The Caterpie Leader Was Overthinking Things

Clear Stream Forest, Caterpie Territory.

By the bright moonlight, the Caterpie Leader tended to the injured members of its group.

Several Leader's Guards followed behind the Caterpie Leader, using nets woven from silk to distribute berries.

The berries resembled oranges in shape, but they were blue and very small, only the size of an adult's thumb.

These were Oran Berries, the primary ingredient used to make Potion.

As they ate the berries, the Caterpies' injuries slowly recovered, and they looked much more spirited. They would likely make a full recovery after some time.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!" (Humans, outsiders, hateful!)

"Hiss, hiss, hiss hiss!" (Leader, completely drive it out!)

The injured Caterpies spoke one after another, furious at the outsider Caterpie that had repeatedly invaded their territory over the past few days.

It was not just the injured Caterpies. Several Leader's Guards also looked indignant.

However, compared to the Caterpies' outrage, the Caterpie Leader appeared somewhat distracted.

Unlike ordinary Caterpies, the Caterpie Leader did not feel much anger toward that outsider Caterpie. It was more wary than anything else, with some confusion mixed in.

Caterpies were Pokemon with very low intelligence. Though they were somewhat smarter than impulsive, hot-tempered Weedles, the difference was not great.

Compared with their natural enemies, Pidgey and Spearow, the cold-natured Ekans, and the cunning Rattata in the forest, Caterpies were far less intelligent. Only after evolving into Butterfree did their low intelligence undergo a complete reversal.

The Caterpie Leader recalled its past experiences.

For as long as anyone could remember, the Caterpie Group of Clear Stream Forest had passed down a rejection and hatred of humans from generation to generation.

As for why they hated humans, the Caterpie Leader did not know.

In any case, when it had been born several years ago, the Caterpie Group had already been like this.

Because of their species' low intelligence, every Caterpie in the group was muddleheaded and blindly followed the herd. Even it had been the same.

Only after becoming the Caterpie Leader in the past two years had its intelligence gradually improved, allowing it to understand some things.

Near the Caterpie Territory, Bug Catching Boys occasionally appeared to capture Caterpies.

At first, it had been furious, thinking it had found the reason its group hated humans.

It planned to endure alongside the Caterpie Group for the time being. Once it was sufficiently prepared, it would take revenge on those Bug Catching Boys and humans, just as it led its group against the wild Pidgeys.

Yet as it learned more, it discovered that those Bug Catching Boys treated the Caterpies they caught very well and even provided them with nutritious food.

Not only that, from the elder Butterfree that flew back to the Caterpie Territory to lay eggs, it learned that there was a home for Caterpies in the human village east of the forest.

The Caterpies there did not have to worry about natural enemies like Pidgey. As long as they produced some silk each day, they could receive more food than they could eat. Nearly every Caterpie could evolve into Kakuna, then evolve into Butterfree.

The only drawback was that the Butterfree that evolved there had thicker, stiffer wing patterns that were not particularly attractive.

Female Butterfree had it a little easier, but male Butterfree found it difficult to find suitable mates in the Sea of Flowers.

Well, butterfly-type Pokemon cared greatly about appearances.

This was also why some Butterfree did not lay their Pokemon Eggs in the Caterpie Breeding Base, instead returning to the group territory to lay them.

The Caterpie Leader realized that perhaps they did not need to be so hostile toward humans.

Then, just as it was considering whether to change the Caterpie Group's prejudice against humans, the outsider Caterpie partnered with a human entered their territory and seemed to be searching for them as they hid.

Since it did not hate humans that much, and since the outsider Caterpie was merely close to a human rather than a Pokemon truly captured by one, the Caterpie Leader had not intended to kill it.

At first, it had merely issued a warning, telling the other party to leave voluntarily. Later, when it saw no intention of leaving, it had planned to administer a simple punishment and drive out the outsider Caterpie along with the human.

But then, that Caterpie suddenly erupted with unbelievable strength.

Even it had felt a trace of fear at the sheer force of that Tackle.

Moreover, according to the outsider Caterpie, it had once been a member of this group as well. It had simply been gone for too long, causing its scent to change somewhat.

This could also be seen from its battles.

Though that Caterpie's Tackle was extremely powerful, it had never struck the Caterpies with killing intent. It had always held back.

For several days, that Caterpie had fought the entire Caterpie Group without pause. Whenever its stamina ran out, it would temporarily leave with the human's help. Before long, it would recover and return once more.

What was that Caterpie's goal?

Why did it keep returning and attacking the Caterpie Group, yet never kill anyone?

Could it be trying to replace me and become the Caterpie Leader?

If it defeats me, and these ordinary Caterpies realize that it is not an outsider... will it take away my position as leader?

The distracted Caterpie Leader came back to its senses. Looking around at the still-indignant injured Caterpies, it made its decision.

No matter what, it would not give up its position as the Caterpie Leader!

Even if it had to resort to despicable methods, even if it caused that Caterpie permanent damage, it would not hesitate!

With that thought, the Caterpie Leader decided to change its strategy.

If that Caterpie appeared again, it would not simply lead the Caterpie Group to drive it away. It would use the methods prepared for a powerful enemy.

"Hiss, hiss!"

Just as the Caterpie Leader was considering this, the Caterpie Group suddenly stirred. A Leader's Guard hurried over in a panic.

—That Caterpie and the human had come again.

The Caterpie Leader was not surprised. That Caterpie had left in the afternoon and had not appeared again until nightfall.

Judging by the time, it was about time for them to arrive.

After telling the nearby Leader's Guards not to panic and ordering them to gather the Caterpie Group, the Caterpie Leader slipped deep into the dense forest.

Under the cover of the pitch-black night, the measures it had prepared for a powerful enemy might have an even better effect...

A thousand meters away, the situation was much the same as in the battles of the past few days.

When Mark and Caterpie arrived at the Caterpie Group's territory, hundreds of Caterpies, organized by the Leader's Guards, blocked Caterpie's path.

Dozens of meters away on the flanks, even more Caterpies rustled through the dense forest, attempting to circle behind and surround Caterpie.

This was also the Caterpie Group's standard tactic.

Every time they came over the past few days, the Caterpies used this encirclement tactic without the slightest variation.

It was impressive the first time one encountered it, but after a while, the Caterpie Group's encirclement tactic began to feel rigid.

The simplest way to deal with such an encirclement was to take out the commanding Leader's Guards one by one. The ordinary Caterpies would then become a disorganized mess. Unless the Caterpie Leader personally came nearby, these ordinary Caterpies would pose no threat at all.

However, if they simply scattered and defeated the Caterpie army like that, it would lose the purpose of training.

Naturally, the greater the pressure, the better the training effect.

In fact, this was the fundamental reason Caterpie had never encountered the Caterpie Leader during these past few days of battle.

"Caterpie, I'll hide and observe in secret like before. Test those abilities here. Oh, and you can test your Tackle, your Power-Up Tackle, too. I remember that in the Dream World of forty-seven years, you should have refined that move somewhat and even developed a very powerful finishing move, right?"

"Hiss!"

Caterpie nodded. Mark then slipped into the nearby bushes. Before the Caterpie Group behind them could arrive and complete their encirclement, he had already hidden in a relatively safe position...