.
Although part of the success was due to type advantage, much of it stemmed from the fact that Murkrow was no longer the Pokémon he used to be.
With Green talent, Murkrow commanded energy far more adeptly, and the power of his Gust move had grown significantly.
“Finish off the weak one with Peck, then use Gust to take out the other two!” Murkrow moved instantly upon command, flapping his wings and leaving a black blur across the sky.
Having grown used to maintaining his Tailwind state during battle, Murkrow kept it active whenever possible, even without Aoki’s explicit order.
*Thump!* A beak glowing with white light struck the Beedrill.
What looked like a light peck hit like a heavy hammer; the last standing Beedrill could not escape its fate and plunged to the ground, unconscious.
Without stopping for a second after felling his target, Murkrow darted toward the two Beedrill just recovering from their flinch.
The two Beedrill lingered in confusion.
Less than a minute ago, five of them had stormed over for revenge.
Now, only two remained.
Fresh out of their flinch, fear still gripped their hearts.
They had clearly possessed a numerical advantage moments ago, yet now found themselves hopelessly outmatched.
While they hesitated, Murkrow gave them no quarter.
Gathering Flying energy into his wings even faster than before, another white whirlwind whipped up and roared forward at his command.
*Whoosh!* A sharp, violent wind blasted into their faces.
The two Beedrill snapped back to their senses and tried to flee, but as soon as they turned, the whirlwind swallowed them whole.
The Flying-type energy struck them mercilessly, leaving them battered and bruised.
When the whirlwind dissipated, the two Beedrill crashed to the ground, motionless and knocked out cold.
As Murkrow landed before Aoki, all the Kakuna and Beedrill in this patch of the woods had been thoroughly cleared out.
*Buzz, buzz, buzz…* A dense buzzing sound echoed from various parts of the forest once again.
What a terrifying species—always moving in swarms.
If one was bullied, the entire colony would drop everything and rush over.
In that sense, Beedrill were probably the most united Pokémon in the entire world.
This time, the buzzing was noticeably denser than before, coming from at least several dozen Beedrill.
Aoki beckoned to Murkrow, turned, and left the area immediately.
There was no need to face an entire Beedrill swarm head-on right now.
He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.
Retreat first!
When the blood-eyed Beedrill swarm arrived at the scene, they saw only absolute devastation.
Branches, the ground, the bushes—all were littered with the bodies of Kakuna and Beedrill.
Furious beyond measure, the swarm scattered to search for whoever had wiped out their branch colony.
“Buzz!” Just as the swarm was about to boil over into chaotic rage, a deep, powerful roar echoed out.
A Beedrill noticeably larger than the rest appeared in the center of the clearing, a ferocious expression on its vicious face.
It bellowed at its kin, and the entire swarm instantly quieted down, standing like disciplined soldiers listening intently to whatever the larger Beedrill was communicating.
Once the leader finished speaking, it took the lead, guiding the entire swarm as they vanished into the woods in a disciplined formation.
If Aoki were still around, he might have realized that this Beedrill was a swarm leader.
Its impressive size was precisely because it held the title of leader.
However, Aoki wasn’t around to witness it.
Having made a swift exit, he and Murkrow had already returned to the Metapod territory.
As they walked, Aoki retrieved Dark Speed Berry Blocks from his storage space and fed them to Murkrow one by one to restore his stamina.
Out in the wild, they needed to maintain peak combat readiness at all times, so Murkrow had to be kept in top condition.
Even though Murkrow had only used moves and hadn’t taken damage or suffered heavy exhaustion, this was merely one part of today’s critical plan.
Murkrow needed to save up enough stamina to handle any situation that might arise.
As for his favorite treat, Murkrow naturally didn’t refuse, devouring every piece Aoki handed him.
Wisps of energy surged within his body, Dark- and Flying-type energies intertwining.
With a growing understanding of Flying-type energy, Murkrow was able to absorb the energy in the Dark Speed Berry Blocks even more efficiently.
Meanwhile, his affinity for Dark-type energy was naturally exceptional; with every breath, microscopic strands of energy merged into his body.
The advantages of high-quality Berry Blocks were gradually becoming clear.
Other Pokémon might require a long time to recover after a battle, but Murkrow, fueled by intermediate Berry Blocks, was recovering stamina almost constantly, with far greater efficiency.
“Are you ready, Murkrow?
Today’s workload is no joke,” Aoki asked softly, stroking Murkrow’s feathers, which were now as smooth as silk.
“Gah, gah!” Murkrow nodded, pumping his wings like clenching his fists to show he was fully prepared.
Aoki’s lips curled into a slight smile.
Only with this level of readiness could today’s plan be executed perfectly.