Mercenary in Viridian Forest

Viridian City lay in the western part of the Kanto Region.

Its name symbolized eternal greenery, and it was surrounded by foothills and forests.

Its origins came from the adjacent Viridian Forest, the largest forest in the Pokemon World, home to the greatest variety and number of Pokémon.

If Cerulean City, another city in Kanto, attracted all kinds of visitors with its beautiful scenery and water performances, while Saffron City developed through the fame of the Psychic Queen and its prosperous commercial atmosphere—

Then Viridian City drew people most with the countless resources hidden within that boundless sea of green.

Setting aside the profits from illegally capturing and selling Pokémon and Pokémon Eggs, the gains from gathering the many excellent medicinal herbs within Viridian Forest alone were enough to make people jealous.

Not to mention the yearly rumors of lucky adventurers obtaining Heaven and Earth Treasures such as Miracle Seeds, which could permanently increase the power of Pokémon moves, and becoming rich overnight.

This led to an endless stream of people entering Viridian Forest to explore every year—not only trainers, but Bounty Hunters as well.

Make no mistake, the Bounty Hunters mentioned here were not the sort of scum as the infamous Hunter J. They were all registered with legitimate guilds.

Of course, every group inevitably had its trash. It was just that among Bounty Hunters, a group reputed to value money over their lives, such people seemed especially numerous.

Every year, an unknown number of such people died to the dangers concealed within Viridian Forest's beautiful surroundings.

At that moment, in a deserted corner of Viridian Forest, a brown-haired young man standing around 1.8 meters tall was sprinting madly through the woods.

Joy, excitement, and lingering fear were all mixed across his handsome face, making his expression seem somewhat ferocious.

As he ran, the young man could not help turning to look behind him. Several Yellow and Black flying figures were rapidly weaving through the forest air.

Their small bodies were Filled With strength as they closed in on him at an unbelievable speed. The wind whipped up by their wings made every branch and leaf they passed shake wildly.

As the distance closed, their appearances gradually became clear.

They resembled yellow Giant Hornets, but they had only four legs rather than six.

Their bodies were divided into three sections. Their heads were fairly round, their mouths pointed, and they had two antennae. All four legs were attached to their abdomens.

Their tails were Yellow and Black, with Poison Stings at the tips. Their feet were long and slender, while their hands bore large, thick white needles. Two pairs of wings covered their backs, marked with intricate patterns.

They were the Beedrill that struck fear into the hearts of everyone in Viridian Forest!

The hot-tempered Beedrill had an extremely strong sense of territory. Anyone who entered their domain would be attacked by the entire swarm.

If he had not happened to encounter an arrogant rookie idiot who had provoked a Kakuna, causing more than half of this swarm's Beedrill to seek revenge on that trainer, he probably would have avoided this group as he always had and never dared make a move.

The handsome young man, Tetsuya Tamaki, fled frantically. Hearing the constant buzzing of Beedrill wings behind him, he revealed a bitter smile.

But then determination flashed through his eyes. Though this had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, he knew this area better than anyone.

Besides, during this long escape, he had gradually found ways to shake off most of the Beedrill. Only the last three remained.

And at the thought of the profits awaiting him once this was done, Tetsuya's face immediately regained its calm and confidence.

He looked up at the bird figure speeding along at low altitude ahead of him, calculated the time and distance, then shouted into the sky.

"Pidgeotto, use Whirlwind on the Beedrill again!"

Hearing Tetsuya's voice, the bird in the air nimbly turned, hovered straight ahead, and began flapping its Dual Wingbeat rapidly, forming an airflow that blew toward the Beedrill behind them.

The Beedrill swayed constantly in the airflow, their speed rapidly slowing. Tetsuya was about to widen the gap and escape.

Yet instead of fleeing quickly, Tetsuya turned around and continued directing Pidgeotto.

"Use the wind from before and follow up with Gust! Put more power into it!"

The Pidgeotto, perfectly in sync with Tetsuya, understood what he intended the instant he spoke. It immediately changed moves and beat its wings even harder.

The wind that had only been an airflow moments ago immediately became a fierce gale, sweeping toward the Beedrill.

The Beedrill completely lost control of their bodies. Insect wings could support extremely fast flight, but against the violent wind created by a bird Pokémon's wings, the power those wings gave them was far too weak.

All three Beedrill were blown wildly about. After losing their balance, they were sent flying into Tree Trunks.

One Beedrill, its body already covered in Scars, lost its Combat Capability on the spot. The other two struggled to get back up.

"Use Quick Attack on those two Beedrill. Finish them off." Tetsuya issued the order calmly.

Pidgeotto rapidly closed in on its enemies through the air. A faint gleam flashed across its body mid-flight, and its speed suddenly surged as it rammed into the two Beedrill in succession.

The Beedrill had only just risen when Pidgeotto's attacks sent them flying again, slamming them directly into Tree Trunks and knocking them out of combat.

"Nicely done!" Tetsuya praised from a distance.

"Pidgeotto~" Pidgeotto cried in response to Tetsuya's praise, then landed beside its spoils, panting as it preened the utterly disheveled feathers from the long battle.

Tetsuya quickly walked over to the three unconscious Beedrill, opened his backpack, took out a pair of thick gloves, and carefully collected their tail stingers.

Though all three of a Beedrill's stingers were Poison Stings, only the one on its tail had the strongest venom. Buyers on the market generally purchased only tail stingers.

The price was not high, but even a mosquito was still meat.

Tetsuya carefully stored the Poison Stings and placed them in his backpack.

"You worked hard, Pidgeotto." Tetsuya smiled and called to the Pidgeotto beside him, which had finished arranging its feathers and was standing guard. He took another bottle of medicinal spray from his bag.

Pidgeotto flapped a wing and landed beside Tetsuya.

Tetsuya gently sprayed medicine onto Pidgeotto's several wounds, then fed it an Oran Berry to restore its stamina.

"Alright, we can get ready to head back now." After applying the medicine, Tetsuya let out a breath of relief.

But this was only a simple treatment. To ensure there would be no lasting effects from its Injuries, they still needed to return to Joy at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City for treatment.

Tetsuya recalled Pidgeotto into its Poke Ball, surveyed the surrounding environment, and quickly departed in one direction.

Behind him, the three Beedrill whose tail stingers had been removed remained unconscious. What would become of them?

Perhaps they would wake in time and fly away, growing new tail stingers after a few months of recovery. Or perhaps they would be eaten by Pokémon drawn by the commotion. But none of that had anything to do with Tetsuya.