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After using the Persian as an example to intimidate the others, the entire night passed without any wild Pokémon disturbing Sato and his team, allowing them to get a good rest in their treehouse.
Of course, Zubat diligently kept watch throughout the night, using his ultrasonic detection abilities to monitor everything nearby. As a nocturnal creature, he was most alert at night and could maintain his vigil in a half-asleep state.
Time flew by, and before Sato knew it, the sun began to rise again from the eastern horizon. Sato woke from his dreams at precisely 6:30 AM, thanks to the alarm on his Team Rocket-issued watch.
The eastern sky was still dim, with only a faint glow, but much of the forest was already awake. As Sato pushed open the treehouse door and stepped outside, he startled a flock of unknown birds.
Climbing down from the tree, Sato noticed that the now-extinguished campfire bore signs of being trampled by some creature. The Persian's corpse, which had been lying in the grass, was also gone.
Examining the chaotic footprints on the ground, Sato tried to discern what type of Pokémon or animal had taken the body, but after failing to identify the tracks, he decided to put the matter aside for now and headed toward the river.
As Sato reached the river to wash up, the wild Pokémon and animals drinking by the water scattered at his arrival. The smaller, weaker creatures quickly fled and disappeared from sight. The stronger, solitary Pokémon, on the other hand, eyed Sato warily but, realizing he meant no harm, continued drinking before slowly walking away.
After refreshing himself by washing his face and putting himself in an optimal state of mind, Sato began preparing breakfast for his three Pokémon. Zubat eagerly drank the deer blood collected the previous day. Nidoran enjoyed its usual meal of Miltank milk and high-quality Poison-type food, while Gloom savored the morning sunlight, rich river mud, and clear water.
Once the Pokémon finished their breakfast, Sato gave Zubat and Nidoran each a calcium supplement to promote their physical development. As for Sato's own breakfast, he ate the leftover roasted venison from the previous night along with a sweet Pecha Berry.
After breakfast, Sato didn't immediately set out to explore the forest. Instead, he stayed by the riverbank and had his three Pokémon undergo their morning training.
In the morning, the focus was on physical training. Zubat once again donned a weighted vest, this time a 10 kg one, and the goal was to fly back and forth across a small section of the river 20 times (one lap being roughly 500 meters).
Gloom, still relatively small, wore a 5 kg weighted vest and used Nidoran's running wheel for endurance training, aiming to cover 5 kilometers.
As for Nidoran, Sato didn't schedule any training for him. After ensuring he had eaten and rested well, Sato recalled him to his PokéBall to continue sleeping. (After all, baby Pokémon tend to sleep a lot.)
While his Pokémon were busy with their training, Sato took the opportunity to unwrap the bandages on his body, disinfect his wounds again with antiseptic, apply fresh healing ointment, and re-bandage them.
Thanks to timely treatment and the effectiveness of the medicine, most of Sato's wounds had scabbed over after a night's rest. In a few more days, he would be fully recovered.
However, Sato knew he needed to avoid any strenuous activity in the next two or three days. Otherwise, the scabs could easily reopen, worsening his injuries.
About an hour later, with his Pokémon having regained their strength, Sato ventured back into the forest with them to continue their exploration from the previous day.
As planned, Sato's exploration goal this time was naturally the territory of Beedrill. Previously, he had only ventured into the outskirts of their territory, but even the patrol Beedrill on the edges were formidable enough to force Sato and Zubat, newly arrived in Viridian Forest, to flee.
However, now that Zubat's strength had improved and he had learned new area-of-effect moves, combined with the significant support from Gloom, Sato no longer feared the Beedrill's swarm tactics. If those patrolling grunts came again, they would simply become experience fodder for Zubat and Gloom.
As the morning sunlight pierced through the layers of leaves, it gradually lit up the previously gloomy forest. Wild Pokémon and animals began moving about, busy with the hustle and bustle of a new day.
Sato saw a group of Butterfree gathering nectar from sunlit flowers, some Rattata carrying nut-like berries into small burrows, and a flock of Pidgey pecking at seeds and insects in the grass.
With the arrival of morning, the forest came alive quickly, presenting a peaceful and harmonious scene before Sato. Unfortunately, this tranquility only existed among the lower ranks of the forest's food chain. Once more aggressive Pokémon like Beedrill, Spearow, or Ekans showed up, the peace would be shattered in an instant, turning into a constant game of hunting and being hunted.
"Perhaps the purpose of this wilderness survival trial is for us rookies to witness firsthand the law of the jungle," Sato thought seriously as he watched the calm scene before him break apart in a moment. "The weak exist only as food for the strong. To avoid being eaten, we have no choice but to keep growing stronger."
With that thought, Sato and his team, Zubat and Gloom, pressed onward into the forest, which was governed by the law of the jungle. Along the way, they encountered wild Pokémon, engaging in battles with attackers and sometimes challenging strong Pokémon they encountered on purpose.
The path Sato tread was littered with wild Pokémon who had been defeated and temporarily incapacitated.
Because Sato was the one intruding into these wild Pokémon's territories, he didn't deal any fatal blows to those who attacked. He merely defeated them until they temporarily lost their ability to fight.
However, Sato wasn't always the one dishing out defeats. There were times when they had to flee from stronger wild Pokémon, such as now.
"Damn, these Pinsir are tough. Zubat, use Air Cutter on the Pinsir ahead! Gloom, follow up with Sleep Powder to support Zubat's attack!" Sato commanded, watching as five Pinsir approached from different angles, closing in like bulldozers.
While exploring the forest, Sato had stumbled upon a few Pecha Berry trees. After Zubat had scouted the area and confirmed that no other wild Pokémon were around, Sato took the opportunity to gather some berries for future use.
But just as Sato began directing Zubat to help pluck the berries from the tree, a Pinsir burst out of the ground nearby, launching a fierce attack.
After Zubat and Gloom easily defeated the lone Pinsir, which was only level 25, they inadvertently stirred up a hornet's nest. In the next moment, a dozen more Pinsir emerged from the ground around the Pecha Berry trees.
Facing such an overwhelming number of Pinsir, Sato knew better than to take them head-on, which led to the current chase.