Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

For almost the entire afternoon, Cain and Murkrow employed guerrilla tactics to the fullest, attacking one area and immediately retreating, resting briefly, and then attacking another part of the forest.

Thanks to this strategy, they managed to wipe out four groups of Kakuna throughout the afternoon.

Although each Kakuna provided minimal growth for Murkrow, little by little, it accumulated experience and managed to level up, reaching level 14.

However, every time they wiped out a group of Kakuna, a few, in their extreme rage, evolved prematurely into Beedrill. But for Murkrow, even a level 13 or 14 Beedrill was as easy to defeat as a Kakuna, not to mention those that had just evolved.

Moreover, Murkrow was becoming increasingly familiar with Beedrill, and hardly wasted any energy in defeating all its enemies.

With the help of his system, Cain scanned each Beedrill that appeared, recording all the data into his system. Of the dozens of Beedrill they encountered, most had red potential, with only a few having orange potential.

This fact showed how rare it was to find Pokémon with high potential. Murkrow, with its green potential, was practically one in a million.

The difference between red and orange potential Beedrill was clear. Orange potential Beedrill had an additional egg move and, in general, their growth was much more robust.

At the same level, a red potential Beedrill was incapacitated after a single attack from Murkrow, while an orange potential one required at least two attacks to be defeated.

It is for this clear difference that Pokémon with higher potential are so valuable.

This also showed how much Team Rocket was investing in this test, given that the Pokémon with the lowest potential among the three hundred participants had orange potential.

The constant battles were beginning to affect Murkrow. Although it had the energy from mid-level Pokéblocks, mental fatigue was starting to outweigh physical exhaustion.

"Can you still keep going?" Cain carefully massaged Murkrow to help it recover faster. Noticing the look of relief on its face, he asked gently.

Murkrow nodded, though it wasn't much in the mood to speak, enjoying Cain's attention.

"Then let's make one last attempt before it gets dark."

After a short rest, Cain and Murkrow left the safety of the Metapod territory and ventured into Beedrill territory.

After wiping out several groups, the forests with Kakuna on the outskirts were fewer and fewer, and to find more, Cain had to venture deeper, which increased the risk since the Beedrill appeared faster.

This time, after advancing for about twenty minutes, Cain finally found a forest teeming with Kakuna hanging from the trees.

Upon seeing the large number of Kakuna, Cain couldn't help but wonder how it was possible for Beedrill to have such a high reproduction capacity. If there were no natural predators, these Pokémon could dominate the entire test island.

Fortunately, nature follows the law of the strongest. Some Pokémon are so powerful that not even a large number of Beedrill could defeat them, which prevents these Pokémon from completely dominating.

Just as Murkrow was preparing to use Gust to finish off all the Kakuna in one fell swoop, several Beedrill emerged from the trees.

Cain frowned as he saw them appear so quickly. Something wasn't right; those Beedrill had to be guarding the area beforehand.

This situation indicated that the Beedrill colony was taking Cain and Murkrow very seriously. As a species that lives in swarms, it's not common for them to leave a place under the watch of just a few members.

So their appearance could only mean one thing: they were prepared for Cain and Murkrow's arrival.

As if they had stirred up a hornet's nest, a deafening buzzing resounded as more and more Beedrill emerged from the forest.

The sound was like a scream of fury, and the Beedrill, already aggressive by nature, glared with rage at the duo who had wiped out nearly a hundred of their companions and countless Kakuna in just one day. This act, bordering on genocide, had unleashed their full wrath.

Upon seeing the approaching horde of Beedrill, Cain adopted a serious expression. It seemed the Beedrill colony had a formidable leader who even knew how to set traps.

It was like facing a wolf pack; one or two might not be dangerous, but a pack led by an alpha wolf was far more fearsome.

The Beedrill colony was behaving like a wolf pack, with more and more members appearing, gradually forming a circling trap.

They couldn't afford to be surrounded; if they were, they'd be in serious danger. Cain began to quickly think of an escape route.

The system was active, analyzing the situation.

"Craw craw!" Murkrow roared at the Beedrill colony. For him, even if the number of Beedrill doubled, he would still be faster than them. But this would put Cain in danger, so he began to grow impatient, challenging the Beedrill.

Before the Beedrill's encirclement was complete, Cain slowly started retreating with Murkrow.

"Bzzz!" A louder buzz came from the rear of the Beedrill colony.

Suddenly, as if they had received an order, all the Beedrill seemed to go mad. Their red eyes became even more intense, and their wings' buzzing grew louder, like a rising wave.

"Murkrow, use Gust in front to block them. Then quickly use Peck to finish off the Beedrill behind us. We need to retreat now!" Cain gave the order calmly.

Fortunately, the Beedrill's circle wasn't complete; most were in front, while only a few were behind. If they could eliminate the Beedrill behind them before the front ones broke through the wind barrier, they could escape.

In an instant, Murkrow summoned all the Flying-type energy it could and created two massive white whirlwinds that rose between the Beedrill and them, blocking their advance.

Any Beedrill that tried to pass through the whirlwinds was immediately swept up and incapacitated.

Without looking back, Cain pulled a brown cloth from his belt and wrapped it around his head, covering everything except his eyes. He then dashed into the forest's depths.

As for the two Beedrill coming directly at him, Cain ignored them, trusting Murkrow to finish them off after using Gust.

"Bang! Bang!" Just as Cain expected, Murkrow didn't disappoint. With a dark flash, Murkrow used Peck and knocked out the two remaining Beedrill, leaving them unconscious on the ground.

Peck was also a Flying-type move, making it especially effective against Beedrill.

With the Beedrill eliminated, Murkrow flew over Cain, ready to escort him during the escape.

"Buzz! Whoosh! Bang!"

Suddenly, a massive figure emerged from one of the whirlwinds, unfazed by Murkrow's attack. With a roar, a sharp stinger pierced through the tornado, dispersing it. Finally, Cain could see it was a giant Beedrill, at least twice the size of a regular one.

Cain glanced quickly behind him, and his heart skipped a beat. It was the leader of the Beedrill colony, a Pokémon with the potential to become the absolute ruler.

The distance was too great for the system to scan its data, but by its presence, it seemed even more formidable than the Pinsir they had defeated earlier.

However, now wasn't the time to stay and fight. Although the leader Beedrill was a special Pokémon, Cain knew he couldn't stop. He picked up speed, and together with Murkrow, swiftly retreated.

Murkrow launched several more Gust attacks to block the way as they fled until they finally managed to leave the Beedrill colony behind.

After about half an hour, Cain and Murkrow successfully evaded the Beedrill colony entirely.

Deep within the Metapod territory, Cain collapsed, exhausted, against a tree, breathing heavily as he finally took a break.

Fortunately, the nutrition he had been receiving had given him the necessary energy, and along with the breathing techniques he had learned in his previous life, he was able to endure the run.

While catching his breath, Cain reflected on the number of Beedrill he had seen during the escape, feeling a growing headache.

Initially, he had thought the Beedrill colony wasn't fully formed yet, and that even if there were many of them, with the right strategy, they could be eliminated little by little, turning it into the perfect place for Murkrow to train.

But he hadn't expected the colony to quickly develop a leader capable of leading them so skillfully, which now posed a major challenge for Cain.

In a colony, the difference between having a leader or not is immense. A competent leader can unite the group and turn it into a cohesive and lethal force.

The appearance of the leader Beedrill had almost brought Cain and Murkrow's days to an end.

Although the situation was complicated, it would be a shame for Cain and Murkrow to give up now.

During their escape, Cain barely managed to catch a quick glimpse of the leader Beedrill, with no time to scan its data. But it was clear that, to have taken control of the colony so quickly and without dispute, it must have considerable potential and strength.

(End of chapter)