After packing up their first batch of spoils, Icarus and Bellsprout quickly continued exploring the surrounding area.
"Bellsprout, three Weedle."
Icarus lowered his binoculars and spoke excitedly to the Pokémon standing guard nearby.
"Spri spri ω."
Bellsprout naturally knew that Weedle were worth more than Caterpie. As for their strength? After just defeating four Caterpie, including two experienced ones, it was brimming with confidence.
Now, they were simply rations.
"Spri."
Without needing to be told, Bellsprout activated Growth, waiting for instructions.
Icarus nodded in satisfaction.
"You're becoming a qualified hunter. Same plan—I'll draw one with my throwing knife. You eliminate the other two as fast as possible."
This wasn't practice. It was life and death.
"Whoosh!"
Three throwing knives shot toward the three Weedle. Before even confirming the results, Icarus deliberately ran into their line of sight.
Drawing aggro and playing support—he considered himself a professional.
"Ah!"
One Weedle reacted too slowly and was pierced by a knife. The other two countered with consecutive Poison Sting attacks.
"Ding! Ding! Ding!"
Two Poison Stings shot toward Icarus.
"I'll dodge. Easy."
After years of physical training, scattered projectiles like these were manageable.
Meanwhile—
"Spri!"
Bellsprout's Thorn Whip lashed out from the side.
"Crack! Crack!"
The wooden thorns tore into both Weedle.
"Ahh!"
One of them was struck so hard that blood splattered, its yellow body trembling violently.
"Good! Keep going!"
While Icarus issued commands, he noticed the Weedle pierced by his knife slowly trying to retreat into the bushes.
Seeing Icarus notice it, the injured Weedle panicked and tried to flee.
Unfortunately, the knife embedded in its body had been coated with paralysis powder. The numbing effect had already begun.
"Your companions are still here. How can you run? And you want to steal my knife too?"
"Whoosh!"
Another throwing knife flew.
The desperate Weedle barely fired a Poison Sting, knocking one knife aside—
—but two more blades pierced into it.
It let out a painful cry.
"Bellsprout, come absorb."
Having already finished the other two, Bellsprout rushed over and bound the injured Weedle with its vines.
"Spri~(￣▽￣"
Energy flowed visibly through the vines into its body. The draining cries of the Weedle gradually weakened.
Once no more energy could be drawn—
"Crack!"
A final Thorn Whip strike ended its suffering.
"Stay alert. I'll process them."
Icarus pulled out his dagger to begin cleaning the spoils.
---
Suddenly—
"Shua!"
A purple blur burst from the grass, grabbed the Weedle corpse with the embedded knife in its teeth, and attempted to retreat.
"What?!"
Reacting instantly, Icarus hurled another knife.
The thief miscalculated. Because three knives were still embedded in the stolen corpse, its speed was reduced significantly.
"Bang!"
The purple figure tossed the body forward, blocking the incoming blade, then landed in a defensive stance while slowly backing away.
Only then did Icarus see clearly.
"A Rattata."
This kind of speed-based Pokémon was troublesome. Outside of ambushes, they were difficult to pin down.
However, that sudden burst earlier was clearly Quick Attack. It couldn't be used repeatedly in a short period.
In other words—
Free prey.
"Spri! (◣д◢)"
Bellsprout rushed to Icarus's side, furious. Their loot had nearly been stolen—and by the same species that had injured Icarus before.
"Thorn Whip. Don't let it go."
"Whoosh!"
Two thick vines lashed toward the Rattata.
"Pa! Pa!"
The Rattata dodged nimbly, leaving only deep welts carved into the ground.
Its eyes revealed hesitation.
It had witnessed the previous battle. Though the vine speed was manageable, being struck by the wooden thorns would severely hinder its mobility.
That was why it had chosen theft over direct confrontation.
"Ratta!"
It screeched threateningly before retreating deeper into the forest.
"Spri! (◣д◢)"
Bellsprout wanted to chase, but Icarus stopped it.
"Forget it. It's too fast. We'll diversify our moves in the future and get revenge then."
"Spri spri!"
It nodded fiercely.
As Icarus resumed processing the corpses, several Pokémon silhouettes flashed through his mind.
Maybe it was time to finalize the candidate for his second Pokémon.
Even if Bellsprout eventually learned status powders for control, speed-focused Pokémon would always have escape opportunities without an initial ambush.
This hunt wasn't just for money. He was also observing whether he might encounter a suitable capture target.
If not, he would have to buy an egg from the Pokémon House and raise it from scratch.
But thinking of his minimum aptitude requirements—and the corresponding prices—
Icarus twitched slightly.
His wallet had never truly been full.
(End of Chapter 29)
---------------Author---------------
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