Spearow's Private Stash

As Xia Yan continued to reassure it, Weedle's restless heart gradually calmed down.

Its mouth hung slightly open as some kind of power gathered within.

There was only one chance!

If it failed, Xia Yan might suffer a devastating blow.

So failure was absolutely not allowed.

Absolutely!

Weedle's gaze was exceptionally firm. Cyan and purple glimmers seemed to flow deep within its eyes, and something else appeared to be blending between those two colors.

The mysterious energy that had been stirring inside its body before had originally been beyond its control, but as Weedle steadied itself, it gradually calmed as well.

It was faintly being drawn forth.

Both Xia Yan and his Pokémon focused their attention on the Spearow leader.

Spearow were naturally fast to begin with, and with Quick Attack, their speed became even more terrifying.

Its movement whipped up gusts of wind.

Whoosh—

The Spearow, wrapped in white light, closed in on Xia Yan in the blink of an eye, its sharp gaze carrying an intense chill.

It was confident that a single strike would be enough to kill Xia Yan.

And without Xia Yan, the Pokémon Trainer, there was room to question just how much fighting power Weedle could display.

It's here.

Xia Yan silently called out in his heart.

Speaking now might disrupt Weedle's rhythm and preparation, so Xia Yan remained silent and chose to trust Weedle's ability and judgment without reservation.

After all their training, Weedle had not only come to trust Xia Yan completely; Xia Yan, as its Trainer, had also come to trust Weedle.

Now!

Xia Yan's eyes suddenly flew open.

Weedle did not disappoint him. Almost at the exact moment Xia Yan judged to be the best opportunity, it moved.

Spearow using Quick Attack was indeed fast, but as long as it chose to attack, there would inevitably be an instant when its flight path was fixed and predictable.

That was the moment Xia Yan and Weedle had been waiting for.

"Ugh!"

With Weedle's low growl, its mouth snapped wide open, and a Web-shaped String Shot that had been gathering for a long time shot from its mouth toward Spearow's predicted flight path.

At the same time, as Weedle spat out the web, it felt something strange. Its body seemed to have been jolted by electricity, trembling faintly.

What surprised both Xia Yan and Weedle was that yellow electrical arcs danced across the web. They were not especially strong, but they were undeniably there.

Electroweb!

At this critical moment, Weedle's comprehension, far beyond that of others of its kind, came into play once again.

Naturally, Xia Yan's prior training for Weedle's Electroweb had also been indispensable. After all that practice, what Weedle lacked was only an understanding of Electric-type Infinity Energy, an energy that did not belong to its own attributes.

And at this moment, amid the shift from Rage to calm under Xia Yan's reassurance, Weedle took that crucial step.

Moreover, Weedle had seized the opportunity at exactly the right time, striking at the key point in the final straight-line charge of Spearow's Quick Attack.

When Spearow was less than a meter away from Xia Yan, Electroweb successfully struck it.

Though the electricity on the web was not strong, Electric-type moves still had a considerable restraining effect on Flying-type Spearow.

"Chirp!!!"

Spearow let out a miserable cry. That short distance of less than a meter, which should have been crossed in an instant, became an insurmountable chasm that kept it from reaching Xia Yan.

The current stimulated Spearow's muscles, while the web stuck to its feathers, greatly limiting its mobility.

"String Shot."

However, this Spearow truly was the leader of several Spearow. Its body was sturdy enough that, even restricted and bound by the electric current and web, it still struggled into the air.

But in its current state, it was clearly unable to evade Weedle's attacks any longer.

A stream of silk shot out, coating Spearow continuously and increasing the restraints on its already overburdened body.

It wrapped Spearow tightly.

"Poison Sting." Xia Yan watched the struggling Spearow and calmly spoke two words.

Weedle's Poison Sting struck without question. The poisonous spike sank into Spearow's body, inflicting the poisoned condition.

Spearow struggled a few more times, but its resistance grew weaker and weaker. It glared at Xia Yan and Weedle, its eyes filled with unwillingness.

What a pity. This Spearow isn't bad. I didn't bring a Poké Ball, otherwise, even if I didn't catch it, it would fetch a good price at the Black Market.

With his current resources, even raising one Weedle was stretching him thin. He absolutely would not consider a second Pokémon anytime soon.

Besides, while this Spearow was decent, Spearow was not a Pokémon he particularly liked.

Weedle had been a choice born of necessity.

But afterward, he discovered that although Weedle was an extremely ordinary Pokémon, continued digging and training had revealed its unique traits and talents.

With proper effort put into raising it, it definitely would not be weak.

This further proved the saying that there were no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers.

It gave him more choices.

"Hang it up. If it's still alive when we come back later, we'll take it with us," Xia Yan said to Weedle.

Weedle nodded and used silk to hang the immobilized Spearow from a relatively high tree branch.

"Looks like Densewood Forest is much more troublesome than I imagined."

Xia Yan took out a small piece of Energy Cube, which had been divided beforehand, and held it out to Weedle.

It had to remain in peak condition at all times.

"But why are wild Pokémon gathering in Densewood Forest so frequently? Could there be some reason?"

Pokémon had strong territorial instincts, which meant they would not easily leave their own territory. But competition between Pokémon was also simple.

If one Pokémon defeated the original owner of a territory, the losing side would leave and not return.

The Pokémon in Densewood Forest had been cleared out at least a dozen times. Why were they still so persistent?

"Maybe it's a new batch."

It was not impossible.

For the time being, Xia Yan set that question aside.

"Weedle, take a good look around. Spearow are violent Pokémon with extremely strong territorial instincts. They must have gathered quite a few good things, or perhaps they're guarding something valuable. We can't leave those behind."

Xia Yan reminded it.

"Ugh!!"

Weedle nodded its little head repeatedly. The moment it heard there might be good stuff, its eyes lit up.

It looked around furtively in every direction.

Densewood Forest was not large, and the territory occupied by five Spearow could not be very extensive.

Soon.

As Xia Yan searched around with Weedle, he discovered a nest built high up in a tree.

"Ugh."

Weedle pointed its tail at the nest above, as if it had discovered a New Continent.

"This should be it. Go up and take a look."

Xia Yan placed a hand against the trunk. Weedle climbed up the tree along his arm and entered the rather crude-looking nest.

Several things were piled messily inside.

Weedle wandered around it a few times, tossing quite a few things out as it rummaged through them.

But when it spotted something hidden in a corner at the very bottom of the nest, its eyes immediately widened, and saliva began to seep uncontrollably from its mouth.

When Xia Yan below heard the rustling above suddenly stop, he roughly guessed what had happened and asked, "Did you find something?"

Then he saw Weedle appear at the edge of the nest with a thumb-sized dark purple ball clenched in its mouth.

"Let me see." Xia Yan beckoned.

Weedle hurried down in tiny steps, placed the item in Xia Yan's palm, then obediently stayed nearby, its little round eyes staring at the thing in his hand.

Xia Yan carefully brought it closer to his eyes, narrowed them, and gave it a light sniff.

A pungent, fishy stench rushed into his nostrils.

It was oval in shape, rounded and blunt at both ends, with a smooth surface. It was somewhat flattened from side to side and elongated, dark purple on the outside, while thick purple fluid seemed to flow within.

A strange glint flashed through his eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, this should be the venom sac of a snake Pokémon, right?"