Slowly approaching.
After all, Nidoking is a Ground Type Pokémon, extremely sensitive to changes and disturbances on the ground. Furthermore, the alertness of wild Pokémon should not be underestimated, so Natsuhiko never dared to get too close to observe.
But with the current distance, it's impossible to accurately determine Nidoking's strength, a problem that seems to remain unsolved.
"If only Abra had finished its growth period, with its demonstrated psychic abilities, it could help me get off the ground. That would be safer." Natsuhiko muttered to himself.
"Abra?"
Abra poked its head out, seemingly having heard someone calling it.
Natsuhiko had an idea and tentatively asked, "Abra, with your current psychic power, can you touch the fruits on those trees?"
"Caysey~~" Abra tilted its head.
It wasn't sure either.
However...
Abra raised its hand, and a faint psychic force spread from its body, gradually forming an uneven psychic stream extending towards the fruit trees not far away.
"Abra!"
Under Natsuhiko's gaze, Abra's extending psychic power slowly touched the fruit tree, gently parting the dense foliage and carefully grabbing a hidden, red fruit.
Usable!
Natsuhiko's face showed a hint of joy.
Though Abra's psychic abilities were impressive from birth, he hadn't expected that it could achieve this extent now.
But extending this far was Abra's limit. The psychic power nudged the fruit twice but couldn't pluck the Dragon Fire Fruit.
Seeing this, Natsuhiko furrowed his brows again.
After a slight hesitation, he chose to approach two more steps, possibly reducing the pressure on Abra.
Pop!
Indeed, by approaching and hearing the crisp sound of a branch snapping, Abra finally picked the Dragon Fire Fruit from the tree.
However.
Perhaps not considering the fruit's weight or failing to grab it firmly, the fruit fell straight down.
"Abra!"
Abra let out a shout and quickly altered the trajectory of its psychic power, finally catching the fruit just before it landed on Nidoking.
But before Natsuhiko and Abra could breathe a sigh of relief, they saw the sleeping Nidoking open its eyes.
A fierce gaze fell on Natsuhiko and Abra.
"Abra!"
Noticing Nidoking's gaze, Abra trembled in fear.
The psychic power dissipated instantly, and it swiftly retreated under Natsuhiko's collar, sneaking a peek with one eye.
Thud!
The Dragon Fire Fruit fell heavily onto Nidoking's head.
Natsuhiko: "..."
"Nee-ka!"
Nidoking suddenly stood up, eyes burning with rage.
A thief dared to steal the food it had claimed with difficulty?
Unforgivable!
It charged with huge strides in Natsuhiko's direction.
Natsuhiko took a deep breath, "If gentleness doesn't work, we'll have to use force in the end."
However, he didn't rush to act; he was observing. If Nidoking's strength indeed exceeded Beedrill's capabilities, he wouldn't force it.
But quickly, the observant Natsuhiko noticed something unusual about Nidoking.
"Injured?"
Squinting, he locked onto Nidoking's leg, seeing a wound that hadn't fully healed.
Though the wound wasn't large, it seemed quite deep, like a semi-penetrating wound. As Nidoking ran, the unavoidable pain of the wound caused a certain degree of distortion in its movements.
"Senior Level, probably among the top notch in the Senior Level, but injured, it's hard to say..."
Battles between wild Pokémon were constant, and injuries were common.
Throughout this journey, Natsuhiko and Beedrill encountered many injured Pokémon but hadn't expected this Nidoking to be among them, nor that its injury wasn't light.
Nidoking was probably asleep earlier, hoping to reduce energy consumption and accelerate its recovery.
An injured Senior Level Nidoking...
"For other Pokémon, this might only yield a small advantage, but for Beedrill..."
Natsuhiko glanced at Beedrill, and it instantly understood.
What better suits a Sniper than striking at a foe's weakness?
Beedrill's wings buzzed, surrounded by a gentle breeze, holding its breath, concentrating, and quickly charging toward Nidoking.
Tailwind and Qi Gathering both activated!
The distance between the two Pokémon quickly closed as Beedrill and Nidoking's collision became inevitable.
Roar——
Nidoking's clenched fist ignited in flames, aimed directly at Beedrill's face, carrying fierce power with the scorching fire. This Attribute Suppression Flame Fist, if it hit directly, was enough to severely injure Beedrill.
Yet, faced with Nidoking's aggressive Flame Fist, Beedrill wasn't flustered. Its body quivered slightly, splitting into several Shadow Clones, confusing Nidoking while its twin needles crossed, gathering points of brilliant green light rapidly.
Swoosh!
Nidoking ultimately guessed wrong, and this was Beedrill's opportunity.
Ducking to dodge Nidoking's arm, the flank was wide open, and the sharp Cross Cut struck out grandly.
Bam!
"Nee-ka!"
The already vulnerable injury suffered another heavy blow, with blood gushing out, Nidoking let out a pained cry, staggering before crashing heavily to the ground.
Seizing the moment for pursuit, Beedrill spat out a strand of silk, wrapping around Nidoking's back, using the pull to draw a beautiful arc in the air, preparing for a back strike.
Thud, thud, thud!
Yet Nidoking smashed the ground with a punch, creating a crack, while several rocks quickly formed, hurtling toward Beedrill.
Facing the Falling Rock attack, Beedrill had no choice but to alter its attack path, releasing the silk, beating its wings to fold in mid-air.
However, due to the abundant debris, it avoided the largest rocks, while using its Long Needles to shatter some smaller ones head-on.
Hence, it sustained quite some damage.
But Nidoking's attack showed little result and was now in a weakened state, old strengths gone, and new ones not yet formed—a perfect time to attack.
Golden trail on the wings flickered.
Flight speed spiked again, leaving a streak of golden arc in the air.
Acrobatics reappeared.
Strike at the wound.
Sniper's traits triggered consecutively, and the already injured Nidoking couldn't withstand it, eyes rolling, fainted on the ground.
Natsuhiko seized the opportunity to throw a Pokeball, hitting Nidoking accurately.
The Pokeball's opened red light absorbed Nidoking inside.
After a few shakes, a "ding" sound rang out.
Captured successfully.
Picking up the Pokeball, Natsuhiko's grip tightened.
"Just this one Nidoking makes the trip worthwhile; this was truly an unexpected find."
Through the encounter, Natsuhiko gained substantial insight into this Nidoking.
Poison Sting trait, mastering Flame Fist and Falling Rock, both a Fire and Rock Type technique, though its other excellent techniques were still unknown.
"Examining further back home, even without the Forced Traits, any additional good techniques will raise this Nidoking's price significantly."
Natsuhiko didn't intend to keep it for himself, as it didn't have Forced Traits and had already evolved to its final form, limiting its potential, making further cultivation unworthy.
"First collect the tree fruits and quickly leave; it's unsafe here."
Soon enough, ten whole Dragon Fire Fruits were gathered.
Natsuhiko was ready to depart with Beedrill.
The journey here had been quite bumpy, but the finale surprisingly... went smoothly.
And just as Natsuhiko prepared to leave, Abra sprang up.
"Abra!!"
It pointed with small hands at the nearby pond.
A mix of fear and curiosity.
Amidst the small pond, two points of red light flickered.
It seemed to have sensed Natsuhiko's gaze, startled, it submerged instantly, disappearing from view.
Natsuhiko stared blankly at the fleeting sight, somewhat hesitant to believe his eyes, murmuring:
"Just now, it seemed like... possibly... a Kabuto, right?"
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Third update! More to come later! Thanks to Mews Mew Mew Mew, Qing Gu, and all other patrons for their generous support, and thanks to all readers for their rewards!