Once the evening rolled around, Eevee and Popplio were headed to Caterpie's new home for dinner. But when they arrived, they were shocked to see that he had been given a mansion. Not only that, but he was currently standing outside with a suit designed just for him and waving his right arms at them.
"And the chairman's son gets a mansion," Popplio uttered, "Why didn't I see this coming?" as Eevee shrugged and squealed, "Who cares!? Let's just go in and eat already!" speeding toward the door while the seal shook his head with a light chuckle.
Before dinner could start, Caterpie decided to give them a tour of the estate as Popplio noticed many servants, all of which were either caterpillars, butterflies, bees or wasps. And of course, Metapod had hired and each and every one of them to wait on him.
"Wow, so I guess you must have a personal trainer too, right?" Eevee asked as Caterpie shook his head and replied, "Dad offered one, but I told him I wouldn't need one."
"Wow, how did he take that?" Popplio remarked, the caterpillar chuckling and remembering it like it was yesterday, mostly because it had happened earlier that day.
He was just about to leave with all of the servants by his side when Metapod said, "Before you take off, I forgot your personal trainer," pointing at a cuboid larva with large, beefy arms and muscular legs.
Caterpie simply shook his head and replied, "It's okay, Dad. It's like you said. I'm already strong for my size. It's in my blood, right?"
Rather than protesting against this decision, Metapod had tears in his eyes as he gave his son a tight embrace, sniffing, "You make me so proud!"
Popplio lowered his eyelids while Eevee said, "Well, if you ever need a sparring partner, we can help you out. Popplio's been giving me all kinds of great pointers today," a cute grin on her face as the seal blushed brightly, a light smile forming.
"Well, like I said, I don't think I'll need it," Caterpie replied with a shrug, "But hey, thanks for the offer. I greatly appreciate it."
His eyes then sparkled as he cupped his hands together, sighing in a heavenly tone, "Oh lord, thank you for blessing me with true, blue friends," Popplio groaning, "I really hope he can back up those claims."
Soon enough, everyone was seated in the dining hall for dinner. Though while the table they were seated at was a lot smaller than they thought it would be, it was only because for whatever reason, the area was set up more like a fancy restaurant with separate tables all over the place. Even Eevee could not help but find it excessive, though neither she nor Popplio had the heart to say it.
Once three butterflies flew over and handed them their food, Caterpie held up a glass of champagne and exclaimed, "Let us share a toast for new friends and a brighter tomorrow!" Popplio and Eevee smiling and clinking their glasses together.
During this time, four strangers dressed in cloaks entered Tokyo as a female sighed, "Pookie, when are we going to just pick a town?" a male remarking, "We've been through this a hundred times. We're looking for the perfect place to make our own."
"But don't you think that's asking a little-?" the female asked only for the male to hold up a skinny white paw with sharp claws, looking around and grinning.
"No need to worry," he said with a smirk, "I think I've found just the place," before turning to the other two and asking, "What do you think?"
"It has a nice atmosphere to it," replied a rather short one in a high-pitched female voice as a taller one added in a thick Romanian accent, "Yes, I can imagine feeling content in a place like this. Though how do you suppose we should take control? We'll need a way to get the people's attention."
"Maybe we can just become official citizens," the taller female suggested, "Why do we have to-?" only for the male to give her a cold stare as she sighed, "Right, sorry. You know best."
The male nodded and remarked, "Don't forget the reason we're doing this, honey pumpkin. You know we can't settle down anywhere without taking control of it. But since I know how much you would rather avoid casualties, we will need some way to get them to surrender."
The female grinned and nodded, replying, "Of course," feeling a touch at ease now that she knew no one would have to be harmed, the Romanian shaking his head but saying nothing.
Soon enough, it was nine o'clock as Eevee and Popplio decided to head home. Caterpie insisted that they stay, but they would have rather slept in their own beds tonight. And as much as this confused the caterpillar, he ultimately accepted their decision while they headed out the door.
"I'll admit, while Caterpie does seem full of himself, he also seems like a nice guy," Popplio said with a shrug as Eevee grinned and squeaked, "I know, right!? That was the best meal I ever had in my entire life, oh, but don't tell Mommy I said that!"
The seal laughed and replied, "Don't worry, I won't," before sighing, "Still, even I must admit dining with the chairman's son is nice. I thought I'd have to work hard to earn such a privilege."
Unbeknownst to them, though, the strangers from earlier just happened to be leaning up against the wall outside the gate. They were deep in thought about a plan to get the deed to Tokyo without having to harm anyone when they overheard Popplio's words.
Their eyes widened as the fox and seal opened the gate, turning to them. They strangers bowed their heads while trying to act as natural as possible. Eevee smiled and bowed back, asking, "Nice evening, isn't it?"
"Yes, very nice," the tall female replied with a smile as she gave them a wave, revealing a big paw similar to that of her boyfriend.
Neither hero seemed to think anything of this as they headed along their way. After all, it was not as if beings like them living among humans was unheard of. Not only that, but every one of Caterpie's maids and butlers was a bug like him and Machop was an official Japanese citizen.
Once both heroes exited the area, the tall female was just about to point out how their kind could be accepted only for her boyfriend to smirk and ask, "Did you hear that?" stepping in front of the gate, "We're standing right in front of the home of a chairman's son!"
"So?" the Romanian retorted as the shorter female explained, "I think what he means is that a chairman would be really important."
"Exactly," the male remarked, "He may not be as important as, say, the mayor, but he's still got status and that works for me."
"Still, someone with a mansion like that must have bodyguards," the tall female uttered as the others turned to her. Thus she grinned nervously and replied, "I mean, I'd hate to hurt them. It's not like any bodyguards could defeat us, right?"
"That's my girl," her boyfriend said with a grin as he patted her on the shoulder, "Personally, I'd rather not waste my time and effort on a bunch of musclebound humans, anyway. We'll just need to wait until someone who looks really, really important steps outside."
With that, the group hid behind the wall, peering back every now and then to see if someone would emerge. However, when no one exited after a few seconds, the male sighed, "I'm bored. Let's just storm the place," the female about to protest before sighing, "Okay, Pookie. I'm just grateful you tried to do it my way."
"Wait, we might not have to," the Romanian replied as he directed everyone's attention to the balcony where Caterpie stepped out to look up at the stars.
"This is the happiest day of my life," he sighed, "Well, actually, it's more like my twenty-fifth happiest. There's all my birthday parties, my first, second, third and forth kiss, but whatever. It's just so good to finally have real, honest-to-god friends."
"That's not the chairman's son, is it?" the male uttered as the short female replied, "He is wearing a really fancy suit and tie."
"That doesn't mean much," the Romanian remarked, "But still, I can tell just from looking at him that he is the one we're looking for," as the male rubbed his head and said, "Wow, I wonder what company his father must run. I mean, I definitely wasn't expecting an insect."
"Actually caterpillars are-" the female uttered only for the male to push on the gate, grunting, "How is it locked!? I didn't see anyone-"
He then noticed that the lock was automatic as he sighed, "Alright, Noivern, fly us over," as the Romanian smirked and replied, "Gladly," before spreading out his arms to reveal they were actually wings. This also resulted in his cloak flying off and revealing his entire body.
He was a bat with a red V-shaped nose. His belly and the tips of his wings were purple while the rest of his body was black. He had a mane of white around his neck and his ears were huge and round. The insides were green with black stripes, making them resemble loudspeakers.
With his wings out, he had the male and tall female grab onto one leg each while the short female clung to his back. Thus he flew into the air and over the fence, landing on the lawn as the male said, "Hey, good job. You the man, Noivern."
Caterpie seemed to hear this. Thus he perked up and gazed down upon the strangers. However, rather than calling for help like they figured he would, the caterpillar leapt off of the balcony and landed before them, striking a pose and saying, "State your names and business!"
Neither of the strangers could believe what they were seeing, but either way, the male said, "We've come for you. You're gonna be our first step toward a better tomorrow."
The others were about to retort to him revealing such info without a second thought until Caterpie said, "So, four against one, eh? Well, wasn't expecting that on my first day on the job, but this is a good chance for me to show off my skills."
Thus the caterpillar took off his suit and struck a pose, adding, "I will warn you, though. I'm not as weak as my size would have you believe. After all, I'm the son of Metapod!"
"Mental Pod?" the male remarked, "Who names her kid Mental?" as the tall female replied, "I think he said his father's name is Metal Pod."
"NO, IT'S METAPOD!" Caterpie retorted with a sigh, "Seriously, my dad is the chairman of Hero Planet. How is it that I've already met five non-humans who don't know that?"
Upon hearing that, the female tensed up and uttered, "Pookie, did you hear that? He said Hero Planet," the male grinning and replying, "Yeah, he did. That means he's even more important than before! If we kidnap this guy, the whole world will have to bow down to us, meaning even those so-called heroes going around and saving lives will have no choice but to serve us. This is great!"
"Hey, I'll have you know I'm also one of those 'so-called' heroes, as you put it!" Caterpie retorted, "If you wanna kidnap me and use me as some sort of bartering chip, you'll have to beat me first!"
The others stared as even the female could not help but snicker. This only served to make the caterpillar angrier. As such, he barked, "STRINGSHOT!" and unleashed a strand of silk from his mouth.
Soon, the silk ran into the male's cloak and stuck there tight, thus allowing the caterpillar to pull it off. As such, he was revealed to be a light-brown wolf with a white underbelly that extended up around his muzzle. The tips of his pointy ears were dark-brown as were three spiked bits of fur coming from his neck. Finally, his tail and forearms were also white.
"You asked for our names earlier," the male wolf said with a smirk, "So I guess we may as well let him know the identities of his captors," the females nodding and removing their cloaks as well.
The tall female was a wolf as well, only she seemed to be naturally slouched forward. Much like the male, her arms, legs, belly and muzzle were covered in white fur, but the rest of it was red. And while the male had a mane of white fur around his neck, she had one going up the top half of her back to her head, meaning it looked more like human hair with a black streak hanging down in front of her face. Her eyes were completely pink, including the irises, making her look much more intimidating. She also had two small rocks that resembled claws attached to sides of her midsection and her paws were four times bigger than the male's. And while the male's ears were pointed upwards, hers were rounder and slanted downward.
Finally, the short female was a candle with a purple flame atop her head, stubby arms and no legs. One cute yellow eye could be seen on the left side of her face while a blob of wax resembling hair covered the right one.
Noivern introduced himself right away as the female wolf held up her claws menacingly and growled, "I'm Lycanroc!" the male wolf nodding and saying, "Nicely done, honey pumpkin."
Caterpie blinked when the candle giggled and said, "Hello, I'm Litwick. It's a pleasure to meet you," the male wolf adding, "And I'm the leader of the pack, Lugarugan! We'll make you wish you'd come peacefully instead of fighting us!"
At that moment, the caterpillar tensed up as he had to admit that all four looked really intimidating. Even Litwick gave off a menacing vibe, like her cute exterior was hiding something.
Even so, he had to be strong as he thought, 'Don't freak out, Caterpie! Remember what Dad told you! Besides, there was once a hero who fought alongside Lucario, Clauncher, and she was the shortest hero of her generation! If she was awesome enough to fight by his side, so am I!'
With that in mind, he positioned his lower hands against the ground so he could use them like legs, racing toward the group. But as he got close, Litwick's flame expanded in size thus causing her wax to melt. As a result, her arms became much longer as she wrapped them around the caterpillar. She then lifted him up and exclaimed, "CANDLE ROPE SLAM!" flipping him upside down and sending the back of his head into the ground.
It only got worse when Noivern flew over to him and lifted him up by the tip of his tail, carrying him into the air. He then descended toward the surface and shouted, "MOONLIGHT DROP!" dealing even more pain to Caterpie's head.
As the caterpillar lay there, coughing up green blood already, Lugarugan groaned, "Aw man, you didn't save any fun for us!" Lycanroc thinking, 'Well, at least I won't have to hurt him too.'
However, all four villains were shocked when Caterpie slowly pushed himself up, his right eye only half-open as he groaned, "No. I can still fight. Stringshot."
Once again, he unleashed his string only for Lugarugan to slash it open with his claws, saying, "Alright, Honey Pumpkin, let's end this together!" Lycanroc reluctantly nodding and replying, "Yes, Pookie."
With that, Lugarugan went down on all fours and charged at Caterpie while Lycanroc leapt onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist. She then held her fists out as the two exclaimed, "DUAL ACCELEROCK!"
Caterpie tried to retaliate but found himself too weak at this point. As such, he was a sitting duck when Lycanroc's fists and Lugarugan's forehead rammed into him, sending him flying into a wall.
There was no doubt about it. Caterpie was out cold as Lugarugan stood upright and folded his arms, letting out a big laugh. He then wiped a few tears from his eyes and snickered, "Wow, what a dumbass! He really, truly believed he could stand up to us! Oh my god!"
Lycanroc nodded and uttered, "Yeah, what a moron, eh?" Litwick's wax returning to its original size while Noivern sighed, "That was a waste of effort."
"Yeah, yeah, I easily could have taken him by myself," Lugarugan replied with a shrug, "But quite frankly, I just wanted to get that over with as soon as possible. Now come on, let's go before someone spots us."
With all said and done, the group retreated into the night, Litwick melting some of her wax until it fell off. She then formed a rope with it and used it to bind the caterpillar in place to make sure he could not escape if he woke up.
The following morning, Eevee awoke to the sound of her home phone ringing, the fox rubbing her eyes and grumbling, "Who could be calling this early in the morning?"
She then approached the device and held it up as a female voice on the other end asked, "Hello, is this a Miss Eevee?" the fox replying, "Yeah."
"Oh, good," the speaker replied, "It's a good thing Caterpie is organized otherwise I wouldn't have found this list of numbers given to him by the government."
"How oddly specific," Eevee uttered as she shook her head and asked, "So, are you one of his maids?"
The conversation went on for a little bit longer until the maid asked if Eevee had seen Caterpie recently. Apparently, he was not in his bed when she went to check up on him and did not inform anyone that he would be leaving the mansion.
"No, I haven't," Eevee replied, "I only just woke up, and, well, he didn't spend the night here," as the maid replied, "Okay, thank you. If you find him, let us know," before giving her the phone number to the mansion.
Once the call ended, Eevee bit her lower lip and immediately called up Popplio, telling him about Caterpie's absence. Needless to say, the seal was just as concerned. As such, both raced out of the house and agreed to search for him separately in order to cover more ground.
But after two hours of looking and asking around for a big green caterpillar, it seemed as if no one had spotted him. Thus Eevee gave Popplio a call and sighed, "I've looked everywhere! Where could he have gone!"
"I know," the seal groaned, "I'm really worried about him. I can't help thinking he probably ran off to deal with crime by himself just to prove his so-called superiority."
"I dunno, he seemed really eager to work alongside us," Eevee replied when suddenly, she noticed a news report on a big-screen TV, many others stopping what they were doing to watch this.
"Hello, this is Sora Sakamoto, and I am here live in front of the mayor's estate where a caterpillar is being held hostage," a reporter stated while the camera zoomed in on Lugarugan with Caterpie struggling to free himself.
"Alright, people of Tokyo, I have with me the son of Hero Planet's very own chairman, Mental Padding!" Lugarugan stated only for Caterpie to retort, "IT'S METAPOD!" the wolf ignoring him and continuing, "Now, if you don't want to see this little guy get hurt or worse, you will all surrender yourselves to us and let us become the new rulers of Tokyo!"
While no one really knew Caterpie or Metapod, the fact that this worm was related to the chairman of Hero Planet was all the citizens needed to know. As such, everyone in the area fell to their knees, praying that at least one of Tokyo's heroes would come along to save them.
"Hey, Popplio," Eevee uttered, "Did you just see this latest news report?" a look of terror in her eyes. Not only had she not gotten in as much training as she would have liked to before another threat emerged, they were outnumbered this time and one of their allies had already been defeated. What could they possibly do?
