Taking advantage of the situation, after defeating more than a hundred Scolipede and Whirlipede, even Aoki's Pokémon began to feel a little fatigued.
Especially Skorupi—he had truly enjoyed the battle.
Diving into the swarm of Scolipede, he became an unstoppable force.
Initially, he had taken a few minor hits from Slowking and the others, but once Skorupi discovered the weak point of the Scolipede, it was as if he had been handed a key to victory.
His Sniper ability was pushed to its limits.
Moreover, Skorupi's formidable strength and thick armor allowed him to avoid the counterattacks of the stunned Scolipede, making him nearly untouchable.
"Florette, Grassy Terrain!" Aoki commanded the small Pokémon resting in his chest pocket.
Speaking of Florette, she had found the previous battles quite thrilling.
She had been terrified—covering her eyes with her tiny hands—but her curiosity always got the better of her. Every so often, she would peek through her fingers, only to quickly cover her eyes again in fright. It was both amusing and endearing.
Now that the battle had finally ended, Florette sighed in relief and waved her flower, casting a soft emerald glow over the field.
Slowking and the others, who had been pushed to their limits, felt their exhaustion melt away, their stamina replenished by the soothing effects of Grassy Terrain.
Finally able to rest for a moment, Aoki began to contemplate why the Scolipede had suddenly stopped at that invisible boundary, refusing to move forward.
The only reason wild Pokémon would behave this way was if they were near the territory of a much stronger Pokémon.
Wild Pokémon are incredibly territorial.
Perhaps the reason this grassland seemed so peaceful was because it belonged to a powerful but non-aggressive Pokémon.
However, for Pokémon as aggressive as Scolipede, the owner of this territory clearly did not tolerate their presence.
After countless generations of harsh lessons, the Scolipede had developed an instinctive fear of this place.
Even with their enemy standing just meters away, they dared not violate the unspoken rule.
But what about this powerful Pokémon?
Had it disappeared?
Or... was it still here?!
Aoki's heart tensed slightly.
For the Scolipede to be this afraid, it had to be an incredibly strong Pokémon.
But considering he had spent an entire day here yesterday and had continued his activities today, if this Pokémon had minded his presence, it likely would have appeared already—to either chase him off or eliminate him.
If it hadn't shown itself by now, did that mean it was still observing him?
Or perhaps… it hadn't been here for a long time?
Maybe the Scolipede's fear stemmed from a lingering lesson of bloodshed rather than an active threat?
Regardless, Aoki was still safe for now, which meant he had room to maneuver.
After sorting through the defeated Scolipede, Aoki captured those with high potential using Pokéballs.
Scolipede were decent Pokémon, after all.
As for those that didn't meet his standards, he eliminated them outright.
Then, he repeated his strategy—provoking another massive horde of Scolipede.
And just like before, they froze at that invisible boundary.
What followed was a one-sided slaughter. With Florette's Grassy Terrain aiding them, Aoki's Pokémon fought with renewed vigor.
They unleashed their attacks as if they had an unlimited supply of energy.
Honchkrow, in particular, took full advantage of his Overconfidence ability, stacking his boosts layer by layer.
Although many of the Scolipede provided him with a boost, engaging in close combat was always risky—it was easy to get surrounded.
Even so, Honchkrow managed to reach the tenth layer of Overconfidence for the first time.
At this level, he had become nearly unstoppable.
He darted in and out of the battlefield like a shadow, striking down Scolipede with ruthless efficiency.
Nothing could stand in his way.
The fully unleashed Honchkrow was terrifying—he single-handedly caused the most casualties in the battle.
However, Aoki noticed something strange.
Even after reaching ten layers of Overconfidence, defeating additional Scolipede no longer increased his strength.
"Is the limit ten layers?" Aoki mused. "Or are these Scolipede simply too weak? Maybe he needs to fight stronger opponents to push beyond ten?"
Even if ten layers was the cap, it didn't change the fact that Overconfidence was an extraordinary ability.
Right now, Honchkrow's sheer offensive power was on par with an elite-level Pokémon.
It was no wonder that the Scolipede, most of whom hadn't even reached elite-level, were unable to stop him.
This time, Aoki had lured out an even larger horde of Scolipede.
By the time the battle ended, more than 200 Scolipede lay defeated on the ground.
Even in their battered state, they remained outside that invisible boundary, unwilling to cross it.
This only deepened Aoki's curiosity about the Pokémon responsible for their fear.
But this time, the Scolipede had learned their lesson—they knew they had to flee.
Unfortunately for them, against Honchkrow at his peak, their escape only hastened their downfall.
With such a large-scale battle, the Pokémon who had fought the hardest—Honchkrow and Skorupi—both leveled up.
Honchkrow reached level 41, and Skorupi finally reached level 39—just one step away from evolving into an elite-tier Pokémon.
After feeding his Pokémon some Pokeblocks and allowing Florette to restore their energy with Grassy Terrain, Aoki decided to take advantage of Honchkrow's momentum.
Leading his team, he ventured deeper into the Scolipede's forest.
It was immediately apparent that the once-dense surroundings were now much emptier.
Using the same strategy, he drew out and defeated another two waves of Scolipede, each numbering around 200.
By the time the fighting was over, his Pokémon had made substantial progress.
Slowking reached level 43.
Weavile and Gengar, who had been among the most aggressive attackers, both reached level 41.
It had been an incredibly rewarding day.
Aoki never expected to find such an ideal training ground in this area.
With one final wave of Scolipede planned for the day, he decided to temporarily end the battle afterward.
After all, Pokémon weren't machines.
Even with Florette's healing, prolonged high-intensity combat would eventually take its toll.