Nova currently traveled with eight Pokémon, though only six of them were taking part in the battle unfolding in front of him.
With Rotom now part of the team, Corviknight no longer had to stay glued to Nova's side as a bodyguard. Being a Ghost type, Rotom was quick, small, and skilled at staying out of sight, and it could shield itself with Protect whenever needed. That made it a far better guard for Nova than Corviknight had ever been.
Right now, Rotom had shifted into its Wash form and hovered beside him. The change gave the team a Water type presence that worked well in the desert, though Rotom's real job was still to keep its Trainer safe rather than to join the front line.
The other Pokémon staying out of the group battle was Azir the Vibrava.
As the team's scout, Azir's task was to range ahead and widen the area Nova's team could search in the wild. It was thanks to Azir's scouting that they had found this herd of Rhyhorn wandering the main road that led out of Sand River City and into the desert.
Once the battle started, Nova had ordered Azir to break away from the group and keep watch over the surrounding area, so nothing could catch them off guard.
None of this would have been possible even a short while ago. Back when Nova had only Nidorino and Corvisquire, he'd barely had enough strength to hold his own in a straight fight, let alone spare Pokémon for guarding and scouting.
The strongest of the wild Rhydon had gone up against Nidoking, driving a Drill Run at him, the signature Ground type move most Rhydon relied on.
Nidoking's temper being what it was, it clearly wanted to meet the attack head on, but Nova called out before it could.
"Don't be reckless! Nidoking, hit it with a special attack!"
The Rhydon outleveled Nidoking, and with an Attack stat as high as 130, meeting its drill with brute force would have been foolish, not brave. Knowing when to hold a Pokémon back was exactly what a Trainer was for.
Grumbling the whole way, Nidoking obeyed and answered with Surf, sending a wave crashing into the oncoming drill.
The Rhydon was clearly afraid of the attack. Nova noticed its eyes, wild and furious a moment ago, sharpen with sudden alertness the instant it saw the water rushing toward it.
Still, the Drill Run carried real force behind it. Powered by its spinning drill and a burst of Superpower, the Rhydon knocked Surf off course before it could land its full weight.
Something was wrong.
After just that one clash, Nova already sensed it.
This was desert country. Water type Pokémon were scarce here, and even the rare ones capable of using Water moves shouldn't have been enough to frighten something as powerful as a level 68 Rhydon, a creature already close to ruling this stretch of land, just from seeing a Surf.
That kind of fear only came from having been hurt by Water type moves before.
Watching the Rhydon more closely, Nova also noticed it wasn't in good shape. It looked hurt, and not from wounds that had healed.
Add to that how the whole Rhyhorn herd had moved to attack the moment they spotted him, before he'd shown any hostility at all, as jumpy as birds startled by nothing more than a bowstring's twang, and it was clear something bigger was going on.
This Rhydon and its herd must have crossed paths with other humans before running into Nova.
The realization left him uneasy, and he immediately called for his partners to pull back.
"Nidoking, Earthquake, now, split the field!" Nova shouted. "Corviknight, carry as many as you can into the air! Lapras, Protect yourself right where you're standing, and quit singing like that! If Nidoking's Earthquake catches you because you weren't paying attention, you're skipping dinner!"
What followed was pure chaos, partners scrambling in every direction at once.
Corviknight, filling the role of the one taking flight, spread its wings at once. Marshtomp, Growlithe, and Meowscarada scrambled onto its back, and it climbed into the sky.
Nidoking slammed both fists into the ground, and the shockwave tore through the earth, shaking the whole battlefield.
Having already been warned, Lapras didn't hesitate this time and threw up Protect to shield itself.
Nova, meanwhile, looked far less composed, clinging to the pipe on Wash Rotom's back just to keep his feet off the shuddering ground.
Even the simplest of the Rhyhorn knew better than to charge into an area attack like Earthquake. And the strongest Rhydon on the field wasn't willing to risk taking double damage just to close the distance on Nidoking either.
The sudden Earthquake did exactly what Nova had hoped, breaking the two sides apart in an instant.
Only Nidoking and Lapras remained near the front now, a hundred meters off. They were still outnumbered, but they could watch each other's backs, and Lapras's Water type moves were strong enough that Nova wasn't worried about them getting overwhelmed.
Now that he suspected other people were active somewhere nearby, starting a full fight with an entire wild Pokémon family was clearly not the smart move.
As long as the Rhydon didn't press the attack, Nidoking and Lapras could keep falling back until they broke contact completely.
For their part, the wild Pokémon looked just as eager to retreat after the show of force. The Rhydon had only seen the cat and the fish Pokémon at first and had probably assumed they'd make an easy meal. Discovering something on Nova's side even bigger than itself, and one that could hurt it badly with Water type moves, had clearly changed its mind.
Corviknight returned to Nova with most of the group. Aside from Nidoking, it was easily the most eager for battle among the team.
Whenever it took a hit in a fight, it seemed to draw strength from the blow instead of being worn down by it, coming out of each exchange a little tougher than before. But since it usually had to stay close to guard Nova, it rarely got the chance to actually join a wild battle.
This time, just as it was finally getting to fight, Nova had called it back early, and Corviknight let out an irritated squawk to make its displeasure known.
Rotom popped out of its washing machine shell and darted straight into the phone clipped to Nova's backpack strap.
"I don't get it," Rotom said. "That's what Little Blue told me."