Life Energy (Please Bookmark and Vote)

That night, Shu Tong and Weedle sat on the bed as usual, looking at the Poison Sting, whose energy had grown extremely faint.

"It looks like the energy in this Poison Sting is almost completely drained," Shu Tong said.

"Wee..." Weedle gazed at the Poison Sting with immense reluctance.

"It's fine. At worst, we'll just buy another one," Shu Tong comforted it.

It seemed Weedle had become addicted to the sensation of absorbing energy with the help of Viridian Force.

That said, Shu Tong knew perfectly well that unless they found a top-grade Poison type resource next, it would not bring Weedle any significant improvement.

Top-grade items were the sort of things one could only stumble upon by chance.

Things that money might not even be able to buy were hardly something someone of his current status could get his hands on.

This time, Weedle had absorbed part of the Poison Sting's energy. Although it was far less than the Poison type energy it had absorbed before, it was still not something just any ordinary Pokémon could absorb. It still required Shu Tong's Viridian Force to guide its digestion and absorption.

Shu Tong checked the time. It was only a little past nine, so he said, "Let's turn in early tonight. We haven't gone to bed early once in over ten days."

Crunch, crunch.

A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.

Shu Tong turned around and saw Weedle holding the Poison Sting and gnawing on it. Like it was chewing hard candy, it swallowed the whole thing in just a few bites.

"This... tastes good?" Shu Tong stared blankly, thinking Weedle had gone completely crazy.

Before Shu Tong could react, Weedle's body suddenly began to swell, and the Poison type energy within it surged as though a flood were about to burst forth.

"This is bad."

The Poison Sting might have seemed nearly depleted, but even a dying camel was bigger than a horse. This Poison Sting had originally been a crystallization of Poison type energy. Though most of its energy had been absorbed, the energy that formed the crystal was the most primordial energy.

The most primordial Poison type energy appeared faint, but it was also the purest energy. Its concentration far exceeded that of the energy absorbed earlier.

Normally, held treasures were merely worn by Pokémon. Whenever a Pokémon used a move of the same type, it could resonate with the corresponding held treasure.

Only through that resonance would the energy in the treasure slowly enter the Pokémon's body and strengthen it. That process could take five or six years, more than a decade, or even several decades.

As for how treasures were handled once their remaining energy had nearly dissipated, that had never been made public. They were simply collected by the National Trainer Alliance, which trainers considered a kind of benefit.

Seeing Weedle's current condition, Shu Tong did not dare relax in the slightest.

He poured nearly all of his Viridian Force into Weedle's body in one go, barely managing to suppress the surging Poison type energy.

Shu Tong immediately felt as though his body had been completely drained.

There was no time to worry about that now. Shu Tong grabbed the Nine-Flavor Rehmannia Pills from the table and poured them into his mouth.

After downing two whole bottles of Nine-Flavor Rehmannia Pills, the frantic output of Viridian Force finally allowed the Poison type energy to gradually stabilize.

Though Shu Tong's body had already been pushed beyond its limits, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He swallowed one last Nine-Flavor Rehmannia Pill and sent Viridian Force into Weedle's body again.

Huh...

After his initial surprise, Shu Tong was overjoyed.

A faint energy had actually appeared inside Weedle's body, striving to harmonize with Viridian Force. Though that energy was weak, Shu Tong could sense its vibrant vitality and vigorous life force.

This had clearly exceeded Shu Tong's understanding, but one thing was certain—it was definitely not a bad thing.

With that thought, Shu Tong no longer cared about his own condition. He redoubled the output of Viridian Force, helping Weedle completely absorb the Poison type energy. Afterward, that new energy completely burrowed into the energy of Viridian Force.

Like blades of grass sprouting in spring, that energy grew wildly in the wind after receiving the nourishment of Viridian Force, full of Everlasting Vitality.

Shu Tong slowly opened his eyes. As expected, Weedle's information had changed.

[Name]: Weedle

[Type]: Bug, Poison type

[Ability]: Run Away

[Moves]: String Shot, Poison Sting, Bug Bite

[Individual Talent]: High grade

[Recent Turning Point]: Nourished by Viridian Force, it has comprehended the foundations of Life Energy. Its lifespan will increase, its recovery ability will improve, and it can learn certain moves related to Life Energy.

[Recent Turning Point]: Its individual talent has risen to high grade, and its strength has undergone a qualitative transformation.

[Recent Turning Point]: Two months later, while undergoing special training with its trainer in the northern forest of Creek Town, it will barely protect itself during a Mystery Realm invasion due to its increased strength.

The corners of Shu Tong's lips rose slightly. Though his body was weaker than ever, his mind was clear and his thoughts unusually sharp. Weedle had undergone far too many changes this time.

The only thing he could not understand was why, after more than half a month had already passed, the Mystery Realm invasion shown under [Recent Turning Point] was still two months away.

He could only force himself to interpret it as meaning that anywhere between two and three months counted as "two months later." He wondered whether the timing would become more precise as time passed.

More importantly, he had found the answer to that unfamiliar energy in [Recent Turning Point].

"So it's Life Energy. No wonder it feels so full of vitality."

As for moves related to Life Energy,

Grass type Pokémon mastered quite a few of them. Moves that restored stamina, such as Leech Seed, Absorb, and Synthesis, were all more or less connected to Life Energy. Healing Wish, meanwhile, was an even more advanced move.

Of course, some highly aggressive moves were also related to Life Energy. Take Curse, for example. When used by a Ghost type Pokémon, it inflicted a curse on the opponent at the cost of the user's own Life Energy.

That reminded Shu Tong of an even more terrifying move: Perish Song. He remembered that in the games, Pokémon afflicted with Perish Song would lose their ability to battle within four turns.

What kind of effect would Perish Song have in reality?

He would have to look it up online tomorrow.

For now, Weedle was naturally the most important matter. Although it now had the foundation to sense Life Energy, even if it evolved into Beedrill, there did not seem to be any suitable moves worth learning.

Beedrill could not learn Curse or Perish Song, and moves that drained an opponent's stamina would be meaningless even if Beedrill could learn them.

Shu Tong instead recalled one of Beedrill's moves, Endeavor. It could forcibly reduce the opponent's stamina to match its own, and it was undoubtedly related to Life Energy.

Moves themselves were secondary, though. What was the most powerful use of Life Energy? It was undoubtedly extending one's lifespan.

Bug type Pokémon grew quickly but had short lifespans. Beedrill, for example, could evolve in as little as a month, but most Bug type Pokémon only lived between five and ten years, sometimes even less.

Naturally, Shu Tong hoped Beedrill could live as long as possible. That way, he could invest more resources into it without hesitation.

In this world, not a single well-known trainer had a Bug type Pokémon as their main partner. Even Scyther, the rich and handsome star among Bug type Pokémon, had a maximum lifespan of little more than ten years.

Because of their innate racial flaws, Bug types were only suitable as transitional Pokémon. Almost no one was willing to invest vast amounts of money into Bug types, which was why they were known as the weakest type.

Unless their level became high enough and they also touched upon Life Energy, their lifespans would be extended accordingly.

The importance of lifespan went without saying. In some professions, as long as one lived long enough, one became an "old master artist."

With Life Energy as its foundation, Beedrill would surely be able to break through the shackles of its species' lifespan.

Thinking of this, Shu Tong did not hesitate to continue drawing on the Viridian Force in his body, allowing the Life Energy within Weedle to gradually grow stronger.

Until Shu Tong completely passed out.