Chapter 3: Excellent-Tier Beedrill
Ryan had originally planned to spend another night at the Pokémon Center, but upon seeing the Combee Honey (Ultra Concentrated), he immediately packed his belongings and headed for Viridian Forest. After all, the chance to capture an Excellent-tier Pokémon was too good to pass up.
After recalling his two Pokémon who had finished their dinner, he hurried to a restricted section of Viridian Forest. The area was separated by a chain-link fence, with a large warning sign painted in bold red letters: "BEEDRILL TERRITORY - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY!"
Beedrill was the final evolution of Weedle, and it even had access to Mega Evolution in certain regions. This made it Ryan's primary target. Although there was a potentially better option in Scyther, he didn't think an Excellent-tier Scyther would appear easily. Scyther were relatively rare Pokémon, which meant smaller population sizes. It was extremely difficult for uncommon species to produce Excellent-tier individuals. In contrast, with Beedrill's large population density, the probability of finding one or two exceptional specimens was much higher.
He opened the jar of Combee Honey, and an incredibly sweet aroma immediately filled the air. Ryan couldn't help but salivate, dipping his finger into the honey and tasting it. An overwhelming sensation of sweetness and satisfaction flooded through his entire body—it was like pure happiness in edible form.
It took considerable willpower to place the jar of honey on the ground. Within moments, the forest around him came alive with movement: countless Caterpie, Weedle, Butterfree, and Beedrill emerged from the trees and bushes. There were even a few Scyther and Pinsir mixed in, but his special vision confirmed they were all Average-tier—not worth capturing.
Strangely, despite being clearly attracted to the honey, none of the Pokémon made any aggressive moves toward it. Ryan could only attribute this restraint to the system's influence.
After several tense minutes, the regular Beedrill began to part, creating a clear path. A magnificent Shiny Beedrill flew forward, its golden and green coloration gleaming in the dappled sunlight. Its normally yellow sections had taken on a striking golden hue, while its compound eyes sparkled like polished sapphires. Ryan released Charmeleon, who picked up the honey jar, and called out confidently, "You want this? If you can defeat my Charmeleon, I'll give it to you. But if you lose, you'll join my team and I'll still give you the honey. Deal?"
The Shiny Beedrill raised both of its needle-like arms and buzzed loudly. Immediately, all the surrounding Bug-types began to retreat, creating a makeshift arena. Even the proud Butterfree backed away respectfully, acknowledging this Beedrill's authority.
"Charmeleon, let's introduce ourselves properly—use Ember!" Ryan commanded, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the situation. This Beedrill was clearly the leader of its colony, and his special vision confirmed it was indeed Excellent-tier.
Charmeleon unleashed a barrage of small flames. The Shiny Beedrill moved with incredible speed, using its twin needles to deflect most of the embers with precise, calculated movements. Only a few flames managed to make contact. Ryan nodded approvingly—this Beedrill's reflexes were phenomenal, its talent obvious even in this brief exchange.
Beedrill retaliated by spitting a rapid-fire series of Poison Sting attacks from its mouth. Ryan called out tactically, "Counter with Smokescreen, then follow up with Dragon Rush!"
Remember, Ryan was using his Enemy HP Display cheat, so he could see exactly how much damage each attack dealt. Charmeleon exhaled thick, black smoke that engulfed both Pokémon. The Poison Stings disappeared harmlessly into the murky cloud. As Beedrill tried to locate its opponent through the smoke, Charmeleon struck from behind with Dragon Rush, the draconic energy slamming into the Bug-type with tremendous force.
When the smoke cleared, Beedrill was spinning dizzily before collapsing to the ground. Ryan threw an Ultra Ball, successfully capturing the Shiny, Excellent-tier Beedrill.
He immediately released Beedrill and used a Super Potion to heal its injuries before offering it the jar of Combee Honey it had been craving. As Beedrill began to feast happily, Charmeleon approached with an expectant look. Under Beedrill's pained expression, the Fire-type helped himself to nearly half of the precious honey.
Unable to contest the victor, Beedrill reluctantly accepted the loss of its honey. Just as it was thinking "At least I still have half left," Eevee popped out of her Poké Ball, fixing Beedrill with her large, adorable eyes. Instantly defeated by the cute factor, Beedrill surrendered another quarter of its honey, leaving it with a pitiful remaining portion.
Ryan watched this scene with amusement, gently patting Beedrill's head. "Don't worry, there will be plenty more treats in the future. I'm going to become a Pokémon Master, and my team gets the best of everything."
Beedrill nodded understandingly and quickly devoured its remaining honey, unwilling to lose any more to his new teammates. Ryan examined the tiny holes in the ground left by the Poison Sting attacks, already formulating training plans for his newest team member. He checked Beedrill's status to better understand his new partner:
Pokémon: Beedrill (Shiny)
Level: 17
Gender: Male
Height: 3'3"
Weight: 65 lbs
Ability: Sniper (Hidden Ability)Moves: Poison Sting, String Shot, Harden, Twineedle, Fury Attack, Rage, Pursuit
A Hidden Ability Sniper! Ryan was thrilled by this discovery. The Sniper ability increased damage when landing critical hits, making it incredibly valuable for competitive battles.
He made a mental note to save up for a Scope Lens from the system shop, which would increase critical hit ratios. Combined with Focus Energy, which Beedrill would learn at level 20, the critical hit potential would be devastating. Unfortunately, like Mega Stones, most competitive items in the shop were priced at 10,000 Pokédollars each. After two days of battles, he'd only earned about 3,000 Pokédollars—still a long way to go.
The Bug-type Pokémon only began to disperse after all three of Ryan's Pokémon had finished sharing the honey. He packed up his supplies, recalled Charmeleon and Beedrill to their Poké Balls, and left Eevee out to walk with him. Using his Bond Phenomenon ability, he began slowly nurturing their connection, hoping to trigger her evolution into Sylveon soon.
With Eevee perched comfortably on his shoulder, Ryan opened his PokéNav to search for any bodies of water within Viridian Forest. If he could find a lake or river, the Super Rod he'd just purchased would finally see some use.
After extensive searching, he couldn't find any blue water symbols on the map. Ryan resigned himself to challenging the Pewter City Gym with his current team of three Pokémon. He'd already activated his Double EXP cheat, so his priority was rapidly leveling up his partners.
He turned toward the direction the Butterfree swarm had retreated and began pursuit. Why didn't he head toward Beedrill territory instead? He wasn't stupid—while he could handle one or two Beedrill, their territory housed hundreds, possibly thousands of them. Even a pseudo-legendary Pokémon would struggle against such numbers! Butterfree, on the other hand, were much more docile. Even in large groups, they rarely attacked intruders in their territory. He could easily pick them off one by one for training. Furthermore, fully evolved Butterfree gave substantial experience points, so with some dedicated grinding, he should be able to reach level 30 with his team.
Butterfree somewhere in the forest: "I have something to say about this strategy, and I absolutely must object!"
Ryan's enhanced movement speed from his Double Movement Speed cheat caught even him off guard. The ability had fully integrated with his body, significantly strengthening his leg muscles and coordination.
This made Ryan reconsider other abilities he had previously dismissed, such as Enhanced Vision Range, Obstacle Penetration, and others. What would happen if he activated those as well?
But when he thought about the massive number of Fame Points required... Well, he'd take it slow. Rome wasn't built in a day, and eventually he'd have access to all the abilities he needed!
To be continued...
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