Julian knew he was out of time. Silas's visit wasn't just a warning; it was a death warrant. In this world, the "accidental" death of an orphan was barely worth a shrug from the village council.
If he wanted to survive the week, he had to accelerate everything.
Phase One: The Forced Evolution
Julian didn't want a standard Metapod. In his previous world, he knew about ecdysis—the process of molting.
Most Caterpie evolved when they ran out of space in their skin. Julian decided to "hack" this by inducing a massive calcium spike while simultaneously restricting the outer shell's expansion using a specialized silk wrap.
He fed Vellum a concentrated paste of ground Shuckle shells and fermented Apricorn pith. The internal pressure grew. Vellum's body began to glow with the white light of evolution, but Julian kept the silk bindings tight, forcing the energy to condense rather than expand.
When the light faded, the creature in the shed wasn't a soft, green cocoon.
It was a Metapod, but its shell was a matte, obsidian black—a result of the carbon-rich diet and high-pressure compression.
Species: Metapod (Variant: Reinforced)
Trait: Slag-Skin. The shell is reinforced with mineral deposits, making it resistant to piercing attacks (like Pidgeotto's Peck).
Phase Two: Scouting the Counter-Measure
While Vellum settled into its new form, Julian went into the deepest part of the marsh. He wasn't looking for another "weak" bug. He was looking for an Ekans.
He found one near a stagnant pool. It was young, but its venom was potent. Most trainers feared Ekans because of their unpredictable strikes, but Julian understood the physics of a strike. A snake is a spring. If you control the anchor point, you control the snake.
He didn't use a Poke Ball. He used a Resonance Frequency device he'd built using a hollowed-out flute and a vibrating Kakuna shell. The frequency mimicked the distress call of a dying Murkrow—a sound that attracted Ekans looking for an easy meal.
When the snake lunged, Julian didn't flinch. He used a silk-tethered weight to snag the snake's tail, yanking it off-balance. He then offered it a "peace offering": a piece of high-protein Scyther meat he'd preserved.
The Ekans, hungry and confused by this human who didn't smell like fear, took the meat. Julian clicked his second, battered Poke Ball.
Capture Successful. He named it Suture.
Phase Three: The Siege of the Shed
Silas came at midnight. He didn't come alone; he brought two guards with him. "Burn the shed," Silas ordered. "The boy stays inside."
As the guards approached with torches, the door to the shed didn't just open—it was blown open.
A black, angular shape rocketed out. It was Vellum. Using a trick Julian had refined, the Metapod wasn't just sitting there. It was using a high-tension "Silk Recoil." By anchoring a thread to the back of the shed and "loading" its muscles, Vellum could launch itself like a cannonball.
The Physics of the Strike:
At 14kg and moving at 40mph, Vellum hit the Pidgeotto in the chest with the force of a falling boulder. The bird's ribs cracked instantly.
"Now, Suture!" Julian shouted.
The Ekans slithered from the tall grass behind the guards. It didn't bite them; it went for the torches. With a whip-like strike, it knocked the fire into the mud, plunging the clearing into darkness.
In the dark, Julian's "Smart" training took over. He had trained Suture to hunt by heat signatures, not sight. The guards panicked, swinging blindly, while the Ekans moved like liquid, delivering non-lethal paralytic nips to their ankles.
The Conclusion of the Conflict
Silas stood alone, his Pidgeotto grounded and gasping for air. Julian stepped out, holding a small vial of the acidic musk he'd distilled from Vellum's old Caterpie skin.
"The bird eats the bug, right Silas?" Julian asked, his voice flat. "But what happens when the bug is too hard to swallow and the snake is already at your heels?"
Silas dropped his cane. He was a bully, and bullies are fundamentally cowards when the math stops favoring them.
"I'm taking the Miller's contract," Julian stated. "And you're going to tell the village council that I'm the new 'Ecological Consultant' for this region. If you don't, I'll let Suture show you exactly how his venom affects the human nervous system. It starts with the toes, I believe."
Julian didn't kill them. Death brought investigations. Fear brought cooperation.
As the sun rose, Julian sat on the steps of his shed. He had a reinforced Metapod, a venomous enforcer, and the local power structure in his pocket. He was no longer just a "Snatcher."
"We will leave for the city in a month," he told his Pokémon. "There's a Gym Leader there who thinks rock means invincible."
Vellum shifted, its shell scraping softly against stone.
Julian smiled, thin and tired.
"I think he just hasn't seen the right kind of silk."