Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

With just this green-quality Pokémon egg, Cain could already consider the operation a complete success.

As for the other two yellow-quality Pokémon eggs, if he could take them, Cain would gladly do so, as the parents of these eggs were also quite talented. Although they were relatively weaker compared to the green-quality egg, they were still valuable and rare.

Even though both were yellow-quality, there was a significant difference between those whose parents were yellow-quality and those whose parents were green-quality.

But since he couldn't take the other two, it was no longer necessary. The value of a yellow-quality Pokémon didn't compare to that of a green-quality one; the difference was almost exponential.

With Murkrow's help, Cain packed the Pokémon egg and returned to the surface. Taking advantage of the fact that the Beedrill swarm hadn't returned yet, Cain left the dangerous area.

Unlike the path he took to enter, Cain and Murkrow walked in the opposite direction from the center of the forest to avoid crossing paths with the returning Beedrill.

Just as Cain was leaving the Beedrill nest with the Pokémon egg, the swarm's leader, who was far away, suddenly felt a pang in her heart, as if she had lost something very important. She immediately thought of the three Pokémon eggs she had left in the nest and was alarmed.

"Bzzz! Bzzz!" As if she had gone mad, the Beedrill leader began screaming frantically, scaring the other Beedrill around her, who didn't dare to breathe. Without hesitation, she flew rapidly toward the nest, the first to leave.

By that time, Cain had already fully exited Beedrill territory and had successfully avoided the frantic group of Beedrill flying back to the nest. He now found himself back in Metapod territory.

The original plan was to avoid all the Beedrill and then destroy their nest. That way, the Beedrill, suddenly homeless, would surely search for the enemy frantically and be preoccupied with rebuilding their nest, allowing Cain and Murkrow to seize the opportunity without falling into another Beedrill ambush.

In fact, if they played it right, they might encounter a reduced number of Beedrill each time and gradually wipe out the entire swarm.

However, he hadn't expected to find a green-quality Pokémon egg in the Beedrill nest. Changing the plan for this was perfectly acceptable.

But what Cain didn't know was that stealing that Pokémon egg would have far more severe consequences than merely destroying the Beedrill nest.

The Beedrill leader flew back to the nest at top speed, leaving behind the other Beedrill who couldn't keep up. When she saw that only two of the three Pokémon eggs remained, a wave of fury overtook her, and madness reflected in her eyes, which were already red by nature. Her murderous intent enveloped her entire body.

The Beedrill that arrived after her, upon seeing that one of their leader's eggs had been stolen, also went insane.

To the entire colony, the leader was everything; her high quality elevated the whole colony. But now, someone had stolen the leader's highest-quality offspring, which meant the hope of the entire colony had been taken away.

"Bzzz! Bzzz!" The entire forest was filled with enraged, out-of-control Beedrill.

Suddenly, an image appeared in the Beedrill leader's mind: that small black Pokémon and the human who accompanied it. Perhaps due to the connection between parent and child, the Beedrill leader sensed that her child had been taken by that human and his Pokémon.

Full of rage, the Beedrill leader let out a loud cry. Upon hearing it, all the Beedrill raised their heads and looked at her, like soldiers awaiting orders from their supreme king.

The two pairs of wings on her back vibrated frantically, making her figure blur. The Beedrill leader flew out of the nest, following the scent of the Pokémon egg in the air. All the Beedrill followed her.

With the entire Beedrill colony mobilized, the whole forest began to stir. All the Pokémon that saw the Beedrill pass by quickly moved aside. Any Pokémon with even a little awareness could feel the tension in the air, and upon seeing them, immediately backed away.

Following Cain's escape route, the Beedrill approached the Metapod territory, finally stopping at its edge.

In the entire forest, the Pokémon the Beedrill hated the most were Butterfree, and their biggest rivals were also Butterfree. However, since Butterfree were peaceful and didn't usually initiate conflicts, and the Beedrill didn't want to provoke an enemy with the same reproductive capacity, both groups had lived in relative peace.

But as the furious Beedrill flew into Butterfree territory, the Butterfree, sensing the threat, quickly gathered as well. On the border between the two territories, the two colonies finally faced each other for the first time.

"Bzzz! Bzzz!" Sensing the scent of her child's egg in the air, the Beedrill leader completely ignored the presence of the Butterfree. The smell of the egg clearly came from enemy territory.

"Fwee fwee... fwee fwee..." The Butterfree leader flew out to confront the Beedrill, issuing warnings.

Paying no attention to the Butterfree leader's words, the Beedrill leader let out a cry and charged into Butterfree territory.

The Butterfree leader tried to stop her, but two Beedrill blocked him. Without proper preparation, the Butterfree colony wasn't fully assembled, and their numbers were much smaller than the Beedrill's.

Moreover, the Beedrill were full of fury, fighting with all their might. Though the Butterfree tried their best to stop them, about ten Beedrill managed to break through the defenses. Of course, the first to break through was the Beedrill leader.

"Fwee fwee!" The Butterfree leader screamed in desperation, but he couldn't immediately defeat the two Beedrill holding him back and could only watch helplessly as the Beedrill leader rushed deeper into his territory.

Meanwhile, Cain and Murkrow were resting at their camp. The Beedrill leader's egg was wrapped in a pile of leaves and lay on the ground, while Murkrow enjoyed his favorite Pokéblock.

Cain, with his hands behind his head, had no idea that his actions had triggered a war between two great colonies.

Having reached the level of a quasi-elite trainer in his past life and gained some status in Team Rocket, he no longer needed to capture Pokémon personally to trade for resources, which had led him to forget that Pokémon eggs shared a special connection with their parents.

By not blocking the egg's scent in time, he had only wrapped it in leaves to hide its trail.

"Caw!" Murkrow, having stopped eating, raised his head, sensing danger approaching with his sharp instincts.

Cain slowly sat up, looking curiously at Murkrow and asked, "What is it, Murkrow?"

Just after asking, Cain faintly heard the buzzing of bees in the distance. His face changed, and he stared toward the north.

A yellow figure gradually appeared on the horizon, followed by smaller but similar ones.

"Beedrill," Cain said, recognizing the familiar silhouettes of the Pokémon he'd been dealing with in recent days. "I can't believe they followed us here. It seems we really hit a nerve."

Cain couldn't help but smile when he saw the Beedrill leader. Murkrow, on the other hand, was excited, having always wanted to fight him but never getting the chance. He completely ignored the other Beedrill accompanying their leader.

Cain suddenly grinned. It seemed the Beedrill colony had paid a heavy price to reach them. However, if it was only a few Beedrill, Cain and Murkrow had nothing to worry about.

The Beedrill leader, suddenly losing the egg's trail, immediately spotted the two familiar figures. At that moment, all her suspicions were confirmed, and enraged, she charged toward them without hesitation.

"Murkrow, get ready to fight," Cain said softly, watching the approaching figures.

"Caw!" Murkrow, having just finished eating, let out a cry and soared rapidly into the sky.

"Use Tailwind right away, and when you reach them, use Whirlwind to stop the Beedrill leader while taking out the wounded Beedrill with Astonish and Peck. After that, you'll finally get your long-awaited fight with the Beedrill leader."

In the next instant, a gust of wind surrounded Murkrow, transforming him into a black shadow as the Flying-type moves increased his speed. Without hesitation, he unleashed a Whirlwind, forming a wall of wind that blocked the Beedrill leader's advance.

The black shadow of Murkrow flickered repeatedly, his speed enhanced by training his wings. With a series of pecking attacks, he took down several wounded Beedrill, leaving them out of commission.

The Beedrill leader broke through the Whirlwind barrier, but six Beedrill in good condition remained, attacking Murkrow with Fury Attack. Though Murkrow dodged skillfully, he was hit by two Beedrill in a moment of weakness.

The battle began to intensify, and Cain finally had a chance to scan the Beedrill leader.

Pokémon: Beedrill (Leader) (Light Green)

Gender: Female

Level: 17

Type: Bug/Poison

Ability: Swarm

Held Item: Leadership (can improve a Pokémon's talent by one rank lower)

Egg Moves: Bug Bite, Pin Missile

Basic Moves: Fury Attack, Rage, Fury, Pursuit

Learned Moves: Drill Run, Agility

TM Moves: None

"Leadership" is an ability possessed only by leader Pokémon. It can improve the talent of a Pokémon and gain the loyalty of others of its species.

(End of Chapter)