Chapter 3: Seizing the Territory
'How long until Kakuna evolves? I remember it was said in the anime that Metapod only needs 7 days to accumulate enough energy to evolve into Butterfree, so Kakuna should be similar,' Ryū thought as he stared at the massive Kakuna.
Once Weedle evolves into Kakuna, it doesn't need to worry as much about being preyed upon by bird Pokémon. Smaller birds like Pidgey are unlikely to bother a Kakuna. While Pidgey's evolved forms, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot, could easily prey on a Kakuna, they usually don't choose it as prey because it's troublesome to eat.
'However, just in case, it's better to hide Kikō first.'
Ryū quickly gave instructions to Suzume. "Suzume, go get some leaves." The two Weedle spent the first half of the night collecting many large leaves and then used String Shot to stick them onto Kikō's shell. Now, no one could tell that Kikō was there. They slept soundly for the rest of the night, not waking up until close to noon the next day to eat their fill.
'I need to find more subordinates.'
After seeing Kikō's evolved form, Ryū decided to temporarily change his plan. Originally, he planned to eat all the berries on this tree before heading to the next one to claim territory. But now, it seemed he had to change the order. Ryū needed more subordinates to protect him when he evolved into a Kakuna and became unable to move easily.
Given the strange situation in this forest, just one Kakuna (Kikō) and one Weedle (Suzume) were definitely not enough. He felt that he and Suzume should be evolving within the next couple of days. Caterpie and Weedle are Pokémon that evolve quite quickly. After leaving the juvenile stage, they typically don't take more than 10 days to evolve to the next stage, making them some of the fastest-evolving Pokémon. This is true for Caterpie and Weedle who grow by eating ordinary leaves. For those like Ryū who grew up eating more nutritious berries, the speed would only be faster.
If all three of them evolved into Kakuna, and a hungry Pidgeotto or Pidgeot happened to fly by, they definitely wouldn't mind putting in a little effort for a full meal.
"Suzume, let's go. We're going to find some of our kind."
"Buzz~ (Should we eat them?)" Suzume seemed a bit excited.
"...No, we're going to enlighten them."
Ryū looked at Suzume with some helplessness. He used to think when watching cartoons that the Pokémon in the Pokémon world weren't so cruel to each other, but what he saw now was that there wasn't a shred of trust between Pokémon, and they even thought about eating each other. This world was definitely not right.
"Buzz."
Suzume let out an unintelligible Growl, seemingly not understanding what Ryū said. But she still followed behind him. To be honest, without the powerful Weedle Kikō following him, Ryū felt a bit uneasy. His own level wasn't low, reaching level 7, and his physique also exceeded the average height of a Weedle at 0.3 meters. However, this height seemed to be "severely disabled" in this forest; Kikō's 0.5 meters was considered normal. Suzume was a bit shorter than Kikō but a bit stronger than Ryū, at 0.45 meters, which was also on the weaker side. So even if the two of them teamed up, they might not be able to subdue other strong bug Pokémon.
The two of them slowly descended from the tree to the grass.
"Buzz~ (Ryū, look!)"
As soon as they landed, Suzume let out a vigilant sound. Ryū immediately turned his head and relaxed when he saw the newcomer.
"Why are you here again?" Ryū stopped Suzume, who was about to attack the baby Poliwag.
"Kō dō~ (I want to play with you~)" Poliwag happily wagged its Tail Whip.
"We don't have time to play with you, and don't just run out of your nest. Stay with your mom and dad, understand?" Ryū sternly scolded Poliwag.
They were too weak now, and they didn't have time to play with Poliwag because they were focused on surviving. He wasn't wrong; this Poliwag, who hadn't even passed its juvenile stage, dared to run around recklessly. It truly hadn't experienced the harshness of society. If he hadn't stopped her just now, Suzume probably would have killed the Poliwag. If he had such good conditions as Poliwag, he would definitely stay with his parents every day until he grew into a Poliwhirl before exploring the world.
"Waaah~"
Poliwag cried and ran away. Ryū sighed, shook his head helplessly, and felt a little guilty. He felt that only with such a stern tone could this little guy, who had just been born, listen obediently. If he were a little stronger, if he could become a Beedrill, perhaps he would be willing to play with this little guy for a while.
"That Pokémon just now is my friend. Don't bully it if you meet it in the future."
"Buzz~ (Oh~)" Suzume responded dully.
Next, Ryū took Suzume to the adjacent tree. He found that this time, he could climb to the treetop by himself. 'I'm getting stronger!' This feeling was very clear, giving Ryū even more motivation to grow.
Arriving at the top of the tree trunk, he and Suzume looked around but didn't find any Weedle. However, they did find a Caterpie with a body length of 0.5 meters. With this physique, it should be on the same level as Kikō before evolving.
'Can Weedle and Caterpie form a team?' Ryū had this question in his mind. From his human perspective, the living habits of Weedle and Caterpie were similar, so there was no problem with them forming a small team. Moreover, in the anime, Ash's Pikachu, when he was still a Pichu, lived with Kangaskhan and others.
"Suzume, do you want him to join our team?" However, just in case, Ryū still asked Suzume, who was a true Weedle, beside him.
"Buzz! (No! Enemy!)" Suzume's attitude was exceptionally firm, holding strong hostility towards that Caterpie. Not just Suzume, the Caterpie on the opposite side was the same.
Now, Ryū understood. For Pokémon, basically, only their own kind could join a group. For Pokémon of other races, they could become friends, but not family. In fact, it might even be difficult to become friends. The Pokémon in this world were full of wildness and were very aggressive, especially those who grew up alone. Only naive and innocent juvenile Pokémon like the baby Poliwag would rashly approach other types of Pokémon.
"Hit him!"
After realizing this, Ryū didn't say anything unnecessary. He called Suzume and went straight up to gang up on this Caterpie. It was the same routine as before. Ryū used String Shot from a distance to harass and trap the Caterpie, while Suzume used Poison Sting to attack and cause damage. Although the Caterpie was a bit bigger, two fists are no match for four hands, and it was quickly defeated. From now on, this tree was their territory.
"Wait! Suzume, what are you doing!" Ryū suddenly saw Suzume happily walking toward the unconscious Caterpie and quickly asked.
"Buzz~ (Eat him~)"
Ryū was startled, opened his mouth, and finally remained silent, not saying anything to stop her. What he found unacceptable might be very normal in Suzume's eyes; perhaps this was the natural law of this forest. Moreover, if eating the Caterpie could speed up Suzume's growth, it would also be improving their survival ability, which would be beneficial to both Suzume and him.