943 Setback

By the time Yuga and his group realized it, they were surrounded by countless Nidoran, Nidorino, Nidoran♀, Nidorina, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and even Kangaskhan.

"Nidoking!"

A furious roar echoed through the jungle, causing Pidgeys and Pidgeottos nesting in the treetops to take flight in alarm.

Soon after, Yuga and the others saw that whether it was Nidoran, Nidorino, Nidorina, Nidoran♀, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, they all made way, and a gigantic Nidoking, over four meters tall, walked slowly with heavy steps.

Ordinary Nidoking had an average height of about 1.5 meters, but this one was clearly beyond comparison.

...

[ Nidoking (Mutation) ]

Type: Poison, Ground

Ability: Sheer Force

Gender: Male

Potential: Blue

Level: 89

Skills: Leer, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Poison Jab, Horn Attack, Toxic Spikes, Horn Drill, Megahorn, Thrash, Earth Power, Venom Shock, Ice Beam, Hyper Beam, Thunderbolt, Earthquake, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, Sludge Wave, Sludge Bomb, Shadow Claw, Smart Strike, Stone Edge, Giga Impact, Drill Run, Water Pulse, Iron Tail, Ice Punch, Throat Chop.

...

This was a Nidoking that was just one step away from breaking through to the Master level, despite its blue potential. It had undergone an unknown mutation due to consuming treasures like Revival Grass over the years, allowing it to break through to the Champion level, which should have been impossible to achieve with only blue potential.

"Nidoking!!!"

Nidoking roared again, and the resulting shockwave that made people's cheeks tingle.

"Be on guard!!!" Joyna shouted loudly, then released her own Latias.

Yuga's Serperior swiftly arrived at Yuga's side, coiling its long body around him to protect him. Nana teleported in front of Yuga.

"Nidoking!"

Seeing Joyna's Latias, Nidoking showed no fear and immediately fired an Ice Beam at the airborne Latias.

Due to its Hidden Ability Sheer Force, Nidoking's Ice Beam no longer had a freezing effect, but its power had increased significantly. Even Latias didn't dare to take it head-on and swiftly dodged the attack.

Nidoking's attack seemed to signal the other Nidoran, Nidorino, Nidorina, Nidoran♀, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Kangaskhan, as they all launched attacks on Yuga and his group.

"I'll take care of this Nidoking with Yuga. The rest of you handle the other Pokémon!" Joyna instructed her team.

Facing this powerful Nidoking and a large number of other Pokémon, even she felt a bit challenged. Of course, if she knew Nana's true strength, she might have been more confident.

Yuga took out a Poké Ball and released his Chimecho, saying, "Protect the others."

With so many wild Pokémon, even though this was an elite team, handling them wouldn't be easy. Having Chimecho providing assistance would make things much easier.

"Chimecho!"

Chimecho nodded and flew into the air.

Seeing that Latias had dodged its attack, Nidoking shifted its focus to Nana on the other side. Just as it was about to launch a Shadow Ball, Nana, who was faster than it, used Psyshock on it.

Being hit by a Psychic-type move, Nidoking grunted and staggered back several steps.

At this moment, Latias followed up with its counterattack. Its exclusive move Mist Ball hit Nidoking directly in the face, and the secondary effect of Mist Ball lowered Nidoking's special attack.

Being hit consecutively, Nidoking became very angry and used its ultimate move, Giga Impact, to charge at Nana.

Nana swiftly teleported away to evade. Then Joyna's Lucario took the opportunity to use Ice Punch and engage Nidoking in close combat.

At Nidoking's level, the side effects (stiffness) caused by Giga Impact had become minimal. When it saw Lucario punching towards it, it responded with an Ice Punch of its own.

In the blink of an eye, the two Pokémon exchanged dozens of punches.

While both Pokémon were Champions level, Lucario was only Intermidate Champion level, It was several level below Nidoking and was ultimately pushed back by Nidoking's punch.

However, Lucario had bought just enough time for Nana and Latias. Gardevoir Future Sight, and Latias Draco Meteor swam toward Nidoking at the same time.

Just when Yuga and Joyna thought Nidoking would succumb to Gardevoir's Future Sight and Latias's Draco Meteor, two Kangaskhan suddenly appeared on Nidoking's left and right, each using Mega Punch to shatter both Gardevoir's Future Sight and Latias's Draco Meteor.

Seeing these two Kangaskhan, Yuga and Joyna's faces changed color. These latecomer Kangaskhan were both Champion level Pokémon.

These were the two leaders of the Kangaskhan Clan that Joyna had shown to Yuga in the pictures.

Just as Yuga and Joyna were still shocked by the appearance of the two Kangaskhan, a massive golden pillar of light suddenly shot out from the jungle, striking directly at Latias and shattering half of its body.

Latias screamed in agony and fell to the ground. It quickly used Recover to patch up its body, but when it flew back up, it seemed a bit unsteady.

"Retreat! Retreat! Quickly retreat!" Joyna, with a changed expression, shouted sternly.

The other members of the team also noticed Latias's condition and hurriedly defended while retreating.

As they retreated together, Yuga caught sight of a Pokémon slowly emerging from the trees, the one responsible for using Hyper Beam.

...

[ Nidoqueen ]

Type: Poison, Ground

Ability: Sheer Force

Gender: Female

Potential: Purple

Level: 100

...

This was a Pokémon that could rival Giant Milotic and Silgilyph on the Mount Coronet Snowpeak, truly the Overlord Pokémon in this territory.

No wonder it was able to fire a Hyper Beam that shattered Latias's body. Pokémon of this level already had the strength to fight head on with adult Level 2 Legendary Pokémon or Mythical Pokémon, not to mention that Joyna's Latias is not adult yet.

Yuga and his group fought while retreating, and they quickly exited the territory of the Nidoran Clan and Kangaskhan Clan. Fortunately, those Nidoran and Kangaskhan didn't pursue them.

However, what Yuga and his group didn't know was that as soon as they left the territory of the Nidoran Clan, the imposing Nidoqueen knelt weakly to the ground.

It turns out that this Nidoqueen had been injured long ago.

After being injured, it didn't dare to use Revival Grass to heal itself directly, because there were side effects.

When an uninjured Pokémon consumed Revival Grass, there were no side effects. However, for an injured Pokémon, while Revival Grass could completely heal its injuries, it would be affected by side effects. It would not only lose some of its memories but also lose levels.

The reason Nidoqueen had been injured was that a formidable opponent had targeted their territory. If it used Revival Grass to heal, regardless of memory loss or level drop, the consequences would be unbearable for the entire Nidoran Clan.

However, remaining in an injured state would also spell disaster for the Nidoran Clan, so now this Nidoqueen was in a dilemma.

On the other side, Joyna, who had escaped, punched a nearby tree trunk in frustration, saying, "Our intelligence was flawed! It turns out that Nidoqueen is the actual leader!"

Originally, the information received by the Joy family indicated that on this island, both Nidoking and Nidoqueen from the Nidoran Clan and Kangaskhan from the Kangaskhan Clan were co-leaders, in a cooperative relationship.

However, it was now clear that the Kangaskhan Clan was clearly subservient to the Nidoran Clan, and the formidable Nidoqueen was the true leader of all the Pokémon, with the three Champion level Pokémon merely serving as her subordinates.

"The day is getting late, let's head back to the cruise ship for now. There's no use dwelling on this now; we'll discuss the matter of Nidoqueen in more detail later," Yuga suggested, glancing at the sky, addressing Joyna.

Nidoqueen's displayed strength, though sudden, appeared normal once you realized that a Pokémon occupying a Revival Grass territory like this one would naturally evolve into such a formidable creature over time.

Revival Grass was a top-tier treasure, and having so much of it, without evolving into a Pokémon as powerful as Nidoqueen, would have been a waste for the Nidoran Clan.

However, the fact remained that they couldn't defeat Nidoqueen.

Joyna sighed and said, "Yes, let's go back and talk about it first."

And so, the group returned to the cruise ship with heavy hearts.

Nightfall came quickly, and this night, because of the appearance of Nidoqueen, nobody could sleep well.

At night by the seashore, besides the sound of the crashing waves and the rustling of the wind, strange cries of Pokémon were occasionally heard, sending shivers down their spines.

Unable to sleep, Yuga released one of the Pikachu he had captured during the day in his room.

This Pikachu was wild and untamed, nothing like the cute Pikachu he had in mind. It bared its teeth and seemed ready to attack Yuga, but Yuga would not let that happen.

Florges used her vines to restrain the Pikachu, and Yuga eventually managed to gather some information about the Nidoran Clan from it.

Most of the information matched what the Joy family had learned: Nidoking and Nidoqueen were indeed a married couple, and the two Champion level Kangaskhan were indeed mother and daughter. However, the relationship between the Nidoran Clan and Kangaskhan Clan was quite strange; it wasn't just a straightforward dependency or protection relationship.

The Nidoran Clan was unique in that it had no gender differences. All males were Nidoran, Nidorino, and Nidoking, while all females were Nidoran, Nidorina, and Nidoqueen.

However, only Nidorina had the ability to lay eggs and give birth to offspring. Once Nidorina evolved into Nidoqueen, they lost their ability to reproduce.

This explained why, without interbreeding with other species, the Nidoran Clan in the Kanto region, which had a preference for group living and a low social status, had difficulty establishing dominance.

The direct consequence of allowing Nidoran to lay eggs, even when their physical qualities were inferior to Nidoqueen and Nidoking, was that although the fertility rate was significantly increased, the overall quality of the population would decrease significantly.

Wild Pokémon had a habit of prioritizing their own kind as mates when there was a large population of their own kind nearby.

In the Kanto region, where the Nidoran Clan had a sizable population and preferred to live in groups, the lower social status of the species exacerbated this issue.

However, the situation on this island was different. Their leader, Nidoqueen, was a visionary and intelligent Pokémon.

To prevent her tribe from declining generation after generation, she chose the Kangaskhan Clan.

The Nidoran Clan here is quite special compared to the typical Nidoran Clan. They are usually very faithful, with one Nidoran having only one mate. However, in this case, Nidoran retains its single mate, but the Nidoran♀ does not take on the responsibility of bearing children.

Nidoran♀, which doesn't bear offspring, is free to evolve into Nidorina and Nidoqueen.

The situation with the Kangaskhan Clan is also very special. They are a common single-parent group, consisting only of females. When they want to have a child, they simply choose a suitable partner, somewhat similar to the Mandibuzz.

So, the crucial task of giving birth to Nidoran Clan offspring falls on the Kangaskhan Clan.

If a Kangaskhan gives birth to a Nidoran or Nidoran♀, the child is handed over to the Nidoran Clan to be raised by their father and stepmother. If a Kangaskhan gives birth to a baby Kangaskhan, it stays with her.

Through this cooperation, they have solved the issue of the Nidoran Clan's declining population while also addressing the mating problem of the Kangaskhan Clan.

In the human world, this might seem like Nidoking is a terrible partner, but in the primitive realm of survival of the fittest, it is a means of survival for both species.

Through this collaboration, the Nidoran Clan has given birth to outstanding offspring, and the Kangaskhan Clan has received the protection of the top powerhouse Nidoqueen, as well as a share of the Revival Grass, which was previously monopolized by the Nidoran Clan.

Understanding the relationship between the Nidoran Clan and the Kangaskhan Clan, Yuga couldn't help but be amazed by the wonder of the Pokémon world.

Apart from the relationship between the Nidoran Clan and the Kangaskhan Clan, Yuga also learned from Pikachu that some time ago, a Pokémon deep within the island had clashed with Nidoqueen, the leader of the Nidoran Clan.

However, Yuga didn't pay too much attention to this matter. It was natural for other Pokémon to covet the valuable territory occupied by the Nidoran Clan, as long as they had a way to deal with the formidable Nidoqueen.

The more Yuga encountered Pokémon like Nidoqueen, the more he felt the insignificance of humans.

The next morning, Yuga noticed that many people had dark circles under their eyes, clearly due to insufficient rest after the encounter with Nidoqueen.

After breakfast, Joyna gathered everyone for an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with Nidoqueen. However, Nidoqueen was just too powerful, and after hours of discussion, they couldn't come up with a practical solution.

Could it be that they would return empty-handed?

This thought involuntarily crossed the minds of everyone present.

The Joy family attached great importance to this mission of collecting Revival Grass, and it was hard to imagine how disappointed their family would be if they returned empty-handed.

The side effects of Revival Grass were created for the sake of the storyline, and it was also meant to clearly distinguish it from the effects of Max Revive, which has no side effects.

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