After bidding farewell to Fearow, Zhou Yuan continued deeper into the forest with Growlithe.

As they ventured further, more and more Pokémon began to live in groups, though not every group had a powerful leader.

After walking for half an hour, Zhou Yuan encountered another Family with a leader: the Nido Family.

Looking at the Nidoking that emerged from the rock cave, Zhou Yuan quietly scanned it with the system. It was a late-stage Normal-rank, so it was a fight they could win.

Nidoking

Level: Normal-rank late-stage

Ability: Poison Point

Skills: Thrash, Poison Tail, Sucker Punch, Take Down, Megahorn, Glare, Peck, Gathering Power, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Fury Attack, Horn Attack, Smart Strike, Fire Punch, Straight Drill

So Zhou Yuan challenged Nidoking:

"Nidoking, how about we have a battle? With your pride, you wouldn't refuse, would you?"

Nidoking is an easily angered Pokémon. Having been provoked so directly, it couldn't hold back according to its nature. It immediately took up a fighting stance, but before the battle, it still blocked the entrance to the rock cave.

Zhou Yuan squatted down, looking at the chubby Growlithe, and said to it:

"Growlithe, this opponent is stronger than the previous two. If you find yourself unable to hold on, just bark loudly, and I'll have your mom come save you, got it?"

Growlithe nodded, its eyes reflecting a glimmer of intelligence. "Don't worry, Trainer, I've learned from you for so long, I'm not afraid of it when it comes to dirty tricks."

Zhou Yuan had no idea what Growlithe was thinking. He just held the red Poké Ball in his hand, ready to rescue Growlithe if things went south.

Growlithe slowly walked forward. Compared to its peers, the somewhat sturdier Growlithe still appeared a bit small in front of Nidoking.

Nidoking looked at the little fellow in front of it and laughed in extreme anger, its mouth wide open, revealing its fangs. Although its meaning wasn't explicitly stated, Zhou Yuan understood perfectly: it was mocking, "You're challenging me with such a small fry?" In linguistic terms, that's what it was expressing.

"Growlithe, say hello to it." Growlithe also understood its Trainer's meaning and used the Ember Skill. A fireball shot straight towards Nidoking's face.

Nidoking caught the fireball with a backhand and then crushed it, successfully enraging Growlithe. It lowered its head and charged towards Growlithe. As it charged, the horn on its head glowed a vibrant green. Megahorn!

But if it just charged head-on like that, it would be a miracle if it hit anything.

"Growlithe, use Agility to dodge!"

Under Zhou Yuan's command, Growlithe increased its speed while also dodging Nidoking's Tackle. Nidoking crashed into a nearby large tree, breaking it clean off.

"Goodness, luckily it didn't hit. Otherwise, even with resistance, it wouldn't have felt good." After a brief sigh, Zhou Yuan continued to command Growlithe.

"Growlithe, get close and use Psychic Fangs!"

What could possibly resist a double weakness? This attack would directly bring it down to yellow health.

Growlithe quickly approached Nidoking with its enhanced high speed. While Nidoking was dazed from hitting the tree, it opened its large mouth, and a virtual set of fangs formed from light purple energy around its mouth, biting Nidoking.

Nidoking cried out in pain and snapped back to awareness. It immediately swung its tail at the nearby Growlithe, its tail wrapped in a deep purple glow. Poison Tail!

Poison Tail squarely hit Growlithe in the waist, sending Growlithe flying.

"Don't panic, adjust your posture in mid-air, land on all fours."

Hearing its Trainer's command, Growlithe tried its best to adjust its body balance in mid-air. It finally adjusted its posture before landing, avoiding the secondary damage from falling to the Ground, but its four paws still dragged long marks on the Ground.

Nidoking was about to continue its pursuit when Growlithe used Agility again. Nidoking already couldn't keep up with Growlithe after it used Agility once, and after the second Agility, it was even more unable to keep up, only able to stand in place and watch Growlithe circle around it.

Seeing that it couldn't keep up with its opponent's speed, Nidoking stood still. As Nidoking stood still, air currents gradually began to rise around it. Gathering Power!

Seeing Nidoking also begin to strengthen itself, Zhou Yuan knew they couldn't wait any longer. If Nidoking used Gathering Power three times, it would be a guaranteed critical hit, and Growlithe definitely wouldn't be able to take it.

While Nidoking was still Gathering Power, Zhou Yuan commanded Growlithe to use Flare Blitz. Under the enhancement of Agility, Growlithe's entire body almost turned into a large fireball, heading straight for Nidoking's chest and abdomen.

Nidoking saw the incoming threat and was forced to interrupt its Gathering Power. It simultaneously used Fire Punch with both hands, trying to catch Flare Blitz and grab Growlithe.

Although it ultimately failed to catch Growlithe, it did block Flare Blitz. Growlithe was bounced back again, and Nidoking was also badly burned by Flare Blitz.

The two Pokémon stood facing each other. Zhou Yuan saw Growlithe panting a bit, knowing its stamina was lagging, so he commanded Growlithe to use Morning Sun. Under the recovery of Morning Sun, Growlithe became energetic again.

Nidoking on the other side was dumbfounded. "A one-on-one battle with healing? This young man doesn't follow Wu De, coming to bully an old comrade like me with a Family to support."

Neither side attacked next, and the scene fell into an eerie calm.

Nidoking didn't move to conserve its stamina, while Zhou Yuan's inaction was to devise a strategy and observe Nidoking for weaknesses.

He finally decided to have Growlithe stand at a distance and use Ember to harass it. This Nidoking had no long-range Skills, so it could only take the hits passively.

Although each Ember didn't cause much damage, it truly hurt, and the accumulated damage couldn't be underestimated. Nidoking knew it couldn't drag this out any longer, or it would eventually be worn down. While Growlithe was using Ember again, Nidoking, covered in black light, charged straight into Growlithe's face. Sucker Punch! It could attack first when the opponent used an attacking Skill.

The right fist, condensed with black light, struck Growlithe's head, making Growlithe yelp. Immediately after, the single horn on Nidoking's head began to condense a light brown energy. Straight Drill!

Zhou Yuan saw this and knew Nidoking was about to use Straight Drill. He was just about to tell Growlithe to use Protect, but then an egg-shaped shield lit up, and Zhou Yuan was a bit stunned.

"This dog can even pre-read now?!"

Nidoking also didn't expect its opponent to be such a sly dog. It crashed head-on into the shield created by Protect. Although it caused cracks, it ultimately couldn't break through, and then Growlithe bit its face with Psychic Fangs, finally unable to hold on and collapsing to the Ground.

Cross-rank battle victory, Energy Points +250

Host's current Energy Points: 3610 points

Even though it had fallen to the Ground, Nidoking was still trying to crawl towards the rock cave, as if to block the entrance with its body, but its body was truly unresponsive. It couldn't crawl much further and lay on the Ground, panting heavily.

Zhou Yuan walked over and took out the Super Potion he had just bought, spraying it on Nidoking. Feeling the coolness on its body, Nidoking struggled to sit up, refusing Zhou Yuan's attempt to spray Potion on it, and kept gesturing towards the inside of the rock cave.

"You want me to go in?" Zhou Yuan was a little confused.

"Roar, roar..." Nidoking nodded, then stood up with difficulty and staggered towards the rock cave.

Zhou Yuan thought for a moment and still followed it with Growlithe. After all, he still had the red Poké Ball, so his safety was assured.

After entering the rock cave, contrary to the imagined dark, damp, and foul-smelling environment, the cave was dry and clean, with no strange odors. After following Nidoking for about fifty meters, Zhou Yuan saw a Nidoqueen with several Nidoran♂ and Nidorina. Behind the Nidoqueen lay a Nidoran♂ that appeared to be severely injured.

Zhou Yuan understood why Nidoking had tried to block the cave entrance even after collapsing. He asked Nidoking:

"You want me to save your child?"

Nidoking nodded and let out a low growl. The Nidoqueen, who was blocking Nidoran♂, moved aside, and the few smaller ones nearby looked timidly at the stranger.

Zhou Yuan walked up to Nidoran♂ and gasped at the crisscrossing wounds on its body. "How could it be so injured?"

"It's your fortune to meet me, little one. Your life is saved."

Saying that, Zhou Yuan began to spray Super Potion on Nidoran♂. Under the treatment of the Super Potion, Nidoran♂'s wounds healed significantly, and it no longer whimpered in pain, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

The Nidoqueen next to it watched as her child finally improved significantly, and two lines of clear tears fell from her eyes. Nidoking, seeing this, also let go of its hostility towards the human in front of it. Although it had been beaten, its child had survived, which was a good outcome.

As Nidoking was feeling a bit emotional, Zhou Yuan turned around and handed it a bottle of Potion. Nidoking knew this was what had just been used on its child. After hesitating for a moment, it took it but didn't use it on itself.

Zhou Yuan saw this and knew that Nidoking wanted to save the Potion for its child to use again. As for its own injuries, it could just go out and find some berries and herbs to eat. Parents, after all, always want to save the best for their children.

Zhou Yuan didn't try to persuade it. Instead, he exchanged another bottle of Potion from the system. This time, he didn't hand it over but directly began spraying it on Nidoking. Nidoking watched the human's actions, raised its hands twice, and finally lowered them.

Once Nidoking's injuries had mostly recovered, Zhou Yuan turned to leave the rock cave to find the next victim (crossed out)... sparring partner.

"Roar..." A roar came from behind. Zhou Yuan looked back and saw that Nidoking had somehow produced a stone as black as the night sky and handed it to him.

"A Moon Stone..."

Seeing that Zhou Yuan didn't reach out, Nidoking let out two more low growls as an urging.

At Nidoking's urging, Zhou Yuan picked up the Moon Stone, then took out four Wepear Berries he had picked from Fearow from his bag. He gave one to each of the three small ones on the Ground, and placed the last one next to the injured Nidoran♂. Then, he put the Moon Stone into the inner pocket of his backpack and left the rock cave with Growlithe without looking back.