Chapter 3: Claiming Territory
How long does it take for a Kakuna to evolve? I remember them saying in the anime that a Metapod only needs about seven days to store enough energy to evolve into a Butterfree. It should be about the same for a Kakuna.
Will stared at the enormous Kakuna that was once Wally.
Once a Weedle evolves into a Kakuna, there's less need to worry about being hunted by bird Pokémon. Small birds like Pidgey would never be able to bother a Kakuna. And while Pidgey's evolutions, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot, could easily hunt a Kakuna, they usually wouldn't choose one as prey because it was too much effort to eat.
Still, just in case, I should probably hide Wally for now.
"Milly, go get some leaves."
Having made up his mind, Will immediately began giving orders to Milly.
The two Weedle spent the first half of the night gathering huge leaves. They then used their String Shot to paste the leaves all over the Kakuna's shell. With that, no one would be able to tell Wally was there.
They slept soundly through the second half of the night, not waking until nearly noon the next day to eat their fill.
I need to find more followers.
After seeing Wally evolve, Will decided to change his plans temporarily. Originally, he had intended to finish all the fruit on their current tree before moving on to the next one to claim more territory. But now, it seemed he had to change the order of operations.
Will needed more allies to protect him when he eventually evolved into a helpless Kakuna. Given the bizarre and dangerous nature of this forest, one Kakuna and one Weedle were definitely not enough. Besides, he had a feeling that he and Milly were only a day or two away from evolving themselves.
Caterpie and Weedle were known for their rapid evolution. After leaving their infant stage, it typically took less than ten days for them to reach their next stage, making them the fastest-evolving Pokémon. And that was just for those who grew up eating ordinary leaves. For a Weedle like Will, who had been feasting on nutritious berries, the process would only be faster.
If all three of them evolved into Kakuna, and a hungry Pidgeotto or Pidgeot happened to pass by, it absolutely wouldn't mind putting in a little extra effort for a big meal.
"Milly, let's go. We're going to find some of our kind."
"Wee~ (Are we going to eat them?)" Milly asked, sounding somewhat excited.
"...No. We're going to win them over."
Will looked at Milly with a sense of helplessness. When he watched the anime, he never thought the Pokémon world was so cruel. Natural enemies were one thing, but he didn't think the same species would resort to eating each other.
But from what he was seeing now, there was zero trust between Pokémon. They were even thinking about cannibalism. Something was definitely wrong with this world.
"Wee."
Milly let out a noncommittal buzz, seemingly not understanding what Will was talking about. Still, she followed behind him.
To be honest, without the powerful Wally by his side, Will felt a little insecure. His own level was decent, a solid Lv. 7, and his body had surpassed the average Weedle height of 0.3m. But in this forest, that height was practically a disability. Wally's pre-evolution height of 0.5m was what passed for normal here. Milly was a bit smaller than Wally but stronger than Will, at 0.45m, but even she was on the weaker side. Even if the two of them teamed up, they weren't guaranteed to beat another strong bug.
The two of them slowly made their way down from the tree to the grass below.
"Wee~ (Will, look!)"
The moment they hit the ground, Milly let out a wary cry.
Will immediately whipped his head around, but relaxed when he saw who it was.
"What are you doing here again?"
Will stopped Milly, who was preparing to attack the baby Poliwag.
"Poli~ (I wanted to play with you~)" the Poliwag chirped, wagging its tail happily.
"We don't have time to play with you. And stop running out of your nest by yourself. You need to stay with your parents, you hear me?" Will scolded the Poliwag sternly.
They were too weak right now. They didn't have the luxury of playing games if they wanted to survive. And he wasn't wrong; this Poliwag hadn't even outgrown its infant stage, yet it dared to run around so freely. It clearly had never experienced the harsh realities of the world. If he hadn't stopped her just now, Milly probably would have killed it.
If he had been born into such a privileged situation, he would have definitely stayed glued to his parents' side until he evolved into a Poliwrath before even thinking about exploring.
"Waaah~"
The Poliwag ran away, crying.
Will sighed and shook his head, a pang of guilt in his heart. He felt that only by using such a harsh tone would the little newborn listen to him. If he were just a bit stronger, a Beedrill perhaps, he might have been willing to play with the little guy for a while.
"That Pokémon just now was my friend. If you see it again, don't bully it."
"Wee~ (Oh~)" Milly responded, sounding bored.
Next, Will led Milly to a neighboring tree. He discovered that this time, he was able to climb to the top all by himself.
I'm getting stronger!
The feeling was crystal clear, giving Will even more motivation to grow.
Reaching the main trunk, he and Milly scanned the area but didn't spot any Weedle. They did, however, find a Caterpie that was about 0.5m long. A bug of that size was probably on the same level as Wally before he evolved.
Can a Weedle and a Caterpie be on the same team? Will wondered.
From his human perspective, the habits of Weedle and Caterpie were similar enough that forming a team shouldn't be a problem. Besides, in the anime, Ash's Pikachu lived with a group of Kangaskhan when he was just a Pichu.
"Milly, would you want it to join our team?"
Still, just to be safe, Will asked Milly, who was a real Weedle.
"Wee! (No! Enemy!)"
Milly's attitude was firm, her hostility towards the Caterpie palpable. It wasn't just her; the Caterpie on the other side felt the same way.
Now Will understood.
For most Pokémon, only their own kind could join their clan. They could become friends with other species, but never family. In fact, even becoming friends was probably difficult. The Pokémon of this world were incredibly wild and aggressive, especially those who grew up alone. Only naive, infant Pokémon like the baby Poliwag would recklessly approach other species.
"Attack it!"
Recognizing this reality, Will didn't waste any more words. He and Milly immediately charged forward to swarm the Caterpie.
They used the same strategy as before. Will harassed and trapped the Caterpie from a distance with String Shot, while Milly moved in to deal damage with Poison Sting. Although the Caterpie was larger, two-on-one was too much for it, and it was quickly defeated.
From this moment on, this tree was their territory!
"Wait! Milly, what are you doing!"
Suddenly, Will saw Milly happily approaching the unconscious Caterpie and called out to her in alarm.
"Wee~ (Eating it, of course~)"
"!"
Will was stunned. He opened his mouth to protest but ultimately remained silent, unable to say the words to stop her.
He realized that what was unacceptable to him might be perfectly normal in Milly's eyes. Perhaps this was simply the law of nature in this forest. Besides, if eating the Caterpie would speed up Milly's growth, it would also increase their overall chances of survival. It would be beneficial for both her and him.