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The actions of the two young Growlithe made the male Growlithe frown, but after hearing the gentle call of his mate, he gave up on scolding his children.
Both the male and female Growlithe quickly ran up to their pups, gently picking them up in their mouths. With cautious eyes fixed on Sato and his companions, they carried the pups back to a hidden den nearby.
Seeing the Growlithe couple acting as though guarding against intruders, Sato could only smile wryly. To avoid any further misunderstanding, he turned and left with Zubat and Gloom, knowing that his current state wasn't great. He needed to find a place to heal soon.
After the male Growlithe scolded them, the two pups hung their heads in shame. However, the male pup would occasionally sneak glances at the den entrance, his eyes full of longing. The roasted venison from earlier had been tastier than anything he had eaten before.
About ten minutes later, after confirming that Sato, Zubat, and Gloom had moved a safe distance away, the male Growlithe hesitated before leaving the den. Amid the joyful barks of the pups, he dragged both roasted venison legs back to their home.
Meanwhile, Sato had already left the small grove where the red berries grew and reentered the dense forest. Using Gloom's Secret Power, he created another treehouse in a large tree near the grove. He was now resting inside.
"Damn, looks like I'll have to lay low for the next few days. If I keep pushing myself, I'll die from my injuries before any wild Pokémon get the chance," Sato muttered as he disinfected his wounds, wincing at how they had reopened and worsened.
The Pinsir attack had been a harsh wake-up call for Sato. Clearly, with his current strength, moving freely through this forest was not an option. To survive, he needed to be much more cautious.
Sato also realized he had been relying too heavily on Zubat's Supersonic detection ability. While strong, it had its limitations—particularly with Pokémon that burrow deep underground, where Zubat's sonar couldn't reach.
His earlier reckless entry into the Pinsir territory was partly due to his overconfidence in Zubat's detection and partly because he didn't fully understand Pinsir's behavior.
(Note: Pinsir dislike the cold and typically burrow underground where it stays warm during sleep.)
Now, with his injuries worsening, Sato estimated he'd need at least four or five days of rest before he could engage in any strenuous activity again. If he pushed himself too hard and reopened the wounds, he might die from a lack of medical treatment, even if no wild Pokémon got to him first.
Faced with this grim situation, Sato had no choice but to abandon his plans of exploring the forest for the next few days and focus on recovering.
By around 5 PM that day, with the help of Zubat's echolocation and Gloom's Stench ability, they carefully avoided most wild Pokémon and safely returned to their original campsite by the water source.
Over the next five days, Sato stayed put at the campsite to focus on healing. Of course, he didn't spend the time idly. He continued training Zubat and Gloom under a strict regimen, and both Pokémon saw noticeable improvements in their stamina and skill proficiency.
Zubat, already proficient in manipulating Flying-type energy, finally trained the Air Cutter move to the Proficient level. He could now produce 10 small air blades or 30 miniature ones in a single attack and control their trajectory slightly.
Additionally, with the help of a particularly reckless Raticate, Zubat managed to grasp the basics of Hypnosis by learning how to emit hypnotic waves (Hypnosis – Beginner Level).
Meanwhile, Gloom, with the assistance of a Weepinbell skilled in Razor Leaf and Grass Knot, successfully learned both Grass-type moves. Thanks to Gloom's innate talent in controlling Grass-type energy, she quickly advanced to a Proficient level with both moves.
At the same time, during the last three days, after Sato felt his injuries had somewhat healed, he began actively seeking out wild Pokémon near his camp that were around the same level as Zubat and Gloom to battle.
Thanks to the rapid recovery effects of the PokeBlocks he had on hand and the natural healing abilities of his Pokémon (Zubat's Leech Life and Gloom's Synthesis), Sato was able to have his Pokémon engage in nearly a hundred battles with wild Pokémon each day.
Of course, after the near-death experience of being chased by Pinsir, Sato was more cautious, focusing on finding evenly matched opponents to sharpen his Pokémon's skills, allowing them to steadily accumulate battle experience (fighting smaller enemies to level up before tackling bigger bosses).
Some of these opponents, having been repeatedly defeated by Zubat and Gloom, became so scared that they refused to come out of their dens no matter how much Sato provoked them.
In the end, because suitable opponents were hard to find and Sato didn't dare venture too deep into the forest, he was forced to challenge the more aggressive wild Pokémon nearby. As a result, over the past few days, the number of injured Beedrill in the area skyrocketed, and many of their territories were lost.
Knowing that they were living in a dangerous environment, Zubat and Gloom pushed themselves to their limits, training relentlessly to grow stronger and protect Sato. They used the skills they developed through training to battle wild Pokémon, pushing their potential to the maximum.
Under Sato's careful guidance, Zubat and Gloom slowly grew stronger, their abilities improving bit by bit.
Through their numerous battles with wild Pokémon, their levels increased rapidly. Zubat's level rose to 24, while Gloom's level reached 25.
During these five days, aside from training and battling, a few things happened that made Sato extremely happy.
The first good news was that Nidoran finally completed his one-week infancy stage and officially entered the growth stage. Thanks to daily meals of Miltank's milk, premium Poison-type Pokémon food, and high-quality calcium supplements, Nidoran, who had been growing rapidly during his infancy, thrived.
Compared to five days ago, when Nidoran was only the size of a small rabbit, he had now grown to half the size of an adult dog. After Nidoran completed his infancy stage, Sato immediately began training him.
With Sato's consistent efforts over the past five days to train Nidoran in the use of Confusion, Nidoran's physical capabilities improved dramatically after the infancy stage, and he successfully mastered the basics of Confusion, reaching an entry-level proficiency.
The second piece of good news occurred during the last two days. Following the trail markers Sato had left on trees, he managed to return to the grove where the Growlithe family lived. There, using the aroma of roasted meat, Sato successfully lured out one of the food-loving Growlithe pups.
Although the pup was quickly carried back by the male Growlithe, who nearly attacked Sato, the delicious roasted meat and a gem-level PokeBlock won over the little Growlithe's foodie heart.
From then on, whenever Sato visited the grove, the pup, having memorized Sato's scent, would immediately come out looking for food.
The male Growlithe, after several failed attempts to stop his pup and seeing that Sato meant no harm, eventually gave up. As a result, the little Growlithe grew increasingly fond of Sato, all thanks to the allure of delicious food.
The third piece of good news had just unfolded before Sato's eyes.
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