A month passed before DJ even realized it.
The grove had shifted from crisp spring mornings to the early heat of summer, and each day settled into its own rhythm: training, meditation, Hive Energy practice, feeding, note-taking, planning, and dreaming. The kind of routine that felt small on the outside but meant everything to him.
He didn't expect to spend so much time thinking about the egg—but the moment he realized he could influence its development with Hive Energy, everything changed.
DJ discovered, through trial, error, and nearly passing out twice, that he could slow the egg's incubation by stabilizing the energy around it. Letting it grow at its own pace meant a normal hatch. Feeding it Hive Energy—letting it marinate in the power—meant something stronger.
Maybe even something rare.
So he slowed the egg down. Not by much at first. Just enough to let the Hive Energy seep deeper, shaping whatever slept inside.
Every morning he'd sit cross-legged in the grove, palms open, letting the green energy pulse around him. Kakuna—still a Kakuna—hung from a branch beside him, absorbing the energy like it was sunlight. But the strangest thing of all…
Kakuna hadn't evolved.
Not once in the entire month.
Most Weedle evolved in two days. Three, tops. One month was unheard of—dangerously abnormal. But Kakuna wasn't sick. Wasn't weak. If anything, it felt like a coiled spring, packed with power waiting for the right moment.
DJ started giving it a special diet—Hive Energy in measured doses throughout the week, and Pokéblocks mixed with extra nutrients. Kakuna responded well, its shell firm and warm with life, but still… no evolution.
"It's okay," DJ said one afternoon, tapping Kakuna's shell gently. "You'll evolve when you're ready. You don't gotta rush."
Kakuna twitched in agreement.
School life stayed steady but busier. Between morning training sessions and late-night Hive Energy practice, DJ had barely any energy left to think about homework. But the one thing he did think about consistently was college.
A month ago, college felt distant. Something for smarter, richer kids. Not something for him.
But now—with Hive Energy, with Kakuna, with the egg—DJ saw a path forward.
Bug-type universities existed. Specialty programs. Research academies. Training institutes. The kind of places that could teach him to refine everything he was just barely scratching the surface of.
He brought it up to his biology teacher, Mr. Brantley, after class one day.
"You're interested in bug-type specialization?" Mr. Brantley asked, raising an eyebrow but smiling like he'd been waiting for DJ to ask.
DJ nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I've been studying, training… trying things out. I think I wanna go somewhere real. Somewhere that knows how to handle bug types seriously."
"Well," Mr. Brantley said, leaning against his desk, "If you're looking for top programs, I can recommend a few. What about Indigo academy here in Kanto?But it's bug type specialization is horrible."
DJ shook his head.
"They're known for their entomology division. Strong battling program too," the teacher continued. "And there's West Valley Academy, more… experimental. And if you want prestige and the best for bug types , Southpoint Institute is the most competitive. Hard to get into, but not impossible it's in Unova known for its bug types."
DJ listened, heart pounding a little faster with every name.
"Think I have a shot?" he asked.
Mr. Brantley gave him a long look. The kind that made DJ squirm.
"Your grades are solid. But your discipline? Your focus lately? That's the kind of drive universities look for." He paused. "So yes, DJ. You have a shot. A real one."
DJ left class feeling lighter. Like he'd been given a map to a future he didn't know existed a month ago.
That evening, DJ returned to the grove. Kakuna waited patiently on its usual tree trunk. The egg—still warm, still gently pulsing—rested in its incubator nearby.
DJ sat down, exhaled slowly, and drew in the world around him.
The Hive Energy responded immediately, swirling around his arms and shoulders like a living thing.
"Alright," he whispered. "Let's work."
He directed the energy first to Kakuna. Its shell absorbed the glow, humming faintly. Then to the egg—slowing its hatch just enough to let another dose sink in.
The air around DJ shimmered with green.
He held the energy steady—a little easier now. More natural.
The egg pulsed.
Kakuna twitched.
DJ grinned.
A month ago, he'd been lost. Now, he was building something. Preparing something.
His partner was on the brink of evolution.
And inside that egg—whatever was growing was becoming something powerful.
The future was no longer distant.
It was building itself, one day at a time.
DJ closed his eyes, pulling more Hive Energy into himself.
He didn't know what the next month would bring.
But he planned to meet it ready.