The night wind swept across the sand dunes, making a low whistling sound like a soft hum.
The lights of the distant rest station gradually shrank into a blurred speck of light, finally vanishing from sight.
As the night deepened, the desert wind, carrying grains of sand, brushed past their ears. Lionel and his party's footsteps left deep and shallow marks on the soft sand.
The journey was far from peaceful, as traces of wild Pokémon flashed by from time to time.
Fortunately, being in the desert, the Rock-type Tyrunt relied on its keen senses to always detect potential dangers in advance, helping the group avoid trouble.
Because of this, many Trainers entering the desert would specifically bring Rock or Ground-type Pokémon along to scout and provide protection.
Suddenly, the sand pile in front of Lionel trembled slightly, and a Gligar abruptly poked its head out from the sand.
Its tail was held high, the poison stinger at the end glinting with a cold, eerie light under the chilly starlight. Its wary gaze instantly locked onto Lionel's group.
The moment Gligar assumed an attacking stance, Tyrunt's body tensed up, and a low growl escaped its throat.
Gligar's movements came to a sudden halt, but it did not retreat. It remained standing before the sand pile, staring intently at Lionel and the others.
Lionel immediately understood. Gligar has a very strong sense of territory; once provoked, it will pursue relentlessly. At this moment, there was absolutely no need for a direct confrontation.
He turned his steps, leading Tyrunt and Beldum to circle around to the side.
Seeing them change direction and not approach its nest, Gligar hesitated for a moment before finally burrowing back into the sand with a 'shua' sound, leaving behind only a fleeting sand vortex.
Tyrunt and Beldum continued to stare in that direction until they confirmed no residual danger remained. Only then did they relax their guard and continue forward with Lionel.
However, Lionel hadn't walked much further,
When suddenly,
A sudden change occurred!
A group of green figures suddenly lunged out from behind a sand dune. Over a dozen Cacnea surrounded a slightly larger Cacturne, blocking the middle of the road directly.
They were covered in sharp, hard thorns, looking like moving clumps of brambles in the night. Their intentions were clearly unfriendly.
Lionel's heart tightened.
He had once seen a post on a Pokémon forum about nocturnal desert Pokémon, which explicitly mentioned that when traveling through the desert at night, one must be wary of Cacturne.
This type of Pokémon is exceptionally active at night, especially persistent regarding the water sources carried by travelers. If not handled properly, it can easily lead to a violent conflict.
He hadn't expected his luck to be so poor as to run into this kind of trouble just as he stepped into the desert.
Sure enough, the leading Cacturne shook the hat-like decoration on its head, and several Cacnea immediately stepped forward, assuming a posture to block the way and attack.
While Lionel was considering a strategy, Tyrunt suddenly took half a step forward, and the pressure belonging to a Dragon-type Pokémon quietly spread out.
Those Cacnea visibly shrunk back, and even Cacturne's movements paused. They felt a strange sense of intimidation from this Tyrunt.
It vaguely resembled the aura of that green giant deep in the desert—the symbol of the desert's king and tyrant. This somewhat similar pressure made them afraid to act rashly.
After a moment of stalemate, Cacturne gently shook the 'straw hat' on its head, as if conveying some kind of signal.
A Cacnea moved forward cautiously, pointing its thorns at the water bottle on the outside of Lionel's backpack, and then at the road ahead.
The meaning couldn't be clearer:
As long as they handed over the water source, they would be allowed to pass.
Lionel breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the other party wasn't intentionally picking a fight; they just desperately needed water.
If a fight really broke out, it would surely make a lot of noise, and it would be even more troublesome if it attracted other Pokémon.
They want water? That's simple enough.
Lionel immediately tossed out a Poké Ball:
"Feebas, come out and use Rain Dance!"
Feebas's figure popped out from the Poké Ball. At Lionel's command, a faint water-blue halo glowed around its body.
Although Feebas had only recently learned Rain Dance, with its excellent control over Water-type moves, creating a small rain cloud was more than enough.
Feebas suspended itself in the air using water currents, waving its silver tail fin to manipulate the thin moisture in the surroundings.
After a moment, a small dark cloud appeared above the Cacturne group.
Fine raindrops fell from the sky, landing exactly on the sandy ground between Cacturne and the Cacnea.
These desert Pokémon clearly hadn't expected such a 'transaction'.
They looked up in surprise one after another, greedily absorbing the precious rainwater. The folds on their thorns gradually smoothed out, and their movements became much gentler.
The raindrops soon stopped. Having absorbed enough moisture, Cacturne bowed slightly toward Lionel, as if expressing its gratitude.
The smallest Cacnea hesitated for a moment, ran to Lionel's feet, and its whole body emitted a soft green light. A small, bright red Berry quietly appeared on its head.
The leading Cacturne gestured for Lionel to take the fruit; it was a thank-you gift they were offering.
Lionel smiled as he took the Berry, thinking to himself:
It seems the descriptions on the forum aren't entirely accurate and are somewhat exaggerated. Cacturne isn't as terrifying as the rumors suggest.
He remembered the post saying that after evolution, Cacturne gains the Dark-type and its personality becomes cruel and wicked.
They remain motionless during the day to disguise themselves as plants and become active at night.
They track exhausted prey in the desert and even follow travelers in groups until the target is too weak to move before making the kill... Now that he's encountered them personally, he finds these Cacturne are far from the wretched description in the post.
What surprised Lionel even more was that Cacturne actually led several Cacnea to proactively escort them for quite a long distance.
It wasn't until the outline of a rock wall appeared ahead and they confirmed the surroundings were safe that they stopped.
They bowed to Lionel once more, then led their group to vanish silently into the night.
Lionel only saw clearly as he approached that it was a steep rock wall, like a mountain range split open by a giant axe, standing firmly across the desert and blocking the howling night wind.
Hidden beneath the rock wall was a tiny oasis. A clear spring bubbled out from a crack in the rocks, forming a shallow pool on the sand.
Moonlight spilled onto the water's surface, with silver-like specks of light rippling with the waves. Several clumps of cacti grew nearby, with crystal-clear dew condensed on them.
This was exactly the campsite marked on the map.
Lionel chose a spot under the leeward side of the rock wall to start setting up camp.
Tyrunt sensibly lowered its body and gently rubbed its snout against the backpack straps. Once Lionel unfastened the backpack, it began patrolling around the campsite to check if the area was safe.
Beldum floated to Lionel's side, a faint Confusion wave rippling around it as it deftly picked up the scattered tent poles, stakes, and waterproof cloth, handing them to him one by one.
With the silent understanding between the human and the Pokémon, the tent's frame was firmly established in less than fifteen minutes.
Finally, after covering it with the waterproof cloth and tightening the guy lines, a wind-resistant orange tent took root under the rock wall.
"Well done."
Lionel rubbed Beldum's little head, and the little fellow happily flew two circles around the tent.
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