On the stage, a balding middle-aged man in a black suit held a microphone and addressed the crowd.
"I'm taking first place this time!"
"Hah… sorry, but now that I'm here, none of you stand a chance!"
"Make way—the woman has arrived!"
"Where'd this clown come from? Get lost!"
"I'm fired up… 500,000, here I come!"
...
The contestants below buzzed with excitement, the atmosphere lively and chaotic. Seeing how fired up everyone was, the balding man gave a faint smile and continued,
"Alright, let me explain the rules."
"You'll each receive special Poké Balls and a Bug-type score sheet."
"Catching a Caterpie earns 1 point…"
"Catching a Metapod earns 2 points…"
…
"Catching a Beedrill earns 10 points…"
"I won't go through everything here—just check your score sheet."
"The contest lasts three hours. Whoever earns the most points wins."
His voice rose with excitement as he raised his hand.
"I hereby declare…"
"The Bug Catcher Contest officially begins!"
"Please head to the forest entrance to collect your special Poké Balls and score sheets."
At his signal, the contestants rushed forward, grabbing their gear before heading into the dense forest.
Aaron and the others followed.
Before long, they split up to hunt Bug-type Pokémon, since teaming wasn't allowed in this competition.
...
Aaron walked through the dense forest with Sceptile. Sceptile was clearly in its element—that's why Aaron had chosen it.
"Scepti…!"
Taking in the familiar surroundings, Sceptile let out a low cry, clearly pleased.
"Sceptile—Wood Release: Wood Clone."
"Search the area. Find any Bug-types."
"Scep…"
Sceptile nodded, bringing its hands together as green energy surged from its body.
One after another, wood clones spread out through the forest.
"Sceptile—!"
The clones gave a low cry before leaping into the trees, beginning their search.
Aaron and the original Sceptile moved deeper into the forest.
"Crack… crack…"
A rustling sound came from the nearby grass.
Aaron's eyes narrowed.
"Sceptile, get ready."
"Scep!"
Sceptile lowered its stance, ready to fight.
Both turned their attention to the rustling grass.
"Pop… pop…"
A small green Pokémon crawled out.
With its big round eyes and soft, worm-like body, it looked at them innocently.
It was a Caterpie… apparently destined to evolve into Rayquaza.
Aaron: "…"
Sceptile: "…"
Aaron's mouth twitched. His expression stiffened.
Without hesitation, he threw a punch.
The poor Caterpie didn't even have time to react before being knocked out cold.
Aaron tossed a special Poké Ball and captured his first Bug-type Pokémon.
+1 point.
"Whoosh, whoosh…"
Moments later, more than a dozen Wood Clone Sceptiles returned.
Each one carried spoils—various Bug-type Pokémon that had already been knocked out: Metapod, Paras, Venonat, Ledian, Shuckle…
Aaron nodded, satisfied, and quickly used the special Poké Balls to capture them all.
Then he sent the clones back out.
Just like that, he swept through the area, pushing deeper into the forest.
He didn't even need Greninja—Sceptile's clones alone were enough to clear out every Bug-type in sight.
For Aaron, it felt effortless—like a casual walk.
Boom—
Before long, he had already reached the inner part of the forest.
The Pokémon here were generally at least Advanced level.
An explosion suddenly echoed ahead, followed by a burst of noise.
The sound of battle.
Aaron glanced forward.
"Let's go. Sceptile—check it out."
He headed toward the source of the commotion.
...
Up ahead, two groups of Pokémon were locked in a chaotic battle.
One side—bee-like Pokémon with transparent wings and twin stingers.
Beedrill.
The other—gray, armored Pokémon with massive horns.
Pinsir.
The Beedrill were clearly losing.
Only three remained in the air.
Five others were already down.
On the other side, six Pinsir were still standing, with only one defeated.
The remaining Beedrill were completely surrounded, on the verge of being wiped out.
Pinsir had a base stat total of 500, with a physical attack stat reaching 125—raw, overwhelming power.
In comparison, Beedrill's base stat total was only 395.
At the same level, Beedrill simply couldn't compete with Pinsir.
Among the three remaining Beedrill, one stood out—larger than the others.
"Buzz…"
...