Metapod

Yu Hai used the empty Poké Ball to catch a Caterpie in the grass.

This Caterpie had been knocked out by a Poliwag, passively releasing stored stench, which was so overpowering that Yu Hai almost fainted.

Without a Poké Ball to isolate the smell, he feared he would throw up all the protein he had eaten that day before even reaching his temporary shelter, making it a loss.

When the Poliwag pushed the Poké Ball containing the captured Caterpie out of the grass, he quickly grabbed it and immediately left the troublesome area.

He was still holding the previous Caterpie in his hand. The earlier Caterpie hadn't had a chance to release its stench before being put to sleep by the Poliwag, so carrying it didn't produce any smell.

He desperately needed more Poké Balls right now. Poké Balls weren't just for capturing Pokémon; they also served as natural refrigerators, keeping food fresh and safe.

Otherwise, carrying a Caterpie like this meant he had no idea when it would wake up or when it might attack him.

Holding a Caterpie barehanded felt like dancing on the tip of a knife – very dangerous.

Don't assume that just because Caterpie has low attack power and is considered a weakling at the bottom of the Pokémon World, easily bullied by anyone, it won't bite.

It depends on who the Caterpie is facing. If it were facing him, an even weaker weakling, he might not be able to defeat it.

If he had a gas mask and a long weapon, he might be able to fight a Caterpie to a standstill.

He just wanted to return to his temporary shelter as soon as possible to get rid of the ticking time bomb in his hand. But just as they arrived at the shelter, the Caterpie in his hand erupted in a blinding, dazzling white light...

"Is it… evolving?" Yu Hai was shocked by this sudden turn of events. Of course, he didn't just stand there defenseless. He immediately dropped the Caterpie and signaled for the Poliwag to prepare for battle.

"Poliwag, prepare for battle. Once the Caterpie finishes evolving, launch an attack. Use Hypnosis…"

"Yip yip," the Poliwag, having received Yu Hai's battle alert, stared intently at the glowing Caterpie, not wanting to miss any details of its evolution, so it could prepare for its own future evolution.

Yu Hai, however, wasn't thinking that far ahead. After all, with the proficiency panel, evolution was a natural progression, except for Pokémon that required items, bonds, or strange evolutionary methods – like Magikarp.

Aside from those mysterious evolutions he couldn't figure out, normal evolutions should be straightforward.

He also knew Caterpie's evolved form: Metapod.

Metapod was a green, cocoon-like Pokémon. Its body was crescent-shaped, with segmented parts at the tail and front, resembling facial features. There was a small protrusion on its back, and its eyes were often half-open with black pupils.

The official sources mentioned that Metapod's shell was as hard as an iron plate. When attacked by predators, it would harden its shell to protect its soft, vulnerable body during evolution.

Metapod could only learn two moves, both of which were stat-boosting moves that strengthened its shell. One was the Normal-type Harden, and the other was the Steel-type Iron Defense.

Regarding these two defensive moves, he had only one word for them:

Hard. Very hard!

Besides those, there was also the Electric-type move Electric Web, which was beyond its usual scope. Unless inherited or through a rare encounter, it was difficult to learn.

Once Caterpie evolved into Metapod, it could no longer eat, no matter the method.

At this stage, Metapod needed to accumulate energy for its next evolution. Training offered no benefit to a Metapod.

For Metapod in its pupal stage, Harden and Iron Defense were useful self-preservation moves. However, once it evolved into Butterfree, these defensive moves wouldn't be very effective.

Forcing it to train might deplete the evolutionary energy accumulated during its Caterpie stage, leading to a drop in potential or stagnation.

It failed to properly utilize the metamorphosis brought by evolution to change the mediocre potential of an insect.

Insects are called holometabolous creatures for a reason, the key being the cocoon stage – a process of decomposition and reconstruction.

This was the accumulation and release of energy from the Caterpie stage, a transition from quantitative to qualitative change. This step was crucial for Caterpie.

This was also why he didn't let Poliwag attack Metapod directly.

Metapod, with its hard shell, could further strengthen its defense with Harden. No matter how Poliwag attacked, it couldn't damage a fully defended Metapod.

Unless the difference in power was too great, but Poliwag and Metapod were both level seven, so the gap wasn't large enough to break through its defense.

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

Once Metapod was down, the rest would be simple: roast it directly, or fry it.

Have you ever eaten silkworm pupae?

The texture is crispy, yet soft, and it bursts with juice when you bite into it...

Silkworm pupae are said to clear heat and reduce fire, containing various amino acids essential for the human body, and can boost immunity.

These were all marketing claims from his past life. He didn't know if silkworm pupae actually had these effects, but those vendors would claim anything to make you buy.

Ahem, wrong track, wrong track. This is the Pokémon World, not a cooking show.

Back to the topic, after Caterpie finished evolving, its eyes blazed, glaring at Poliwag.

It was furious. It had been caught off guard by Poliwag and was enraged. Now that it had evolved, it wanted immediate revenge for being toyed with, to vent its anger.

"Pfft, hahaha," Poliwag, seeing Metapod still daring to glare fiercely at it, immediately unleashed a Water Gun.

Metapod's hard green shell instantly flashed with a white light, quickly sweeping across its green exterior. It must have used Harden.

But passive defense was ultimately meaningless.

"Poliwag, stop playing around," Yu Hai, fearing Poliwag might get careless, kicked the Poliwag at his feet, reminding it not to be overconfident and get carried away.

"Yip yip," seeing Metapod even angrier, and after Yu Hai's reminder, Poliwag retracted its condescending gaze. It fired another Water Gun to further enrage Metapod while using the black swirl pattern on its abdomen to activate Hypnosis.

When Metapod's anger reached its peak and it felt dizzy, it realized it had been tricked again. Despite its immense rage, it unwillingly fainted once more.

Metapod's biggest mistake was glaring at Poliwag in its rage, which led to it being put to sleep by Poliwag's Hypnosis again.

Seeing this, Yu Hai didn't dare to delay. He quickly stepped forward, picked up the unconscious Metapod, and placed it on the blazing campfire. He then piled on plenty of dry firewood to keep Metapod pinned down, using the smoke to suffocate it and prevent it from escaping.

Next, all that remained was to wait for the delicacy to be ready