"Could there be a large Fire Stone vein on Trial Island?" The thought suddenly popped into Qing Wu's mind.
"How is that possible? If there really were a Fire Stone vein on Trial Island, Team Rocket would have mined it themselves long ago." Qing Wu laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Let's go, Lei Ming. We have to leave before we get down the mountain." The sun was already beginning to sink.
Qing Wu had to leave Arbok's territory before sunset. Quite a few Ekans and Arbok were already becoming active.
The paralysis potions Qing Wu had on hand would never withstand a horde of charging Arbok.
Night fell quickly. Qing Wu led Lei Ming to the cave where they had stayed before.
The cave was quite spacious, more than enough for two people.
The forest was still extremely dangerous at night. At the very least, many high-level Pokémon only appeared after dark.
"Kecleon, use Rock Tomb." Only after Kecleon sealed off the entire cave entrance did Qing Wu sigh in relief.
The Bonfire had already been lit, and several strings of plump fish were roasting beside it.
"Lei Ming, release Spinarak. I need to change its medicine." After Spinarak came out, it still lay there without moving.
It seemed that Spinarak had been hurt too deeply by that fatty.
"I've healed its wounds almost completely, but I can't cure what's in its heart." Qing Wu let out a long sigh.
"These are Bug Type-exclusive Poffins. Give Spinarak three a day." Qing Wu handed Lei Ming some Poffins.
Spinarak watched the swaying Bonfire and Meowth playing with Electrike. There was even more affection in Lei Ming's eyes.
Just then, a flesh-colored paw stretched out in front of Spinarak. Spinarak looked up.
It was Meowth. Meowth opened its paw, revealing a small piece of Poffin in front of Spinarak.
"Meowth (Eat it. It's delicious. If you don't eat it, I'll throw it into the fire.)" Meowth said haughtily, though its eyes were full of concern.
A fragrant aroma rose from the Poffin. Spinarak ultimately couldn't resist the temptation and swallowed it in one bite, but it had swallowed too quickly and immediately began choking.
Meowth used a broad leaf to scoop up some spring water. Only after Spinarak gulped it down did it feel a little better.
"This Meowth is really good." Qing Wu had seen everything Meowth had done.
"No wonder Lei Ming went completely berserk after Meowth died. Even Electrike became cold and distant.
"With how adorable this beloved team pet is, it should live to be a hundred." Meowth was also a Pokémon with a long lifespan.
Qing Wu examined Meowth's body and discovered that all the residual poison inside it had been expelled.
From then on, Meowth only needed to take Poffins regularly and restore its foundation.
That way, Meowth's aptitude would return to green.
With Lei Ming joining them, Qing Wu was ready to level up.
Near this cave were Arbok's territory, Beautifly's territory, and Pidgeotto's territory, forming a triangle.
After passing through Pidgeotto's forest and walking another two or three kilometers, they would reach Team Rocket's base.
Qing Wu distributed the prepared Poffins among everyone. Soon, the cave was filled with the sound of chewing.
Kecleon and Zubat were eating more and more, and the Poffins were clearly helping them more and more.
Qing Wu and Lei Ming had grilled fish and Orange Fruits for dinner. They scooped up a bowl of spring water with a wooden bowl and made do with that.
The next day, just as the sun rose, Qing Wu led Lei Ming toward Beedrill's territory.
Beedrill's territory bordered Beautifly's.
At the boundary between the territories was a vast, beautiful sea of flowers. Countless Beautifly and Beedrill danced through the blossoms without disturbing one another, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
"Let's start leveling." Qing Wu directly sought out a Beedrill and began having Kecleon train against it.
After defeating Arbok, Kecleon had risen directly to � level. It had an innate advantage against Beedrill.
Rock-type naturally countered Beedrill's Bug Type.
Moreover, Kecleon's Steel-type made Beedrill's Poison attribute ineffective against it.
A Beedrill gathering nectar was knocked to the ground by a single Rock Slide.
But attacking that Beedrill was like poking a beehive. Countless Beedrill flew over in swarms.
The twin guns gleamed coldly beneath the sun.
"Zubat, lure some of the Beedrill away." Qing Wu shouted at Zubat.
Zubat opened its mouth and immediately confused some of the Beedrill.
"Kecleon, see if you can comprehend the move Rock Blast."
Qing Wu carefully explained the move Rock Blast to Kecleon, describing how to fire rocks directly like bullets.
Compared with Rock Tomb, which pulled rocks up from the ground, and Rock Slide, which dropped them from the sky, Rock Blast had greater offensive power.
The exploding rocks could also inflict secondary damage.
"Lei Ming, you currently have three Pokémon. You can have Meowth, Electrike, and Spinarak battle Beautifly."
"Beautifly's temperament is gentler, after all. You can have it try these Poffins."
Qing Wu took the scraps left over from making Poffins out of his Wristband.
Although they were scraps, their effects were no worse than those of Poffins. They simply didn't look as good.
Most of these Beedrill were around � level, making them fairly good experience packages for Kecleon.
And with Kecleon using Iron Defense, Beedrill's attacks were practically negligible.
Beedrill's Missile Needle struck Kecleon's body without leaving even a white mark, let alone its Fury Attack.
Qing Wu saw quite a few Beedrill take the initiative to attack. Their Fury Attack stingers stabbed Kecleon's body.
Kecleon took no damage at all. Instead, the recoil snapped the Beedrill's stingers.
Beedrill's stingers were consumable weapons. Once broken, new ones could grow back within three days and return to their original condition within fifteen days.
While attacking the Beedrill, Kecleon continuously used Iron Defense to strengthen its physical defenses.
Kecleon's physical defense was already �. After being strengthened by Iron Defense, it rose considerably. Beedrill's physical attack, meanwhile, was only �.
Therefore, Kecleon took almost � damage. Following Qing Wu's instructions, Kecleon worked hard to condense the Rock-type energy in its body.
It aimed at the Beedrill in front of it. A huge rock formed out of thin air and shot toward the Beedrill.
Unfortunately, the rock scattered into several pieces during the attack.
"Kecleon, remember this feeling. Compress the Rock-type energy. You can make it a little faster."
Qing Wu saw Kecleon use Rock Blast, but the Rock-type energy had not been compressed completely.
It scattered in midair, so Qing Wu reminded Kecleon.
"Zubat, watch your speed." Qing Wu saw Zubat sending the Beedrill spinning in circles and getting carried away, so he shouted a warning.
Lei Ming, meanwhile, took Meowth to challenge Beautifly.
{Beautifly (Deep Yellow), 22}
"This is a pretty good Beautifly." Qing Wu reached that conclusion after scanning it with the system.
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