Tangela was waiting.
It emerged from the undergrowth without fear. Vines swayed gently—but its eyes were sharp. Focused. Like a challenge had already been issued.
Silas felt it before it happened. "You want to battle?" he asked quietly.
Tangela's vines tightened. Then she gestured—at both Pokémon.
Two versus one? Silas's stomach tightened. Can Tangela be that strong? Tangela led them to a clearing.
Chimchar struck first.
Aura gathered between its palms, compressed inward with deliberate control. The glowing sphere shrank, density increasing until it hummed with restrained force. Chimchar thrust both hands forward, firing the Aura Sphere cleanly and directly.
Tangela did not dodge.
Its vines slammed into the ground. Several glowing stones materialized in front of Tangela, ancient symbols etched across their surfaces. With a sharp motion, they launched forward—screaming through the air before detonating violently on impact.Ancient Power. The explosion swallowed Chimchar whole.
Elekid reacted instantly, electricity surging as it fired Thunder Shock, but Tangela flowed around the attack with terrifying ease.
Vines wrapped Elekid mid-leap and slammed it into a tree hard enough to crack bark.
Silas issued commands but power gap was too much. Tangela overwhelmed them both—efficient, dominant, absolute. When the battle ended, Chimchar and Elekid lay defeated in the dirt.
Tangela stood over them in victory—and then the air changed. Energy surged through Tangela violently. Vines thickened, darkened, multiplied. Its small form expanded, ground cracking as power rewrote its body. When the light faded, Tangrowth stood there—towering, immovable. Its presence pressed down on the forest like weight. Silas scanned it.
Tangrowth — Level 20
Ability: Regenerator
Potential: C+
Moves: Rank C Mega Drain, Rank C Vine Whip, Rank C Ancient Power, Rank C Stun Spore
Silas trembled—not with fear, but with ambition. Tangrowth at level 20 was a brutal boost to his team. He produced a Pokéball. Tangrowth tapped the insignia and converted to red light, absorbed into the ball. Silas felt invincible and that was the mistake.
He let Tangrowth back out and explained his next idea—revenge. The Beedrill deeper in the forest. The ones that had killed Silas's body. Chimchar and Elekid wanted to battle. Tangrowth radiated calm dominance. They went hunting. The trees grew dense. The air thick with sap and overripe berries. Chimchar walked alert at Silas's side.
Elekid trailed slightly behind, sparks flickering. Tangrowth brought up the rear, parting foliage with ease.
After fifteen minutes, they heard it—eating sounds. Loud. Close. This was where it had happened.
Silas found them: five Beedrill hovering in a sunlit clearing, feeding lazily on tree sap. Their wings buzzed in low harmony. The largest one in the middle had an X scar on the lower body. Silas scanned them and his stomach dropped.
5 wild Beedrill; 4 were level 16. The leader was level 19. All knew Poison Jab and Sludge Wave. Fear, anticipation, and old rage twisted together.
"We advance and retreat together," Silas said.
The Beedrill reacted instantly. Their aura pressed down—predators recognizing prey.cTwo streaked forward, Poison Jab already primed.
"Tangrowth use Ancient Power!"
Several glowing stones materialized in front of Tangrowth, spinning slowly before launching forward. The rocks detonated midair, forcing the Beedrill apart and buying space.
"Chimchar—Aura Sphere!"
Aura condensed between Chimchar's palms, compressed tightly until the blue light shrank into a dense core. Chimchar thrust its hands forward, firing the sphere cleanly. It struck one Beedrill square in the head and exploded.
The Beedrill dropped, struggling back to its feet before rising into the air. The Beedrill group responded violently. Green-black energy spread across the clearing as Sludge Wave rolled outward from multiple Beedrill at once. Tangrowth raised its vines to shield the team, but poison splashed across Chimchar and Elekid, burning and slowing their movements.
At that moment, a Beedrill slipped through. Its stinger flashed. Silas froze. The memory hit him all at once—pain, panic, suffocation. Chimchar moved.It slammed into the Beedrill mid-charge, spinning as flames erupted around its body.
Flame Wheel.
The attack tore through the air, smashing the Beedrill aside and skidding it across the dirt in a smoking heap. The instant KO told Silas that Chimchar had scored a critical hit.
Sometimes during battle, pokemon will let their guard down when they feel assured of victory. If you can strike in that moment, a critical hit becomes likely. The power of the move can be double or triple the normal impact. Silas exhaled sharply. He'd almost died again. But he wasn't alone this time.
Four Beedrill remained.
They pressed harder. Poison Jab rained down. Tangrowth took the brunt—vines shredded and blackened—but it held. Chimchar and Elekid were bleeding. Burns, cuts bruises and poison creeping. This wasn't training. This wasn't a game.
Silas grabbed a rock and hurled it with everything he had. It struck a Beedrill wing, throwing its aim off just enough to save Elekid. The retaliation was instant. A stinger punched through Silas's shoulder detonating pain through him.
"NOW!" Silas screamed.
Chimchar and Elekid reacted as one.
Aura flared between Chimchar's palms, compressed to its absolute limit, there was a flickering flame at the center of the sphere.
Elekid's electricity spiked wildly as it unleashed Thunder Shock.
Tangrowth roared, ancient power surging once more.
Three attacks launched simultaneously.
Aura Sphere. Thundershock. Ancient Power.
The explosion shook the forest, smoke and debris swallowing the clearing.
Silas didn't wait to see the result. "Retreat!" he gasped.
Tangrowth dragged them back as the surviving Beedrill screeched in rage, disoriented and injured.
They escaped.
Barely.
Silas collapsed against a tree once they were safe, blood soaking his sleeve. He understood something fundamental. Pokémon battles weren't games. The world didn't care about badges. Sometimes, your life was the stake.
That day changed everything. Silas vowed to grow strong enough to protect himself—and those he chose to keep close. The Beedrill were Level 17 with B potential, so the reward was decent. The combined attack had knocked out a second Beedrill.
Ding! 2 Level 16 C+ rank pokemon defeated.
BP gained: 4.
Total count 5.
Tangrowth produced pecha berries for everyone while Silas produced the oran berries. As they ate, poison was neutralized and their wounds closed. Some pain and all of the fatigue remained. Silas spent the next two days recuperating at the orphanage. He was acutely aware they could have been wiped out by the beedrill.
His wounds had long healed but he was just coming to terms with his near death experience. In his past life, Silas was not a warrior in any way so he was not used to this kind of danger. It took some getting used to.
Madam didn't ask questions. Not because she cared—but because she didn't waste time on mystery when results were the only thing that mattered. On the third day, she woke him by grabbing his wrist.
"Up."
Silas blinked. Chimchar snarled sleepily. Elekid crackled. Madam's Pokémon were present too—silent muscle that made refusal pointless.
"Battle," Madam said. "Now."
Silas sat up fully. "What?"
"Your laziness stops now," she said. "You either battle me or you lose your spot in the conference."
Silas sobered instantly.
"All right," he said. "All right. Let's do it."
Madam's partners were monsters compared to his: a Level 56 Jolteon, Level 57 Nidoqueen, and Level 56 Arcanine. She didn't smile. "Think of this as training. We will hold back." Silas inhaled slowly. Holding back didn't mean safe. It meant she wouldn't kill him on purpose.
Silas took a deep breath. He knew her holding back was still an insurmountable challenge for his current self. Still, it would be good training. Her pokemon were careful not to overdo it and the pointers she gave helped to sharpen our instincts. She exposed my tendency to let my guard down during clashes and explosions.
"That is the most vulnerable time during battle! You are talented but when your plan A does not work, you freeze up. You need countermoves and counter countermoves to rise to the top"
The lesson cut deep because it was true. Madam didn't coddle. She didn't crush without reason either. She pushed assets to maximum output. Afterward, Silas trained alone—by choice this time. Madam didn't stop him.
Tangrowth took the lead, inspired by Madam's ruthless discipline. It corrected Chimchar's form, forcing tighter aura compression until less energy leaked. It drilled Elekid until electricity snapped with control instead of panic.
In battle practice, Tangrowth was merciless. Ancient Power became inevitability—stones forming, launching, detonating with minimal waste.
By week's end:
Chimchar reached Level 14 and refined aura control enough to form a flaming variant of Aura Sphere—move proficiency rising a grade.
Elekid reached Level 12.
Tangrowth reached Level 22.
Silas felt that intoxicating satisfaction of earned growth.That night, they ate a hearty dinner. The conference was tomorrow. Madam watched him quietly, then spoke. "Are you ready to expand your horizons? Knowledge matters. Power without information gets you killed."
Silas nodded. "I won't embarrass you, Madam."
"Good," she said, and walked away like the conversation was a receipt she'd already signed.
Other children stared at Silas—envy sharp in their eyes. Usually they ignored him, and he preferred it. Today their stares were louder than words. Silas ignored them, finished eating, and went to bed.