Rampage

"Weedle," Weedle whimpered softly, its eyes fixed on the two fruits hanging from the tree in the center.

Xia Yan stroked Weedle's back to soothe it.

"With things as they are, rushing in would be no different from courting death. We should wait until these wild Pokémon start fighting first."

Wild Pokémon varied in strength, but this place was not too far from Goldenrod City. Trainers likely entered and left this forest often, so the wild Pokémon here would not be particularly strong.

At the very least, Weedle had not spotted a Pokémon that frightened it so badly it could not face it.

"Wait. Just a little longer. It should be soon."

"Weedle!"

Weedle pulled its gaze away and answered.

The fruits were indeed highly tempting to it, but not enough to make it lose its reason. In its heart, Xia Yan's safety came first. If there truly was no chance to get them, it would endure the temptation and urge Xia Yan to retreat.

Time slowly passed.

The fluorescent glow on the fruits grew brighter and brighter, like two tiny moons hanging from the tree.

The Pokémon around them also became increasingly restless. Low growls rose and fell, and they were clearly on the verge of losing control.

Xia Yan pressed his lips together. After crouching in the bushes for so long, his feet had begun to go numb. He had to stretch slightly to keep his blood flowing, lest he be unable to run when the time came.

"Judging by these Pokémon's reactions, they should be nearly ripe. Once they ripen, these Pokémon will start fighting, but that still won't be very favorable for us. We need to find a way to make them fight ahead of time. Then, once the fruits are fully ripe, we'll have a chance."

With that thought, Xia Yan hunched over and carefully moved through the bushes. Though he made some noise, these Pokémon's attention was clearly no longer on their surroundings.

He arrived behind the Weedle and Beedrill.

He glanced at the Pinsir occupying an area by itself not far away. It was probably the strongest among this group of Pokémon.

"Weedle, climb the tree and use Poison Sting on that Pinsir."

Xia Yan's quiet voice sounded beside Weedle's ear.

"Weedle?"

Weedle looked at him in surprise, but it did not hesitate. It crawled up to the treetop, hid within the dense canopy, and aimed its little eyes at the Pinsir in the distance.

Swish, swish, swish—

With three faint sounds, Poison Sting shot through the leaves and flew toward the burly Pinsir.

Pfft—

The slender poison needles struck Pinsir's hard carapace directly.

The Poison Sting that had never failed before could not pierce its shell this time. Instead, the needles became firmly lodged in it.

But that was fine.

Its purpose had already been served.

"Pinsir!!"

Ambushed without warning, Pinsir let out a furious roar. Its eyes filled with vicious light as the enormous, sharp pincers lined with small spikes atop its head clashed together. It immediately locked onto the group of Weedle and Beedrill in the nearby area.

Pinsir was naturally a rather violent Pokémon. It had only held itself back because its attention was on the fruits.

But the sudden attack instantly ignited its fiery temper. Its great horns pointed directly at the nearest Beedrill as it charged forward, layers of turbulent air swelling around its body—Focus Energy.

The Beedrill clearly had no idea what had happened.

But upon seeing Pinsir charging toward them, the equally hot-headed Beedrill could no longer hold back.

Pinsir was strong, but there were four Beedrill on their side.

"Beedrill—"

With an angry cry from the leading Beedrill, the Beedrill immediately tangled with Pinsir.

It was like a drop of water falling into a scorching pan of oil, instantly causing everything to erupt and splatter.

The Bug-type Pokémon around them, already eager to make a move, all became enraged as well. Even those that had originally been relatively gentle were no exception.

The Butterfree, which had never gotten along with the Beedrill, simply joined the melee between the Beedrill and Pinsir. Several Paras quietly set their sights on the Berry in the center, only to provoke fierce resistance from the Venonat as they approached.

As for Weedle, which had caused all this, it immediately crawled down from the tree after using Poison Sting. Together with Xia Yan, it lay low in the bushes, using leaves and fallen grass to conceal themselves.

The brawl had erupted.

Every Pokémon joined the fight as if by mutual agreement, all manner of Bug-type moves flying through the air.

Only when things got chaotic would they have a chance. Xia Yan focused his attention on the Berry.

All they had to do next was wait for the two Bug Essence Fruits to fully ripen, then find a chance to get through the battling Pokémon and approach them.

"The book said the sign of a fully ripe Bug Essence Fruit is when its surface shines completely like the moon. More than half of it is covered already. Only a tiny bit remains at the tip."

Since they were already at the greatest disadvantage, the timing of their move was especially important.

As the melee continued, Pokémon constantly lost the ability to battle.

Two Beedrill had already fallen on the ground, and one Butterfree had fallen as well. The sturdy Pinsir was covered in wounds, but they seemed only to have stirred up more of its ferocity. It remained the greatest threat in the three-sided brawl.

As for the Weedle and Caterpie, no one knew how many had already fallen.

The battle between the Venonat and Paras on the other side had also reached a fever pitch, with losses on both sides.

Xia Yan and Weedle continued to hold themselves back.

However, by observing the fruits, Xia Yan had already roughly grasped their ripening speed and calculated their approximate time of maturity.

His finger lightly traced the ground, leaving marks one after another as he silently counted the seconds.

"Almost." Xia Yan raised his head and said to Weedle beside him, "Go straight out and travel along the ground. Don't move too fast. Just stay steady and avoid drawing attention. When you get close to the fruit tree, don't climb it. Use String Shot to pick the fruits, then ignore everything else and run in the direction we came from."

Weedle nodded, indicating that it understood.

Xia Yan picked up a bundle of grass he had prepared beforehand and covered Weedle's back with it, gripping its body tightly.

He counted silently in his heart.

Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed through his eyes. "Go!"

He released it, and Weedle immediately left the bushes. With steady steps, it slowly approached the fruit tree. Xia Yan now held a wooden stick in his hand, his eyes fixed on the Berry in the tree.

It was clear to see that the fruit's surface had almost been completely covered in light, with only a tiny speck remaining.

As Weedle drew closer, more and more of the Berry's surface became luminous. The fragrance it gave off also grew richer, affecting the Bug-type Pokémon around it.

Their fighting gradually slowed, and their attention shifted back to the Berry.

It was about to ripen.

Xia Yan gripped the wooden stick and silently counted.

"It's ripe!"

With a shout in his heart, he sprang to his feet.

Then, under the gaze of those Bug-type Pokémon, the fruits in the tree ripened at the very instant Xia Yan shouted in his heart.

Light and Shadow intertwined, brightness and darkness echoed one another.

At that moment, all the light on the fruits' surface drew inward, and their fragrance abruptly vanished.

That brief change left the Bug-type Pokémon momentarily stunned.

Just as they were about to rush toward the Berry without a care for anything else, they suddenly heard—

Thud!!

Beneath the tree beside them, Xia Yan gripped the wooden stick tightly and smashed it hard against the trunk, producing a dull sound.

Yet in such silence, that sound was especially abrupt.

Instinctively, they looked toward the source of the noise and saw a figure moving with nimble steps, running and leaping through layer after layer of bushes.

When they came back to their senses and looked toward the Berry again, they saw only two bright white threads wrapping around the ripened fruits. With a gentle tug, they plucked them down.

At the source of those threads was a Weedle hiding beneath a bundle of grass.

They had them!

After succeeding, Weedle did not hesitate in the slightest. Following Xia Yan's instructions, it ran in the direction they had come from with all the strength it could muster.

The two Berries rapidly vanished into the distance, wrapped in the threads.

For a moment, these wild Bug-type Pokémon could not react to the string of sudden changes.

By the time they did, they saw the figure and Weedle meet up, dragging the two Berries as they swiftly disappeared into the depths of the forest.

In an instant.

All the Bug-type Pokémon that had fought over the Berries went berserk!