"Icarus, you don't need to sneak that close this time. As long as your Hypnosis Powder can affect them," Icarus said, pointing at the seven Caterpie ahead, which were clearly working with a defined division of labor.
It was already afternoon. Too much time had been wasted today searching for a lone Flying-type Pokémon.
They had only defeated ten Bug-types—five Caterpie and five Weedle. The total income wasn't even 1,000 PokéDollars, and the Repel spray and wound medicine were nearly used up.
"Spri~"
Taking advantage of the afternoon breeze, the clever Bellsprout moved downwind of the group of Caterpie and began scattering a large amount of Hypnosis Powder.
"Wuu~ wuu~"
Before long, the two Caterpie standing guard grew dizzy and went silent.
"Spri spri~"
Bellsprout increased the amount of powder.
"Wuu~ wuu! Wuu!"
The remaining Caterpie began to feel dizzy as well. Some tried to shout in an attempt to rouse themselves and their companions.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Unfortunately, before they could make much noise, several throwing knives coated with Hypnosis Powder pierced their bodies.
This weakened group of Caterpie soon filled Icarus's backpack.
"Sure enough, Caterpie are the easiest to deal with. They're pure Bug-type, so they don't have Poison-type resistance. Much simpler."
"You really live up to your reputation as the best friend of rookie Trainers—the forest's food warehouse."
Icarus quickly cleaned up the battlefield, silently praising the Caterpie.
If it had been seven Weedle instead, even with the wind advantage, they wouldn't have been hypnotized so easily. Not to mention that Weedle could attack from a distance with Poison Sting.
After packing up, Icarus shook the nearly empty Repel spray bottle. At most, it could be used twice more.
With Flying-types appearing on the outskirts, weaker Pokémon were beginning to gather in larger groups. If he accidentally attracted another swarm, getting ambushed would be extremely dangerous.
"Bellsprout, let's keep searching for Flying-types. Even if it's two Pidgey together this time, we'll try."
"Spri spri."
Bellsprout nodded. Whatever Icarus decided, it would follow.
The plan was simple: search a little longer, attempt once more, then return to town to restock on wound medicine and Repel. Otherwise, nighttime would be impossible.
"Jie~ jie!"
While searching, Bellsprout suddenly heard a sharp cry and tugged at Icarus's sleeve.
"Hm? What is it, Bellsprout?" Icarus asked.
With its naturally superior senses, Bellsprout's hearing far surpassed his.
"Spri… wuu~ jie~"
It tried its best to imitate the sound.
"Haha, I know—that's a Spearow! Let's sneak over and take a look. Maybe we can catch it."
Seeing Bellsprout trying so hard to mimic the cry, Icarus chuckled, then focused on the emotional feedback coming from his partner.
It was definitely a bird Pokémon—and from the sound, likely a Spearow.
A thought crossed his mind: what if he could pick up an easy catch? He gestured for Bellsprout to move quietly.
After two sharp cries, the Spearow went silent. Guided by Bellsprout, Icarus followed the direction carefully.
On the way, they encountered four Weedle, but worried about losing the Spearow's trail, Icarus avoided them.
"Let me take a look."
After advancing a certain distance, Icarus raised his binoculars and scanned the trees.
"Where is it? Don't tell me it was killed… or caught by another Trainer."
"If another Trainer caught it, the news would spread."
Unable to spot it at first, his thoughts churned anxiously.
"There!"
A Spearow was perched on a branch. Two bite marks were visible on its thigh, and dark blood trickled down.
"This must have been bitten by an Ekans."
"It probably escaped the ambush, but the venom kicked in mid-flight. It had no choice but to land and try to detox by bleeding."
Based on the scene, Icarus pieced together what had happened.
"Good thing we didn't fight those four Weedle earlier. Otherwise, it would've flown off."
Through the binoculars, he noticed the blood was no longer pitch black—it was lightening.
In the wild, a poisoned Pokémon without access to a Pecha Berry could only rely on bleeding to expel toxins, then endure the rest with its natural physique.
Of course, losing that much blood meant it had to find a hidden place. Otherwise, the scent would attract predators.
"There shouldn't be any other Spearow nearby. The venom acts fast, so it probably just flew to the nearest high branch."
After carefully scanning the surroundings and confirming it was alone, Icarus felt a surge of relief.
"You've been poisoned and lost a lot of blood. Let's see how you escape my trap."
He raised his net gun and signaled for Bellsprout to move into position.
"Spri! Spri spri!"
Hearing there was a chance to grab an easy win, Bellsprout's eyes lit up as it moved forward quickly.
Perhaps because of its weakened state, the Spearow wasn't watching the ground at all—only scanning the branches around it.
It likely assumed ground-bound Pokémon like Weedle, Caterpie, and Rattata posed no threat up in the trees.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Once Bellsprout was in position, Icarus fired three shots in rapid succession.
From his experiences with Pidgey and Zubat, he had learned one thing: against Flying-types, go all out from the start.
Even if this Spearow looked weak enough to catch in one shot, he would eliminate all uncertainty.
"Jie! Jie~"
The Spearow didn't even dodge the first shot. Perhaps it sensed danger—but its weakened body couldn't react in time. It was instantly wrapped in the forming net.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Following Icarus's instructions, Bellsprout quickly yanked the net down with Vine Whip.
"Spri spri~"
"Jie!"
With a final cry, the Spearow inhaled a heavy dose of Hypnosis Powder and fell into deep sleep.
"Good. Let's spray Repel first."
Though smiling, Icarus remained cautious and sprayed Repel around them.
"Go, Poké Ball!"
He hurled the Poké Ball decisively.
"Click!"
A flash of red light pulled the Spearow inside. The Poké Ball began to shake violently.
"Crack!"
Moments later, the Poké Ball split apart. The still-sleeping Spearow reappeared intact.
The capture had failed.
"I thought after being poisoned and losing blood, I wouldn't need Absorb. Looks like a Spearow really lives up to its fierce temperament… There goes 500 PokéDollars."
Icarus stared at the cracked Poké Ball with heartache. The failed mental contract had shattered the internal runes.
If it had exploded into fragments, that would've meant the Pokémon physically broke free.
"Bellsprout, use Hypnosis Powder again. Then wrap it tight and use Absorb. I refuse to believe I can't catch you."
"Spri!"
(End of Chapter)
---------------Author---------------
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