Silver-white strands of silk were continuously spit out and reabsorbed by Sunny.
Although String Shot was an instinctive move for Weedle, that didn't mean there was no room for improvement. Like any move, it had levels of proficiency, and repeated practice could deepen his understanding of it.
As Sunny practiced, carefully following the subtle sensations within his body, the silk threads began to change.
At first, they were translucent and faintly milky.
Gradually, the color deepened into a richer white.
The String Shot move was essentially an application of Bug-type energy within his body. By controlling how that energy flowed outward, different effects of the move could be achieved.
Under Sunny's control, the silk threads could grow thicker or thinner.
Sometimes they even spread out into a small fan-shaped area.
Before long, however, Sunny began to feel weak.
Even though he could recover some energy by reabsorbing the silk, there was always a bit of loss. And a newly hatched bug simply didn't have much energy stored in its body.
Being able to practice this much already showed impressive control.
Still…
Sunny wasn't satisfied.
Inside this tiny body was the soul of a human, not just an ordinary insect.
In such a dangerous world, only the strong had the right to survive.
Even though waves of exhaustion from his body assaulted his mind, Sunny dragged over another leaf and began chewing again.
As he ate, the nightmare he experienced earlier surfaced in his thoughts.
In that dream, he had also been a Weedle.
But a completely ordinary one.
He had spent his life hiding from predators, constantly fleeing for survival. Because of that fear, his development had been incomplete.
He never properly trained any moves.
In the end, he could only hastily evolve, hoping that becoming Beedrill might give him at least a small chance of survival.
But reality had been cruel.
Even as a Beedrill, he had still been near the bottom of the food chain.
Pidgeot. Fearow. Even Raticate.
Every one of them looked at him as prey.
Each one was so powerful that it filled him with despair.
Now…
All of that had become reality.
Was he going to live exactly like the Weedle in his dream?
Eat leaves all day.
Then someday spin a cocoon and evolve.
What difference would there be between that life and the dream?
What Sunny wanted was an exciting bug life.
He wanted to witness things he had never seen before.
And all of that required one thing:
Strength.
"A Weedle that only eats leaves will never grow strong."
Sunny muttered to himself.
Because of his grandfather's influence, he actually knew quite a bit about bee-like insects.
When he used to watch Pokémon as a child, he had even looked up information about Beedrill.
Beedrill were modeled after real-world wasps.
They were fierce, often fighting in groups and hunting prey in swarms.
But they also had some bee-like traits.
For example, real wasps couldn't produce honey—but Beedrill colonies could.
In the Pokémon world, young Weedle within a colony could obtain Beedrill honey, which was rich in growth nutrients.
With that support, they could develop rapidly.
And evolve into powerful fighters within a short time.
But Sunny?
He was just a lone Weedle drifting outside a colony.
There was no Beedrill honey.
No protection.
The only thing he could rely on…
Was himself.
How could he possibly grow strong with just the tiny amount of nutrients found in leaves?
Even a single Pidgey could easily kill him.
Not to mention the many other predators lurking in the forest.
Without enough nutrition and growth, even with a golden finger, he would eventually die in some predator's mouth.
Sunny felt a heavy weight settle in his heart.
Because he realized that the decision he made next would determine his path.
Would he become a ruthless hunter of the jungle?
Or would he die as prey under the brutal laws of nature?
When Sunny was young, his grandfather—who kept bees—once showed him how hornets were raised.
In reality, hornet larvae fed on other insects, especially caterpillars.
This gave them abundant nutrition and allowed them to grow rapidly.
Perhaps that was also why hornets were often stronger and more aggressive than many other bee species.
So what about him?
Should he do the same?
Should he start hunting other Pokémon?
Even a Caterpie was a living creature.
In the anime, they were cute little Pokémon.
Could he really bring himself to harm them?
Sunny struggled internally.
"But this is the real world," he whispered.
"Every Pokémon follows the law of the jungle."
"If I don't kill them… my enemies will kill me."
"And I'm not the person sitting in front of the TV anymore, shouting 'So cute!'"
"I'm just a struggling Weedle now. I don't even know when I'll die."
"I might sympathize with them… but they won't sympathize with me."
At last, Sunny made his decision.
Just like that Pidgey earlier.
If he hadn't possessed the Run Away Ability, he would already be someone's dinner.
Since that was the case, there was no reason for him to pretend to be merciful.
Sympathizing with the weak was a privilege of the strong.
But he…
Was not strong.
"The law of the jungle."
"The strong prey on the weak."
"Natural selection. Survival of the fittest."
"This is the real Pokémon world."
"A world of food chains."
"If I want to rise above it… I have to unleash the beast inside me."
A fierce light flashed in Sunny's eyes.
He had to survive.
Thinking that, his tiny legs picked up another leaf and brought it to his mouth.
But strangely enough…
Now that he had made his decision, the fragrant leaves suddenly didn't taste nearly as good.
"At worst… I'll just eat a slightly uglier bug later."
Sunny forced himself to eat more than a dozen leaves—slightly more than before—until he felt full.
Then he began practicing String Shot again.
One day, he swore, he would find that hateful Pidgey and take revenge for today's humiliation.
"This is all that stupid Pidgey's fault!"
Yes.
If that Pidgey hadn't appeared, he wouldn't have made his decision so quickly.
Sunny thought angrily.
Suddenly, a surge of emotion welled up inside him.
He opened his mouth.
A stream of silk shot out in a wide fan shape, completely covering the leaf wall in front of him.
Sunny blinked.
"The range… got bigger."
A hint of excitement filled him.
This meant his String Shot proficiency had improved again.
If he kept training like this…
One day, a single String Shot might be enough to completely wrap up an enemy.