LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 1312: Seeing Nidoqueen
Yuga and Joyan had not expected to encounter members of the Nido tribe before even reaching their territory.
However, Nidoqueen and Nidoking ignored Yuga and Joyan, turning around and running hastily in another direction, looking extremely flustered.
The reason soon became clear as a Rhydon leapt out of the same thicket and began chasing after the Nidoking and its group. This Rhydon was significantly more powerful than Nidoking.
In just a few strides, the Rhydon caught up with the group. It reached out and grabbed a Nidoran that had been lagging behind. Hearing the Nidoran's cries, Nidoking turned back and had no choice but to stop, launching a Megahorn at the Rhydon in an attempt to rescue the Nidoran.
The Rhydon lifted one of its legs and stomped heavily on the ground. The earth trembled and cracked, halting Nidoking's movements.
Just as the Rhydon was about to slam the Nidoran it held onto the ground, two vines suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around its arms and stopping its actions.
It was Yuga who had made a move.
Since their purpose for visiting was to negotiate cooperation with the Nido tribe, how could they stand idly by while members of the tribe were being bullied? But Yuga couldn't help wondering why anyone would dare to bully the Nido family who is known as the overlords of this area and close allies of the Kangaskhan tribe.
The Rhydon, with its arms bound by the vines, struggled violently but couldn't break free.
At that moment, several black arrows suddenly shot down from the sky, striking the Rhydon's thighs. With a pained howl, the Rhydon loosened its grip, releasing the Nidoran.
The Nidoran, frightened out of its wits, scrambled to its feet and darted back to its companions, clearly terrified.
Nidoking crawled out of the fissure it had been trapped in, its face filled with rage. Charging towards the Rhydon, it raised its massive fist and smashed it down on the Rhydon's head.
One punch. Two punches. Three punches…
With its arms restrained by Serperior's vines and its body pierced by Decidueye's Spirit Shackle arrows, the Rhydon was completely powerless against Nidoking's fury.
Even after the Rhydon was knocked unconscious, Nidoking did not stop, as if venting a pent-up anger that had accumulated for an unknown amount of time.
Boom!
To the shock of Yuga and Joyan, Nidoking smashed the Rhydon's head into pieces. The two had initially thought Nidoking simply wanted to teach the Rhydon a lesson, but they hadn't expected it to kill the Rhydon outright.
Only after the Rhydon's death did Nidoking calm down, finally remembering the two strangers who had helped it and its group.
Previously, while being chased by the Rhydon, Nidoking had noticed Yuga and Joyan but had no time to react. Now, it realized these were humans—what were humans doing here? And why did one of them seem vaguely familiar?
Nidoking had only seen humans once in its life, during Yuga's previous visit. It was then that it learned what humans looked like.
After observing for a while, Nidoking finally recognized Yuga as the same human it had seen before. No wonder he had stepped in to help them.
During Yuga's previous trade with the Nido family for Revival Herbs, Nidoking had not directly interacted with Yuga's group but had watched them from a distance out of curiosity about humans.
As soon as Nidoking remembered who Yuga was, the ferocious look on its face softened immediately, replaced by an almost "kind" expression. After all, the Max Revive provided by Yuga's group during that trade had been of great help to them.
Unfortunately, those Max Revive had already been used up.
Thinking of this, Nidoking cast a fierce glare at the now-dead Rhydon. It's all their fault!
The earlier savagery of Nidoking had startled Yuga and Joyan. Seeing it approach, the two quickly retreated a few steps, their faces wary, afraid it might attack them on a whim.
However, Nidoking didn't attack. Instead, it greeted them with an unexpectedly "friendly" demeanor. Through Nidoking's explanation, Yuga learned that it had recognized him.
Nidoking's overly enthusiastic attitude quickly allowed Yuga and Joyan to warm up to it, and the two finally understood why Nidoking harbored such deep resentment toward the Rhydon.
Today, Nidoking took its children out to gather berries but unexpectedly encountered a powerful Rhydon, which launched an attack on them.
The Nido family members are poisonous and covered in hard armor, making them unappealing prey for carnivorous Pokémon. So why did this Rhydon attack them?
It turns out this was all the doing of that Level 100 Aerodactyl.
This Aerodactyl had long coveted the Nido family's revival herbs. However, the Nido family was protected by a Level 100 Nidoqueen of equal strength.
During Yuga's previous visit, the Aerodactyl devised a scheme that severely injured Nidoqueen, thinking it could finally deal with the Nido family in one fell swoop. But it hadn't expected Yuga and his group's Max Revive to foil its plans.
After failing to chase down Yuga and his companions, the Aerodactyl came up with a sinister new strategy to deal with the Nido family.
The Nido family's abundant revival herbs had already drawn the envy of many Pokémon on the island. But due to the Nido family's strength, boasting not only the Level 100 Nidoqueen but also several Champion-level members, these Pokémon dared not act on their jealousy.
The cunning Aerodactyl sought out the island's most powerful Pokémon species, offering them a share of the Nido family's revival herbs in exchange for their allegiance.
Previously, these Pokémon feared the Nido family because of Nidoqueen's presence. Now, with an equally powerful Aerodactyl supporting them, how could they pass up such a golden opportunity?
These species became Aerodactyl's henchmen in its campaign against the Nido family.
A single species couldn't threaten the Nido family, but with several working together, even the powerful Nido family began to struggle.
Over time, these Pokémon, incited by Aerodactyl, repeatedly harassed the Nido family. The Nido family grew increasingly weary, particularly the lower-ranking members, who often faced ambushes when they ventured out.
Nidoqueen fought Aerodactyl multiple times, but neither could gain the upper hand. However, as Nidoqueen's strength was slightly inferior, it suffered significant losses in these confrontations.
Due to the frequent injuries among its members, the Nido family had long exhausted the Max Revive Yuga and his group had traded to them.
If not for those Max Revive, the Nido family might have been conquered by Aerodactyl and its allied Pokémon long ago.
After hearing Nidoking's account, Yuga sighed deeply. He hadn't expected Aerodactyl to be such a master manipulator. Without their previous intervention, the Nido family might have already been wiped out.
It must be said, that Aerodactyl has a sharp mind.
Still, since the Nido family has run out of Max Revive, doesn't that significantly increase the likelihood of achieving their goal this time? Yuga mused silently.
In truth, after hearing Nidoking's words, another idea began forming in Yuga's mind. However, it would have to wait until he met Nidoqueen.
"Nidoking, can we go back with you? I have something I'd like to discuss with your leader," Yuga said.
Upon hearing Yuga's request, Nidoking immediately nodded in delight. In fact, it had been wondering how to convince Yuga to visit their tribe, only to find that Yuga had the same idea.
Under the leadership of Nidoking, Yuga and Joyan continued towards the Nido family's territory.
Since Nidoking was much more familiar with the surrounding area than Yuga and his group, knowing which paths were safest and free of ambushing Pokémon, their progress quickly accelerated.
Fearing that it might get too late and the four who stayed behind at the camp—Joyha and the others—would worry, Yuga wrote a note for the Decidueye, instructing it to return along the same path and inform Joyha that he and Joyan had already made contact with the Nido family.
About an hour later, they successfully reached the Nido family's territory. Just as they were about to enter, Joyan's sharp eyes suddenly spotted a Seviper disappearing rapidly into the grass not far away.
Nidoking immediately sensed something was wrong and let out a loud roar as a warning signal.
Upon hearing the sound, other Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Nidoleon, and Nidorina members of the family rushed out from their quarters.
After a flurry of rapid communication from Nidoking, the other members of the Nido family immediately began frantically searching within the territory.
Soon, at the Nido family's site for storing Pokémon eggs and raising young Nidoran, they discovered a large number of Seviper and Zangoose tracks.
These creatures had clearly been planning to devour the Pokémon eggs and kill the young Nidoran and Nidorina.
Seviper and Zangoose are highly skilled in stealth and surprise attacks, and with the Aerodactyl backing them up, their courage had grown. Now, they dared to venture deep into the heart of the Nido family's territory.
Under the combined efforts of many members of the Nido family, some Seviper and Zangoose were captured, while others managed to escape.
The captured Seviper and Zangoose were immediately killed by the Nido family on the spot, their broken bodies scattered across the ground, their bright red blood soaking the earth.
Though the scene was bloody, violent, and cruel, the members of the Nido family were too enraged to calm down. Yuga and Joyan said nothing, simply watching silently from the side.
The survival rules on this island are different from the outside world. It is a place where the law of the jungle prevails, where it's either you or me who survives. Yuga and Joyan had learned this during their previous visit.
Moreover, not long ago, they had witnessed Nidoking slaughtering a Rhydon, clearly a sign of deep resentment.
After the Nido family dealt with the Seviper and Zangoose, Yuga finally met their higher-ups.
The one who greet Yuga and Joyan was the Champion-level Nidoking of the Nido family, who had gotten along well with Yuga during their previous meeting. This time, Nidoking's attitude toward Yuga was even warmer.
When Yuga expressed a desire to meet Nidoqueen, Nidoking immediately agreed to his request.
Although Nidoking was not as powerful as Nidoqueen, he and Nidoqueen shared the closest relationship in the entire family, as they were mates.
Of course, Nidoking was not Nidoqueen's first husband. Nidoqueen had lived for a long time, and she had outlived several husbands.
This situation was common in the Pokémon world. For example, Yuga's Salamence's mother was not her father's first mate.
Salamence's father, a member of the Draconid People, was an ancient Pokémon and its not much younger than the Ancestor Dragonite of the Dragon Tamer clan. His original mate could not have outlived him, and thus he could not remain faithful to a deceased partner.
The situation with Nidoqueen was quite similar.
Under the leadership of Nidoking, Yuga and Joyan arrived at the cave where Nidoqueen lived. What Yuga didn't expect was that Nidoqueen was injured again.
It turned out that a few days ago, Nidoqueen had a fierce battle with an Aerodactyl.
However, this time, Nidoqueen's injury wasn't severe, and with two days of rest, she would be fine.
Since both sides were satisfied with their last trade, Nidoqueen's attitude towards Yuga and Joyan was very friendly, and she even specially prepared fresh berry to entertain them.
Before Yuga could explain his purpose, Nidoqueen directly asked, "Are you here for Revival Grass?"
Joyan couldn't understand the meaning conveyed by Nidoqueen's voice and turned to look at Yuga.
Yuga answered honestly, "Yes, we're wondering if you still need Max Revive."
"Need them? Of course, we do!"
In the current situation, surrounded by enemies on all sides, Max Revive were extremely important to the Nido family.
For the lower-level members, consuming Revival Grass after injury wasn't a big issue, but for the King-level, Champion-level, or even the Level 100 Pokémon, the drop in their level could significantly impact their strength. A small mistake could leave them vulnerable to an attack by Aerodactyl.
So, when they were injured, as long as the injury wasn't too severe, they had to endure it.
Thinking about Aerodactyl, Nidoqueen felt a deep frustration—this bastard was just too cunning!
A long time ago, there hadn't been an Aerodactyl on this island. No one knew exactly when it appeared, but since it set its sights on the Nido family's Revival Grass, the Nido family had never been able to live in peace.
"We need Max Revive, we need a large quantity of Max Revive. As long as you can provide enough, you can have as much Revival Grass as you want," Nidoqueen said generously.
The Nido family's territory had large patches of Revival Grass, so Nidoqueen had the confidence to make such a promise.
Yuga thought for a moment and then replied, "We can make Max Revive for you, but I don't think they are enough to resolve your current predicament."
Upon hearing Yuga's words, Joyan looked confused: "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Nidoqueen was also taken aback and asked, "Then what do you think will solve our problem?"
Yuga smiled brightly, "Of course, it's to deal with Aerodactyl!"
Even though Joyan couldn't understand Nidoqueen's calls, she finally figured out what Yuga was trying to express after hearing this statement.
Deal with Aerodactyl? Are you joking?
Thinking back to the time when they were chased by Aerodactyl on their way off the island, Joyan still had lingering fear.
That Aerodactyl was just too powerful!
At that moment, Joyan suddenly thought of Nana, recalling how she had witnessed Nana's strength on the way.
She looked at Nidoqueen and thought to herself: Maybe if Nana and Nidoqueen teamed up, they could actually defeated Aerodactyl.