Yoshino Eichi spoke earnestly with Officer Jenny at the police station, recounting the entire ordeal.
When the officers heard that he used a single Beedrill to defeat the entire poaching gang, their faces filled with disbelief.
Some faces plainly said: Are you kidding us?
Officer Jenny also looked doubtful. She had seen their gang's Pokémon lineup.
Though not extremely powerful, they had 16 Pokémon, and one very strong Arbok.
After interrogating the captured gang, everyone finally believed Eichi's story.
Shock spread across the station.
"That kid is amazing!"
"He beat a poaching gang with one Beedrill!"
"That Beedrill is too strong!"
Officer Jenny, seeing the battle marks at the scene, realized it must have been a fierce fight. Many move traces were visible.
But to think it was all done by Eichi's Beedrill alone—everyone was stunned.
Beedrill was supposed to be a "weak Bug-type." Yet it defeated 16 Pokémon. And Eichi was only ten years old.
A ten-year-old boy raised a Beedrill powerful enough to crush a poaching gang.
Truly a prodigy beyond measure.
Officer Jenny, composed in her role, concealed her astonishment.
Rogen confessed to Officer Jenny that he was single-handedly beaten by Eichi.
A ten-year-old challenging and defeating an adult, and killing that Arbok, proved this boy was no ordinary child.
After Eichi finished explaining, Officer Jenny smiled. "Eichi, you have done a great service. You will receive a cash reward.
We will also publicize this in Viridian City. If you prefer, we can conceal your name and face.
The police station can keep your identity secret, though you have to know that it won't stay hidden forever."
Despite her warning, Eichi still chose to remain low-profile.
He disliked being the center of attention, so he wanted to remain anonymous for as long as possible.
That way, after people forget, no one would link this incident to him.
He said his good-byes to Officer Jenny. She admired him and gave him her phone number.
Then Eichi went home.
In the following days, Eichi's reputation exploded.
All of Viridian City learned about the ten-year-old who defeated a poaching gang with a single Beedrill.
Even though it was a small gang, the story spread fast.
People whispered everywhere:
"Did you see that news article?"
"Yes, but who is that boy? He's so strong!"
"I raised a Beedrill before and it took a long time for it to be battle-ready. But he took down 16 Pokémon in one go."
"Too strong!"
"How did he even do it?"
"Yet the police concealed his identity."
Several TV stations tried to interview Eichi, but the police refused to reveal his information.
At the Pokémon Day Care, Amelie saw the report and instinctively thought of Eichi.
Could that be him? she wondered. Among all the ten-year-olds in Viridian City, who else could have trained a Beedrill to that level?
When Teacher Arno read the same report in his office, he recognized the name immediately.
A question formed in his mind: Is that Eichi?
He shrugged. I'll just ask him when he returns to class.
As for Eichi himself, he paid little attention to the public's reaction.
He didn't brag or show off about defeating the poaching gang.
He thought of that day. It had been too dangerous. He had acted in anger, and that could have cost lives.
He reflected deeply. Could he do the same if faced with such a situation again?
His answer: yes. If he and Beedrill had not acted, they would regret it forever.
Now that Kakuna had evolved into Beedrill, training could finally begin properly.
Judging by Beedrill's performance that day, its strength was immense.
Beedrill told Eichi that, upon evolving, it felt unusually strong. All its learnable moves seemed more powerful.
At the same time, its move control wasn't as sharp.
Eichi guessed that newly evolved Pokémon often receive a temporary surge in power. They can temporarily use their moves with more proficiency.
For example, all six moves Beedrill learned right after evolution could reach mastery instantly, which is why they hit so hard.
Teacher Arno had once mentioned that some Pokémon experience this. It was normal, no need to worry.
Eichi told Beedrill, "That boost was temporary, not your true power. You still must train hard to reach that level on your own."
Beedrill nodded coolly.
The night before, Eichi measured Beedrill's stats.
Official Beedrill stats:
Height: 1.0 m, Weight: 29.5 kg
Eichi's Beedrill:
Height: 1.3 m, Weight: 36 kg
It was 30 cm taller and 6.5 kg heavier than a normal Beedrill.
Though it was heavier, its speed remained unaffected.
Beedrill's Ability was Sniper; its hidden ability is Unnerve.
Eichi's Beedrill had Sniper. With Sniper, if it lands a critical hit, damage is multiplied by 2.25.
That ability would become a trump card if used well.
When Kakuna evolved into Beedrill, it forgot its old moves and learned new ones.
These new moves were:
Twineedle, Fury Attack, Rage, Pursuit, Focus Energy, Venoshock, Pursuit, Toxic Spikes, Pin Missile, and Agility.
Pin Missile and Agility were learned earlier than usual.
Right now, Beedrill was just beginning to master these moves.
But given its condition, a few days of training would take them to the Skilled stage.
Mastery would take more time.
Eichi planned to buy TMs so Beedrill could learn more moves.
Thus, his days ahead would be busy.
He led Beedrill to their old training ground.
Another day begins.