Amidst a cacophony of calls, a few white Pokémon swung with their long arms, quickly crossing through the forest and appearing in the view of Natsuhiko and Kona.
Their entire bodies were white, with brown rings around their eyes and chins, a tuft of red hair on their heads. Their long arms hung from the trees, swinging on thick branches. With their mouths pursed, they emitted an incessant sound, displaying an uncontrollable excitement.
Vigoroth.
General Type Pokémon.
Upon seeing them, the name of this Pokémon flashed across the minds of both Natsuhiko and Kona.
Vigoroth is the evolved form of the Lazy Old Man. They frequently experience extreme excitement and won't settle down even during meals. If they can't vent their excess energy, they might not sleep all night.
Natsuhiko was very familiar with this kind of Pokémon, mainly because of their evolution, Slaking.
"Looks like we've entered the territory of these Vigoroth," Natsuhiko said slowly.
Because of their overly excitable nature, Vigoroth often seek battles with Wild Pokémon to use up their excess energy. Consequently, their territory is often large, and few Pokémon can tolerate living next to Vigoroth.
After all, no one can stand endless challenges, especially being disturbed after falling asleep late at night or during the day when some predatory Pokémon sleep.
Even if you can defeat them, it's no use because they often act in groups. Even if you beat them all down, they quickly recover after a while.
But if you kill indiscriminately, you have to be ready to face the wrath of the Slakings.
So, this type of Pokémon is practically the bully of the forest.
"So the guy who left that mark lives in the territory of Vigoroth?" Natsuhiko felt a bit surprised.
Goodness, what strength must that guy have to withstand the harassment of Vigoroth and live among them?
It's most likely Lance, that Fighting Maniac, though it could also be Hilona, whose battle eagerness isn't exactly low either. Flint is less likely; he's more interested in polishing rare stones than in battles.
And living in the Vigoroth's territory while using them as a barrier to fend off unnecessary wild Pokémon disturbances is quite an excellent choice.
"It's a good idea," Natsuhiko mused, rubbing his chin.
"What should we do?" Kona couldn't help but ask, watching the Vigoroth drawing nearer.
"Fight our way in."
Saying this, Beedrill charged forward to lead the attack.
The strength of these few Vigoroth isn't very high; only one reached an Elite Level, while the rest are at Senior Level. Beedrill could take them all on alone.
However, Natsuhiko didn't choose to do that and instead gave Kona more opportunities to showcase her abilities.
After all, he couldn't really have a burden tagging along, right?
It's essential to let her contribute somewhat, considering she's the future Ice-type Elite.
And Natsuhiko had a perfect reason.
In the name of: training.
Kona didn't think much of it. Instead, she cherished this training opportunity. Rarely venturing into the wild, she valued every encounter with Wild Pokémon immensely.
Sure enough, after Natsuhiko gave her the "opportunity," Kona commanded her Cloyster to start defeating the Vigoroths.
And as she fought, she would ask Natsuhiko for suggestions.
Though Kona had little experience in wild battles, her strength was solid, and her learning ability was strong. In just half a day, she showed significant improvement compared to her first encounter with Natsuhiko in the Alternate Space.
And so, these sudden Vigoroth lay "quietly" on the ground, resting.
Defeating them didn't attract more Vigoroth since losing battles to other Wild Pokémon and "resting" is a part of their lives.
Thus, Natsuhiko and Kona managed to enter the territory of the Vigoroth.
As they ventured deeper, they encountered a few more groups, but their strength wasn't too high. There was no need for practice, so Natsuhiko left them all to Kona.
Unwittingly, Kona had become a cleanup crew for Natsuhiko.
And as they ventured further, they finally saw signs of other Pokémon.
For example.
Pokémon lying on the ground or perched on tree trunks, looking utterly despondent. Even when they saw Natsuhiko and Kona invading their territory, they merely moved their eyes to show "respect."
Lazy Old Men and Vigoroth are two extremes—one is incredibly lazy, while the other is exceedingly active.
Experts have studied the causes of these changes between Lazy Old Man and Vigoroth. The alterations are not due to trait changes alone; it might also be due to Vigoroth's pent-up energy and motivation during their Lazy Old Man phase, finally unleashed during their Vigoroth phase.
Of course, these are merely conclusions without much basis.
And seeing Lazy Old Men indicates they are not far from the central area of the Vigoroth territory.
The succeeding Vigoroth will have strengthened might too.
And by delving this deep, it's already considered a provocation. The Vigoroth also stopped treating Natsuhiko and Kona like mere seasoning for ordinary life, showing open hostility.
With the incoming Vigoroth growing stronger, Natsuhiko inevitably joined the battle.