"No! Sceptile! Get up! Don't lose to this cheater!"
The young man, Ryū, jumped up from the sofa, pacing back and forth anxiously. On the TV, the Pokémon Diamond & Pearl anime was playing. Ash's Sceptile had just defeated Darkrai, but was immediately taken down by a newly appeared Latios. Tobias, the Legendary Pokémon Trainer, had only sent out his second Pokémon, while Ash had already lost four.
"Okay, he's sending out a Swellow? What are you going to do, take down that blue airplane? He should have used that Bug type from the Advanced Generation era... Holy crap!"
Before Ryū could finish his thought, Ash's Swellow was instantly defeated. He felt a rush of blood to his head, stumbled back, and collapsed onto the sofa. His vision went black.
When Ryū opened his eyes again, he felt as if the world had become much larger.
"Buzz~ (Huh, I think I've become smaller.)"
Ryū tried to speak, but no Human words came out. Instead, it was a buzzing sound. Yet, in his mind, the sound was no different from his own Human voice. He looked around and found himself in a dense forest, with the sound of flowing water not far away. He tried to move toward the water, but no matter how hard he tried, he remained in place. His body felt strange and unresponsive.
He quickly lowered his head, finally realizing something was wrong. But what he saw was not his hands and feet, but just the green grass close to his face.
"What have I become..."
Ryū became anxious and tried various movements. He finally discovered a way to move forward: wiggling. He could crawl just like a worm. Wiggling through a patch of bushes, he cautiously poked his head out. He saw no strange creatures, but instead, a huge body of water ahead, like an ocean!
His eyes lit up, and he quickly wiggled over. When he reached the edge, he looked down at the water's surface and finally saw his own appearance clearly.
"Weedle?!"
Ryū was completely stunned. He couldn't believe he had become a Pokémon, and one at the very bottom of the food chain—a Weedle. Weedle is a common Bug and Poison-type caterpillar Pokémon, often found in large numbers in forests and grasslands. Its body is earthy yellow and segmented, with seven pairs of pink prolegs and a pink, nose-like part on its head. It has a sharp Poison Sting of about 5 cm on its head and another on its tail. Its two small eyes are dark and shiny.
A typical Weedle is 0.3m tall and weighs about 3.2kg. However, Ryu's Weedle was exactly half that size, like a newly hatched baby. Weedle is already a weak Pokémon, but in this state, any other Pokémon could easily overpower him.
"Pidgey~"
Suddenly, a strange cry came from the sky. He strained to look up and saw a Pidgey passing by. Ryū immediately turned and burrowed into the bushes. Fortunately, the Pidgey didn't spot him.
"It's over, it's over. I must evolve quickly! Only by evolving into a Beedrill can I protect myself."
Ryū hid in the bushes, vigilantly observing his surroundings. As a young, newborn Weedle, he couldn't even defeat an ordinary Caterpie, let alone protect himself. Even after leaving the infant stage, he would only be slightly safer against other weak Pokémon.
"I wonder what my Ability is. A status screen would be great right now."
Just then, a status screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Weedle]
[Potential]: White
[Level]: Lv.1
[Type]: Bug/Poison
[Ability]: Run Away
[Height]: 0.15m
[Weight]: 1.6kg
[Moves]: Poison Sting, String Shot
"There really is a status screen! That's great. Now I can learn a little more about myself."
Ryū's spirits lifted slightly as he looked at his status. As expected, he was pitifully weak. But at least he had a useful ability like Run Away, which would give him a better chance of escaping from any enemy.
"I remember that Weedle eats leaves and needs to consume its own weight in leaves every day."
Ryū thought for a moment and sniffed the bushes next to him. There was no strange smell, and his body instinctively felt a craving.
"I'll eat, eat, eat, eat!"
He voraciously devoured the leaves of the bush, then quickly hid in another nearby bush. He was so full that wiggling was difficult; he had eaten far more than his own weight. He wanted to grow up and evolve as quickly as possible. As he pondered this, his eyelids began to droop, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Rustle, rustle.
After some time, the sound of rustling bushes woke Ryū. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a Caterpie in the bushes opposite, eating leaves. The Caterpie was huge, far larger than any he'd seen in the Pokédex before. He had no idea how it had grown to such a size.
Without making a sound, Ryū watched the Caterpie finish its meal and climb onto a nearby tree.
"...So that's how it is."
As a Human, he hadn't understood the living habits of Pokémon. After observing the Caterpie, he learned two things: first, that acting at night could greatly increase his chances of survival; and second, that it was safer to sleep in a tree to avoid ground-level predators, even with the presence of Flying-type Pokémon.
He scanned his surroundings, then began to eat the leaves beside him.
"I'll eat, eat, eat!"
He awoke from another sleep, and the sky was already bright. Feeling thirsty, he sleepily wiggled to the riverbank and gulped down water. Unbeknownst to him, a Poliwag was standing right beside him.
The Poliwag was also a young Pokémon and curiously stared at the exhausted Weedle. It mustered up the courage to approach.
"Kop? (Hello?)"
"!"
The Poliwag's sudden sound startled Ryū, almost causing him to fall into the water.
"Whose kid is this? Go away, go away!"
Ryū turned his head and saw the Poliwag. He realized he could instinctively tell its age. The Poliwag was a baby, likely born around the same time as him, while the Caterpie from last night was already a teenager.
"Kop..."
The Poliwag left sadly, preparing to run home and cry to its mother.
Ryū watched it leave, took another big gulp of water, and immediately left the riverbank. The bushes still felt safer. He was going back to eat more leaves. The speed at which different species of Pokémon leave their infant stage varies. Dragon-type Pokémon, for example, mature much slower, while Bug-types are quite fast.
Ryū remembered leaving his infant stage after about five or six sleep cycles. His status screen had also changed.
[Weedle]
[Potential]: Green
[Level]: Lv.5
[Type]: Bug/Poison
[Ability]: Run Away
[Height]: 0.3m
[Weight]: 3.2kg
[Moves]: Poison Sting, String Shot
Logically, Ryū's status screen was that of a standard wild Weedle. But in reality, he found that wasn't the case at all. The Pokémon in this forest were incredibly robust and well-fed. Any Caterpie he saw had a height and weight more than double his own. He had no idea what kind of harsh forest he had been born into.
If possible, Ryū still wanted to become a Pokémon of a normal Trainer. At least then he wouldn't have to face this cruel survival environment every day. But for a weak and thin Weedle like him, who would even notice him?
"This must be the third day, and I haven't seen a single Human yet."
Ryū sighed while hiding in the bushes. He felt that these astringent leaves could no longer satisfy him. He needed more nutritious and healthy food to grow stronger. Ordinary wild Pokémon might be content with simply being full, but as a Human at his core, Ryū had a different mindset.
"I have to go up the tree."
Ryū looked up at a tree in front of him. There were large, plump, red Berries hanging from it that looked like apples. He remembered seeing them in the Pokédex: a Leppa Berry, known for its rich flavor, concentrating sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy tastes.
To be honest, if he were still a Human, he wouldn't even consider eating such a strange Berry. But after days of eating harsh leaves, he craved something with a rich flavor.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ryū wiggled to the base of the tree and tried to climb up using his seven pairs of small legs. Surprisingly, it was quite easy. With fourteen legs working together, he found that he could indeed climb trees.
"If I evolve into a Beedrill, I won't have to work this hard. I could just fly up."
Ryū grumbled as he wiggled upward. Soon, he was panting heavily, and looking up, there was still a long way to go.
"Maybe I should wait a few more days before trying to climb a tree?"
He was already starting to reconsider. He could feel his physical strength waning, and his legs were getting weaker.
Thump.
He lost his footing and fell backward. He wasn't very panicked; a fall from this height wouldn't kill him, at most it would just sting a little.
Squish.
"Huh?"
Ryū had tightly closed his eyes, preparing for the pain, but instead, he seemed to have fallen onto something cool and soft.
"Kop?"
Opening his eyes, he saw the Poliwag's innocent, big eyes.
"It's you again, kid. But thanks to you this time. Thank you."
Ryū got off the Poliwag and looked at him. Two or three days had passed, and the Poliwag still hadn't left its infant state. At 0.3m tall, it was now slightly shorter than him.