Heracross vibrated its wings and flew over, looking at Wimpod with a face full of curiosity. Wimpod, however, stared at the Heracross in front of it and immediately scuttled behind Eichi's heel. It was terrified. Who is this?
The reaction was the same when Beedrill and Scizor approached. Wimpod stayed hidden behind him, peeking out timidly at Beedrill, Scizor, and Heracross.
Eichi smiled and introduced them to Wimpod. "Don't be afraid, Wimpod. These three are your older brothers and sister. They aren't bad people."
"Beedrill, Scizor, Heracross, come say hello. This is Wimpod," he added.
The three were extremely curious about Wimpod. Its body shape didn't resemble any Pokémon from the Johto or Kanto regions at all. Furthermore, looking at its behavior just now, it truly lived up to its name—it was quite cowardly.
As the eldest, Beedrill was the first to give Wimpod a friendly greeting. Scizor followed, and then Heracross. Even after learning that the three Pokémon weren't villains, Wimpod remained behind Eichi's heel, unwilling to come out. It was exceptionally timid.
Eichi picked it up with both hands and began to observe it closely. Looking at the red parts of Wimpod's body, he couldn't help but marvel at his luck. This Wimpod was actually a Shiny Pokémon; its colors were different from other Wimpod.
Shiny Pokémon were incredibly precious. Although a Shiny Pokémon only differed from others in color while everything else remained normal, their numbers were miserably low. Some merchants would even pay exorbitant prices to collect these alternate-colored Pokémon.
In truth, it was lucky that this Shiny Wimpod ended up in his hands. Had it been born in a Wimpod colony, it might have been driven away. Given its cowardly nature, one could imagine how difficult its life would be if it were exiled. Fortunately, it had now become his Pokémon.
In Eichi's hands, Wimpod didn't feel quite so afraid anymore. At that moment, Eichi activated his Eye of the Bug Emperor to check Wimpod's talent grade.
A cyan light covered his eyes. As he peered through Wimpod's body, what he saw made his heart skip a beat.
Inside, energy was sparse, flowing slowly and steadily according to a specific rhythm. That wasn't the important part, though. What mattered was a flame within. Unlike other Pokémon, Wimpod's talent flame was golden.
That's right, Eichi hadn't seen it wrong. It was a golden flame, roughly the size of a glass marble.
What is going on?
It had been a long time since Eichi had been this shocked. This time, he was truly stunned.
Eichi fell into deep thought. Suddenly, he remembered something he had almost forgotten. Back when he had first awakened his Bug Force, he had constantly observed other people's Pokémon, including Amelie's Dragonite.
When he looked back then, although the talent flames of the Dragonite were cyan, he had noticed a tiny bit of gold in the center of the cyan light. At the time, he thought he had seen it wrong and didn't pay much attention. Looking at it now, a golden talent flame should be even stronger than a cyan one.
While he didn't know why the flame inside Wimpod was so small, he could make a bold guess. Dragonite's talent was Outstanding, and it already possessed a hint of gold. From this, he could infer that a golden talent flame represented Champion talent.
Furthermore, he suspected that even after breaking through to Champion talent, there were levels of strength. This was a new beginning. His Wimpod currently had the lowest grade within the Champion tier.
However, even the "worst" Champion talent was still Champion talent. He knew just how rare such a grade was. Throughout the entire history of Pokémon, excluding Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, the number of Pokémon with Champion talent was even smaller than the number of Legendary Pokémon.
One could imagine how rare a Champion talent Pokémon was. Now that he had this Wimpod, it would become one of his strongest combat assets in the future.
Realizing that Wimpod probably hadn't eaten since birth, he set it down and pulled a bottle of Moomoo Milk from his backpack. He poured it into a small bowl and placed it in front of the Pokémon. "Wimpod, you must be hungry."
"This Moomoo Milk is very delicious," Eichi said.
Hearing this, Wimpod cautiously approached and sniffed it. It smelled sweet. It took a sip, and its eyes immediately lit up. Mm, this is delicious! Since it was indeed hungry, Wimpod began to gulp it down.
It finished the Moomoo Milk quickly and then let out a happy cry toward Eichi. It hadn't had enough yet and wanted more, so Eichi poured it another bottle.
Wimpod drank happily. Once it was full, it began to feel drowsy and fell asleep right there on the ground. Eichi chuckled and took a Net Ball from his backpack. This ball was perfect for Water and Bug-type Pokémon, making it the most suitable choice for Wimpod.
He tapped the button against Wimpod, and the Pokémon turned into a red light as it was drawn into the ball.
Ding-dong... ding-dong... ding-dong...
The Poké Ball shook three times.
Click.
The ball stopped moving. Wimpod was officially caught.
Eichi picked up the Poké Ball and clipped it to his belt. He was now a trainer with four Pokémon. He picked up the incubation pod and put it back in his pack; he would return it to the incubation room tomorrow when he had time.
"Time to go home and eat!" Eichi said as he recalled the other three.
That evening, after finishing his training, Eichi returned to his dormitory. He took a shower and then moved into the bedroom, bringing out a small nest he had prepared for Wimpod in advance.
He released Wimpod, and it immediately flopped onto the ground. It had woken up by then and was hungry again after sleeping so long, so Eichi gave it a little more Moomoo Milk. Wimpod soon fell back into a deep slumber, finding a comfortable position to curl up in its nest.
Beedrill, Scizor, and Heracross watched Wimpod sleep before settling onto their own beds. Eichi lay in bed and began releasing his Bug Force.
Four ribbons of cyan-green energy were released from his body, while green energy particles from the air were continuously absorbed into him. This intake and output reached a balance. In Eichi's perception, he was still absorbing slightly more energy than he was releasing. He wouldn't lose out.
The four energy ribbons slowly infused into the bodies of the four Pokémon. In its dreams, Wimpod felt a warm sensation all over its body. It was very comfortable.