Chapter 113: One Week Later

The subsequent battle held no suspense. With two high-level Pokémon, Starmie and Kleavor, present, facing the Donphan tribe, which had at best intermediate strength, the victory came with ease, albeit not without a few scratches. However, since the strength of the Donphan group was not high, this trial was comparatively easier, so there was no vortex exit found in this location.

Yang Yan wasn't without rewards, though. This time, he didn't have to worry about enraging an entire group. Aside from the leader, Yang Yan managed to capture three intermediate-level Donphan as trophies. He hadn't tried to capture the leader because when Yang Yan showed any ill intentions toward it, the other Donphan immediately risked their lives to protect it. Not being a heartless person, Yang Yan decided to leave the leader alone.

Out of the three Donphan, only one had good qualifications, but Yang Yan wasn't planning on training it. For him, wild Pokémon with established combat power were better suited to being sold for money.

While the Donphan group wasn't as large as the Rhyperior or Durant groups he had previously encountered, their numbers still neared a hundred. Therefore, after this battle, the strength of Yang Yan's Pokémon grew notably. We'll skip the specifics for now.

After the battle, Yang Yan also collected some of Donphan's large front teeth, as they could fetch a good price when sold. Of course, he wasn't about to let them go to waste.

With the sky darkening after the battle, Kleavor led the group to a nearby cave that it had cleared as a temporary resting spot. It was perfect for Yang Yan and his Pokémon.

After a night's rest, Yang Yan and Kleavor set off again. The next destination was further away, and according to Kleavor's gestures, it would take them until the next day to arrive.

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After a week of grueling travel, Yang Yan and his group finally reached their last and most likely destination to find the vortex exit: Aggron territory!

During this week, aside from the initial Donphan group, they also encountered groups of Rhyperior and Excadrill. Both groups were very aggressive Pokémon, and they also had some high-level members. Particularly, the Rhyperior group included three high-level Pokémon and five intermediate ones. Yang Yan's team had to expend considerable energy to defeat these groups.

It's worth mentioning that Kleavor played a key role in these battles. Yang Yan figured that if not for Kleavor's presence, winning with just Starmie would have been unlikely.

Of course, after a week of fighting, the strength of Yang Yan's Pokémon surged again. The biggest surprise in terms of growth came from Nincada. Whether it was because of its Bug-type nature or its dedication to training, its progress was astonishing, and it had now reached Level 16 It even learned the moves Mind eye and Dig

It was possible that Nincada learned Mind eye from frequent use of Shadow Ball to pick off opponents. As for Dig, it likely picked that up from watching many Pokémon in the area use similar moves. However, Dig was of little value to Nincada.

Alakazam had once advised Yang Yan to evolve Nincada as soon as possible, and seeing how things were progressing, Yang Yan figured that this should happen soon, as Nincada evolves at Level 20, which was not far off.

Another significant improvement came from Ponyta, which gained four levels and was now at Level 17. It learned Fire Spin, a move it developed after using fire-based attacks repeatedly.

Treecko and Sableye had the least improvement, with each gaining just two levels. Treecko was now at **Level 20**, while Sableye reached **Level 28**.

Yang Yan had purposely kept Treecko's level in check, as he didn't want its level to increase too much before resolving its physical issues. Despite this, Treecko had reached primary strength.

Sableye's slower level progression was due to it being busy playing a dual role in both close combat and long-range support. Yang Yan often had it assist in whichever area needed help most, so its battle time was less than that of the other Pokémon.

Skill-wise, Treecko learned Mega Drain, an advanced absorption skill. Sableye, on the other hand, picked up Fury Swipes and learned Detect from watching Treecko.

Lastly, Butterfree had also gained three levels, reaching Level 29, surpassing Sableye and becoming Yang Yan's highest-leveled Pokémon. It learned Bug Buzz, a powerful area-of-effect move, and Tailwind, which could boost the speed of the entire team, synergizing well with Gust.

While there was an overall increase in level and proficiency across Yang Yan's Pokémon, Meditite deserves special mention. Despite spending the least time in combat, Meditite had improved significantly.

As Yang Yan had predicted before entering this challenge, Meditite had advanced to intermediate strength and successfully learned Shadow Ball after long-term observation of Nincada and Sableye using it.

Additionally, Meditite was becoming more adept at its Fighting-type skills, and there were signs that it was on the verge of mastering Vacuum Wave, a move it had started to figure out on its own.

This development meant that Meditite was no longer reliant on waiting for other Pokémon to engage the enemy. Now that it had long-range abilities, Meditite felt much more confident.

As for Starmie and Kleavor, Yang Yan couldn't see any noticeable changes in their strength. While they may have improved, it was hard for him to tell because their strength was already quite high. This highlights the difficulty and time required for high-level Pokémon to grow stronger.

In addition to the increase in strength, Yang Yan also captured several high-level and intermediate-level Pokémon along the way. While there were other incidental rewards, they mostly ended up being sold for money.

"The trial truly lives up to its name—it's no ordinary challenge," Yang Yan remarked as he prepared food for everyone from his bag. "The next battle may be our toughest yet, so we must all be on high alert!"

"Ponyta!"

"Sableye!"

"Butterfree!"

With their strength significantly improved, Yang Yan's Pokémon were eager for the challenge ahead!