Chapter 32: The King's Crucible

Chapter 32: The King's Crucible

Time crawled by, minute by agonizing minute. The battle in the chamber grew fiercer, and the number of Bug-type Pokémon rapidly decreased. Some collapsed from their injuries, while others simply lost the strength to fight. The moment they showed weakness, they were devoured by their own kind, their bodies becoming nourishment amongst who survived.

Amidst the slaughter, Weedle's own body was covered in wounds. It had just finished gnawing on a Venonat when it set its sights on a Butterfree that was fluttering through the air, incapacitating others with its Sleep Powder.

A volley of Poison Stings shot from Weedle's horn. The Butterfree flapped its wings, creating a Gust to deflect the needles while it dodged. Its graceful movements seemed to taunt the flightless Weedle.

Weedle let out a hiss, coiled its body, and then sprang into the air like an arrow, its horn flashing like a cold, sharp blade. It drew a perfect arc, accurately piercing the Butterfree's soft abdomen.

Bug fluid splattered. With a painful cry, the Butterfree's wings lost their strength, and it plummeted from the sky. As Weedle, its eyes glowing red, crawled towards its fallen prey, Giovanni suddenly shouted.

"Weedle, be careful!"

Dr. Ryoki, standing beside him, said with a hint of pity, "This room is soundproofed. It can't hear you. We didn't originally include Kakuna in the trial, but a few of them evolved in the past few days. I didn't expect them to shed their shells so quickly."

Inside the chamber, a Beedrill that had just emerged from its chrysalis was bearing down on Weedle, its two large, white stingers poised like lances. It was attacking from Weedle's blind spot. It was a fatal blow.

Giovanni's eyes were bloodshot with anxiety. He screamed in his mind, pouring all his focus, all his will, through their bond.

Whether it was an accident or if his mental cry had truly reached it, Weedle, which had been crawling towards the Butterfree, suddenly flipped over, dodging the Beedrill's attack by a hair's breadth. Though its body was scraped by the stingers, the blow was not fatal. It immediately counter-attacked.

A stream of Poison Stings flew out. The Beedrill, though malnourished from its recent evolution, swung its long stingers in a wild Flail, deflecting the needles. It then vibrated its wings and charged. Weedle tried to block with String Shot, but the thin silk was useless against the sharp lances, which cut through it effortlessly. A newly-hatched Pokémon fighting a fully-evolved one was still too great a challenge.

At this point, nearly all one hundred Bug-types were dead. The two strongest combatants remained.

"It seems this trial was a failure," Dr. Ryoki said, already resigned.

Giovanni didn't answer him. He just clenched his fists, his gaze locked on the battle inside.

Pfft!

The stinger on the Beedrill's tail pierced Weedle's body. A shrill scream of pain tore from Weedle as it was lifted off the ground. The Beedrill seemed to be showing off, spinning it in mid-air, toying with its prey. Weedle went limp, seemingly exhausted.

Giovanni's eyes were burning, staring so intensely at the Beedrill that he thought they might bleed. He found it— an opening! "Its abdomen!" he roared, uselessly, his own power surging with his desperation. "It must have been damaged during its forced evolution! Attack there!"

"I told you, it's useless," Dr. Ryoki reminded him again.

"No," Giovanni gritted out, his voice a low growl. "It can do it."

Suddenly, the seemingly dying Weedle moved. It lunged, sinking its sharp horn into the weak spot on the Beedrill's abdomen— again and again. The Beedrill let out a pained hiss as Weedle tore its stomach open. Its body became unstable, and it thrashed its tail wildly, trying to shake Weedle off. But Weedle was like a tenacious burr, clinging tightly with its prolegs, attacking with all its might.

The Beedrill could no longer hold on. It fell to the ground, its stingers still swinging as it fought. Green fluid splattered everywhere as the two Pokémon rolled and struggled, pouring every last ounce of their strength into killing each other. Sharp hisses echoed inside the chamber, until finally, they both stopped moving.

With their battle over, nothing in the room moved— all of them seemed to be dead.

"It failed," Dr. Ryoki said, patting Giovanni's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll take responsibility with the Boss. It's just a shame we brought the healing machine over for nothing."

"Open the door," Giovanni said, his voice hollow.

"They're both dead, why bother?" the doctor tried to dissuade him. "The inside is full of venom. When I cultivate a true Bug King, I'll give you the first one."

"I said," Giovanni repeated, his voice dangerously low, "open the door."

Seeing his stubbornness, Dr. Ryoki could only wave at Kawatada. "Open it."

Kawatada handed Giovanni a pair of gloves and a gas mask. Giovanni took them and walked straight in, his boots squelching in the sticky fluid on the floor. He went directly to where his partner had fallen. He pushed the Beedrill's corpse aside. Underneath it was Weedle, its body covered in hideous, penetrating wounds. It was lifeless.

He hurriedly placed his hand on it, not caring about the residual venom, and poured all of his power of Viridian into its broken body.

Sizzle.

The venom on Weedle's skin began to corrode his gloved hand. His face distorted in pain, but he pushed more of his life force into his partner, his own face growing pale. "Wake up!" he roared. "I didn't say you could die!"

A faint green light filled Weedle's body, awakening the last spark of vitality within it. Its eyes snapped open—blood-red, full of savagery and killing intent. It lunged, sinking its mandibles into Giovanni's arm.

Blood flowed down his arm and into its mouth. Giovanni didn't flinch. He just stroked its back, his voice gentle. "I'm sorry. It was my arrogance that led you to take such risks, to endure so much."

The pressure in Weedle's mouth gradually lessened. The blood-red in its eyes slowly receded. It let out a low hum. "Wee..."

From the doorway, Dr. Ryoki shouted in disbelief. "It's... it's really alive?!"

Unlike the doctor, Kawatada's eyes shimmered with an inexplicable light. He had seen something incredible.