Metapod

Yu Hai used the empty Poké Balls to catch the Caterpie hiding in the grass.

Because this Caterpie had been whipped unconscious by Poliwag, it passively released the stench stored in its body. It was so foul that Yu Hai nearly passed out.

Without a Poké Ball to seal away the smell, he feared he would throw up all the protein he had eaten today before returning to the temporary shelter. That would hardly be worth it.

Once Poliwag pushed the Poké Ball containing the captured Caterpie out of the grass, he snatched it up and immediately fled this troublesome place.

He was still carrying the earlier Caterpie in his hand. That Caterpie had been put to sleep by Poliwag before it could release its stench, so it did not smell too bad.

He truly desperately needed more Poké Balls now. Poké Balls could not only capture Pokémon; they were also natural refrigerators that could store food safely.

Otherwise, carrying Caterpie around like this, he had no idea when it would wake up, nor when it might attack him.

Holding Caterpie barehanded felt like dancing on a blade. It was very dangerous.

Don't assume Caterpie could not bite just because it had little offensive power and was bottom-tier trash in the Pokémon World that anyone could bully.

That depended on who Caterpie was facing. Against an even more useless weakling like him, he might not necessarily be able to beat a Caterpie.

If he had a gas mask and a long weapon, he might have stood an even chance against Caterpie.

He only wanted to return to the temporary shelter as quickly as possible and throw away the ticking bomb in his hand. Yet just as they arrived at the temporary shelter, the Caterpie in his hand erupted in a dazzling white glow...

"E-E-Evolution?" Yu Hai was stunned by the sudden development, but he did not stand there blankly without any guard. He immediately threw away the Caterpie in his hand and told Poliwag to prepare for battle.

"Poliwag, get ready to fight. Once Caterpie finishes evolving, attack it with Hypnosis..."

"Yoyo," Poliwag replied after receiving Yu Hai's warning. Its little eyes stayed fixed on the glowing Caterpie without blinking. It did not want to miss any details of Caterpie's evolution, so it could prepare for its own future evolution.

Yu Hai had not thought that far ahead. With the Proficiency Panel, evolution would come naturally. Aside from Pokémon requiring items, bonds, or strange evolution methods—Magikarp being one such example—

Aside from those mysterious evolutions he did not understand, normal evolution should not have held any surprises.

He also knew Caterpie's evolved form: Metapod.

Metapod was a cocoon-shaped Pokémon covered in green. Its body was crescent-shaped, with segments at its tail and front that resembled facial features. There was a small protrusion on its back. Its eyes were often half-open, half-closed, with black pupils.

The official records had mentioned that Metapod's shell was as hard as an iron plate. When attacked by natural enemies, it hardened its shell to protect its soft, fragile body as it evolved.

Metapod could only learn two moves, both defensive enhancement moves that strengthened its shell. One was the Normal-type move Harden, and the other was the Steel-type move Iron Defense.

For those two defensive enhancement moves, he had only one word.

Hard. Very hard!

Besides that, there was also the Electric-type move Electric Web. That was beyond the syllabus. Unless it was inherited or one encountered a rare opportunity, it was very difficult to learn.

Once Caterpie evolved into Metapod, it could no longer eat by any means.

At this stage, Metapod needed to accumulate strength for its next evolution. Training offered the current Metapod no benefit whatsoever.

During Metapod's cocooning stage, Harden and Iron Defense were useful self-preservation moves. But once it evolved into Butterfree, those defensive enhancement moves would not be of much use to Butterfree.

If it was forcibly trained, it might consume too much of the evolution energy accumulated during its Caterpie stage, causing its Potential to decline or remain mediocre without improving at all.

It would fail to make proper use of the reshaping brought by evolution to change an insect's mediocre Potential.

The reason insects were called holometabolous creatures lay in the cocooning process of breaking down and reorganizing.

This was the process of Caterpie's accumulation being released, from quantitative change to qualitative change. This step was very important to Caterpie.

That was also why he had not let Poliwag attack Metapod directly.

Metapod already possessed a hard shell and could use Harden to further strengthen its shell's defenses. No matter how Poliwag attacked, it could not injure a Metapod with its defense maxed out.

Unless the gap between them was enormous. But Poliwag and Metapod were both level seven, and the difference between them was not enough to break through Metapod's defenses.

The only option was to catch it off guard and have Poliwag use Hypnosis to knock Metapod out.

After knocking out Metapod, the rest would be much simpler. He could roast it over fire, or deep-fry it in oil.

Ever eaten silkworm pupae?

Crispy on the outside and soft within, they even burst with juice when bitten into...

Silkworm pupae could clear heat and reduce internal fire. They contained various amino acids needed by the human body and could improve one's immunity.

That was all nonsense merchants had bragged about in his previous life. He had no idea whether silkworm pupae truly had those effects. Those merchants dared to boast about anything, just to make sure people would eat them.

Ahem, he had gone off track. This seemed to be the Pokémon World, not a gourmet anime.

Back to the point: after Caterpie completed its evolution, it glared at Poliwag with eyes seemingly spitting Flamethrower.

It was furious. In a moment of carelessness, it had actually fallen for Poliwag's trick.

Now that it had evolved, it immediately wanted revenge—revenge for Poliwag's humiliation. Otherwise, its hatred would never be appeased.

"Pfft, hahaha!" Seeing that Metapod still dared glare fiercely at it, Poliwag directly blasted it with a Water Gun.

A white gleam flashed across Metapod's hard green shell, swiftly sweeping over it. Metapod had likely used Harden.

But passive defense was ultimately meaningless.

"Poliwag, stop playing around," Yu Hai said. He was also afraid Poliwag might flip over, so he nudged the little tadpole at his feet with his foot, reminding it not to underestimate its opponent and get carried away.

"Yoyo." Seeing Metapod grow even angrier, Poliwag heeded Yu Hai's reminder and withdrew the disdain from its eyes. It fired another Water Gun to provoke Metapod, then used the black spiral pattern on its belly to launch Hypnosis.

Only when Metapod became so angry that its head spun did it realize it had fallen for the trick again. No matter how furious it was, it unwillingly passed out once more.

Metapod should never have continued glaring angrily at Poliwag while enraged, allowing Poliwag's Hypnosis to knock it out again.

Seeing this, Yu Hai did not dare delay. He hurried forward, picked up the unconscious Metapod, placed it atop the blazing fire, then piled plenty of firewood over it. He used the smoke to keep Metapod unconscious and prevent it from breaking free.

All that remained was to wait for the gourmet food to be ready...