Chapter 1161: The Forest of Nihilego
The oasis of the Kartana tribe had suffered extensive damage during the battle, leaving the Kartana deeply saddened.
However, this was not a challenge for Yuga and Florges. Florges was easily able to restore the damaged plants. To repay the Kartana tribe for their gift of the Moon Flute, Yuga decided to have Florges help them rebuild their home.
"Is it really true? Can you truly restore this place to its former state?" an elderly Kartana asked excitedly.
"Of course!" Yuga replied affirmatively. "Just follow me and see for yourself."
With that, Yuga led Florges to the center of the oasis. When all the Kartana heard that Yuga and Florges were going to repair the oasis, they gathered together in high spirits, eager to see how Florges would restore their home.
"Florges, I'm counting on you," Yuga said, looking into Florges's eyes.
"Florages!"
Florges responded with a smile, then slowly moved forward.
It stood solemnly on a patch of grass that had been heavily damaged, closed its eyes, and spread its arms. Streams of green energy flowed down from its body like water, forming a circle at its feet.
The circle of energy continuously spread outward, and all the plants and trees swept up in its wake were rejuvenated, while new green shoots began to sprout from the exposed yellow earth.
Seeing this miraculous scene, some Kartana dropped their jaws in astonishment, some couldn't help but cheer loudly, and others were brought to tears.
Florges's restoration work continued. Under the nurturing of the grass-type energy, the small grass blades eagerly pushed through the soil, trees slowly sprouted new branches, and flowers began to bloom again.
Witnessing this, Yuga took out a Poké Ball and released his Dragonite.
"Dragonite, make it rain here."
"Dragonite!"
Dragonite let out a loud roar, flapped its wings, and shot into the sky like a cannonball. Soon after, light rain began to fall from the clouds above.
The revitalization of the plants depended on the nourishment of rainwater.
This oasis had been dry for a long time, and now with the moisture from the rain, the air felt brighter.
In terms of weather control, Dragonite was a professional, even outdoing Lapras, a water-type Pokémon, in this regard.
The rain became heavier, as if it were drawing in all the surrounding moisture to pour down in one go. The water slowly gathered together, and the previously dried-up lake in the oasis was now filling back up.
Once Florges finished its restoration, Dragonite dispersed the rain clouds, and the Kartana were astonished to find that the edges of their oasis had expanded outward by a whole circle.
This… was nothing short of a miracle!
After completing the restoration, Florges didn't immediately return to Yuga's side. It kept its eyes closed, listening to the rustling sounds of the trees swaying in the breeze, which sounded to Florges like the plants thanking it for its help.
As Yuga and the many Kartana watched Florges, they suddenly felt as if something indescribable had emerged from her. Although Yuga didn't quite grasp the sensation, the Kartana were overwhelmed with a sense of awe.
When Florges finally opened her eyes again, the many Pokémon felt as if the scene they had just witnessed was merely an illusion; Florges appeared unchanged from before.
After restoring the oasis, Yuga took out a variety of berry tree for the Kartana, an assortment that he had temporarily exchanged for at the system shop.
Of course, Yuga didn't give them these berry tree for eating but rather for them to extract the seeds for planting. Although not all berry tree are propagated through seeds, the ones Yuga selected were.
Due to the destruction caused by the Guzzlord, the surviving berry tree in the area had become extremely scarce. This was also why the Kartana tribe could only serve Yuga meager rations before.
With these seeds, Yuga believed it wouldn't be long before the Kartana tribe wouldn't have to go hungry again—provided Guzzlord didn't come back to disrupt them.
After receiving the berry tree seeds, the Kartana tribe showered Yuga with gratitude, nearly treating him like a deity.
However, Yuga didn't stay with the Kartana for long; he still needed to search for clues related to Luna. Despite the tribe's best efforts to keep him, Yuga rode away on his Absol.
On his journey, Yuga rode his Absol while holding the still-sleeping Cosmoem in his arms, diligently studying the Moon Flute he had obtained.
"Wooooo…"
The sounds produced by Yuga playing the flute echoed nonstop; if it weren't for Absol's great patience, it would have long since tossed Yuga off its back.
It was so awful!
After walking for an unknown length of time, Cosmoem finally woke up, and seeing it lively and energetic, Yuga felt a wave of relief.
Yuga's flute-playing career continued; while Absol didn't understand how to "appreciate" it, Cosmoem seemed to enjoy the music, giving Yuga a sense of pride.
As the melodies rose and fell, the Ultra Aura surrounding Cosmoem also fluctuated in sync.
Since absorbing the Ultra Aura from Guzzlord, the Ultra Aura surrounding Cosmoem had grown exceptionally robust. Initially, these foreign auras didn't quite harmonize with Cosmoem, but as the music from the Moon Flute blended in, the auras gradually became one with Cosmoem.
Yuga increasingly felt that this Moon Flute was a treasure!
Along the way, Yuga encountered several wandering Guzzlord but managed to avoid them from a distance.
As night fell, Yuga had to stop to find a place to rest. His system backpack was well-equipped with items for overnight camping, so he wasn't worried about going hungry or freezing.
That evening, while having dinner, Yuga pondered what to do next; aimlessly searching like this was not a viable plan.
After a long time of thought, Yuga decided that perhaps he should check out the territory of the Nihilego. Since Guzzlord were too vicious to gather information from, he would have to try his luck with Nihilego.
Thus, early the next morning, he rode his Absol toward the direction of Nihilego's territory.
Although Yuga didn't know exactly where Nihilego's territory was, he had learned the general direction from the Kartana tribe, so as long as he didn't stray too far off course, finding it shouldn't be too difficult.
With a destination in mind, Yuga quickened his pace. Absol galloped forward, and after quite a while, Yuga finally saw a vast and dense forest.
Needless to say, this was the dwelling place of the Nihilego tribe, as the Kartana had mentioned that throughout the entire Ultra Space, aside from the territory of the Nihilego tribe, there were no other large areas of green vegetation.
The small oasis of the Kartana tribe couldn't compare to the expansiveness of this forest; it looked like a beautiful green emerald embedded in a land filled with yellow sand and soil.
From a distance, Yuga spotted numerous Guzzlord wandering around the outskirts of the forest, their mouths watering as they gazed hungrily at the trees within. If it weren't for the Nihilego patrolling the edges, they likely would have charged in already.
Although the Kartana tribe had mentioned that the Nihilego tribe had a pact with Guzzlord, it was evident from the current situation that their relationship was merely superficial.
Guzzlord were eyeing the territory of the Nihilego tribe hungrily, while the Nihilego tribe was also eager to drive away Guzzlord and use them to eliminate the Kartana tribe.
Despite being strong, the steel-type Kartana tribe naturally countered the Nihilego tribe, being immune to their poison-type moves and resistant to their rock-type moves. Thus, they had long wanted to eliminate or drive away the Kartana tribe.
The arrival of Guzzlord was a perfect opportunity!
Yuga observed the outskirts of the forest for a while before recalling Absol and Cosmoem into their Poké Balls and summoning Gengar. "Gengar, let's sneak in and check the situation."
Gengar nodded at Yuga's words, draping its arm over Yuga's shoulder, and together they vanished from sight.
After sneaking into the forest, Yuga and Gengar were extremely cautious, fearing that any noise might attract the attention of the Nihilego. He planned to find a lone Nihilego to see if he could catch it off guard and ask if it had any information about Luna.
The number of Nihilego was far greater than that of the Kartana tribe; nearly every short distance, Yuga encountered four or five Nihilego patrolling together.
From their formation, it seemed they were on high alert for Guzzlord!
Poor Yuga and Gengar had been sneaking around for quite a while but hadn't found a single lone Nihilego.
As they walked, Yuga suddenly heard a burst of laughter and noise. He quietly parted the bushes and discovered a small pool hidden deep within the forest.
The pool was filled with a deep purple, strange liquid, and several Nihilego were bathing in it, looking extremely pleased. Anyone who didn't know better might think they were soaking in some heavenly nectar!
Just as Yuga was curious about the liquid in the pool, a leaf was blown by the wind and fell into the water. He heard a "sizzle," and the leaf was completely corroded.
My goodness!
Yuga quickly covered his mouth, realizing that the pool was filled with poison! And it was highly toxic at that! No wonder these poison-type Ultra Beasts could bathe in it with such strong toxicity.
Looking at the pool full of poison, Yuga suddenly thought—should he steal some to bring back to Roserade? Such potent poison would surely be appealing to Roserade!
However, even if he wanted to steal some, this was not the time, with so many Nihilego present!
Just as Yuga was about to turn and leave to continue searching for a lone Nihilego, he suddenly spotted another Nihilego drifting over from a distance, with a human parasite beneath it.
When Yuga saw the human's face clearly, he was shocked to find that it was Ayashi.
What is Ayashi doing here?
Yuga widened his eyes in disbelief, fearing he might be seeing things.
The newly arrived Nihilego seemed to say something to its companions in the poison pool, and all the Nihilego floated off in a particular direction. At this moment, Yuga couldn't care less about stealing the poison and hurriedly followed along with Gengar.
Before long, Yuga saw that Arata Sena, Luna, and Kaname Hirakawa were also being parasitized. However, with so many Nihilego around, he felt anxious but didn't dare to act rashly.
Just as Yuga was desperately thinking of a way to rescue Luna and the others, the Nihilego that was parasitizing Kaname Hirakawa seemed to sense something and shot a dissolution liquid toward Yuga and Gengar.
Seeing this, Gengar quickly pushed Yuga aside, and the dissolution liquid instantly corroded the spot where Yuga had been hiding. At the same time, the contact was broken, and Gengar and Yuga's invisibility effect was lost.
Upon seeing Yuga, a suddenly appeared unfamiliar human, the Nihilego began to wildly thrash their tentacles, looking extremely excited.
Another human to parasitize!
Why do the Nihilego prefer to parasitize humans? Because they can draw more nutrients from the humans they inhabit; even if the human's brain dies in the future, they can still control the still-living body.
It was incredibly terrifying!
The first to attack Yuga were the four Nihilego that had parasitized Luna and the others, and they were the strongest among all the Nihilego.
Yuga immediately released his Chimecho, which used Light Screen to block the Nihilego's Power Gem.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Gengar also launched a counterattack with Shadow Balls hitting the Nihilego, but it dared not use its full strength, as that would harm Luna and the others who were being parasitized.
Due to the concern for the parasitized individuals, Chimecho and Gengar found their fighting abilities severely restricted. They were not the opponents of the four leading Nihilego even under normal circumstances, and now they were even more flustered.
Seeing that more and more Nihilego were gathering over to this side, Yuga gritted his teeth and shouted to Gengar and Chimecho, "Gengar, Chimecho, let's go!"
Upon hearing Yuga's command, the two Pokémon quickly gathered by his side. Yuga released Cosmoem and said, "Cosmoem, use Teleport to take us away!"
Cosmoem responded, and the next second, Yuga and Gengar vanished from their spot.
The approaching Nihilego immediately began to frantically search for the suddenly disappeared Yuga.
When Yuga and Gengar reappeared, they found themselves standing in a dense jungle. Before Yuga could regain his bearings, he heard the Nihilego calling out, searching for his whereabouts.
This meant that Cosmoem had foolishly not taken them out of the Nihilego territory.
What an unreliable guy!
Yuga mumbled under his breath, quickly recalling Cosmoem and Chimecho, then hiding again with Gengar.
Although there was still a risk of being discovered by sensitive Pokémon while hidden, they could still avoid most dangers of being found.
After the Nihilego around them left, Yuga cautiously made his way out with Gengar.
Due to Yuga's sudden discovery, the number of Nihilego out on patrol increased, so he had to be even more careful.
As the jungle was too dense, Yuga and Gengar didn't dare to make too much noise, making it impossible to determine their direction for a moment; they could only flail about like headless flies in the woods.
Not knowing where they had wandered into, Yuga gently parted the bushes before him, and a pile of scattered stones appeared in front of him!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone