Chapter 50: Walking Through the Forest

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Seeing that his "easy meal" had somehow flown away, and the annoying "mosquito" had also escaped his grasp, Arbok was furious.

However, despite his anger, Arbok lingered for a while at the border between the grassland and the forest. Upon noticing deep claw marks on several tree trunks, he ultimately decided to abandon the chase after Sato and Zubat.

Pokémon respect territorial boundaries. If Arbok were to recklessly invade another's territory, it would likely provoke an attack from the other powerful Pokémon residing there. For example, the forest bordering Arbok's territory was home to a powerful Ursaring, who ruled this patch of forest as its sovereign.

The mere thought of Ursaring's terrifying strength and aggressive nature sent a wave of fear through Arbok. Reluctantly, he withdrew back to his own domain.

Meanwhile, Sato and Zubat were hiding in the dense canopy of a nearby tree. Thanks to Zubat's echolocation abilities, Sato was aware that the immediate danger had passed. However, his tension remained high. After feeding Zubat a PokeBlock to help it recover its strength, Sato took out his laptop from his Team Rocket-issued watch. Using its infrared detection system in combination with Zubat's ultrasonic scans, he began surveying the area.

The question of why Arbok hadn't continued the chase had lingered in Sato's mind ever since Arbok stopped at the forest's edge. After some thought and observation of the nearby claw-marked tree trunks, Sato quickly realized the answer.

Clearly, Arbok hadn't spared him out of kindness. It was the fear of some powerful entity within the forest that had deterred him. And that dangerous being was likely the Pokémon responsible for the claw marks on the trees.

"It seems I've stumbled into another powerful Pokémon's territory. Hopefully, the owner of this land won't pop up in front of me like Arbok did," Sato thought, now understanding the situation.

Perhaps due to Arbok's presence, the nearby wildlife had sensed the impending danger and either fled or hidden away. As a result, the area within a hundred meters of Sato's position remained eerily quiet for the next seven or eight minutes, with no sign of life.

Taking advantage of this "safe" period, Sato and Zubat rested quietly among the dense branches, recovering their strength after the intense ordeal.

Sato swore that the events of the past few minutes were the most dangerous he'd ever experienced. Raticate and Arbok, Pokémon he'd always considered mere cannon fodder in the games, had nearly taken his life.

Especially Arbok—had it not been for Zubat's delaying tactics and its last-second warning cry, he would likely have ended up as snake food, and within a few hours, reduced to nothing more than fertilizer.

"I need to be even more cautious. The reason Arbok appeared was clearly due to the scent of Raticate's blood. From now on, battles must be resolved quickly. If I encounter another situation like that, I won't survive, no matter how many lives I have," Sato reflected, analyzing the events that had just transpired.

The forest around him was full of towering trees, with thick, lush canopies. Because of this, sunlight from the sky above could only penetrate the forest in slivers, leaving the forest floor dim. When clouds obscured the sun, the forest would grow even darker.

Due to the movement of various creatures, the forest floor was crisscrossed with numerous trails, intertwining to form a natural maze.

As time passed after Arbok's retreat, signs of life began to return to the forest near Sato. First, a few Grass-type Pokémon, having shed their camouflage, emerged from the underbrush. They began wandering along the forest paths, heading in various directions.

Soon after, several Bug-type Pokémon appeared as well. A large number of Wurmple and Caterpie emerged from their hiding places among the trees, while Beedrill and Butterfree swiftly zipped through the forest.

Next, a group of Taillows' that had been hiding in the canopy joined the scene, chasing after the newly visible Bug-types. A few cautious Rattata scurried out from their dens beneath thick layers of leaves, continuing their search for anything edible in the area.

In addition to these Pokémon, Sato, still hiding in the tree canopy, also spotted various wild animals in the forest. Birds of different kinds and wild beasts frequently crossed the forest trails below.

Before long, the entire forest had returned to life. The sounds of chirping birds, buzzing insects, and the calls of various creatures echoed throughout the woods.

With the help of his system's detection capabilities, Sato carefully observed all the Pokémon within his field of vision. He finally let out a small sigh of relief.

It was clear that high-level Pokémon like Arbok were rare in this area. Most of the Pokémon in Sato's view were between level 15 and 19, with only a few exceeding level 20.

Of course, the vast majority of Wurmple and Caterpie were lower-leveled, ranging from level 5 to 10, although a few larger ones had even surpassed level 10.

(Note: In the true Pokémon world, evolution doesn't always occur immediately when a Pokémon reaches a certain level. For example, not all Magikarp above level 20 evolve into the fearsome Gyarados. Some even experience premature evolution, like Ash's Charmeleon, who evolved out of sheer rage.)

After confirming that no unbeatable creatures were nearby, Sato, having rested for nearly half an hour, began to carefully climb down from the tree. Zubat perched on his right shoulder as he ventured down one of the forest trails.

During his rest, Sato realized an urgent matter: he was running low on drinking water stored in his Team Rocket-issued watch. Not only did he need to find a safe place to settle before nightfall, but he also needed to find a water source quickly. Otherwise, by nightfall, they would face dehydration.

Fortunately, with Zubat's echolocation ability acting as a super radar, finding water wasn't difficult. After Sato explained the situation, Zubat used its long-range sonar to locate a nearby water source.

Now, Sato was slowly making his way toward the water, following Zubat's guidance.

However, the path to the water was far from peaceful. Water is the source of life, and wherever water exists, so too do signs of activity. The closer Sato got to the water source, the more obvious the presence of other creatures became.

Not even a hundred meters into his journey down the trail, Sato encountered trouble.

A loud buzzing filled the air as the sound of "Bzzzzzz~~" reached Sato's ears. Thanks to Zubat's early warning, Sato saw six hostile Beedrill blocking his path.

Without any warning, these aggressive forest thugs raised their stingers and charged directly at Sato and Zubat.