Hearing Aoki's words, Skorupi was puzzled, but without any hesitation, through the contact of its tail hook, it extracted the toxin from the defeated Pangoro.
It didn't absorb it back into its body but instead expelled it onto the ground.
A "hissing" corrosion sound followed.
The face of the Pangoro, who had lost the ability to fight, slightly improved.
If the Skorupi hadn't removed the toxin, even with Pangoro's strong physique, it might never have regained consciousness.
Poison-type Pokémon are truly dominant in the wild.
However, after the toxin was extracted, the Pangoro, as a Fighting-type Pokémon with tenacious willpower, soon regained consciousness.
The expression of the Pangoro leader, who bore a scar over his eye, also eased slightly.
Aoki had the Skorupi do this because he had gathered data on this Pangoro leader.
A Pokémon at the quasi-elite level.
It made Aoki's expression darken.
He had expected the wild Pokémon here to be strong, but he never anticipated encountering a quasi-elite so soon within the first group he met.
Just how terrifying was the deeper part of this island?
Aoki hesitated to imagine.
Under the gaze of the Pangoro leader, Aoki led his Pokémon and carefully retreated from the bamboo forest.
The Pangoro did not give chase.
Aoki had Skorupi extract the toxin from their fallen comrade, which was enough of a show of goodwill.
Moreover, Pangoro respect strength. The revived Pangoro did not demand revenge, a sign that it accepted its loss, so the entire group simply watched as Aoki and his Pokémon slowly withdrew.
Once Aoki reached a safe distance, he let out a long sigh.
He had only just arrived on the island, yet he was already feeling the pressure. The situation was far more challenging than expected.
At least now he had a preliminary understanding of the island's Pokémon hierarchy.
In larger groups, there might be a leader at the peak of quasi-elite or even elite level, while the main combatants of the group could have an average level of around thirty-five or thirty-six.
The Pokémon on this island were exceptionally strong.
This was the result of surviving for generations in an environment free of external threats.
However, wild Pokémon lacked systematic training and combat techniques. Combined with their natural limitations, this prevented large-scale dominance by powerful Pokémon.
If proper training methods were implemented, this island wouldn't just have quasi-elites—it would be overflowing with elite-level Pokémon.
With the Pangoro's territory now off-limits, Aoki carefully navigated around the bamboo forest.
Technically, the surrounding forest also belonged to the Pangoro, but since they preferred bamboo, they rarely ventured beyond their main territory.
This gave Aoki a safe path forward.
Slowking marked some psychic energy coordinates along the way.
In this forest, Aoki felt as if he had returned to his early days on Trial Island—forced to be constantly on guard, as there were too many Pokémon stronger than his team.
It took half a day to circumvent the bamboo forest.
Along the way, Aoki finally encountered other Pokémon that attacked him.
Based on the species he encountered, it seemed that Pokémon from all regions were present in this environment.
It was a complete mix of different Pokémon habitats.
Without needing to orient himself, Aoki simply looked toward the massive Tree of Life at the island's center and proceeded in that direction.
However, he kept his presence as concealed as possible.
After bypassing the bamboo forest and crossing a small wooded area, Aoki arrived at a vast field filled with flowers of various colors.
It was enormous, and several carefree Pokémon lived among the blooms.
Aoki's presence did not attract their attention.
Finding an area with fewer flowers, Aoki sat down cross-legged.
Then, he retrieved various healing potions and Pokeblocks from his storage space to restore his Pokémon's strength and treat their injuries.
Even though he hadn't encountered any overwhelmingly powerful groups since leaving the bamboo forest, the Pokémon capable of hunting in these woods were no weaklings.
Even after summoning Weavile and Gengar to assist in battles, his Pokémon had still sustained injuries.
Slowking could use Heal Pulse, but he was no dedicated healer and wasn't particularly proficient with the move.
He could only provide basic treatment for minor injuries.
Aoki considered himself fortunate. Before arriving, he had purchased a large-capacity backpack filled with healing potions and various held items to assist his Pokémon with recovery.
If other Team Rocket members had landed directly in the middle of a strong Pokémon territory without preparation, they would have been torn apart immediately.
Those who were unprepared—without enough healing potions or Pokeblocks—would last only two or three days at best before their Pokémon collapsed from exhaustion due to accumulating injuries.
This island was truly filled with danger.
So far, Aoki and his team had avoided the attention of elite-level Pokémon.
If an elite Trainer entered recklessly, bringing elite-level Pokémon alongside their group, it would be no surprise if Team Rocket lost several elite Trainers in the process.
After a brief rest, Aoki allowed his Pokémon to eat some Pokeblocks to replenish their strength, then prepared to move again.
This island was far more perilous than he had anticipated. If he wanted to explore deeper, his current strength was still lacking.
At the very least, his team's endurance needed improvement.
Additionally, he needed at least one Pokémon to remain battle-ready at all times to deal with potential threats.
The best course of action was to find a relatively safe location to set up camp, then use Slowking's Teleport to scout the surrounding area. Understanding the island's layout would be crucial before delving deeper.
Otherwise, blindly charging forward would be no different from walking into his own death.
Observing the lively Pokémon in the field, he saw Tauros, Rhyhorn, and Mareep grazing peacefully.
After years of evolution and development, this place had integrated Pokémon from various regions into a perfectly balanced ecosystem.
Team Rocket's presence here might cause irreversible disruption.
As Aoki scanned the grass and flowers, his eyes caught sight of a Pokémon that surprised him.
It was well-hidden among the colorful blossoms. If his system hadn't scanned the area while checking a Mareep, he might not have noticed it at all.