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Faced with the sudden ambush by these wild Pokémon, Sato wasn't intimidated at all when he saw that their average level was only around 16. Since he'd obtained Gloom, Sato had been wanting to try out a new strategy, but hadn't had the opportunity. Now was the perfect time.
Besides, the humiliation he and Zubat had suffered earlier from the Ursaring leader's attack and disdain still lingered. They were still seething with anger and now had a chance to release it on these clearly hostile wild Pokémon.
The level 43 Ursaring might be out of their league, but there was nothing to fear when it came to this group of Meowth, whose average level was only 16.
"Hmph, Zubat, use Gust to form a Whirlwind Shield! Gloom, spread Sleep Powder into Zubat's Whirlwind," Sato ordered, his eyes flashing blue as he analyzed the Meowth group blocking their path.
Upon hearing Sato's command, Zubat instantly created two small, white gusts of whirlwinds. At the same time, Gloom sprayed a large amount of green powder from her bud. The light powder was immediately sucked into the whirlwinds created by Zubat.
In no time, the two white gusts of whirlwinds had turned green.
Just as Sato issued his orders, the Meowth, under Persian's leadership, launched a swift, close-range attack. A swarm of sharp-clawed Meowth targeted Sato, thinking he would be the easiest prey to handle.
Unfortunately for them, Zubat had deliberately controlled the two green whirlwinds to form a protective barrier around Sato, with Gloom at the center.
As a result, most of the Meowth couldn't even get close before being intercepted by Zubat's whirlwinds, which were still infused with Sleep Powder. Soon, those who made contact with the green whirlwinds began to feel drowsy and fell asleep one by one.
Seeing the impressive effects of Gloom's Sleep Powder combined with Zubat's Whirlwind Shield, Sato smiled. After driving back a Meowth with his hunting knife, he seized the opportunity to continue the offensive, ordering Zubat and Gloom to repeat the same strategy against the remaining Persian and Meowth.
With most of their members now asleep, the Meowth's advantage in numbers quickly disappeared. Before long, the wounded Persian and the remaining battered Meowth fled into the forest in a panic, disappearing from Sato's view.
Gloom's Stench ability, combined with her three powders, made her a formidable partner alongside the Flying-type Zubat. Their synergy was strong, and they had no fear of battling groups.
Gloom's Sleep Powder, when paired with Zubat's Gust, was an especially powerful combination. In battle, any wild Pokémon caught in the attack would inevitably fall into a forced sleep, allowing Zubat and Gloom to take them down one by one.
Of course, when faced with Flying-types like Murkrow, the combo wasn't as effective. However, using their advantage of striking first, Zubat and Gloom's mixed techniques still worked wonders, successfully driving off the cowardly Murkrow flock.
After displaying their formidable strength, the other wild Pokémon that arrived from the forest to scavenge food didn't dare attack Sato and his team. Seeing that they weren't interested in the dead fish on the riverbank, the wild Pokémon allowed them to leave unchallenged.
As Sato and his group moved a good distance away, a brawl broke out among the wild Pokémon over the limited food. By this time, Sato was already nursing several injuries. He quickly took out disinfectant, medicine, and bandages to treat himself.
Meanwhile, Zubat and Gloom used Leech Life and Synthesis, respectively, to heal most of their wounds. Now, as they nibbled on the PokeBlocks Sato gave them, they were rapidly recovering their energy.
After a few tough group battles, Zubat's level finally rose to 19, and it learned the Flying-type ranged special attack, Air Cutter. Meanwhile, Gloom, being a higher level, remained at level 22, but thanks to their repeated teamwork, the two Pokémon's synergy improved significantly.
(Note: Air Cutter is a Flying-type ranged special attack with 60 power. It attacks the opponent with sharp winds and has a high critical-hit ratio. It's also a multi-target move.)
It's worth mentioning that Zubat's level-up and learning of Air Cutter, a move with stronger attack power and a wider range than Gust, made the subsequent battles much less difficult for Sato and his team.
Air Cutter, combined with Gloom's three powder moves, not only inflicted area damage on enemies but also caused widespread status effects, making it an excellent combo with Gloom's powders.
However, this combo had its weakness. When facing Flying-type Pokémon, if Zubat's wind generated by its Flying-type energy couldn't overpower the opponent's, the move would backfire.
In less than half a day, Zubat had already leveled up four times. It was so fast it felt like rocket-level speed, almost making Sato feel like this was a game. (Of course, in a game, leveling up from 15 to 19 in half an hour is pretty normal.)
But then again, realizing this was real life where the Pokémon could get injured or even lose their lives in battles made Sato accept it. After all, the multiple injuries on his own body were no joke; they still hurt like hell.
Not long ago, he had almost had his heart ripped out by Persian, whose speed was astonishing. If it hadn't been for Gloom's quick reaction and a well-timed Stench attack that caused Persian to make a serious mistake, Sato would likely have been dead by now.
After experiencing so many life-or-death battles, it would be unreasonable not to grow quickly.
Due to his injuries, Sato decided to abandon his plan of continuing to explore the forest. He also started to seriously consider training his own body.
During the previous battles, his physical limitations caused several near-fatal situations. Even though he had the "bullet time" ability, his body often couldn't keep up with his mind. This was clearly due to his poor physical fitness.
After returning to the base of the tree where the treehouse was located, and noticing there was still some time before dusk, Sato decided to make the most of it and begin training the abilities of his Pokémon. Now that Zubat had reached level 19 and learned two new moves, Confuse Ray and Air Cutter, it was crucial to train them.
Especially Air Cutter—since Zubat had only just learned it from leveling up, it clearly wasn't skilled in using it yet. In the previous battle, it had done little more than create strong gusts of wind, which proved it wasn't fully mastered.
From what Sato remembered, Air Cutter was supposed to create sharp wind blades, like those of a scythe, to attack. But so far, Zubat could only produce sudden gusts of wind without any wind blades.
Although even this incomplete version of Air Cutter worked well with Gloom's powders and produced good results, it wasn't the outcome Sato was hoping for. After all, if an attack move couldn't deal damage to the opponent, it would lose its purpose.
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