A burst of fragrance drifted over. It was agreeable, yet also strange…
Weedle was unconsciously drawn by the scent, crawling in the direction from which it came.
Tetsuya also wanted to investigate and followed closely behind Weedle.
As Weedle advanced, the fragrance grew stronger, and many small Pokémon also appeared, moving in the same direction as Weedle.
Sweet Scent!
Tetsuya had already recognized this move. It was generally used by Weepinbell or Victreebel to lure small Pokémon and then prey on them.
As he approached again, it was indeed a Victreebel. The first to approach, a Rattata, was swallowed in one bite by Victreebel.
Victreebel's diet, compared to Weepinbell, was no longer limited to Bug-type Pokémon. They would prey on any creature¹[1] that trespassed into their territory or was deceived by their disguised traps. Moreover, the more they ate, the stronger the fragrance of nectar within their bodies became.
The nectar produced by Pokémon such as Weepinbell, Victreebel, Gloom, and Vileplume was an excellent food for Beedrill. Among them, Victreebel's was the best, because it was produced after consuming Pokémon, making it more nutritious. However, Victreebel's Evolution conditions were harsh, and their numbers in the wild were very small, so nectar usually had to be obtained from Gloom with "special effects".
At this moment, Weedle was still approaching Victreebel.
Tetsuya directly took out a Poké Ball and recalled Weedle. The sweet fragrance had already clouded Weedle's mind, and recalling it into the Poké Ball was the most straightforward method.
As mentioned, Victreebel was rarely seen in the wild. After all, it required a Leaf Stone to evolve, and such a forest would not have many. It seemed he might be able to take the opportunity to catch it.
Tetsuya observed Victreebel's actions.
In more than ten minutes, Victreebel had swallowed five Rattata and five Caterpie. The sweet fragrance had already stopped.
It seemed this Victreebel had just evolved by chance. The digestive fluid in its body would take at least a full day to digest all ten Pokémon.
Greed led to choking. A Victreebel like this only needed to eat one Rattata at a time, and only a small amount of Sweet Scent was needed. If it lured too many Pokémon, it would instead place itself in danger.
After eating, Victreebel's lower body suddenly swelled by a circle. It had to use Vine Whip to support itself on the ground to barely keep from falling over.
The opportunity had come!
Tetsuya threw out Weedle's Poké Ball. "Use Poison Sting on that Victreebel."
Tetsuya gave the command. Weedle, which dared to confront Spearow head-on, showed no fear of Victreebel. A Poison Sting shot straight toward Victreebel.
Now Victreebel could not even move. It could not use Vine Whip, and only shook its leaves, using Razor Leaf.
Victreebel, after all, was already in its fully evolved form. Its power was not something Weedle could match. Razor Leaf directly dispersed the Poison Sting and cut toward Weedle.
"Use String Shot to hang onto the tree and avoid it."
When used flexibly, String Shot could increase battle mobility, making combat more versatile. It could be used flexibly for offense, defense, and evasion.
For Weedle, Tetsuya had not specifically trained how to use String Shot, because after evolving into Beedrill, it would no longer be able to use this move, and with the ability to fly, using String Shot would become somewhat redundant.
It was mainly to be applied to Ariados, which could elevate Ariados's combat power to another level.
Weedle shot out a long thin thread, sticking it to a tree branch. As its body was pulled, Weedle rose into the air, easily avoiding Victreebel's Razor Leaf.
At this moment, Weedle had already appeared at Victreebel's side. Victreebel could only slowly move its body with the help of its Vine Whip.
"Use String Shot again, get behind Victreebel!"
With such slow movement, Victreebel could not keep up with Weedle. Weedle repeated the same trick and had already appeared on a tree behind Victreebel.
"Now, Poison Sting!"
A Poison Sting shot out, and Victreebel had no time to defend.
With a series of impacts, it struck Victreebel's back. Victreebel could only struggle to support its body, not letting itself fall.
If it fell, it would completely become a target for Weedle!
In this way, like teasing a Snubbull, it toyed with Victreebel. After several rounds, Victreebel's front and back were already filled with stings. Fortunately, its leaves on both sides blocked some of the barbs, otherwise the outcome would have been the same.
Victreebel not only suffered heavy damage, but also followed Weedle in circles, already dizzy and disoriented, its body beginning to sway.
At this moment, Weedle happened to appear behind Victreebel.
The opportunity had come!
"Weedle, now! Swing the thread, use the momentum, then bite it off[2]², use Horn Attack."
After such a long period of harassment, it was finally time to launch the final assault.
Weedle swung back and forth under the branch like a pendulum several times. The speed of its body seemed to have reached its limit. At that moment, Weedle bit off the thread in its mouth.
The entire Weedle shot forward like a bullet from a gun!
With a sharp sound, Weedle passed completely through Victreebel's body, leaving two large holes in it.
Victreebel could no longer resist. It rolled on the ground in pain!
Although such damage was not enough to take Victreebel's life, it had already severely injured it.
"Use String Shot to restrain it."
Threads were shot out again. First, Victreebel's leaves on both sides were bound together with its body, and then its Vine Whip was tied to it as well.
At this moment, Victreebel had completely lost its support. Without balance, it could only fall to the ground, enduring the pain in its body while struggling against Weedle's threads.
After eating Oddish for several days, Weedle's threads were now extremely tough, and it was impossible to break free in a short time.
"Weedle, give it the final Bug Bite.
…Be careful not to bite through the threads!"
Bug Bite was the only Bug-type attacking move that Weedle could learn, and it was most effective against the Grass-type Victreebel.
After Tetsuya gave the command, Weedle quickly wriggled its body and began approaching Victreebel.
Victreebel's eyes were wide open and bloodshot, as if they were about to pop out. In the past, Pokémon like Weedle would only become its food, but now, seeing the same kind of creature, it felt an unprecedented fear…
Weedle climbed onto Victreebel's body and began biting from the leaves on its head.
Tetsuya took out a Poké Ball. As long as Weedle bit Victreebel once over its body, it should be possible to catch it.
However, the scene before him made him utterly dumbfounded…
Weedle was not biting Victreebel at all. It completely treated Victreebel as its food!
Accompanied by Victreebel's sharp wail, Weedle had already eaten all the leaves on its head and its vines.
In the blink of an eye, Victreebel no longer made any sound. Weedle had already eaten more than half of Victreebel's body…
Tetsuya was completely stunned.
Was this a glutton or a killer?
The entire Victreebel was eaten clean by Weedle, and all the nectar flowing from its body was sucked dry.
The once ferocious Victreebel was now reduced to only the skeleton of the Rattata it had just swallowed!
[Note: Yo! At first I was a bit worried about how people would take the "bloody" scenes, like when a Pokémon kills or feeds on another (cause, you know… "childhood memories" and all that).
…But then I checked Bulbapedia and realized some of the entries are even worse!
And on top of that, the manga is the same! Well, kind of.]
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¹. Victreebel Bulbapedia: It also produces a sweet scent of nectar or honey to further aid in luring its victims. Acid that has dissolved numerous prey becomes sweeter and even more effective at attracting prey.
². The thread.
[1] Bulbapedia: It also produces a sweet scent of nectar or honey to further aid in luring its victims. Acid that has dissolved numerous prey becomes sweeter and even more effective at attracting prey.
[2] the thread.