Chapter 36: Star Up! The 4-Star Beedrill!
Guided by his Beedrill's senses, Kenji trekked through the forest for another hour and a half. Finally, Beedrill stopped abruptly and turned back to him, letting out a series of sharp buzzes.
Kenji's eyes lit up. "Did you find them?"
Beedrill nodded.
Following its directions, Kenji peeked out from behind a large tree. In a small clearing ahead, several large trees stood clustered together. Perched on their branches were several wild Beedrill, and hanging from the branches like grotesque fruit were dozens upon dozens of Kakuna—easily numbering in the double digits. A few more Beedrill patrolled the ground around the trees, acting as sentries.
Kenji stayed hidden, mentally counting the swarm. His excitement grew. This colony was relatively small, consisting of only thirty-one Beedrill in total. In the hierarchy of Beedrill swarms, this barely qualified as a minor hive; even small swarms usually numbered fifty or more.
He had actually encountered two other Beedrill swarms earlier on his journey. One had numbered sixty or seventy, and the other, even more terrifyingly, had well over a hundred. Kenji wouldn't have dared to provoke swarms of that size.
But this? This was manageable. He carefully pulled Gyarados's Poké Ball from his belt. Whether this was the entire swarm or just the ones left behind while the others were out foraging, it didn't matter. This was the perfect opportunity. Thirty-one Beedrill... he was confident he could handle that.
Checking his surroundings one last time to ensure it was safe, Kenji stepped out from behind the tree and walked toward the Beedrill nesting ground.
The moment he broke cover, his conspicuous figure was instantly spotted by the patrolling Beedrill's sharp, crimson eyes.
"BZZZZZZ—"
Wild Beedrill are notoriously aggressive. Without any warning or threat display, the patrolling guards shot straight toward him, their lances poised to strike.
The incessant, angry buzzing grated on Kenji's nerves. He stopped advancing and slowly raised the Poké Ball in his hand.
"Go, Gyarados!"
He pressed the button, and a beam of red light shot out, materializing on the ground right in front of him just as the Beedrill arrived. The attackers came face-to-face with the newly summoned behemoth.
"ROAR!"
The instant Gyarados appeared, it threw its head back and let out a deafening roar. Its ferocious eyes swept over the small group of Beedrill. Under the crushing dual pressure of Intimidate and Pressure, the attackers froze mid-air, momentarily forgetting their attack!
"Gyarados! Aqua Tail!"
Kenji wasn't about to play fair with a swarm of angry hornets. He gave the command immediately. Gyarados responded instantly, its massive, water-formed tail whipping through the air.
"Bzzzt!—"
THWACK!
Caught completely off guard, the Beedrill were swatted out of the sky like flies, slamming into nearby trees and the ground. The single blow was enough to knock them all out instantly. Their levels were only around 13 or 14; wild Pokémon like these stood no chance against his Gyarados.
"Twister!" Kenji commanded, pointing toward the trees laden with Kakuna.
Gyarados whipped its tail again, conjuring a swirling vortex of wind. With another powerful flick, it sent the miniature tornado hurtling toward the nesting trees.
Seeing the attack aimed at their vulnerable young, the remaining Beedrill on the trees buzzed furiously. Ignoring the terrifying presence of the Gyarados, they dove recklessly toward the Twister, attempting to intercept it.
At the cost of one more fainted Beedrill and injuries to two others, they managed to dissipate the tornado before it reached the nests.
Now fully alerted to the invasion, the rest of the swarm descended from the trees. Their instinct to protect their territory momentarily overcame their fear of Gyarados, and they surged forward as one. Some targeted the massive Gyarados, while others, perhaps smarter, bee-lined straight for Kenji.
Gyarados roared again, its overwhelming aura momentarily stunning the attackers. It swung its Aqua Tail repeatedly, each sweep sending several Beedrill crashing to the ground. But there were too many of them, and Gyarados couldn't block them all.
Several Beedrill slipped past its defenses and charged Kenji.
But Kenji stood his ground, unafraid.
Just as the attackers closed in, a yellow streak erupted from behind him. Moving with blinding speed, Kenji's own Beedrill executed a flawless Aerial Ace, its lance-like stingers flashing. With each precise strike, it cleanly severed a wing from one of the attackers.
Amidst the pained cries of the wild Beedrill, Kenji's partner dispatched all the threats in a matter of seconds.
Kenji didn't stand idle either. He pulled out a stack of empty Poké Balls from his backpack and started tossing them at the fainted Beedrill.
With Gyarados providing crowd control and his Beedrill acting as bodyguard and precision striker, the entire swarm of over thirty Beedrill was subdued in just a few minutes.
Kenji carefully counted as he captured them, stopping once he had secured exactly eighteen. He quickly gathered the Poké Balls, recalled Gyarados, and retreated to a safe distance before the remaining conscious Beedrill could regroup.
Finding a quiet clearing, Kenji stopped and took out the eighteen Poké Balls containing the wild Beedrill. It was time for the familiar fusion process.
One set... two sets...
Within minutes, he had synthesized two 3-Star Beedrill.
[Ding! Please select one Beedrill as the main body...]
Kenji barely listened to the prompt, already selecting his own Beedrill as the base. He initiated the final fusion.
A brilliant light erupted from his partner as the other two 3-Star Beedrill dissolved into energy and flowed into it.