"What? I can't believe you ate them all so quickly!"

"Sowee… I was hungry..."

He couldn't believe it despite the very spectacle being apparent before his eyes. After all the trouble he had gone through gathering all those Pecha leaves for a family lunch, she had them all gobbled up within seconds while he went out to get more. An exaggeration really, but he did recall explicitly telling her to stand guard on the pile of Pecha leaves in their little home that he had been adding to all morning. It wasn't as easy as one would think, for someone as small as him had to scour every corner of the massive forest floor to find such fresh morsels with those little feet of his while also dodging countless scores of Tailows that circled above for easy prey.

They were supposed to have a feast, a delicious meal cum family bonding session. But now, it was all gone, lost to a moment of inattention to an ill-disciplined sister as he went off in search of more. Having found nothing the second time round, he had returned, hoping to make do, only to be greeted by something far worse. At times, he couldn't help but wonder that perhaps she had it too easy. He was after all the one doing all the dangerous things so that they would survive. Perhaps he had to scold her to knock some sense into her, like what that Ziggzagoon did to that lazy friend of his. It was going to be a first (and she would probably have her feelings hurt), but he had to do something. At the very least, he could make her slightly more responsible for their collective survival. For instance, she could start by not eating all their food stockpiles on a whim.

"You... wait, are you even listening?"

However, she had left him long by then, her red carapace curled up in slumber. The satisfaction of a hearty meal had rendered her unconsciousness, as was customary. A meal meant for him too.

"Sigh..."

She was always like that. Eating and sleeping, never thinking, just being, being whatever. Still, he had little choice. She was the only family he had, and he cherished and loved her, as any older sibling would. It wasn't completely her fault either, for he knew he had been too overprotective since day one. Keeping someone pampered and out of harm's way constantly was sure to create dependency, a fact he now knew all too well.

Eventually, he knew that he would have to teach her the ways of survival. But for the time being, he was still content in being the sole provider, as infuriating as it could be at times.

And now, he had more pressing matters. An entire morning's worth of gathering had left him with an empty belly with nothing to show for apart from an unconscious sister. Crawling reluctantly out of the little hole they called their home, he began his search anew. The midday sun was now upon his body like a radiant supernova, and that motivated him to wriggle his prolegs even faster in prospect of a Pecha leaf to munch on in the cool shade.

He was sure that most of the good ones had been taken by him or by others of his kind. Such was to be normally expected, for his kind foraged for nourishment before midday, where the morning dew made the leaves fresh and the fresh ones even crispier. Much to his surprise however, a lone Pecha leaf sat precariously upon a fairly low hanging branch on a westward tree, whose bark stood just within wriggling distance. Its emerald-green splendour shone in the light of the midday sun, promising juiciness and crunchiness with each bite. The matter wasn't up for debate. This one, this was definitely the one to go for.

Quickening his pace, he wriggled even faster. Such was the strength of his motivation that vertical distance meant nothing, and before he knew it, he was on the same level of elevation as that delicious leaf, a mere branch all that stood between him and his prize.

It was then that he felt his belly tighten as though it had been tied into an infinite configuration of knots. He felt his prolegs tremble as the wind tickled them, as if taunting his fear in an effort to encourage his descent onto the unforgiving earth below. Never had he ever been this high up in his entire life.

Until now.

"Uh oh..."

A part of him wanted to flee to safety, hunger be damned. But even that was impossible now, for it meant somehow getting down the tree. Another part of him cursed himself, berating how he had let hunger overwhelm reason. However, yet another part of him knew that it was far too late for regrets. Staring at the Pecha leaf with a determination harder than any steel-type, it was now a matter of do or die.

"Easy does it..."

He nudged himself onto the branch; planting each of his numerous prolegs upon its bark in an effort to ingrain himself upon its rough surface should he fall. Wriggling slowly with calculated precision each step of the way, he brought himself closer and closer towards the leaf. Each wriggle forward made the leaf seem larger and even more tantalising, and eventually, he felt its crunchy and juicy texture churn delightfully between his mandibles. At long last, he thought to himself as a wave of triumph surged through every inch of his red body. Truly, this was what it meant to feel alive.

It was not long after he took his first bite that he saw a flash of something red and white hit him. The blunt impact of it didn't hurt nor knock him off his precarious position, but before he could react in any way the mysterious sphere had opened up and sucked him into its dark confines. Fearing the worst, he struggled against the all-consuming darkness, tackling wildly with all as might as fear overtook his senses. To no avail it was unfortunately, for he began to feel some kind of stasis overtake every sinew of his body. Suddenly, everything became frozen and static, as he was paralysed in time. Was this the end as he knew it? It seemed far too soon, and if anything, he expected it to be between the hungering jaws of one of those accursed bird Pokemon, not a timeless vacuum.

And even as everything turned to black around him, he felt his rapidly freezing thoughts shift back to her. Did she know of his predicament? Looking back, he knew that he should have taken the time to teach her some basic survival skills. Now, she was all alone in the wild, undoubtedly waiting for him to return for her next meal, something that probably wouldn't be coming any time soon. Sooner or later, some wretched Tailow, or heavens forbid, a Swellow, was going to get her. He had heard the stories from his fellow Wurmples. Those dark tales still kept him up at night sometimes, watching the moonlit skies with dread.

He braced himself for an eternity of darkness. And yet, that eternity seemed to be but a brief whisper of a second, for before he could fully make sense of his predicament, he found himself out upon the familiar grass of his forest home. Everything seemed normal, as if the experience mere seconds ago was but a break in the flow of time. For a brief moment he stood relieved, pleased that he was free from the all-consuming darkness. However, as he scanned his surroundings, he caught sight of two tall figures that were not there before his near-death experience. Blocking out the sun with their shadows, they both had long, shoulder-length hair, one brown and the other black. With similar facial features, they seemed to be siblings, much like he and his sister. And much to his amusement, their hides were covered in bizarre coloured wrappings that covered various parts of their feet, legs and body.

Humans? Up to this very moment, they had only existed to him as the stuff of legend told by his neighbours and friends, that which was worse than even the most savage of Swellows, taking both kith and kin without abandon. And they had somehow used that mysterious sphere to incapacitate him. At this point, hunger seemed relatively minor a concern.

He felt his prolegs gain a life of their own as he wriggled away as fast as he could. Humans were in fact real, and now, he had to warn everyone before it was too late! However, before he could make any sort of decent distance from his captors, he felt himself being lifted from the ground by a force greater than himself. Turning around in horror, he was now within the clutches of the brown-haired human. Her facial features were contorted into some sort of half-moon shape, and she made a loud squealing sound as she extended her arms towards the black-haired human, bringing him towards her. He half-expected the latter to respond in an equally shrill cry (as was expected of creatures of the same species), but much to his surprise, she did not. The latter's was instead gentle and modest, her blue eyes focused upon what lay within her cradled arms rather than the hubris of the one who held him. And much to his shock, those very arms held his sister, still asleep even in the face of danger. He knew her to be a heavy sleeper, but this was far too extreme for any form of reasonable expectation.

Then again, perhaps this was for the best. She was no doubt going to be terrified were she awake in this situation. Hysterical. He shuddered at the mere thought of the possibility. But before any more considerations and thoughts could be had, he felt his consciousness freeze up once more, his bodily essence absorbed by that mysterious sphere of white and red. This time however, he felt some measure of comfort, for he now knew the sensation to only be temporary. Not only that, his sister was now by his side, and with that in mind, he felt himself stronger than ever before, ready for any trials that lay ahead.