After parting ways with Ryuzi, Natsuhiko continued training with his Pokémon inside Meteor Falls.
After a battle with a Flygon, Beedrill clearly felt a significant improvement in his familiarity with changes in his body and strength.
The number and frequency of battles also gradually increased.
Part of it was because his body became more active, and another part was due to the strengthening wild Pokémon within Meteor Falls as they ventured deeper.
While Togetic and Abra coordinated together, there were still Pokémon attempting to raid Natsuhiko, the Trainer.
So Beedrill had to step in more often.
In the intense battles, a day's time passed quickly.
They neither saw the thief Ryuzi mentioned, nor found the source occasionally transmitting sounds to the Pokémon.
However, he wasn't impatient.
Everything left to fate, his persistence in these two minor matters wasn't high.
At night.
While massaging the Pokémon to relax their slightly tense and tired muscles after a day's battle, Natsuhiko summarized the shortcomings and weaknesses he discovered in their battles.
Some issues could be immediately corrected once pointed out, such as battle response details and tactical flaws when facing different Pokémon.
But some issues couldn't be corrected in just a day or two.
For example, Beedrill's proficiency with the Sword Dance technique was still lacking, and because of inadequate proficiency, he had to sacrifice something or compromise in battles, like when enduring the weakening brought by Flygon's Ear-piercing Sound to strengthen himself.
Also, like Togetic's accuracy and trajectory with Magic Leaf attacks, and his awareness when Sharp Fang's effect triggered.
Or Abra's Psychic Arena reaching a critical point in its range, making it difficult to accurately gauge the damage caused by its fluctuating psychic powers...
And so on.
These couldn't be changed overnight, requiring long-term practice and effort.
Nonetheless, the good result was, after a day of battles, they had strengthened and compensated for many original deficiencies.
This was not a benefit that could be quickly obtained through training alone.
Training Pokémon as a Trainer is a combination of nurturing, training, and battling, akin to study, practice, and exams during school.
"Toge-tic."
After massaging Togetic, the little fellow rolled its eyes and tugged at Natsuhiko's clothes, coyly acting cute.
Although it didn't say what it wanted, Natsuhiko could guess with his behind that it was about the "Dragon's Saliva" sent by Ryuzi earlier in the day.
And in response to Togetic's earnest pleading, Natsuhiko merely smiled.
No matter how much Togetic rolled around and made a fuss, Natsuhiko remained unmoved.
Eventually, he could hardly resist anymore, so he simply said, "Not giving it to you is for your own good."
One of the main ingredients in "Dragon's Saliva" was likely the saliva of a Dragon-type Pokémon. If Togetic knew, no matter how tasty and effective it was, it probably wouldn't want to touch it again.
"Toge-tic."
Togetic puffed its cheeks, put its hands on its waist, and walked to the corner to sulk.
Seemingly frustrated, it angrily kicked the rock wall with its little foot.
Crack!
Unexpectedly, with that kick, starting from Togetic's feet, a huge crack appeared on the rock wall.
Moreover, the crack continued to spread upward.
Additionally, numerous small lines and cracks appeared, with tiny bits of rock falling from the gaps.
Togetic's expression stiffened.
Blankly staring at the crack, it glanced at its own small foot.
"Toge-tic..."
Am I...really this powerful now?
Then Togetic felt itself flying back, its body quickly retreating, landing in a familiar embrace.
It was Abra's psychic powers pulling it back.
Natsuhiko looked speechless, gently rubbing his forehead.
Togetic looked exaggeratedly, clutching Natsuhiko's clothes tightly.
"Toge-tic!"
Did you see that? I'm amazing!
Natsuhiko: "..."
Holding Togetic, and with Beedrill under Abra's psychic protection, they quickly retreated.
Crack, crack, crack!
The crack on the rock wall became more apparent, and the cracks expanded, forming more and more small cracks until they covered the entire rock wall, with the large crack in the middle reaching the top of the rock wall.
Natsuhiko casually picked up a fragment of a rock that had fallen and crumbled in his hand.
Seemingly solid rock turned into granules of powder under the rub of his palm.
"The rock wall has become so fragile because the minerals and nutrient-rich rocks inside were excavated, or rather...eaten."
Then, he looked at the precarious rock wall.
"Judging by this, behind the rock wall, there might be a large rock-type Pokémon with a voracious appetite, or a group of them..."
This phenomenon wasn't uncommon within Meteor Falls, where numerous Rock-type Pokémon lived.
Precisely because of this, the tunnels and caves beneath Meteor Falls had become even more complex.
Boom!!
A huge rock wall collapsed with a thunderous roar, accompanied by flying rock fragments and swirling dust.
Under Abra's psychic protection, and because the rock fragments were inherently fragile, they didn't put much pressure on Abra.
After the rock wall collapsed, the situation on the other side was finally visible to Natsuhiko's eyes.
Unlike the dimly lit cave with low visibility they had been in, reliant on glowing moss for faint light, the other side was as bright as day because there...
Were gathered numerous Solrock.
With a glance, it was estimated there were at least thirty or more of them.
And.
With the rock wall's collapse, this group of Solrock also saw Natsuhiko and his three Pokémon standing on the other side.
"Accidentally stumbled into a Solrock nest..." Natsuhiko muttered.
Against Psychic-type Pokémon, Abra's Instant Movement was hard to effectively use. If interrupted, the teleportation destination would be unknown to anyone.
In a place like Meteor Falls, filled with rocks, it could suddenly land them inside solid rock.
That would almost be suicidal.
Although numerous Solrock gathered, because of over-concentration, resources were evenly distributed, leaving none exceptionally powerful, meaning they still had a chance.
Towards Natsuhiko and his three Pokémon, who disrupted their living environment, Solrock naturally didn't show amiable expressions, as their narrowed red pupils lit up.
"Abra!" Natsuhiko called out.
In an instant, the psychic arena originally contracted around Abra expanded, enveloping Beedrill, Togetic, and Natsuhiko, but not the group of Solrock to avoid boosting their Psychic-type technique powers.
Simultaneously, Beedrill and Togetic acted.
Dozens of crystal-like Magic Leaves appeared around Togetic, shooting towards the Solrock.
Given the opponent's density, Togetic need not worry about missing its target.
However, the Solrock's Telekinesis simultaneously released, and with the large psychic power from dozens of Solrock, Togetic's Magic Leaf was obstructed before getting close.
"Abra!"
Nonetheless, Abra roared lowly, channeling his psychic powers into an arrowhead, trying to pave the way for Togetic's Magic Leaf.
His psychic surged in waves, layer over layer.
But he was ultimately alone, weak alone.
At this moment.
Beedrill flapped its wings, moving swiftly, wielding its Long Needle glowing with dark light, flexibly using the Dark-type technique "Smack Down," leveraging dark energy's psychic restraining ability, successfully tearing a path through the psychic barriers formed by numerous Solrock.
Allowing Abra's psychic powers and Togetic's Magic Leaf to pass through.
Unseen by Natsuhiko and the others, a snow-white silhouette appeared in the corner, with red eyes observing Natsuhiko and the Solrock. A few seconds later, it swiftly disappeared again.