"You know, there is something I keep thinking about. Something ... strategic."
After you named the Weedla to Josh, you proceeded your walk through Ercu Forest, with your Heatguana Annie by your side, the other beasties not far behind.
"So there truly is something going on in your head?" She was as nonchalant as ever. That was part of the problem, as you would shortly explain. "Tell me about it."
"Back at home, when you were still just a cute Baby-Beastie with a limited vocabulary, I read about all this Competitive-nonsense, and there was something about Moods."
"Moods? You mean Natures?"
"Moods! Donīt break the fabric. We shall only poke it softly ... You get it? Poke?"
"Iīm still listening, but how long that might be ..."
"So, Moods. Moods increase or decrease stats. And your best stat to increase would be Special Attack, right?" She nodded. "The best Mood for that would be Modest."
Annie flinched a little by that, but tried to hide it. "Oh, well, I ..."
"And you know what would be the worst Mood for you? Impish!"
"You wanna tell me something?!"
"Yes! Quit your evil ways and stop behaving like a jerk, and your power shall rise like the flame of friendship!"
Annie opened her mouth, maybe to respond kindly, maybe to hurl a flame at you. But then, a ruckus broke out behind you, and you both turned around. An ambush! Racer and Josh, just idly waddling or crawling and chatting in your footsteps, were surrounded by a bunch of wormboys and -girls. They were all green, whereas Josh was more yellow-brown, so this must be something like the opposing soccer-team. They all wielded strings of silk, throwing it like cowboys. Your other team members were the calfs.
Racer already defended herself, flying up and attacking. "Stormcloud Clapper! Begone, evildoer!" Their was no attack like that in her moveset, and what came out was just an Air Flurry. It blew away a few strings, but they kept coming, ensnaring the Pudgy. She was pulled down. For Josh, he was already at the ground, like worms are known for. Racer crashed on him. "Ouch! Thank you, you broke my fall."
"And you broke me ..."
You bolted at the hurly-burly. "Annie, go!"
Annie jogged leisurely along. "It would be modest to let them handle that themselves."
"No, it would be impish to twist my words like that." You grabbed her under her tiny arms and aimed her like a toddler, ready to puke. "Go, friendship flame!"
Annie spat, and the little fire set the strings ablaze. The wormchildren let go of their shackles before burning their hands, squealing in fear at this demonstration of power. They fled at once.
You kneeled in front of your poor tangled BeastMon, pulling the last strings from them. "That was a clutch. Why were there so many of them?"
Racer wiped a few specks of ash from her coat. "It was fear, surely."
"It was because of me", Josh confessed instantly. "The Forest Queen sent them. She wants me."
"Wants you?", Annie asked. "For what? You are -", she squinted at you, "-you are so handsome and strong, of course she wants you."
You still pulled strings from Josh. There seemed to be no end of it! They felt strangely wet, you registered. You paused and checked, puzzled. "Uh, guys?"
Racerīs focus was elsewhere. "So tell us why, Josh!"
"Because of my heritage as the son of the late Forest King, of course!", he answered. "He was killed in the storm you yourself summoned, remember?"
"The one I shoudnīt feel sorry about, yeah, I remember."
Annie glanced at you. "Is she jolly, by the way?"
"Increasing her Speed, yes. It all makes sense now."
"What is that slime on you?" Your Heatguana examined it further and stepped back. "Holy shit, get your hands out there!"
You pulled back, ripping your hands out of a growing puddle of ... silk-slime? You were so enarmored in the unfolding Forest King-Plotline, that you hadnīt notived yet. Your Weedla virtually sweated silk!
"Oh no, the curse of the king!", Racer shouted.
"Curse?", Josh panicked, wiggling even more than before.
"A delayed attack?", you asked.
"No", Annie said with calm, "Evolution. Just great. Our first is this one."
Josh was still in dread, his own silk binding his arms to his sides and entwining his shoulders. "I -I -I donīt know what to do!"
"Donīt press B?", Annie suggested. "Actually, a Bee you will beeee", she added. "I can do that, too."
His head was next, not stifling his noisy gibbering. You could now clearly see what the suit of silk was becoming, a cocoon. It hardened, and there he laid with a last twitch. Just an insectīs pupa.
"Oh my!", Racer shouted. "What now? Will he sleep for hundreds of years?"
"Maybe kiss him, Princess Thunderbeater?", Annie shot back.
Racer seemed flattered by her comrade. "Oh, you know, Iīm not reaaally a princess ..."
"Well, you never said that, the heritage-bullshit is his! Donīt hog other peopleīs backgrounds for yourself!"
You knocked softly at the hardened shell of the pupa. "Josh? You in there?"
Muffled came an answer. "I ... I think so? I ... I can see you all, guys ..."
"Can you move? How about a Poison Sting?"
"Er ... no."
"Scan him with the Pager, or maybe the BeastDex", Annie suggested. "He should have attacks still."
You did as she said. "So, you are now a Kokuna, and you learned Harden. There is still Poison Sting."
"But I canīt. How should I? Itīs physically impossible!", he lamented.
"Just overcome your knowledge about physics!", Annie snarled. "Itīs all about suspension of disbelief."
He just wept in his shell, as if she insulted him.