If you would like to get access to up to 6 chapters in advance, make sure to check out my Patreon!

---

Ren’s tail crashed against the soil.

His body was flung forward, moving through the tall grass.

Like a bolt of lightning, his body quickly traversed the few meters separating him from the Durant.

Red aura began to congeal around him, slowly morphing.

‘Spear.’ Ren thought of a spear, long and grand.

A spear manifested itself in front of him.

Its blade was sharp. Its shaft was smoother. It could no longer be considered a crude weapon.

‘Die.’ Ren though.

The ant turned its head.

Ren spear clashed into the Ant’s side.

Sparks filled the air.

‘What is this hardness…?’

Ren marveled at the hardness of the ant’s exoskeleton. His spear managed to pierce through the outer layer of armor but was soon stopped by a harder inner layer.

The Ant finally reacted.

Loud screeches erupted from its mouth.

[Eerie Spell]

The mental skill activated attempting to paralyze Ren.

Ren immediately pushed back. The spear that was lodged in the ant’s side dissipated into the air.

The ant screeched loudly into the air.

[Calling Signal]

Another skill activated.

Ren could hear the screeches of ants further away from the ant he was fighting screech back.

The other ants were heading to this location.

 

This was their hunting strategy!

The Durant’s body was not built for attacking and defeating enemies.

Rather, their incredible defense allowed them to stall, giving the other Durants time to gather.

Then they would tear their prey apart!

Their tough defenses… their sense of smell… their skills… they were all used to efficiently hunt and kill Pokémon!

Normal Pokémon did not have nearly as much intelligence as Ren. They would stand no chance against the advanced hunting tactics of the ants.

‘Retreat!’ Ren thought.

He activated [Accelerate].

His body moved back.

If he was surrounded he would have no choice but to die!

His body slithered away.

 

The other Durants in the hunting party soon gathered around the location of the injured screeching ant. 

They were immediately confused.

Where had their prey gone? They had never experienced something like this before.

A Pokémon had injured one of their own and then just gave up?

The ants struggled to compute.

Their bodies separated again.

Ren viewed the scattering of the ants from the air.

His body returned to the ground.

He had to kill them one of them without alerting the rest.

He only had one choice.

He had to kill one of them in one shot!

Ren waited for a while, moving around and activating [acceleration] periodically to avoid detection.

He soon detected another isolated ant.

This was his chance.

Ren slithered in the direction of the ant and observed the ant through the yellow grass.

‘I can only use that move…’

Previously he had avoided using this move due to its high energy consumption, but he no longer had any choice in the matter.

Aura began to circulate around his body.

It was purer… a deeper shade of red.

Ren positioned himself in line with the head of the ant.

The head was the most dangerous position but also the most vulnerable!

Ren activated [acceleration].

His body blasted through the air.

Red aura once again began to shape.

It did not form a spear.

His [spirit manipulation] worked at maximum capacity.

A cone began to form in front of him

A thick Lance!

‘Now move…’

Ren willed the lance to move.

It began to spin.

‘Drill.’

It was a move that used up a large chunk of his spirit.

If one were to absorb the drill and compare it to the drill he had used before one would notice large changes. For one, the drill was thicker and more refined.

It emanated a savage aura.

‘Finishing move: Death Drill!’ Ren cried mimicking the shows that he recalled from his ‘past life’.

The ant had noticed his presence. After all, he was charging from the front.

It sensed the danger. Red aura began to solidify around its mandibles. It charged forward.

‘Die!’ Ren thought with conviction.

His Death Drill and the Ant’s mandibles clashed.

‘More… More… More…’ Ren only had a single thought. He had to finish this.

Red aura surged.

Still, the ant’s defense continued to hold. It was nothing like when he fought the Lotad.

‘I need to be more creative…’

[Terrorize] did not work on the ants.

In a split, second Ren made a decision.

Aura separated from his body and congealed into a small blade.

The small blade pierced into the eye of the Durant.

The Durant immediately cried out in pain.

It had no chance to activate [Calling signal].

The Durant’s aura momentarily weakened.

Ren did not let go of the opportunity.

Ren utilized the chance to push his drill forward.

The drill slowly pierced pass the mandibles of the ant. Blood began to flow, as the drill pierced deep into its brain.

Brain matter exploded out onto the soil.

The Durant, a monster with defense that was on par with some blue Pokémon was killed in one hit!

Ren’s drill pierced deeper into its body before dissipating.

He collapsed onto the ground, shaking.

If he had faced the Durant normally, he could have taken care of it slowly over a long period of time. Unfortunately, he did not have such a luxury. He was forced to go all out.

‘Still… I won…’

Ren stared at the burning sun.

The win filled him with Euphoria.

The reality of his situation soon snapped him out of the daze.

‘Eat… I have to eat…’

He was going to level up.

Ren stared at the corpse of the Durant.

It was time to eat.

Slowly, Ren chipped away at the hard carcass of the Durant.

‘Fuck… this is so damn hard…’

Ren’s fangs dissected the corpse into pieces. Fresh blood continued to spill onto the soil.

Once the Durant was in small enough pieces, Ren began to devour it.

Piece after piece of Durant flesh slid through his throat and into his stomach.

[Ding! You have gained one bioenergy. You have grown longer.]

[Skill percentages of ‘Spirit Manipulation’ and ‘Acceleration’ have levelled up]

 [Ding! Would you like to level up?]

Ren began to slither away. He had come for what he came for. He had explored his surroundings, beat one of the ants and met the criteria to level up.

He had achieved everything he had wanted to from this trip

He should have been be satisfied.

But he was not. Ren could not help but feel empty.

He was unhappy and dissatisfied.

‘Status.’

 

Host Name: Ren

Species: Ekans (Infant)

Element: Poison

Level: 1 [Limit: 5]

Bio-Energy: 20/20

Length: 51 cm

Spirit: 4.2

Power: 3.3

Wisdom: 4.1

Agility: 2.5

Defense: 3.5

Skills: Breathless Breathing Technique [10.3%], Poison sting [9%], Terrorize [20%], Acceleration [35%] Evolution Suppressor [9%] Pokémon Appraisal [25%]

Passive Skills: Spirit Manipulation [68%]

Racial Skills: Shedding [8%]

 

It was not his increased skill percentages that caught his eye. He was not attracted to his improved stat points.

A simple number attracted his attention.

’51 centimeters…’

By the time he got to his second level up, he should only be 50 cm long.

However, he was 51cm long.

This one centimeter made all the difference.

Ren could not help but remember how he had achieved that extra 1 centimeter.

Memories flashed through his mind… of him overloading his body and creating a new skill to stop his body from exploding.

It was than one extra bioenergy that had allowed him to become longer.

The potential (tier) of a Pokémon determined two things.

The type of skills a Pokémon could learn and the stat points they gained through levelling up.

Higher potential Pokémon like the Charmander were born with OP skills and their stats would grow at a greater pace than a normal Pokémon like Ren.

Every time the Pokémon like the Charmander levelled up they would gain more stats and physical properties (height, weight) compared to weaker potential Pokémon.

Over time the difference between the two would continue to increase even more so than what it already was.

‘I want to change that…’

Ren did not want to be a white potential bottom of the barrel prey for the rest of his life.

He wanted to be stronger… he wanted to be the strongest.

He had to… to achieve his goals.

‘This damn body…’

He could not become the strongest depending on the natural talent of the Ekans.

He had to find an alternative path.

This 1cm extra presented a possibility… a possibility of greater growth.

It would be tough and hard.

He may need to work harder than any other Pokémon… but he was prepared for that.

This was Ren’s choice.

His eyes landed on a particular skill that he had neglected for quite a long time.

‘Evolution Suppressor…’

It had helped him survive. It had allowed him to gain an extra bioenergy point and grow a bit longer.

Ren wanted to utilize it… he wanted to break through his limits!

He stared at the tall grass.

To do that he needed to hunt.

Hunt more ants!