Unlike Xia Hu nao and Cai Rou, Yu Linglong and the others took a longer time to deal with the Beedrill.
This wasn't because Yu Linglong's team members were too weak, but rather, the swarm of Beedrill was simply too powerful. Yu Linglong couldn't help but wonder: where did Xia Hu nao find so many Beedrill, and why were they cooperating so seamlessly?
Seeing that over ten minutes had passed and everyone was still confronting the Beedrill, Yu Linglong was getting a little impatient and was considering whether she should step in to help them. Just then, a Combee flew over from a distance, hovered in front of the Beedrill for a moment, and then the Beedrill scattered like birds and beasts, leaving many team members who had been accumulating their attacks with nowhere to unleash them.
Yu Linglong's gaze followed the scattering Beedrill as they looked around, but she found nothing unusual. So, Yu Linglong took out a portable Pokedex from her backpack and began to check it.
In the Pokedex, the only Pokémon related to bees were Beedrill and Combee. However, even though they were both bees, there shouldn't be any relationship between the two species. Why could Combee make the Beedrill leave? Even if it was a case of bullying others by proxy, whose influence was it leveraging?
"Could it be that there's an evolved form of Combee in this secret realm? That's unlikely; even so, it shouldn't have the ability to control Beedrill."
However, Yu Linglong had so many team members to manage and couldn't let her thinking abilities run wild. But since they had to continue exploring, she might as well change direction and investigate.
Yu Linglong casually put her hands in her pockets and led her team members deeper into the direction where the Beedrill had been most concentrated. Before long, they saw a Houndour basking in the sun on the ground.
The third edition of the Pokémon textbook published by the Alliance Press stated: Pokémon that appear relatively docile generally will not bother you if you don't bother them. However, experience has shown that knowledge from books is not always sufficient when exploring in secret realms.
Take this Houndour, for example. After squinting at them, it first turned its head away, ignoring them. Before Xia Pingdong and the others could relax, it suddenly leaped up and charged at them. As it ran, it opened its mouth and spewed flames.
Unlike ordinary Pokémon, the Ember spewed by this Houndour seemed to have a wider spread. Seeing this, Yu Linglong realized: "So that's how it is. With that in mind, it makes sense for the Combee to have made the Beedrill retreat."
Xia Pingdong, while commanding his Piplup to engage the Houndour, asked Yu Linglong, "Linglong-jie, what's the reason? Hurry and tell me, don't keep me guessing."
Yu Linglong observed Xia Pingdong's battle and explained, "Generally speaking, it's difficult for the move Ember to have such a wide spread. If the Houndour had indeed come into contact with the Beedrill, it would have had a significant advantage with this special Ember."
As she spoke, someone from the team offered their opinion: "Pingdong, you have to be careful. This Houndour must have fought with the Beedrill, and it clearly won, otherwise the Beedrill wouldn't have acted like that."
Xia Pingdong nodded, "Don't worry, my type is advantageous. Piplup, use Bubble."
Unlike the Houndour's Ember, which could achieve a shotgun-like effect upon release, it was much more difficult for Piplup's Bubble to achieve this effect. Even though Piplup frantically shook its head, the Bubble still couldn't fully counter the Ember.
Xia Pingdong glanced at Piplup and commanded, "Piplup, you don't need to worry about the other Embers; just defend against the Ember in front of you. The rest will be handled by others."
Xia Pingdong's idea was very sound. Although they had to guard against being completely surrounded by the flames, they still had teammates who could deal with the wildfire threat.
Piplup and Houndour continued their battle. When Houndour discovered that Piplup wasn't very afraid of its Ember, it stopped using Ember and instead relied on its speed to charge at Piplup, seemingly intending to decide the outcome with bites and scratches.
"Piplup, jump up and use Peck!"
Piplup jumped up and pecked at Houndour. Houndour met Piplup head-on and directly used a Bite attack. However, Piplup didn't use its full strength and began to fall midway through its jump. Houndour, in order to enhance the damage of its Bite, had jumped with all its might, and they ended up narrowly missing each other. After landing, Piplup reacted quickly and directly pecked Houndour from underneath its belly.
Houndour didn't just get hit in the stomach; an unseen piece of rock flew from somewhere and grazed past its head with a whistling sound. Houndour was startled. It didn't know what this thing was or where it came from, but it felt a chill down its spine. It didn't care that it was in a battle and immediately crouched down.
Although the rock that suddenly fell from the sky wasn't aimed at Piplup, the "bang" sound it made when it hit a tree startled Piplup. Not only the two Pokémon, but even the trainers nearby were drenched in a cold sweat.
Xia Pingdong looked around, "What was that? Where did it come from? Are there any more?"
No one answered his three consecutive questions. Houndour and Piplup continued their fight. You couldn't just say something would fall from the sky again, could you?
Piplup attacked first. With Yu Linglong's reminder, Xia Pingdong commanded Piplup to take advantage of Houndour's distraction and attacked its tail with Bubble. The bubbling sound of Bubble attacked Houndour. Houndour immediately reacted, got up, and made a nimble turn, only for the Bubble to hit it head-on.
After having its face washed by Piplup, Houndour extended its claws towards Piplup. The two Pokémon engaged in another chaotic exchange, but neither could achieve a decisive blow. Instead, both Pokémon panted heavily, looking at each other. From this alone, one could gauge Xia Hu nao's discerning eye for choosing Pokémon.
If Cai Rou's opponent, the big Gurdurr, missed because Cai Rou's Pokémon was too low-leveled, then the clash between Xia Pingdong and Houndour was a true battle of novices.
As these two novices briefly separated, a whistling sound descended from the sky, once again narrowly missing Houndour's tail and almost jeopardizing Houndour's future happiness.
Houndour, with its tail tucked between its legs, looked at the large rock that had almost incapacitated it, still in shock. Everyone else also became wary. They thought there was only one, but now another one had appeared so soon. Who knew if a third flying rock would come.
To alleviate everyone's concerns, Yu Linglong decisively sent out her own Pokémon to guard against this. With a newfound backup, Xia Pingdong's eyes darted around, and he soon came up with a series of messy, bad ideas.
"Piplup, let's go, while it hasn't reacted yet!"
Upon hearing the command, Piplup took small steps and charged towards Houndour. Houndour, having been bitten twice, was truly hesitant to deal with Piplup. However, if you asked it to run away now, its pride wouldn't allow it, so it could only brace itself and continue fighting with Piplup.
The two exchanged a few feints. Xia Pingdong flicked his hand, "Piplup, use Peck."
Piplup trotted forward. After three steps, it heard Xia Pingdong shout, "Watch out above!"
Before Piplup could react, Houndour, which had been standing opposite it, immediately tucked its tail, crouched down on the ground, covered its head with its front paws, and cautiously waited for something to fall. Xia Pingdong grinned mischievously, "Piplup!"
Seeing how hyper-sensitive Houndour had become, Piplup used all sorts of tactics, and indeed, managed to gain a small advantage.
Yu Linglong looked at Xia Pingdong with disappointment and exasperation, "I can see you've learned some of Xia Hu nao's irritating traits, but if you learned a little more, you'd know to directly switch to Bubble attack after the first Peck, instead of letting Piplup just peck with its beak. Don't get carried away."
Xia Pingdong glanced at Houndour and saw it get up and slap Piplup across the face, sending Piplup spinning.
Houndour was angry. It had been timid earlier, but a peck or two was one thing, but what kind of person was Xia Pingdong to be so addicted to pecking? Did he really think Houndour was just a decoration?
Seeing Houndour's counterattack, Yu Linglong decided to continue to provoke Xia Pingdong. This kid's progress was far from enough. So, she said to Houndour, "Houndour, don't worry. No matter what falls from the sky, I'll block it for you. You can focus on battling Piplup."
Hearing this, Houndour's dispelled confidence instantly returned. Without the threat of sudden attacks, what was there to fear from a mere Piplup? Thus, the second round and subsequent rounds of chaotic fighting were about to begin.
Although Xia Pingdong had only known Xia Hu nao for a little over a day, because they shared the same surname, Xia Pingdong paid close attention to Xia Hu nao. What he learned from Xia Hu nao naturally included other sly tricks. For example, now, Xia Pingdong took advantage of Houndour's attention being focused on Piplup, secretly picked up a pebble from the ground, and threw it at Houndour, hitting it right on the backside.
Houndour was stunned after being ambushed. What was this? Didn't they say they would block for it? Was that beautiful human tricking it?
"Strike while the iron is hot, Piplup, finish him with Bubble!"