Ch. 17

Twelve pairs of red eyes were staring at me from inside the nest along with nearly fifty pairs of black eyes from the Weedles scattered throughout the large hollow nest. One of the Beedrill, I'm guessing the one that just came, in pointed at a cluster of 3 cocoons a quarter of the way around the open area. Looking around I made eye contact with all the other Beedrill there and spoke.

"I apologize for intruding upon your home. I will be leaving shortly."

None of them moved and I took that as as good of a sign as I was likely to get. Making my way over to the Kakunas I had been directed to I made sure not to make any sudden moves. Once again I stopped three feet away and scanned the Pokemon before backing away and then leaving the nest, followed by the Beedrill that had gone inside before me. Standing outside again and seeing the two bee like Pokemon in front of me, I had an idea.

"Thank you for not only trusting me enough to show me your Kakuna but also protecting me from being attacked by the other Beedrill. I could give you more berries but I think I have something you would like more."

Quickly moving through the System I bought an item that had only recently become available. Honey. Unfortunately one jar of honey would use up all the SC I had managed to earn over the last few days.

[Ding...Honey purchased for 250 SC.]

After I had collected ten different types of berries in my inventory the System Shop had released new items including honey. Taking it out of my inventory as well as two bowls I opened the large jar and poured half into each bowl. As soon as I stepped back they pounced on the bowls and had them licked clean in a matter of moments.

After they were sure there was not a speck of honey left they both looked up at me and I believe I saw hearts in their eyes.

"Sorry. That's all I had on me. I'll bring more next time I come visit."

They both nodded and led me back to the clearing where the grass Pokemon were staying. Sitting under a tree once more I pulled out my notebook and pen and opened my Status Screen. Scanning Kakuna had given me another .3 bringing my free points to an even 2.

In my notebook I wrote down the name of every Pokemon I had scanned and wrote a '.3' next to both Metapod and Kakuna. 12 points from 26 Pokemon. Looking it over I had an idea, maybe each group is worth 1 full point.

Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur - 1

Caterpie, Metapod, and Butterfree - 1

Weedle, Kakuna, and Beedrill - 1

Oddish, Gloom, and Vileploom - 1

Paras and Parasect - 1

Venonat and Venomoth - 1

Growlithe and Arcanine - 1

Bellsprout, Weepinbell, and Victreebel - 1

Exeggcute and Exeggutor - 1

Tangela - 1

Scyther - 1

Pinsir - 1

Looking at it like this the math works. So if Metapod and Kakuna were both worth .3 then it can be presumed that a first form is worth .1, the second is worth .3, and the third is worth .6. Whereas Pokemon with only one evolution are worth .3 and .7 and Pokemon that don't evolve are worth 1.

Taking my conclusion a step farther I wrote down the names of the 151 Pokemon in the Kanto region. Once more I was glad to have a photographic memory. After I had them all down I added a number next to each one for the status points I expected each one to give. Not counting the five legendary Pokemon because, honestly, there is no way they are worth the same as a regular Pokemon. Adding them all together puts me at 75.4 points which would be +15 points in each Stat with .4 left over.

Happy with my conclusion I decided to get back to work scanning more Pokemon. Opening my Status Screen for a moment I switched the auto distribute off so that I could decide for myself going forward where to put my points.

By lunchtime I had scanned quite a few Pokemon leaving only the ones I didn't know where to look to find them. Most of my parents Pokemon could be found running around the field area but not all. For example where do I go to find their fighting type Pokemon?

Looking at the number at the top of my Pokedex put a smile on my face. 89 Pokemon had been scanned into both of my Pokedexs. That left only 62 Pokemon for me to scan. But that wasn't even the best part, opening my Status Screen I saw that I had 34 free points to work with. Not wanting to mess up my body I decided to get my dad's opinion before I focused on just one Stat.

Figuring I had been gone long enough I decided to meet up with mom and Daisy for lunch. Heading back to where we had parted ways I turned my head towards Growlithe.

"What do you think Growlithe? Can you lead me to mom?"

He looked at me and I could almost hear him respond with 'follow me' as he took off. And sure enough about 15 minutes later we found mom and Daisy setting up a little picnic area for lunch.

"Hi mom, we're back."

"Oh, Jake perfect timing. I was just about to send Arcanine to find you."

I jumped right in to help set up for lunch. It wasn't much, just sandwiches and fruit but there was plenty and the flavors were so different from my past life that I savored every bite. Seeing Growlithe and Arcanine eating almost the exact same food as us for lunch it made me curious.

"Mom, are most Pokemon omnivores?"

My question seemed to catch mom off guard because she took a moment to answer.

"Yes Jake, almost every Pokemon is omnivorous. There are a few that are herbivores but most will eat anything."

She took a bite of her sandwich, chewed, and swallowed before adding.

"Now that I really think about it there are only two Pokemon I know of that only eat meat. Ekans and Arbok. Also there are a few that don't eat at all."

She went on to explain that Metapod and Kakuna don't eat until they shed their shells and evolve into Butterfree and Beedrill. There are also Magnemite, Magneton, Voltorb, and Electrode that survive off of pure electricity and the three ghost Pokemon, Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar, that nobody is quite sure what they eat. After she explained all of that we finished lunch and I stuck around to see what mom was doing today.

"So what are you doing today mom?"

"Well my Ninetails is due to have a litter any day now so we are heading over there to see how she's doing."

"Cool how many pups are expected?"

"Anywhere from two to seven but judging by how big her belly is I'm guessing five this time."

"I'm sure they'll be cute. Right Daisy?"

"Y..yeah. Vulpix is one of my favorite Pokemon."

Apparently Daisy wasn't expecting me to ask her a question because she stuttered a bit. Walking over to her I held her hand as mom led the way to where her Ninetails had made it's den. It didn't take us long to reach it but when we got closer a low growl came from the entrance and a Ninetails blocked our way.

"Jake. Daisy. Stay there."

As we stopped mom took a few more steps and the growl turned into a snarl.

"Hey boy, it's OK. Come on, you know me."

Mom stopped just out of reach and knelt down so she was eye to eye with the snarling Ninetails.

"How's she doing? Are the pups coming? Is that why you're being so defensive?"

Seeing that she wasn't getting closer the snarl went back down to just a low growl.

"It's OK boy. Go back and be with your mate. I will not get any closer."

Looking into her eyes he nodded and went back in. Mom turned to us.

"Go ahead and get comfortable we're going to be here for a while. I want to be here in case I'm needed."

I walked over to a tree and sat with my back against it so I could see both mom and the den entrance clearly. Daisy sat beside me and leaned on me. I didn't say anything and a few minutes later I could tell she had fallen asleep. With the sunlight filtering through the trees and the sound of wind rustling the leaves I realized that I was a bit tired as well; so I closed my eyes, leaned back against the tree, and drifted off to sleep.

** Emily's POV **

Seeing the two children asleep together they looked so cute. Pulling out my phone I snapped a quick picture and sent it to Beth.

Emily: [They look so cute when they're sleeping.]

Beth: [That they do. I see that whatever you said to Jake helped.]

Emily: [Yeah. I had a conversation with him about being nicer. I think he just wasn't used to Daisy being around yet.]

Beth: [I'm glad. It's been hard on Daisy being the only girl their age in the area. So I'm happy she has a friend in Jake.]

Emily: [Looks like more than a friend to me.]

Beth: [Maybe. Time will tell.]

Closing my message app I opened my calendar and looked through due dates for my commissions. Most of them were ready but there were a few that would be a little close. Looking at next month there was a day that was blocked out in red and I was surprised. That was the day Jake starts trainer school, I didn't realize just how soon it was starting. I would have to bring it up tonight or maybe I should wait until Green can be there as well.

Thinking about Green a tear slid down my cheek. That phone call this morning really scared me, every time the phone rings when he is out on a job my heart skips a beat. I know he is strong and is good at his job but anything could happen and I don't know what I would do if I lost him. Shaking my head to dispell those thoughts I opened my message app again.

Emily: [Did you call Blue? What did he say?]

Beth: [Yes I did. There is a lot to tell so I'll give you the ending and I'll give you the rest when you come back.]

[The strongest Pokemon from the nest escaped and your husband was found unconscious in the deepest part of the nest. The medic they have with them says that Green should wake up some time tomorrow and is almost guaranteed to make a full recovery.]

Emily: [Thanks Beth. I really needed to hear that.]

Beth: [Of course Emily. You would do the same for me.]

Closing my phone I put it back in my pocket. Looking at the kids with a smile on my lips I glanced around.

"Hey Allister. Do you have any idea why Green, myself, and now Jake all have an active System?"