Slowpoke who noticed Murkrow's behavior early climbed out of the river, and the Miltank, who had been helping Aoki with the food, also put down what she was doing and stood beside Aoki obediently.
Aoki looked up at the sun, almost touching the horizon.
"If you go fast, you should be able to come back before the sun goes down."
"Let's go, Murkrow, lead the way." Aoki decisively chose to find Nidoran.
This time, the whole team was dispatched. In order to hurry up and try to find Nidoran before the sun went down, even the Miltank, who usually doesn't like fighting very much, joined in.
However, Miltank still couldn't overcome her hesitation. At most, she could only defeat the opponent, but not go as far as to deliver a fatal blow.
Aoki, who knew her situation, wasn't insistent. After all, the biggest role of Miltank was to support the team's endurance, and Murkrow and Slowpoke would also encourage Miltank from time to time, helping her integrate into the team more quickly.
It was clear to see that Miltank had gradually moved to the front of the team. She had good physical defense and speed, and with the supplement of drinking milk, she had assumed the role of the team's physical shield for short periods.
This was also because she found herself unable to provide more help in battle and simply used her body to absorb unavoidable damage for the team.
Although the thick fat of Miltank only had the effect of reducing the power of fire-type and ice-type moves, it also reduced the effect of some physical attacks since fat is a natural buffer.
Ten minutes later, they passed through the woods at a very fast speed and reached the area where Murkrow had found Nidoran.
According to Murkrow's description, and the fact that Slowpoke had used telepathy for intermediate communication, Aoki learned that Murkrow had been hunting a pheasant that was also targeted by Nidoran when he found it. However, Murkrow had chosen not to get involved in the competition in order to avoid alarming the Nidoran.
Upon arriving at the location, there was a bloodstain on the ground and several small corrosive holes clearly caused by poison-type attacks.
Combined with Murkrow's description, it was undoubtedly Nidoran.
Following the mottled traces and dragging marks left by the prey on the ground, Aoki approached Nidoran's range of activity bit by bit.
The sky was getting darker, and the sun was halfway below the horizon.
When the bloodstains disappeared, Aoki and his Pokémon entered a fruit tree forest. The trees were covered with fist-sized fruits in red, white, blue, purple, and green. Various colored fruit trees were interspersed with each other. This must be the area most frequently visited by the Nidoran.
Stepping on the ground covered with leaves and pits made a "rustling" sound.
Aoki frowned. Nidoran, which looked like a pink-purple rabbit, had particularly sensitive ears. With the noise of stepping on the ground just now, it was likely that they would be detected immediately if they approached.
It was no wonder that they had chosen this place as their residence. For them, as long as the enemy didn't come from the sky, the sound of stepping on the ground would alert them immediately. Even if the enemy approached from above, they would need to be able to control their bodies to make no sound.
In addition to the whole fruit forest and some fruit stones on the ground that hadn't fully dried, Aoki was also increasingly sure that this was the home of the Nidoran.
"Murkow, pay attention to whether there are any traces of them around, and you too, Gastly."
Aoki thought for a while and continued, "Miltank, go back to your Poké Ball and rest. Slowpoke, use your mind to support the soles of our feet and try not to make any noise."
After speaking, Aoki returned Miltank to her Poké Ball, and Murkrow and Gastly nodded, ready to help search for Nidoran.
As for Slowpoke and Aoki, a thin layer of psychic energy appeared on the soles of their feet to prevent them from making any noise when they moved.
At the same time, it was clear that after a period of training, Slowpoke had gained better control over his psychic abilities.
Once the specific location was determined, with the mobility of Murkrow and Gastly, it shouldn't take long to find Nidoran—provided it was indeed here.
Sure enough, without making Aoki wait too long, Gastly emerged from behind a tree with a hint of excitement.
Seeing his expression, Aoki's eyes lit up. "Have you found it?"
"Jie Jie~~" Gastly nodded vigorously.
Under his guidance, Aoki and Slowpoke arrived at a massive fruit tree. Judging by the size of the tree, which would need four people to surround it, it must have been at least several hundred years old.
Gastly used purple smoke to form a hand and pointed to a hole beneath the tree.
This was it.
Aoki silently confirmed the location in his mind.
To avoid alarming Nidoran, no one made a sound.
"Slowpoke, use Water Gun to fill the hole with water!" Aoki was the first to break the silence.
When Slowpoke heard the command, his mouth opened, and an arm-thick stream of water spurted out, pouring into the hole.
Since Gastly had already confirmed the location and blocked the entrance, there was no need to hold back. Let Slowpoke do his job.
At that moment, Murkrow, who hadn't found Nidoran yet, returned and saw Slowpoke using Water Gun at the hole. He immediately understood and realized that they had found it!
Aoki didn't hesitate upon seeing Murkrow. "Murkrow, use Hidden Power on the hole!"
Murkrow's Hidden Power was electric-type in nature. If Slowpoke's Water Gun could fill the hole, it might weaken Nidoran's ability to fight before it could escape.
Hearing Aoki's order, Murkrow quickly focused, and a bright yellow energy ball appeared in front of his chest.
After training with Hidden Power, Murkrow no longer needed to wait as long as when he first used it. In just three seconds, the Hidden Power energy was condensed and flew toward the hole.
"Bang!"
Moments after entering the hole, the yellow energy ball exploded, sending a burst of electric energy through the water and filling the entire hole.
Slowpoke stopped using his Water Gun as soon as Murkrow unleashed his Hidden Power.
Instantly, the cave was filled with a mix of water and electricity.
Five seconds after Murkrow's Hidden Power, several blue and purple figures appeared from the hole, some with muddy heads and a few sparks of electricity flickering. They awkwardly stepped forward.
One, two, three... a total of nine Pokémon emerged, including Aoki's target—Nidoran!