Elite (Mid Stage)
A Technician Scyther was definitely strong, but its potential wasn't that high.
If it could evolve into Scizor and learn Bullet Punch, though, it'd be a completely different story—strong and stylish, with access to Mega Evolution.
The downside was obvious. A four-times weakness to Fire was brutal.
Still, Scizor hadn't even been discovered in this world yet. It needed a Metal Coat to evolve, and realistically, who would go out of their way to give one to a Scyther?
...
Across from him, the Bug Catcher noticed the Beedrill and paused.
Something about it felt off.
This wasn't a normal one—its presence matched his Scyther.
He studied him for a moment.
…A high schooler?
"Scyther—Air Slash!"
No hesitation—he made the first move.
"Scytheer!"
White light gathered along Scyther's scythes, then a blade of air shot toward the low-hovering target.
"Beedrill, dodge. Flash Step—then Twineedle."
"Bzz—!"
It shifted mid-air, slipping past the Air Slash—and vanished.
A blur.
It reappeared right behind Scyther.
Its black-and-yellow stingers glowed with a faint red sheen as they drove straight into Scyther's back—Twineedle.
Thud. Thud.
A butterfly-shaped mark flared at the point of impact, glowing bright red.
"Scy—!"
It barely had time to react before the second strike landed.
Something was wrong.
A sudden chill ran through its body—instinct screaming danger.
Then the strength drained out of it.
Its vision blurred—and it dropped.
Scyther hit the ground, eyes spinning, out cold.
Silence.
No one processed it at first. That Scyther had looked dominant just seconds ago.
Now it was down. No buildup. No back-and-forth.
Just… over.
And the worst part—it didn't make sense.
A breath caught somewhere in the crowd. Then another. For a second, no one spoke.
Everyone just stared at the fallen Scyther.
Then it broke.
"What the hell just happened!?"
"What kind of Beedrill is that? Are you sure that's even a Beedrill!?"
"I didn't even see it move!"
"And how did it drop like that? Someone explain!"
"Explain? I wanna know too!"
...
The crowd kept buzzing, but no one had an answer.
Simon and the others, on the other hand, barely reacted.
They were used to this by now.
At this point, even if he suddenly pulled out a Legendary Pokémon, they'd just shrug.
The only thing that surprised them was the Beedrill itself—guessing he'd just caught it in the forest earlier.
...
The Bug Catcher didn't even notice his net hit the ground.
He just stood there, staring at the field.
For a moment, he couldn't say a word. A few seconds passed before he took a breath and recalled his fainted Scyther.
Then he looked up at him.
"That's… one hell of a Beedrill."
"You've trained it well."
He smiled.
"Appreciate it. That's kind of the job."
The man pulled out another Poké Ball and threw it forward.
"Come out—Scolipede!"
A flash of light—and a massive purple centipede appeared.
Four legs. Horns on both ends. The whole thing looked aggressive as hell.
At the same time, its data panel appeared in his vision.
[Name: Scolipede]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Careful]
[Type: Bug, Poison]
[Ability: Poison Point]
[Base Stats Total: 485]
[Level: Elite (Mid Stage)]
[Potential: Champion-Class]
[Moves: Poison Pin (Mastery), Defense Curl (Proficient), Rolling (Proficient), Megahorn (Proficient), Iron Defense (Proficient), Pursuit (Proficient), Protect (Proficient), Poison Tail (Proficient), Bug Bite (Proficient), Venoshock (Proficient), Agility (Beginner), Toxic (Beginner)...]
[Description: Scolipede, the Megapede Pokémon and the evolved form of Wheel Ball. It relentlessly pursues enemies with swift movements and strikes with the poisonous horns on its head, inflicting lethal toxins...]