Bug Essence Fruit

Crack.

Every time Xia Yan stepped on a dry, yellowed branch, he grew a little more tense.

Fortunately, after exploring Densewood Forest during the day, Weedle had already adapted to maintaining such a high level of vigilance in the wild.

Especially since this adventure had been strongly insisted on by it. If not for its persistence, Xia Yan, with his steady nature, probably would not have chosen to enter.

However.

Weedle had guessed wrong about that.

Xia Yan's decision had come after careful consideration. No one's words could influence it, not even Weedle's.

The reason he had chosen to enter despite knowing the danger.

Was simply because he was certain that whatever had attracted Weedle was no ordinary thing.

If they could obtain it, it might bring Weedle enormous benefits. Even if they failed, at least they would not regret trying.

He firmly memorized the path they had taken in, including every patch of grass or tree root that could become an obstacle.

Any Pokémon that might attack them along the way had also been cleared out, preventing their retreat from being cut off.

If they could not even deal with the Pokémon on the path, there would be no need to continue deeper.

The sun gradually disappeared beyond the horizon.

The moon slowly rose in the east.

Faint moonlight shrouded the forest, as though draping it in a thin veil that lent it a hazy air.

Moonlight filtered through layer after layer of leaves, leaving scattered mottled patches on the ground.

Visibility within the forest dropped sharply, and they had to rely entirely on their hearing and Weedle's senses to judge their surroundings.

Suddenly.

A shadow darted out from the bushes beside them.

But it did not approach Xia Yan's direction.

Looking closely, he saw that it was a Rattata.

It moved somewhat frantically, flashing past a short distance in front of Xia Yan before leaping straight into the grass on the other side.

Yet rather than relaxing at the sight, Xia Yan fixed his gaze on the direction Rattata had emerged from.

The nighttime predators had appeared rather early.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

The sound of friction came from the bushes, moving quickly.

Then, a long, slender Ekans slithered out, its pair of yellow eyes especially bright in the night as its tongue flicked in and out.

It was the Pokémon that had been tracking Rattata.

But the moment it left the bushes, it keenly noticed Xia Yan and Weedle's presence.

Weedle trembled slightly at the sight of Ekans.

Intimidate.

Without giving Ekans time to react or think, Xia Yan called out in a low voice.

"Weedle, String Shot."

Hiss—

The prepared Weedle fired its thread without hesitation, aiming directly for Ekans's eyes.

The sticky white thread stood out sharply in the dim forest, reflecting the fading glow of the moonlight.

It struck Ekans's eyes with perfect accuracy.

Its vulnerable eyes suddenly attacked, Ekans fell into brief panic.

But it quickly recovered, the fury of a predator surging within it.

Snakes did not rely on their eyes to observe their prey in the first place.

However, since Xia Yan and Weedle had already taken the initiative, they had no intention of giving Ekans much time to react.

"Electroweb."

Crackle, crackle, crackle.

A net dancing with yellow arcs of electricity shot from Weedle's mouth. As it traveled, it rapidly expanded under the tension of the air, directly enveloping the Ekans before it could dodge.

Though the electric current was not powerful, it still caused Ekans to twitch and convulse briefly. The thread's impressive toughness also kept it from breaking free for the moment.

"Bug Bite."

Strike while it was down.

Poison-type and Bug-type moves could not deal ideal damage to Ekans, so Xia Yan chose Bug Bite, the move Weedle could currently use to maximize its damage.

Weedle spat out a thread that stuck to Ekans, then swiftly swung closer as if on a swing.

"Chaba!!"

A pained cry rang out.

The small Weedle clung to Ekans, which was still temporarily bound by the threads, and viciously bit down on the vital point with its mouth glowing a faint green.

In an instant, scales shattered, muscle fibers tore, and blood sprayed everywhere.

Seeing signs that Ekans was about to break free from the pain, Weedle hurriedly added several more String Shots over its body.

Only after confirming that it could not escape anytime soon did it bite down again.

Ekans could never have imagined that, as a predator, one moment of carelessness would see it ambushed by a Pokémon like Weedle, one that stood at the very bottom of the food chain in its eyes.

The key was that these sticky threads were incredibly tough. Coupled with the stimulation and support of the electricity, it could not break free for the moment.

And in that brief span of time, it paid a painful price.

Looking at the battered Ekans, which had lost its ability to fight, Xia Yan stepped over it. "Time is tight. The longer night lasts, the more dangerous it becomes. If it's still here when we return, we'll deal with it. If it's gone, then forget it. We can't lose the watermelon while picking up sesame seeds."

Weedle dangled a thread and returned to Xia Yan's shoulder. It voiced no opinion, merely blinking its little eyes as it stared into the depths of the forest ahead.

It could sense that they were not far away.

Fortunately, it was not in the deepest part of the forest.

Though if it had been in the deepest part, Weedle probably would not have sensed it either.

Xia Yan learned this from Weedle as well.

But his attention was on something else.

"Judging from Rattata's and Ekans's reactions, they probably didn't sense the object's presence like Weedle did. Rattata is one thing, since it's a Normal-type Pokémon, but Ekans also has the Poison-type attribute and wasn't drawn here. So is whatever attracted Weedle related to Bug-types?"

This conclusion was both good and bad.

It meant that other types of Pokémon would most likely not appear in this competition, greatly reducing the pressure.

But on the other hand, there definitely would not be few Bug-type Pokémon in the forest. They might all have been drawn here just like Weedle and were heading toward the same destination.

Time was pressing, as could be seen from Weedle's increasingly restless reaction.

Yet Xia Yan remained calm and slowly drew closer.

Along the way, they defeated a Zubat and a Mankey blocking their path, clearing away potential dangers that might remain along their retreat route.

If anything went wrong, he could immediately take Weedle back.

They waded across a stream and passed through several dense thickets.

Finally.

As they drew closer.

Even Xia Yan caught a faint, fresh fragrance, making it clear just how tempting this scent was to Pokémon.

An open area suddenly appeared within the dense forest, restoring their visibility as moonlight shone directly onto the ground.

They could see.

Quite a few Pokémon had gathered in this open space, along with several Pokémon groups that had divided up territories and guarded against one another.

The largest groups were the Weedle and Beedrill on one side, facing off against the Caterpie and Butterfree on the other. Smaller Pokémon groups, such as Paras, occupied the space between them.

Among them was also a powerfully built Pinsir, occupying a territory by itself.

These Pokémon regarded one another with hostility.

But it was noticeable that their gazes were all more or less locked onto the center of the area.

Hidden in the dense bushes, Xia Yan could vaguely glimpse a small sapling growing in the middle.

And what truly attracted these Bug-type Pokémon were the two plump, emerald-green fruits growing on the sapling, which emitted a faint glow beneath the moonlight.

Several Venonat stood beneath the tree, keeping watch over the nearby Bug-type Pokémon. Their antennae swayed frequently, while they opened their mouths to bare two sharp fangs.

It seemed this had originally been the territory of those Venonat, and the thing attracting the Bug-type Pokémon was what they were guarding.

Xia Yan narrowed his eyes.

Looking at the fruits, he recalled seeing a description of them in a book about Bug-type Pokémon not long ago.

"Bug Essence Fruit? One of the primary ingredients for top-grade Bug-type Pokémon Energy Cubes. It can enhance a Bug-type Pokémon's perception and use of Bug-type energy, as well as improve its comprehension and mastery of Bug-type moves?"

Information about the two fruits flashed through his mind.

At the same time, he understood why they held such enormous allure for Weedle and the surrounding Bug-type Pokémon.

This was nature's gift to Pokémon.

But such a gift was bound to attract countless Bug-type Pokémon.

It was full of danger.