Just as Aoki had predicted, when he led his Pokémon into the innermost part of the entire Beedrill population, he encountered the Beedrill Leader with the strength of a seasoned Elite, as well as a large number of ordinary Beedrill and several leader Beedrill with the strength of Elite Four Level.
Based on Aoki's original personality, she would definitely summon some more powerful Pokémon to quickly defeat the opponent and save herself time.
However, Aoki's mindset and thoughts have changed somewhat. She still hopes that Salamence, Gardevoir, Lucario, and Venusaur can take care of all the Beedrills. She would rather the pace of the battle be a little slower, and she is even willing to accept that the Pokémon may suffer some injuries.
Just as jade cannot become a gem without being carved, no matter how outstanding Pokémon's aptitude or talent, Hone Claws will ultimately fail without battle.
Furthermore, Salamence and Gardevoir are both seasoned Elite-level fighters, so they are not at a disadvantage against the Beedrill Leader. As long as they perform to their full potential under Aoki's command, wiping out the Beedrill tribe should not be too difficult.
The idea is certainly good, but sometimes things don't go as smoothly as we imagine.
High-intensity battles come with high risks. At the beginning, the four Pokémon fought methodically under Aoki's command, and the Beedrills were unable to do anything to them. However, as time went on, the Pokémon became mentally and physically exhausted, and they were bound to get injured if the battle lasted too long.
This is where the question arises: is a Pokémon truly qualified?
Some Pokémon started to falter, not because they were intentionally doing so, but mainly because they hadn't experienced such a long and difficult battle. Beedrill are poisonous Pokémon, and after being poisoned, their bodies sometimes become uncontrollable to a certain extent, so a vicious cycle inevitably occurs, causing further injury.
Salamence had the strongest will; even when injured, his fighting ability was not diminished.
This is how you can tell a Pokémon's strength. You can't just look at the strength shown on their surface data; you also have to look at a Pokémon's personality and the many other qualities they possess.
Therefore, sometimes, the phenomenon of the weak defeating the strong occurs because the strength displayed by some Pokémon does not truly reflect their inner character.
The reason Aoki stopped summoning Pokémon in this battle against the Beedrill tribe was to expose their inherent weakness so that he could find a suitable solution.
Sometimes it has to be said that the power of role models is truly immense. Salamence's unwavering fighting spirit successfully inspired Lucario, Gardevoir, and Venusaur.
As the saying goes, "One is influenced by one's company," and Salamence successfully influenced Lucario and his group, making them understand how to face stalemates and difficult battles.
After all the Beedrills in the entire Beedrill pack had either fallen to the ground, unable to fight, or fled, a brief silence fell over the forest.
All that remained were the heavy breathing of Salamence and Lucario, clearly exhausted from the intense battle.
Aoki was crouching beside them, taking out some special medicines and healing sprays from his backpack to treat the injuries on Lucario and Venusaur.
In just one battle, one could sense a great change in Lucario and Venusaur, both in their eyes and in their very being.
Although the battles are tough and consume a lot of Aoki's resources, it's all worth it as long as the Pokémon can grow stronger.
Moreover, as a High-Level Breeder, would Aoki be afraid of losing such resources in such a resource-rich continent?
"Lucio—" Lucario lowered his head slightly embarrassed under Aoki's care.
Aoki smiled as she looked at Lucario, who was sitting on the ground looking ashamed, and couldn't help but pat his head, feeling the slightly short hair on his head.
"You haven't experienced many battles. Although your master Blaziken has taught you a lot of knowledge and combat skills, these are all knowledge he learned through actual combat, and they may not necessarily be suitable for you. You should know that when your teacher Blaziken was young, he cried during his first battle. Compared to him, what you have now is nothing."
Although Aoki mentioned Blaziken crying, that was when he was injured in his first battle. Lucario had participated in battle before, but it was his first time participating in such a difficult and potentially dangerous battle.
Upon hearing Aoki's words, Lucario looked at Aoki with a hint of disbelief, his eyes seeming to ask, "Really?"
In Lucario's mind, his teacher Blaziken was always an energetic and battle-loving Pokémon who was very strict when training him. He never expected that his teacher would cry.
Aoki smiled and nodded, feeling apologetic to Blaziken for exposing his shortcomings in front of his apprentice, but he believed Blaziken would definitely understand his thoughts.
Seeing Aoki nod, Lucario's unwavering resolve grew stronger.
Lucario was never a Pokémon afraid of battle; it was just that his childhood circumstances and the environment provided by Aoki delayed his exposure to combat. Fortunately, as a Pokémon with Aura Power, he was excellent in both physical attributes and personal growth.
"So keep up the good work. Catching up with your teacher isn't a dream; you have the potential to do so," Aoki said, offering Lucario a final word of encouragement.
"Luca!!" Lucario exclaimed, expressing his anticipation for that moment.
Besides Lucario, Gardevoir and Venusaur also accepted Aoki's comfort. These Pokémon either had been by Aoki's side since birth and received meticulous care, or they had followed Aoki since they were very young and had never participated in any battles before.
In short, they lacked combat experience in tough battles.
Salamence is the only Pokémon Aoki doesn't need to worry about. Salamence's inner strength is probably among the top three of all Aoki's Pokémon.
After treating Lucario and the others' injuries and dealing with their frustrations, Aoki finally had time to properly investigate the situation in the forest where the Beedrill tribe lived.
Regular Pokémon can't enter this area, so many resources are well preserved, and it took Aoki quite a bit of time to collect them.
However, what he valued most was the largest beehive on the very middle tree, which must contain a large amount of wild honey!