A Brief Discussion on Bug Pokémon Evolution

Dragging his exhausted body to a tree by the stream, he built a fire.

Late autumn nights were still very cold. After working up a sweat, his whole body had become soaked again. One careless mistake could easily lead to catching a cold, or something even worse.

That was extremely dangerous in the wilderness.

And in a forest out in the wild, without a fire, one could easily be attacked by wild Pokémon.

Though flames like these might not pose much threat to wild Pokémon or cause much damage, Pokémon were still animal-like creatures and instinctively avoided fire.

Of course, that did not apply to Pokémon that liked fire or light.

Only after the flames rose and warmth spread through his body did Xia Yan finally relax a little.

He took out the two Berries he had worked so hard to snatch from Weedle.

The main ingredients for many top-tier Bug-type Energy Cubes, they could unearth the talents of Bug-type Pokémon. They were most suitable for Pokémon in their initial stages and could more fully develop the potential of Bug-type Pokémon.

He recalled the descriptions of the two fruits from the books he had read.

The corners of his mouth slowly rose without him realizing it.

Bug Essence Fruits were extremely valuable. If he sold them to the Pokémon food store where he had previously bought Energy Cubes, he would probably receive a large sum of money.

But to Xia Yan, their purpose was not to be exchanged for money.

He looked at Weedle beside him. Its two tiny eyes were completely fixed on the fruits, as though they might turn into the fruits themselves at any moment.

Its mouth hung slightly open, and drool dripped down unconsciously.

"If we want to maximize the effects of these two Berries, the best option would naturally be to turn them into Energy Cubes. Combined with other Berries and ingredients, plus a catalyst, their effects could undoubtedly be fully unleashed," Xia Yan said casually.

Hearing Xia Yan's analysis, Weedle lowered its head pitifully.

It naturally knew Xia Yan was right, and Energy Cubes were something it liked as well. It was just that its craving resisted the idea.

Seeing its expression, Xia Yan smiled. "But to make them into Energy Cubes, since you're both Bug-type and Poison-type, the most suitable kind would be Energy Cubes combining those two attributes. That would mean finding another Berry of the same grade that matched them.

Besides, with our current finances, it seems we can't afford a breeder capable of making such top-tier Energy Cubes."

"Wu?" Weedle raised its head and looked at him in confusion.

What did he mean?

Xia Yan pressed his lips together. "And more importantly, you might not be able to wait until those Energy Cubes are finished."

Weedle.

Was a Pokémon with a very short growth cycle.

It had been with Xia Yan for nearly ten days. Its training had been arduous, but there was one fact that could not be ignored: Weedle was close to evolving.

Xia Yan could wait, but Weedle could not.

The muscles beneath its shell were already full and powerful. Every part of its body was round and well-developed, and together with the occasional unconscious scratching of its shell, all the signs showed that Weedle was not far from evolving.

The books he had read about Bug-type Pokémon had mentioned that fully metamorphic insect Pokémon such as Weedle, Caterpie, and Wurmple, which entered a pupal state during their middle stages, differed from incompletely metamorphic Bug-type Pokémon that had no cocoon stage.

Their growth cycles could be delayed by factors such as training and battle. Moreover, the longer their growth cycles were extended, the greater the benefits for these Bug-type Pokémon, allowing the potential of this stage to be fully developed.

Once they entered the pupal stage, the more strength they had accumulated in the previous stage, the shorter the pupal period would be, and the stronger their final evolved forms would become.

That was the conclusion reached by a Bug-type Pokémon expert who wrote one of those books after hundreds, even thousands, of experiments.

That was why Xia Yan had continued training Weedle tirelessly: to extend Weedle's growth cycle and thoroughly draw out its potential during the Weedle stage.

A Weedle that would normally evolve naturally into Kakuna after about a week had still not evolved after ten days. Judging by Weedle's condition, it might be able to hold on for another three or four days.

But that was already Weedle's limit.

Even so, Weedle still could not afford to wait.

So there was nothing to hesitate over or consider. The moment Xia Yan obtained those two Berries, he had already decided how to handle them.

He placed them directly in front of Weedle.

"Wu?"

Weedle stared at the two unremarkable Berries, its eyes sparkling.

Really?

"Eat them, Weedle," Xia Yan said calmly and firmly.

There was no such thing as wasting a treasure, nor was there any talk of maximizing benefits. Since he had chosen Weedle, Xia Yan would never entertain the thought that he might be able to have a better Pokémon.

It was like certain celebrities who got girlfriends before they became famous, dating them for nine years. Then, after getting lucky and becoming famous, they wanted to abandon the girlfriends who had quietly sacrificed so much for them. They would even spout nonsense about how, with their current status, dating her was already a gift, and marriage was impossible.

If Xia Yan thought that way, how would he be any different from those celebrities?

In his eyes, Weedle was the best Pokémon!

He could scheme and deceive when dealing with people, and fight wild Pokémon to the death in the struggle for survival. But if he still cared about profit and maximization when it came to his own Pokémon, then he would never become a Qualified Trainer.

Who said—

Weedle could not make a name for itself?

"Wu?" Weedle asked again, seeking confirmation.

Xia Yan answered with a firm nod.

Then there was nothing left to hesitate over.

Weedle cried out happily, opened its mouth as wide as it could, and viciously bit into the round, unassuming fruit. Juice immediately splashed everywhere, and a faint fragrance drifted through the air.

It was unlike the special scent from before that had attracted large numbers of Bug-type Pokémon. This was simply the pure fragrance of fruit.

Berries were originally nature's finest gift to Pokémon. Though breeders could bring out their effects to the fullest through all kinds of combinations, eating them in this pure way could not be considered wasteful.

Very soon.

With its appetite whetted, Weedle ate to its heart's content and quickly devoured both precious Berries, leaving behind only two clean seeds.

"Burp—"

Weedle let out a full burp, its face filled with satisfaction.

"Was it good?" Xia Yan asked with a smile.

"Wu wu!!" Weedle nodded repeatedly, seeming to savor the lingering taste between its lips and teeth.

But just after it nodded, its expression suddenly froze.

Then its body slowly curled up.

Xia Yan was also startled. "Is it evolving?"

But the scene he had expected did not occur. Weedle merely curled up and fell into a deep sleep.

Its body seemed to be undergoing some kind of change.

"It didn't evolve?" Xia Yan let out a sigh of relief.

To be honest, he was not yet prepared for Weedle's evolution.

Not evolving was a good thing.

It meant Weedle's growth cycle had not yet reached its end, and there was still time to develop and uncover its potential and abilities.

He just did not know what effects the two Berries would have on it.

Holding Weedle in his arms, Xia Yan curled up beneath the tree as well, the flickering campfire reflecting on his face.

The forest was dangerous at night, and Weedle had fallen asleep. Choosing to leave at a time like this would be extremely unwise.

At least here, he had a campfire, and there were no signs of wild Pokémon activity nearby for the moment.

Earlier, he had followed the stream back into Densewood Forest. Though this was not an area he had cleared himself, the club's other sparring partners had presumably cleared it out by now.

It was relatively safe for the time being.

He took out some dry rations he had prepared beforehand. Though they had gotten wet, they could still be eaten after being warmed by the fire.

As long as he was not hungry, that was enough.

Given the current situation, Xia Yan was destined to have a sleepless night.

Here was the promised third update. Where are those monthly votes?