After another hard day of training, evening fell by the time Arthur led Bella and Goldie back to their original nesting ground. They gorged themselves on berries and drifted into a deep, heavy slumber.
Arthur woke up in the middle of the night. He felt a gaze fixed upon him—the kind of intense, heavy stare that prickled at his skin.
He sat up, looked around the dark canopy, and finally cast his eyes toward the base of the tree.
Standing there was a three-meter-tall Poliwrath.
Arthur was momentarily stunned. In the wild, seeing a Poliwrath was incredibly rare; a Poliwhirl requires a Water Stone to evolve, and wild Pokémon don't typically understand evolutionary requirements, let alone go searching for specific stones.
This individual must have had quite an extraordinary journey.
This guy is even stronger than that Arbok.
Arthur could feel it. The pressure he'd felt from the Arbok earlier was largely due to its Intimidate ability—a psychological trick.
But the pressure coming from this Poliwrath was pure, unadulterated strength and a much higher level.
The way it stood there with its arms crossed, radiating a calm, absolute authority, showed it had held its position as "Lord of the Lake" for a very long time.
The Poliwrath looked at Arthur in silence. It didn't make a sound, but after a moment, it turned and walked away into the shadows.
That was our eviction notice.
Arthur understood perfectly. The Poliwrath likely knew from his son, the Poliwag, that Arthur had saved him once.
Because of that debt, the "eviction" was incredibly gentle—almost a polite request to move along now that they had become too powerful for the "nursery."
"Well, we should probably head out at sunrise. It was getting inconvenient living here anyway," Arthur muttered, turning over.
Flying all the way back to this safe zone after a day of fighting in the Arbok's territory was exhausting.
It made much more sense to move directly into the combat zone, claim a few trees, and expand from there.
With their current growth rate, Arthur estimated they'd be strong enough to "circle-kick" the Arbok itself within a week.
At dawn, Arthur woke the rest of the squad.
"We're moving."
"Bzz? (Why?)" Whitey tilted his head, confused. He liked it here; it was safe, and the food was endless. Why trade comfort for the unknown?
"Because... we're going to take over a better place. More delicious berries, better views, and we'll be the ones in charge," Arthur explained simply. You couldn't explain concepts like "strategic depth" or "long-term security" to young Pokémon. You had to speak in terms of food and status.
"Bzz! (Okay! Moving!)" Whitey's eyes lit up.
"Grab the rare berries. Leave the Orans and Leppas; we can find those anywhere," Arthur commanded.
The five Beedrills each clutched a small stash of status-healing fruits and took to the sky. It was a simple migration. They had no heavy luggage, no sentimental attachments—only the drive to find a new home.
As they flew toward the Arbok's territory, the local Pokémon along the route didn't even need to look up.
The distinct, aggressive hum of five pairs of high-speed wings was enough of a warning. They scurried into the shadows to avoid being the next target of the "Beedrill Gang's" training sessions.
"We'll stay here for now," Arthur decided, settling on a territory currently occupied by a Weepinbell.
He chose this spot because the surrounding berry trees were in magnificent condition. The fruit was plump and untouched, suggesting the Weepinbell had been carefully tending to them rather than eating them.
As for what the Weepinbell ate? Well, it certainly wasn't soil. Despite its harmless appearance, a hungry Weepinbell will swallow anything that moves.
Small Pokémon like Rattata or Caterpie often end up in its gullet, dissolved by potent digestive juices.
Under the cold, multi-faceted gaze of five giant Beedrills, the Weepinbell wisely decided to vacate the premises. It had already been beaten by Arthur once before; it had no desire to see what five of them could do.
"Alright! This is our new headquarters!"
Arthur claimed the largest tree as the "Master Suite." They spent the rest of the day organizing: layering soft leaves at the top of the canopy to create "beds," harvesting ripe berries to store in cool, shaded piles, and scratching large X marks into the bark of the surrounding trees to warn intruders.
Finally, it was time for the diplomatic—or rather, the "neighborhood watch"—phase. Arthur made sure to "greet" the neighbors, reminding those he'd already beaten that he was now a permanent resident.
"Whitey, Brownie, I have a special mission for you," Arthur said to his two newest Beedrills.
"While Goldie, Bella, and I are out training, I want you to scout for any of our kind—Weedles or Kakunas.
Bring them back here. We're going to protect them, feed them, and grow our numbers. We aren't just a squad anymore; we're becoming a Swarm."
Arthur's plan was clear:
The Vanguard (Arthur, Goldie, Bella): Continue aggressive combat to reach Level 30 and challenge the Arbok.
The Recruitment (Whitey, Brownie): Build the population and secure the base.