Early morning at the base.
Yellowie! Don't be late coming home today, okay?" Liz stood at the base of the tree, waving enthusiastically at the departing Beedrill.
Arthur didn't even look back. The name Yellowie that Liz had given him based on his color was physically painful to hear. It sounded more like a golden retriever's name than a swarm leader's. He signaled Bella and Goldie to keep moving.
"Radda! Radda!"
Just as they were heading out to finally settle the score with the Arbok, three Pokémon scurried out of the thicket. It was a large Raticate followed by two smaller Rattata "wives."
Arthur paused, wondering if he hadn't been acting like enough of a menace lately. Do these trash-tier mobs really think they can challenge me?
"You want to take my throne? You'd better bring about ten thousand more of your cousins," Arthur buzzed, though his human aesthetic made him a bit "face-blind" toward rodents. He couldn't remember if he'd already beaten this specific Raticate or not.
"Radda! (Boss, it's a misunderstanding!)" The Raticate squeaked, bowing its head low.
"Bzz? (Arthur, this guy is a regular. He lives right on the edge of our border,)" Goldie clarified.
Arthur realized what was going on. This Raticate was a "squatter." After being beaten a few times, it had realized that living near the Beedrill swarm was the safest place in the forest.
No one dared hunt near Arthur's territory, so the clever rat had stayed, thrived, and even started a family under the swarm's shadow.
"Then what are you doing here? Looking for a morning bruise?" Arthur asked.
"Radda! (A big one! A huge one is coming this way!)" The Raticate pointed a frantic paw deeper into the woods.
Arthur looked up. Through the dense foliage, a massive Heracross was lumbering toward them.
This thing was a giant, standing at least 3.5 meters tall. A standard Heracross topped out at 1.5 meters. This wasn't just a high level; it was a freak of nature, a biological outlier. Arthur recognized it—this was one of the undisputed heavyweights from the heart of the forest.
Heracross usually wandered in search of sweet sap and honey. It likely smelled the concentrated bounty of berries Arthur had stockpiled.
"Change of plans," Arthur clicked his stingers. "The Arbok can wait. I want to see what this big guy is made of."
In this forest, Arthur was the bully. He fought to grow. Smart Pokémon like the Raticate learned that Arthur beat them but didn't eat them, so they stayed. Stupid ones ran away into the jaws of real predators.
"Hera?" The Heracross stopped, tilting its massive horn curiously as Arthur blocked its path. It didn't seem interested in a fight; it tried to sidestep Arthur to get to the "smell."
"You two stay back. This is 1v1," Arthur commanded Goldie and Bella.
He was Level 27, and this Heracross was easily Level 30+. However, Arthur knew his type matchups. He was Bug/Poison.
Heracross was Bug/Fighting. Against Arthur, Heracross's Fighting moves would deal only 1/4 damage, and its Bug moves only 1/2. Meanwhile, Arthur's Poison moves would hit for full neutral damage.
[Laser Focus]
[Focus Energy]
[Harden]
While the wild Heracross was still wondering why the "little" bee was hovering there, Arthur was stacking buffs like a pro. Wild Pokémon fought on instinct; Arthur fought like a competitive player.
Pfft! [String Shot]
Arthur spat a thick spray of silk, anchoring the giant beetle's feet to the forest floor.
"Hera?!" The Heracross finally realized this was a challenge.
Piu! Piu! [Poison Sting]
As the needles pricked its hide, the giant beetle's eyes turned sharp. It let out a roar and charged, its massive horn lowered like a battering ram. But the sticky silk at its feet slowed its momentum significantly. Arthur flapped his wings and spiraled into the air, dodging with ease.
"The big bug can fly too?!" Liz cried from the sidelines, her eyes wide. She had never seen an insect this large, let alone one that could contest a "monster" like Arthur.
[Assurance]
Arthur dove. Since the Heracross had already taken "damage" from the silk and stings this turn, Assurance doubled in power. He drove his twin white needles toward the Heracross's soft underbelly—its weakest point.
Kacha!
"HERA!!"
A critical hit! The Heracross's abdomen was its Achilles' heel. But the giant wasn't done. Despite the pain, it reached out with surprisingly fast claws and grabbed Arthur's arm-stingers, pinning him.
[Venoshock]
Point-blank. Arthur exhaled a blast of toxic liquid directly into the Heracross's face.
But the Heracross's counter-attack was devastating. It didn't let go. Instead, it tucked Arthur against its chest and began to spin violently, plummeting toward the earth.
Seismic Toss?! One of its parents must have been an Illumise!
BOOM!!!
The impact cratered the ground. Arthur's world turned white. The sheer physical force of a 3.5-meter giant slamming him into the dirt nearly cracked his thorax.
The Heracross scrambled up, raising a glowing hand to deliver a finishing blow. Brick Break!
[Fury Attack]
Arthur couldn't dodge. He lashed out with everything he had—twin arms and his tail-stinger—stabbing upward in a desperate flurry.
Whack! The Brick Break connected with Arthur's head, sending his vision into a swirl of stars. He slumped, his eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness.
But at the same moment, the poison and the flurry of stabs took their toll. The Heracross's eyes turned into dizzy spirals, and the giant toppled over backward, unconscious.