Skorupi licked its two pincers, then poked Weedle's poison sac. It still had no idea what it was, and the expression on its face was rather comical.
Weedle's poison sac was very small. At Skorupi's current size, only the sacs of such small Poison-type Pokémon could be swallowed. Skorupi opened its mouth and gulped it down whole. It could not taste anything in particular, but once it reached its stomach, it felt as a refreshing current spread throughout its entire body, leaving it thoroughly satisfied.
Just as Skorupi was about to finish eating the rest of the Weedle, another Weedle appeared. The moment it saw its companion's corpse, it immediately let out a cry.
Its eyes remained fixed on Skorupi, but Skorupi ignored it completely. All it could see now was delicious food, and it continued enjoying the Weedle on the ground.
The cry from that Weedle had obviously been calling for its companions. Tetsuya no longer feared such wild Pokémon groups. This was also the perfect opportunity to test the power of his [Shadow Contract] while further establishing his "impressive" image in Skorupi's eyes.
Ever since leaving Shadow Island, Tetsuya had mostly trained his psychic powers at night. He had rarely practiced move combinations with Gengar, mainly because everything depended on how well the two of them understood one another.
"There might be a small battle in a moment," Tetsuya said to Gengar through telepathy.
"I've been all around this area. There aren't any powerful opponents nearby," Gengar replied.
Tetsuya nodded and continued watching Skorupi. During the past month, Gengar had gone out four times at night to absorb the vitality of Pokémon, so it had a clear understanding of the level of the Pokémon living nearby. Since Gengar said so, Tetsuya felt even more confident.
Skorupi continued taking large bites out of the Weedle's body. For the newly arrived Weedle, the sight was unbearable. Right in front of it, Skorupi was brazenly eating its companion while completely ignoring its presence!
Weedle charged toward Skorupi with its horn pointed at it.
Skorupi still refused to stop eating, even as Weedle was about to reach it.
"Fight," Tetsuya said. This time, however, he did not specify a move, since it was the same opponent as before.
Skorupi extended its tail and used Poison Tail once again, clashing with Weedle's horn. Although this Weedle was slightly stronger than the previous one, its strength still could not compare to Skorupi's. It was sent flying with a single hit.
This time, Skorupi immediately raised its tail and charged forward. Before Weedle could get back on its feet, Poison Tail had already struck. This time, it pierced the back of Weedle's head, killing it instantly.
Skorupi immediately abandoned the previous Weedle and began eating this one instead.
At that moment, the buzzing of wings echoed through the air, growing closer and closer…
Only after Skorupi swallowed this Weedle's poison sac did it reveal an expression of complete satisfaction.
A swarm of Beedrill had arrived. The dozen or so Beedrill saw the two Weedle lying on the ground, and their naturally hot-tempered tendencies instantly flared into furious rage.
More than a dozen Beedrill unleashed Pin Missile simultaneously. Countless silver needles poured down like a fine rain, completely shrouding the hundred-meter area around Skorupi.
There was no way Skorupi could escape now!
…But Skorupi had no intention of running. Faced with more than a dozen Beedrill, not only was it unafraid, it was actually excited. It immediately fired Poison Sting in resistance.
Having just filled its stomach, Skorupi was full of impulse. It actually managed to withstand the Pin Missiles coming from the front. However, Pin Missile from the left, right, and behind arrived almost simultaneously. That was far beyond what the current Skorupi could withstand.
Just as the Beedrill believed they were about to avenge their companions, the Pin Missile approaching from Skorupi's other three sides suddenly came to a complete stop, unable to move any closer to it.
Tetsuya had already used his psychic powers to control the Pin Missile approaching from Skorupi's other three sides, giving it the opportunity to face the frontal Pin Missile head-on.
As the stalemate continued, Skorupi was ultimately only one Pokémon, while there were five Beedrill attacking from the front. Naturally, it was gradually overwhelmed by the Pin Missile. Its Poison Sting was steadily forced back.
Only then did Skorupi realize how formidable its opponents were. Even so, after charging in so aggressively moments earlier, backing down immediately would have been far too embarrassing…
Skorupi gritted its fangs and stubbornly held on!
In the end, Skorupi could no longer endure it. Its Poison Sting collapsed completely, and the Pin Missile rained straight toward it, about to strike…
The Pin Missile froze in place once again.
Blue light flickered in Tetsuya's eyes as his psychic powers snatched control of the Pin Missile from all of the Beedrill, preventing them from advancing even the slightest bit farther.
By now, Tetsuya's psychic could unleash tremendous power with the support of Gengar. Naturally, this was built upon the understanding between him and Gengar. The stronger the bond created by the [Shadow Contract], the greater the power his psychic abilities could exert.
Tetsuya then directly reflected all of the Pin Missile back. Faced with the sudden change in direction, the Beedrill panicked and hurriedly used Twineedle to defend themselves.
"Shadow Ball."
Tetsuya issued the command mentally. His shadow suddenly stretched outward, and spindle-shaped Shadow Balls shot out one after another from within it. The Beedrill were completely unable to resist. Any that were hit immediately fell to the ground, and five of the more than ten Beedrill were knocked down in an instant.
Watching this, Skorupi was utterly astonished. Tetsuya actually held the power to face an entire Beedrill swarm by himself!
Skorupi had never imagined that the moves Tetsuya used to train it were this powerful. If Tetsuya had trained it using attacks with this level of power, it would probably have disintegrated long ago. Its astonishment soon turned into admiration for Tetsuya.
The remaining Beedrill no longer dared let their guard down. At first, they had thought he was nothing more than an ordinary human Trainer and not worth fearing.
The Beedrill all lowered their twin stingers and dived toward Tetsuya.
Faced with the Beedrill streaking toward him like Draco Meteor, Skorupi covered its eyes, unable to bear watching the tragedy it expected to unfold. Tetsuya, however, remained completely calm.
"Hex."
Two long black shadows suddenly extended from Tetsuya. They swept through the air, sending every charging Beedrill flying away like TRio¹[1]. After a single exchange, the remaining Beedrill all fled in panic.
When Skorupi opened its eyes again, not a single Beedrill was left in sight, while Tetsuya remained completely unharmed.
Skorupi looked at Tetsuya with eyes full of disbelief and admiration. It then jumped excitedly, waving its pincers in celebration of the victory.
"So… are you full now?" Tetsuya asked.
Skorupi nodded with complete satisfaction.
"From now on, Weedle will be your food. But training is even more important. Situations like this are very common in the forest. I'm not a Pokémon, and sooner or later you'll have to face these things on your own. Without enough power, you'll either starve to death in an environment like this or be killed by these wild groups."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Skorupi confidently tapped its two pincers together.
•.
•.
¹. Jessie, James and Meowth.
[1] Jessie, James and Meowth