Chapter 108: Gains After Defeating the durant Colony

"Starmie, use Scald now!"

This Scald attack causes the opponent to take damage, and when their health drops to half, the power of the move doubles—perfect for taking down the Iron Ants that survived the previous Surf attack!

The move was highly effective, clearing a vacuum zone in front of them.

"Butterfree and Ponyta, focus on the left! Sableye and Treecko, cover the right! Starmie, prepare to use Surf again!"

Most of the durant in front had just been taken out, but this also gave the durant on the sides time to advance. Now, they were less than five meters from Yang Yan, about to pull him into close combat—something the durant excelled at.

Once you fall into their rhythm, it's only a matter of time before they catch you as their prey!

"Everyone, prepare for close combat!"

Meditite had just taken out another durant attempting a sneak attack by digging underground. It noticed the approaching swarm and knew that a real hand-to-hand battle was imminent, so it stopped focusing on the underground threats.

Yang Yan saw Meditite's reaction and immediately shouted, "Meditite, trust your teammates! As long as they're still standing, you need to focus on your own task!"

Meditite hesitated for a moment but quickly realized what Yang Yan meant. It was not the time to worry about everything else.

When Meditite turned back, it saw the serious expression on Yang Yan's face and knew he wasn't joking.

"Meditite, we can't let those durant succeed with their underground sneak attacks. If they do, we won't be able to defend ourselves. You're the only one who can stop them!" Yang Yan said, his voice filled with urgency.

Meditite understood. Although it still didn't fully grasp the concept of teamwork, it knew how to maximize its own abilities.

"Sableye, get ready with Confuse Ray and Shadow Claw! Treecko, use Rock Throw to block them! Ponyta, Ember!"

In this situation, Ember's shotgun-like spread was more effective than a linear Flamethrower, and since the Iron Ants were weak to Fire-type moves, even Ember caused significant damage. With Butterfree adding Wind support, they managed to take down a large number of Iron Ants.

However, some durant continued to press forward. Yang Yan noticed that their mandibles were charged with various moves—Fury Cutter, Vice Grip, and Metal Claw. The most dangerous, though, was the Dark-type move *Beat Up*. The more allies around them, the stronger the attack. With dozens of Iron Ants using it together, Yang Yan knew that only Starmie would survive such an onslaught!

"Starmie, use Psychic! Interrupt their attacks!"

Although Psychic moves deal reduced damage to Steel-types like the durant, the sheer power difference meant the novice durant couldn't withstand it. The more advanced ones barely held their ground, but their attacks were successfully interrupted.

Yang Yan continued to fight, with Nincada using Shadow Ball continuously, sometimes throwing in Confuse Ray to disrupt the durant' movements.

The wave of durant was finally broken, with hundreds of them lying defeated. Starmie continued to take down more with Water Gun, causing massive casualties. The durant began to show signs of hesitation in their advance.

"Now's our chance! Starmie, aim your Water Gun at those intermediate-level durant in the back and hit them hard!"

The Iron Ants faltered, but Yang Yan wasn't going to let up. As the saying goes, hesitation leads to defeat. Within the next five seconds—before the durant could reorganize—Starmie's Water Gun struck two of the intermediate durant hiding at the back, taking them out.

With two of their leaders down, the durants fell into disarray. Although the remaining four intermediate Iron Ants tried to maintain order and prepare for a new attack, the situation was now completely under Yang Yan's control.

"Starmie, use Surf!"

As the durants panicked, Yang Yan and his Pokémon took down another hundred of them in just ten seconds. This Surf was about to break the last of their morale.

The durant were unable to mount an effective defense, and the massive wave swept over them. This Surf was far stronger than the previous one, wiping out countless durant. The remaining few who managed to hold on were quickly finished off by Yang Yan's other Pokémon.

After suffering such devastating losses, the durant began to retreat, leaving the battlefield in a mess. The surviving ones slowly made their way back into the cave from which they came.

Although Yang Yan didn't want to let them go, he knew better than to provoke them further. There were still many duramt left, including those deeper in the cave. If they were pushed too far, there was no guarantee he could handle them all safely.

This outcome was already favorable.

As the Iron Ants retreated, Yang Yan and his Pokémon cautiously backed away from the battlefield. He didn't let out a sigh of relief until they were a hundred meters away.

"Starmie, this was all thanks to you. Well done!" Yang Yan said, then turned to his other Pokémon. "And of course, Butterfree and Ponyta did great too! Sableye, Treecko, Nincada, and Meditite—you all worked hard. Meditite, especially, you prevented those underground sneak attacks. You all played a big part in this victory!"

The Pokémon, still energized from the battle, looked delighted by Yang Yan's praise.

After the fierce battle, many of the Pokémon had leveled up. Yang Yan wasn't sure about Starmie or Meditite, but Butterfree and sableye both gained two levels. Treecko gained three levels, and Nincada had the most impressive growth, leveling up five times to reach level 10!

With these level-ups, several Pokémon learned new moves.

Butterfree, having been around Psychic-types recently, learned *Psybeam*. Thanks to its proficiency in Confusion, it already had 30% mastery of this new move.

Sableye learned *Shadow Ball*, a useful Ghost-type move. In the game, it deals damage based on the user's level, but in reality, it ignores level differences and is effective even against stronger opponents.

Ponyta, after frequent use of Flamethrower, gained a deeper understanding of Fire-type moves and learned the powerful physical attack *Flame Charge*.

Treecko learned *Detect*, a move that helps dodge enemy attacks.

Nincada, although it didn't learn any new moves, greatly improved its proficiency with its current skills.

All in all, it was a successful and rewarding battle.

However, in a corner of the battlefield that Yang Yan hadn't noticed, a pair of sharp eyes watched as they left...

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