Looking at the Beedrill Leader’s stats, Aoki clicked his tongue in surprise.
He had made educated guesses about the Beedrill Leader’s status, but he hadn’t anticipated the presence of a Leader’s Aura.
Even in his past life as a veteran Pokémon Hunter who eventually reached Quasi-Elite Four rank, he had only encountered a Leader’s Aura twice.
A passive effect capable of raising a Pokémon’s potential by a full sub-rank was practically broken.
Combined with leading an entire colony and monopolizing its resources, any Pokémon possessing a Leader’s Aura was virtually guaranteed to reach great heights.
In general, Pokémon potential was categorized into seven main color tiers: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Purple.
However, each color tier was further broken down into three sub-ranks based on color depth.
For instance, the Beedrill Leader was at Light Green—just reaching the threshold of Green potential—which meant a significant gap still existed between her and a Dark Green potential Pokémon.
Murkrow’s potential was Green, but its shade leaned heavily toward Dark Green.
Without special resources, it might never bridge that final gap to pure Dark Green.
In short, the Beedrill Leader’s native potential was likely Dark Yellow, bumped up to Light Green solely because of her Leader’s Aura.
As her offspring, the green-potential Weedle egg represented the highest native talent in the entire colony.
Raised properly, it would have grown into the absolute strongest member of the swarm, potentially raising the overall potential of future generations.
It was no wonder the Beedrill Leader had gone wild upon discovering her best child missing, nor why the entire swarm had erupted into complete outrage.
Aoki’s theft had struck directly at the foundation of the Beedrill colony, causing far more damage than destroying a patch of Kakuna ever could.
These thoughts crossed Aoki’s mind in a fraction of a second.
Up in the air, after Murkrow knocked out the injured Beedrill, it absorbed a few hits from the remaining swarm.
Though not severe, the damage left it slightly exposed.
“Caw—!” Murkrow let out a piercing screech.
The harsh, jarring sound unnerved the surrounding Beedrill, causing two of them to instantly flinch.
Taking advantage of their hesitation, Flying-type energy pooled rapidly between Murkrow’s wings.
With a swift stroke, it unleashed Gust, enveloping both itself and the surrounding Beedrill in a howling vortex of wind.
Flying-type energy carried tremendous destructive power against Bug types.
After launching Gust, Murkrow kept flapping its wings relentlessly, amplifying the vortex’s damage while holding the Beedrill Leader at bay outside the wind wall.
As the force of the wind intensified, the Beedrill struggling inside were hurled out one by one, crashing onto the ground motionless.
*Bang!* When the final ordinary Beedrill collapsed, losing the ability to fight, Murkrow abruptly stopped its wings.
With a muted pop, the vortex generated by Gust vanished, and the turbulent currents dissipated into thin air.
Now, only the Beedrill Leader and Murkrow remained airborne, locked in a tense standoff.
The Beedrill Leader was the first to lose patience.
With a flash of movement, she turned into a streak of white light, thrusting her twin stingers straight at Murkrow—Quick Attack!
“Murkrow, use Peck!” At Aoki’s command, Murkrow narrowed its eyes.
White light gleamed on its beak, infused with Flying-type energy, as it charged head-on into the incoming Beedrill.
*Boom!* The two Pokémon collided violently, only to be pushed backward by the force of their mutual impact.
A faint distortion rippled across the Beedrill’s body as a strange fire ignited within her—Rage!
Taking damage after using this move boosted her attack power further.
Aoki paid no mind to the Beedrill’s Rage move.
As long as Murkrow maintained a proper distance, it held the absolute advantage.
“Murkrow, maintain Tailwind and use Gust,” Aoki instructed calmly.
The initial collision had successfully re-established distance between the two combatants.
The Gust move formed almost instantly, blasting toward the Beedrill.
The Beedrill was utterly sick of the gale-force winds continually blocking her path.
Fueled by Rage, she charged straight through the swirling currents, ignoring the damage entirely.
Her twin stingers blurred as a frenzy of Fury Attack sliced through the wind wall, tearing it apart.
Murkrow blinked in surprise at the Beedrill forcing her way through the move, only to see her close in again with another Quick Attack.
“Murkrow, don’t freeze!
Use Astonish!” The sharp stingers slammed into Murkrow’s body, dealing a jolt of pain.
Enduring the hit, Murkrow screeched, interrupting the Beedrill’s aggressive follow-up with Astonish before darting back to regain safe distance.
The rhythm repeated: Murkrow kept its distance, casting Gust, while the Beedrill repeatedly broke through the wind to strike with her stingers.
After seven or eight exchanges, Murkrow’s body felt numb with pain, and its wings grew heavy with fatigue.
The Beedrill was in no better shape, hovering in the air while gasping heavily.
Given her Light Green potential and her formidable physique as a leader, enduring multiple super-effective Gust attacks without falling was proof of her immense resilience.
Even though the Beedrill Leader was three levels higher than Murkrow, Murkrow held both the speed advantage and elemental typing.
Watching the fight closely and calling out adjustments, Aoki issued the optimal order: “Murkrow, use Roost!” When both sides were slowing down, whoever could endure longer would emerge victorious.
Aoki had to admit that the Beedrill Leader’s strength was impressive—a testament to a leader raised on the resources of an entire hive.
Following Aoki’s command, Murkrow landed on the ground.
Its numb legs could barely feel the earth, causing it to stumble slightly.
Immediately after, Roost took effect.
Rich earth energy surged up through Murkrow’s feet, spreading through its entire body.
A soothing warmth bloomed within, gradually restoring feeling to its pain-numbed limbs.
Though the Beedrill didn’t understand why its opponent had suddenly dropped to the ground, her sharp combat instincts warned her of Murkrow’s condition.
The opponent was recovering while she grew weaker by the second.
She couldn’t let this continue!
Deciding firmly, the Beedrill Leader lunged forward to break Murkrow’s recovery.
It was the correct tactical choice, but her body was at its limit.
Her speed was nowhere near what it had been at the start, and she lacked the stamina to pull off another Quick Attack.
By the time the Beedrill finally reached Murkrow, Murkrow had already snapped out of its Roost state, opening its eyes with ablaze battle spirit.
Though they were enemies, Murkrow held genuine respect for the Beedrill Leader’s tenacity.
Having spent so much time with Murkrow, Aoki understood its personality instantly upon seeing that look in its eyes.
He shook his head helplessly and smiled.
“Murkrow, do what you want.” “Caw!” Murkrow let out a loud cry, beating its wings as it collided directly with the Beedrill.
This time, Murkrow didn’t dodge at all.
The Beedrill’s exhausted state prevented her from maneuvering freely, leaving her to attack mechanically.
It became a brutal, raw brawl.
The dull thuds of body meeting body echoed repeatedly through the air.
Gradually, the force behind the Beedrill’s strikes weakened.
The rage in her eyes faded, replaced by recognition of the respect Murkrow showed her as a rival.
With one final heavy blow, Murkrow’s wing slammed into the Beedrill’s chest.
The counterattack it braced for never came; the Beedrill crashed heavily onto the ground, losing consciousness.
Murkrow stood stunned for a moment, waiting for a blow that didn’t arrive, before realizing it had won.
“Caw!
Caw!” Murkrow cheered in excitement.
This was the first opponent that had pushed it to fight so fiercely, and the strongest foe it had defeated to date.
Aoki walked over slowly.
Looking at the unconscious Beedrill on the ground, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Though he had absolute confidence in Murkrow, seeing the formidable opponent finally down brought peace of mind.
Suddenly, Aoki blinked, then chuckled.
Defeating the Beedrill Leader had pushed Murkrow up another level.
Prompting the Microchip with a thought, he scanned Murkrow.
[Pokémon: Murkrow (Green)] [Gender: Male] [Level: 15] [Type: Dark / Flying] [Ability: Prankster] [Held Item: None] [Egg Moves: Punishment, Feint Attack, Roost] [Basic Moves: Peck, Astonish, Pursuit, Haze, Wing Attack] [Tutor Moves: Snatch, Tailwind] [TMs: None] Murkrow had reached Level 15 and unlocked Wing Attack, a Flying-type move with a base power of 60—currently the strongest Flying-type technique in its movepool.
Once the high of victory faded, Murkrow stumbled.
The side effect of using Roost in heavy combat hit it all at once; its body was completely drained of strength, and the strain of intense muscle impacts left it at its limit.
As it collapsed, Aoki caught it gently in his arms.
Laughing helplessly, he gave Murkrow a gentle tap on the head.
“That’s what you get for being reckless.” His tone was filled with warmth and affectionate exasperation.
Though Murkrow was temporarily out of commission, defeating such a powerful opponent was a victory Aoki was more than satisfied with.