The smooth and sharp horn reflected a chilling gleam, while the rounded, full shell seemed to harbor immense strength, with powerful limbs and a steadfast, confident gaze.
This was a satisfactory answer from Natsuhiko for training Weedle over this period of time.
Having experienced battles with the Fire Monkey and Yujira, and witnessed the overwhelming abilities of Golduck and Poliwrath.
With continuous training and battles, the Weedle had completely shed its former naivety.
The confidence surging in its small, deep purple eyes was the best proof.
Intermediate Energy Block, Advanced Energy Block, Top-level Tree Fruit, Poison Sac Enhancement, with each transformation, filled Weedle's tiny body with unimaginable energy and potential.
And now, Weedle finally stood once again at the brink of evolution.
It seemed like evolution was not far off.
Today's capture plan gave it the final push towards that final step.
Natsuhiko could now confidently say that Weedle was any moment ready to evolve, stepping into the realm of transformation.
Evolution!
For every Pokémon, it was a leap in quality, a significant improvement in power.
And Weedle had longed for evolution for so, so long.
"Woo~~" Weedle affectionately nuzzled Natsuhiko. It didn't know if it was about to evolve, but it felt good, very good.
As if there was an endless supply of energy in its body.
Natsuhiko's expression was complex. Weedle was his Initial Pokémon. Although they hadn't been together for a month, Natsuhiko had invested so much in Weedle.
Now that Weedle was finally about to evolve, he felt a mix of emotions, like a parent seeing their child take a crucial exam, hoping they'd soar into the sky, with complex emotions filling his heart.
"Evolution is a good thing, both for you and for me, but I hope you can hold your breath. The final moment is the most critical. You mustn't be anxious or impatient. The best timing is to let nature take its course," Natsuhiko said, feeling the strong pulse from Weedle's vibrant shell.
"Woo woo woo!!"
Weedle nodded earnestly.
It trusted Natsuhiko's words unconditionally.
The sudden news of Weedle's impending evolution interrupted Natsuhiko's obsession with money.
He settled his mindset and tidied up his clothes.
Then headed toward the place Kenji had mentioned.
Natsuhiko believed he had done his best for cultivating Weedle, so he readily accepted the fact that Weedle was about to evolve.
He flagged down a taxi, heading towards the southernmost road of Goldenrod City, leading to Withered Leaf City.
After getting off and walking a short distance, he arrived at the place where Kenji's brother had the accident.
It was on the muddy land beside the wide road.
The Alliance Police Bureau of Goldenrod City had probably already collected some data on site and then cleaned up the remaining traces.
However, there were still many traces and residues left.
From the situation at the scene, it seemed that Kenji's brother was driving a truck, but for some reason, it broke through the barrier and rushed into this muddy land.
The deep tire marks on the ground explained everything.
Natsuhiko trod on the unexpectedly muddy ground, resulting from the rain, causing black mud to splash.
Before he had a chance to turn on his flashlight, suddenly a beam of light shone upon him.
"Who?!"
A low shout came from the hidden woods, followed by a bright yellow tuft of electric current shooting rapidly toward him.
Natsuhiko's face changed, "Weedle."
"Woo!"
An electrically charged web spat out from under the umbrella, intercepting the tuft of electromagnetic waves.
The two techniques collided mid-air, sparking electricity all around before dissipating quickly.
"Natsuhiko?"
Just as Natsuhiko was about to launch a counterattack to see who ambushed him, the person hidden in the woods called out his name.
This voice sounded somewhat familiar...
"Lance?"
A figure slowly emerged from the woods, clad in a raincoat and hood, accompanied by Dratini, indeed our aspiring Investigator, Dragon Master Lance.
Lance looked surprised, "Why are you here? This is a crime scene."
"Why are you still here?"
Both asked their questions almost simultaneously, then noticed the surprise on each other's faces.
Lance approached, saying in good-natured annoyance, "What's that supposed to mean, why am I still here? Why should I leave?"
"Aren't Investigators supposed to be busy? How long do you plan to stay in Goldenrod City? Oh, you're an aspiring Investigator, never mind," Natsuhiko teased.
They hadn't seen each other for a while, and he thought Lance had already left Goldenrod City.
As an Investigator, Lance was supposed to be busy with many tasks, right?
"The Power Plant incident isn't over yet, headquarters has entrusted the Power Plant case all to me. Plus, I'm now a full Investigator, not a trainee," Lance boasted, showing off his formal Investigator credentials.
When facing strangers, Lance always maintained a distant demeanor, but around friends like Natsuhiko, he dropped the act.
If in others' eyes, Lance was merely putting on a show as part of the Dragon Taming Race, then this was the real him—the Trainer Lance, who trained Charmander eagerly in Changpan City, watching it grow stronger bit by bit.
So in reality, Dragon Master Lance and Lance were like two different people.
"It's easy to be an Investigator..." Natsuhiko muttered softly.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Lance didn't mind and continued, "You haven't answered yet, why are you here?"
"The missing person is the primary heir of the Sato family, right? The eldest son," Natsuhiko said.
"Yes, Sato Kentaro." Lance nodded, mentioning Kenji's brother's name.
"His younger brother, Sato Kenji, is my friend. He asked me to find his brother for him, so here I am." Natsuhiko shrugged.
Lance realized.
"And you? Showing up here in the dead of night and suddenly attacking, if it were an ordinary person it might have been unpleasant, right?" Natsuhiko asked in return.
Lance appeared serious, solemnly stating, "This is an accident scene, anyone appearing here at night is suspicious. Besides, I only used an electromagnetic wave through Dratini, even if it hit someone it wouldn't cause significant harm, just temporary paralysis."
Natsuhiko recalled watching a movie in his previous life, where it was mentioned that 81% of murderers return to the crime scene after the deed to revel in the thrill of their actions.
This guy Lance couldn't be lurking here for that reason, could he?
Are Investigators really this professional?
Then he heard Lance continue, "I didn't arrive at the scene immediately, but Miss Jenny and the others had already collected information. They didn't find much useful information, but just now in the woods, I found something."
Alright, I might have overthought this... Natsuhiko complained inwardly.
Then he saw Lance pull out a soft, curly golden hair, emitting a faint glow.
Natsuhiko frowned, "Is this hair?"
"No, I actually think it's Pokémon fur, and it's very likely from an Electric-type Pokémon."
"Another Electric-type Pokémon?" Natsuhiko was somewhat surprised.
It seemed that many recent incidents were somehow related to Electric-type Pokémon...
The power plant, the "zzz" thing mentioned by Drowzee and Yujira, the unusually high number of Electric-type Pokémon in the black market, and now the fur of an Electric-type Pokémon found here...
"Yes, so I have reason to suspect that the person who attacked Sato Kentaro is likely the same group who attacked the power plant."
Natsuhiko: "..."
"And there's another thing you don't know, the goods Sato Kentaro was bringing in were from a farm in the Johto Region, specifically Mareep's wool..."
——————
Thanks to the grand reward from the Caterpie master at Finishing Touch, looks like I'll be forced into a fourth update today... bear with me!