Evolution (Please vote)

Xiao Feng walked over and apologized to Eichi. "Eichi, I take back what I said earlier.

"Bug-type Pokémon really aren't the weakest. At the very least, yours isn't."

"You won this time, but it'll be different next time."

"I'm traveling right now, and my goal is to become a powerful Pokémon Master."

"My current goal is to challenge Gyms, then take part in next year's League Tournament."

"With your strength, you're probably planning to enter the League Tournament too, right? I hope I'll see you there."

Eichi smiled. "All right, I promise. I'll be going to the League Tournament too."

After saying that, Xiao Feng said goodbye to Eichi and continued his journey.

After seeing Xiao Feng off, Eichi happily left with the Bug Catchers.

Eichi brought the group of Bug Catchers to a flat patch of grass.

Eichi sat down with everyone and had them gather around him. He had something to say.

Everyone was confused and had no idea what Eichi wanted to talk about.

Once everyone was seated, Eichi said, "You all saw my battle with Xiao Feng today, right?"

"Xiao Feng only got his Pokémon recently, yet he was able to easily defeat your Pokémon.

"Do you know why?"

Agawa and the others answered, "Because his Pokémon are better than ours."

Eichi said, "Pokémon are only one factor. The other is that you haven't been training your Pokémon properly."

"Why is my Weedle so strong? Because I train Weedle every day."

"My Weedle only became this strong after going through rigorous training."

"And what about you? Every day, you block passing Trainers here and battle them."

"Don't you lose every time? Aren't your wins especially few?"

The Bug Catchers nodded.

Eichi continued, "Of course you can't become stronger if you don't train properly. And you make your Pokémon battle every day."

"They're all exhausted. They might be covered in injuries. Let's go to the Pokémon Center together in a bit.

"Have all your Pokémon properly examined."

"I'll pay for it. All right, come with me to the Viridian Pokémon Center."

After hearing Eichi's words, Agawa and the others felt somewhat embarrassed.

They silently followed behind Eichi. By the time they reached the Pokémon Center, there were not too many people there.

After lining up for a while, it was Eichi's turn. He had Agawa and the others place their Poké Balls on the counter.

Then he said to Nurse Joy, "Please, Nurse Joy.

"Treat their Pokémon and give them a checkup while you're at it."

Nurse Joy politely placed the Poké Balls onto a tray as usual, but she did not look kindly upon Eichi.

Eichi could only smile bitterly at that. While they waited, he brought them to the rest area and found seats.

It was Agawa and the others' first time at a Pokémon Center. Whenever their Pokémon were injured, they usually just let them heal on their own.

Besides, they did not have enough money to come to a Pokémon Center.

So they were all very curious. Pokémon Centers were generally very large.

That was because Pokémon Centers could not only treat Pokémon; they also provided lodging and food.

The first floor was generally for Pokémon treatment and dining, while the second floor and above were for lodging.

But all of it cost money, and it was very expensive. Taking this into consideration, the Pokémon League had established regulations.

Pokémon Trainers registered with the Pokémon League received a 20 percent discount at Pokémon Centers, whether for treatment or lodging.

However, Pokémon League direct affiliates holding a Pokédex could receive treatment and lodging free of charge.

After quite some time, Eichi and the others' Pokémon had all been examined.

Chansey pushed a small cart full of Poké Balls over to Eichi.

Nurse Joy looked somewhat angry as she said to Agawa and the others, "Although none of your Pokémon have any serious problems, every one of them has a great number of minor injuries."

"Do you know how dangerous it is if this continues? And they're all extremely tired. You need to let them rest properly, understand?"

Agawa and the others nodded frantically.

Then Nurse Joy turned to Eichi. "Your Weedle has recovered. Still, you've raised your Weedle quite well.

"I misunderstood you before."

Eichi gave an awkward smile. "It's fine. I'll go pay now."

As he spoke, he went to the front desk to pay. The total cost for the dozen or so Pokémon came to over a thousand.

Pokémon Centers charged according to the severity of a Pokémon's injuries.

Of course, a simple checkup was the cheapest, but even that cost 300 each time.

This time, Nurse Joy had given them a discount after considering Agawa and the others' financial situation.

After the checkup, they left the Pokémon Center.

Eichi called the group aside and reminded them, "You heard what Nurse Joy said, right? You can go to Viridian Forest in the future, but don't go every day.

"Train your own Pokémon properly."

After saying that, everyone went home, while Eichi returned to his own house.

Once home, Eichi released Weedle from its Poké Ball.

After coming out, Weedle chirped at Eichi, swaying its body as it cried and looking at him with longing eyes.

Weedle was hungry. Eichi smiled and said to it, "All right, I know. Let's eat now."

Eichi then went to the dining table and took Weedle's dinner out of his backpack.

There was MooMoo Milk, Pokémon food, and Pokéblocks.

Eichi poured some honey over the Pokémon food and prepared everything.

Weedle eagerly began eating. After it finished,

Weedle chirped, "Shu, shu!"

Eichi could tell from Weedle's expression that it was not full.

But this was usually how much it ate. Why was its appetite so big today?

Had it used up too much energy from today's battle?

Still somewhat puzzled, Eichi prepared another serving for Weedle.

Weedle wolfed it down. After it finished,

Weedle suddenly stopped, then began using String Shot from its mouth.

Loop after loop, accompanied by the white light of evolution, strands of silk wrapped around Weedle layer by layer.

When it finally stopped, it had become a hard, pale yellow cocoon Pokémon with serpentine patterns across its body.

It had black triangular eyes on its head, and scythe-like arms in the middle of its body.

Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon

Weedle's Evolved Form

Type: Bug, Poison

Ability: Shed Skin

Skill: Harden

It was Eichi's first time seeing a Pokémon evolve, and the sight struck him with the awe of life itself.

Eichi was suddenly delighted. Weedle had finally evolved. No wonder it had eaten so much just now.

Now Metapod only knew Harden. It would be unable to battle for the time being and had to wait until it gathered enough energy to evolve.

Eichi said to Metapod, "From now on, you're no longer called Weedle. Your name is Metapod now."