"Alright, now that I've explained the powder strategy, let's talk about what we do next."
"Pidgey~"
"Bellsprout~"
Seeing Bellsprout and Pidgey nodding seriously, Icarus suddenly felt like a master strategist reborn.
"The next part is simple. After they fall asleep, Bellsprout, use your vines to wrap them up and drag those two Metapod over here.
Then we'll move farther away. Once we're at a safer spot, those two are basically in our pocket. Hahaha!"
He explained his plan with a proud grin.
"Sprout sprout~ ω"
"Pidgey~ ω"
The two little ones looked at him with sparkling, admiring eyes.
"Alright, action!"
Icarus gave the signal.
"Shh—sha—"
Bellsprout released a large cloud of Sleep Powder.
"Flap—flap!"
Pidgey beat its wings rapidly, blowing the powder toward the two Metapod hanging from the tree.
"Thud… thud…"
After absorbing the powder, the two Metapod quickly grew drowsy and fell asleep.
But there was a slight mishap.
Bellsprout had released a little too much powder. After the two targets fell asleep, some excess drifted outward.
Through his binoculars, Icarus saw that two more Metapod nearby had also dozed off. The rest only yawned after inhaling a trace of powder, while the Kakuna barely reacted.
"Looks like I need to specify dosage every time," Icarus muttered.
Theory really couldn't replace real field experience.
"Sprout!"
Without overthinking it, Bellsprout firmly remembered its instructions. Two vines shot out, wrapping around the sleeping Metapod, and it began dragging them away.
"Pidgey! Pidgey!"
Pidgey flew ahead to scout and soon signaled it had found a safe spot.
"Rustle—rustle—"
Bellsprout hurried over and gently lowered the two Metapod onto the ground.
Even so—
Thump.
Their heavy shells still made a solid impact sound.
"Knock, knock."
Icarus stepped forward and tapped the shell.
As expected of Metapod — even without using Harden, the shell felt extremely tough.
"Pidgey, use Quick Attack. Bellsprout, bind it first and cover its mouth."
To prevent any sudden cries for help, he ordered Bellsprout to secure it tightly.
"Pidgey!"
With a flash of motion, Pidgey lunged forward, beak glowing with energy.
Pierce!
A small hole appeared in the un-hardened shell. A bit of blood seeped from inside.
"Meta—!"
The Metapod jolted awake in pain and tried to cry out—
But Bellsprout's vine instantly wrapped around its mouth.
"Bellsprout, Sleep Powder again!"
"Shh—sha—"
Another wave of powder covered it.
"Good. Now switch to Poison Powder. Then use Absorb. It'll be slower, but much easier."
After testing the shell's durability, Icarus decided internal damage would be more efficient.
Even with Flying-type advantage, Pidgey had only managed to pierce a small hole.
It was better to break them down from within.
To speed things up, Icarus had Pidgey create a small opening in the second Metapod as well.
Then Bellsprout deliberately blew Poison Powder into the holes and followed up with Absorb, draining energy steadily.
"Meta…"
Soon, both Metapod felt their energy rapidly fading.
Even from deep sleep, the massive internal energy loss forced them awake.
"Meta—Meta—!"
They tried to signal for help again—
But their mouths were tightly sealed by vines.
"Clang—clang!"
A metallic sheen appeared across their bodies as they used Harden, desperately trying to stall.
"Heh. Too bad. We're not attacking your shell anymore."
Icarus shook his head.
A few minutes later, the Metapod realized in despair that their internal energy was still draining rapidly.
"…Meta…"
Not long after, both completely lost their ability to fight.
"Nice. Time's acceptable, and we didn't waste much effort."
Icarus checked his watch. From poisoning to incapacitation, it had taken just over half an hour.
He administered antidotes first — poisoned meat wouldn't sell.
After waiting about ten minutes for the toxins to clear, he carefully cut into the shell with a dagger.
Though laborious, it was clear most of Metapod's shell hardness depended on active energy reinforcement.
Under Icarus's instruction, Pidgey finished them off with simple pecks.
"Pidgey? Pidgey?"
Pidgey looked stunned.
Did I just get stronger?
"Haha, no. Their energy's gone. Without energy reinforcing the shell, it's much softer now."
Icarus laughed.
He quickly calculated:
"Metapod shell — about 10 jin. 200 per jin.
Inedible bug meat — 5 jin. 110 per jin, but Boss Wu Er buys at 100 per jin.
Plus 1,000 for a Normal-grade stinger core.
That's about 3,500 per Metapod.
Two in one hour… 7,000!"
His eyes sparkled.
No wonder even ordinary trainers in town could afford Evolution Stones.
A common-attribute low-grade Evolution Stone only cost around 200,000.
For trainers who had given up pursuing the Elite rank, that actually wasn't unreachable.
Of course, if ordinary trainers heard Icarus's thoughts, they'd probably curse him.
Not everyone had:
A field controller with three powders
A flying scout
And coordinated teamwork
Most people caused huge commotion hunting Metapod and ended up chased by squads of Butterfree and Beedrill.
"Bellsprout. Pidgey. Let's try again."
Having tasted success, Icarus decided to hunt a few more while it was still early.
(End of Chapter 94)
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