Big! Thick! Strong!

Morning mist and faint dawn; the rising sun climbed into the sky.

The horizon turned pale, night gave way to day, and the last veil of haze over the forest dispersed.

Beside the burned-out campfire, Xia Yan was in poor condition. Having stayed awake all night to keep watch over their surroundings had left his eyes bloodshot.

The sunlight also drove away a little of his exhaustion.

He lowered his head and looked into his arms.

Weedle's eyes were still tightly shut. Beside it lay a complete shed shell.

That was right.

It had molted.

After Weedle had fallen asleep last night, it had somehow molted unconsciously. For a Pokémon like Weedle, that was an exceptionally rare occurrence.

More importantly, compared to the shed shell beside it, Weedle's body was now twice as large—perhaps even more.

It was not just a change in size. Its newly formed shell was brighter in color, and the glossy carapace reflected the warmth of the sunlight.

It had grown a full twofold. Xia Yan had never expected such a change.

But he was certain that, for Weedle, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.

It was not without downsides. At the very least, its previous training and control over its body would surely decline somewhat. But with more training, it would quickly make up for that.

But the benefits...

"Wuu."

At the faint sound, Weedle's eyelids trembled before it slowly opened its eyes.

Its gaze was initially confused, but clarity soon returned.

"Wuu!" It abruptly raised its head and looked at Xia Yan. Only after confirming that he was uninjured and had not been attacked by wild Pokémon did it finally let out a long breath of relief.

Thank goodness.

Then it became somewhat puzzled.

How had it unknowingly fallen asleep last night?

And slept so deeply, at that.

Most importantly, why did Xia Yan seem smaller?

It propped itself up.

It carefully examined him, and the surprise in its eyes grew stronger and stronger.

"Wuu?"

Had he really gotten smaller?

Seeing its expression, Xia Yan smiled tiredly. "Stop looking. I didn't get smaller—you grew bigger."

"Wuu?"

Bigger?

Only then did Weedle notice the pile of shells beside it. Then it looked down at itself and compared its size to Xia Yan's palm.

"Wuu wuu!!!!"

It really had gotten bigger!

Big! Thick! Strong!

Xia Yan gently patted the shell on its back, feeling its harder texture and smooth, rounded surface.

"Now it seems to be a good thing. You were originally close to evolving, but after eating those two Berries, your potential has grown greater. I can no longer sense any sign that you're about to evolve."

The Bug Essence Fruit had greatly unearthed Weedle's talent and potential. It had extended the time it would take to turn that potential into strength, lengthening its growth cycle.

Xia Yan did not know how Giovanni had trained his Beedrill. He only knew that the Viridian Force had played a crucial role, but he did not know exactly how that role had manifested.

But Weedle's current transformation was undoubtedly a good thing, whether in the short term or the long term.

Xia Yan also no longer needed to consider work-related matters because Weedle was about to evolve.

Given the current situation, Weedle would need at least another fifteen days, perhaps even longer, to fully draw out all the potential hidden within this body. That gave him more time to prepare.

Whether that meant catching new Pokémon or challenging Kakuna's sparring partners after evolving.

Supporting himself on his knees, he staggered to his feet.

His legs had gone a little numb after sitting all night.

"We should head back. If we don't, the club will probably think we're dead. And I'm getting more and more interested in that job-title promotion."

Weedle's changes had given him a chance to pursue better benefits.

Weedle quickly adapted to its changes and climbed onto his shoulder in just a few quick movements.

His formerly open shoulder now felt slightly crowded.

And Weedle's weight had changed considerably as well. Xia Yan could keenly feel it.

He laughed and teased, "You got fat."

With uneven steps, he headed out of Densewood Forest.

If he did not return soon, he might miss Kenji's invitation today.

That was all money.

Dragging his exhausted body, he successfully left Densewood Forest.

The Spearow he had deliberately left behind yesterday was gone. He did not know whether it had fled or been eaten by another predator.

Feeling slightly regretful, he boarded a bus back to the club in his ragged clothes, carrying the unusually large Weedle under the strange stares of those around him.

Wild Pokémon with unusual builds were not unheard of, merely somewhat rare, so it did not attract any particular attention.

But those were born that way. A Pokémon changing from an ordinary size to twice its original size was much rarer.

"Xia Yan!!"

When Anna at the front desk saw the bedraggled Xia Yan, her face filled with surprise and a touch of delight.

She did not know why she was delighted. Perhaps she simply felt it would be a pity if someone so hardworking had died like that.

That was right. The people at the club really had thought Xia Yan was dead.

Such cases were uncommon, but not particularly rare.

When Pokémon Trainers and their Pokémon ventured into the wild, they could encounter all sorts of situations. Death was perfectly normal, even if this mission had not seemed dangerous.

Xia Yan forced a smile. "Something came up and delayed me a little. I'm not too late, am I?"

Anna let out a long breath. "Not yet. Besides, the other Beginner sparring partner returned late as well, so we only planned to tally your results today."

"That's good." Xia Yan relaxed slightly as well.

"Give me the camera, then go change your clothes. The supervisor might see you later."

Xia Yan handed over the club's recording device. "All right."

He then headed toward his room. He was exhausted, and if he had time, it would be best to get some sleep, even if it was only for an hour or a few dozen minutes. Later, he still had to follow Kenji into Densewood Forest again.

Anna watched his departing back and noticed the Weedle on his shoulder, her eyes filled with surprise and confusion.

"Did he... switch Pokémon? Or did it just get fat?"

It was not as though such situations had never occurred.

In order to keep their jobs, club sparring partners whose Pokémon evolved but who lacked confidence in defeating other sparring partners would choose to catch another Pokémon of the same kind and preserve their positions.

Of course, the club was aware of such practices, because it had detailed data and records for every sparring partner's Pokémon.

If the newly caught Pokémon was still reasonably strong, it would be overlooked. But if it did not match up, they might face dismissal.

She shook her head and did not think much more about it.

She delivered the recording device to the Technical Department, where they would be responsible for tallying the results.

Then she went to Supervisor Loto's office.

"Supervisor, 0451 has returned."

Loto, dressed sharply, held a cup of coffee as he read the newspaper. He gave a slight nod. "Understood. Once the Technical Department finishes compiling the data, have all three of them come see me."

"Yes." Anna answered respectfully. After thinking for a moment, she added hesitantly, "Supervisor, 0451's Weedle..."

"What about it?"

"It seems to have changed. I'm not sure whether he switched Pokémon or whether it's the original one, but it's more than twice the size of the previous one." Anna reported truthfully, carrying out her duties.

"Oh?" Loto raised a brow, setting down his newspaper and coffee with mild surprise. "What do you think?"

The image of Xia Yan and Weedle training hard together flashed through Anna's mind. A Pokémon Trainer who trained so diligently with his Pokémon would not casually replace it, would he?

"It might be the original one..."

One of the reasons the Silph Pokémon Battle Club existed was to gather data on all kinds of Pokémon. A Pokémon displaying such abnormal changes was an even greater point of concern.

"I understand. Have him take Weedle to the Technical Department for a test first, then come here."

"Yes."