Three seconds of downtime passed, a silent moment in the arid landscape.

Only then did Aoki realize that it was his Tyranitar who had made him assume this particular pose, a position his Larvitar had once favored for sleeping, perhaps finding it more comfortable for rest. Black lines of frustration appeared on his forehead as he processed this. Seeing his Tyranitar now casually toying with three terrified Skuntank not far away, Aoki did not know what to call out to it, his voice still failing him. Fortunately, the Tyranitar was quite sensitive to the changes in the sandy bed it had created for its Trainer, its head turning subconsciously towards the slight shift in weight. It saw Aoki with his eyes open, conscious and watching. The great Pokemon suddenly got excited and stood up, causing the three Skuntank to flatten themselves against the ground in sheer terror, not daring to move a muscle. The Tyranitar took two massive steps at a time, quickly running to stand in front of Aoki.

"Help me... up," Aoki spoke with great difficulty, each slight movement of his mouth sending waves of severe pain through his body. The reason he did not use Telepathy was a newfound complication; his psychic powers seemed to be undergoing some strange, internal changes and could not be accessed or used in this short period, leaving him no other choice but to rely on the most primitive means of communication. Only when the Tyranitar got very close could it hear Aoki's weak, mosquito-like voice. The Pokemon showed a puzzled look, as if wondering if this uncomfortable-looking position was not to his Trainer's liking. Seeing the Tyranitar's confused expression, Aoki felt his face might have turned black with exasperation; if he hadn't been stuck so tightly to the sand and unable to move, his expression would probably have been as dark as charcoal. Fortunately, his Tyranitar still listened to his words. However, the process of moving Aoki's body ignited another fire of severe pain throughout his frame.

When the Tyranitar carefully transformed the sand bed it had made into a very domineering, sturdy chair, shifting Aoki from his original lying position into a sitting position, Aoki's face was pale from the agony, his lips drained of all color. Sweat poured continuously down his forehead, mingling with the black, foul-smelling residue that had earlier seeped from his pores and had now completely solidified on his skin, leaving him looking exceptionally embarrassed and disheveled. A very unpleasant odor clung to his body, a testament to the violent ordeal he had endured. Fortunately, he was somewhat used to such states after intense training sessions. Even if he had wanted to wash now, his body was in no condition to accept such ministrations. Only after sitting down properly could Aoki barely catch his breath, his chest rising and falling in shallow, painful movements.

He mentally commanded his internal system to scan his current physical condition. The conclusion was stark: the injury was very serious. Many tissues, muscles, and blood vessels within his body had been damaged to varying degrees, a complex web of internal trauma. The only thing to be thankful for was that his vital organs had not suffered catastrophic damage; his personal safety was not in immediate jeopardy, though his mobility was utterly compromised. Getting this result, Aoki breathed a small, careful sigh of relief. If these were just the physical injuries, there should be no problem recovering with his own body's abilities and the aid of his Pokemon over time. But it felt a little unsafe to stay here in the open now, and he didn't know what the situation was like in the wider area around them. Among wild Pokémon, his Tyranitar's strength was considerable, but it was not invincible. Now that Aoki was awake, however, everything would become easier to manage.

After a while, he felt that there was no major problem with his ability to speak again. Although his facial muscles still hurt a little when forming words, he no longer felt the heart-wrenching, searing pain that had accompanied even the slightest movement of his jaw before. Aoki asked his Tyranitar to fetch the Poké Balls he had placed on his waist, his fingers twitching with the effort of the command. He needed to summon all his Pokemon out to secure the perimeter. Typically, Aoki only carried six Pokémon on his person, with the rest of their Poké Balls placed safely within his space equipment. These five Pokémon were his Slowking, his Florges, his Blaziken, his Aggron, his Swampert, and the Tyranitar who had been summoned at the beginning of this misadventure.

The Slowking and the Florges were his guarantees for basic safety. The Slowking's combat ability was still top-notch amongst Aoki's team, a powerful anchor in any battle, and it also possessed the ability of Teleport, providing the crucial option of a strategic retreat if overwhelming force was encountered. The Florges was also a powerful battle guarantee, but perhaps more importantly, her potent healing abilities could ensure the endurance and recovery of the other elves after any conflict. Then, the Blaziken, the Tyranitar, the Aggron, and the Swampert were the Pokémon that Aoki most wanted to train and strengthen within this unique space, hoping the environment would provide them with the challenge needed to grow. As for whether there was a chance for that, he would know after properly investigating the area. In fact, judging from the results of the system's scan and analysis of his own body, although he could not use his psychic powers now and his body had suffered great damage, both his psychic potential and his physical fitness were projected to be much better than before once they finally recovered. The latent spatial energy had seemingly forced an evolution upon his very cells. So overall, he had still gained a lot of benefits from the traumatic experience, though the recovery process was agonizingly slow and fraught with discomfort.

Aoki tried to ask his Florges to help him recover using her healing moves, but the attempt met with little success. He finally concluded that his injuries were permeated with residual spatial energy, and that ordinary healing skills were largely ineffective against such exotic damage. Only his body's own natural healing functions could truly restore him, a process that would require time and patience. However, once the recovery was complete, Aoki's innate sensitivity to spatial energy and distortions may be greatly improved, a silver lining to the painful ordeal. The process of the body's self-recovery was also, inherently, a process of understanding and assimilating the foreign spatial energy. It was just that his own psychic powers, he didn't know what specific changes had taken place within them, were now completely blocked and inaccessible at this time. Aoki could not call upon them, could not even touch that part of his mind; it was like a wall had been erected. Fortunately, now that all his elves had been summoned, their collective presence provided a strong guarantee of basic safety. The Pokemon emerged from their balls and immediately gathered around, inquiring with concerned chirps and rumbles about Aoki's safety, their forms a protective circle around his sandy throne.

After resting for another three hours, the sky above them gradually darkened into evening hues, and Aoki had almost fully recovered his ability to speak without significant pain. The three Skuntank that his Tyranitar had conquered before had now effectively become its subordinates, or perhaps more accurately, its living toys, cowed into absolute obedience. After seeing that Aoki possessed so many other powerful and intimidating Pokemon, the Skuntank finally realized that what they had foolishly kicked was not merely an iron plate, but a veritable solid steel plate of a opponent. Aoki remained sitting on the imposing chair made of his Tyranitar's compressed sand, which then floated up smoothly with the aid of his Slowking's precise psychic powers, hovering just above the ground. The three Skuntank were promptly enlisted as tools for pulling the cart; his Florges deftly created strong vines to lash the sandy sofa-chair to the three Skuntank, creating a makeshift transport. Pulling Aoki and followed by the rest of his team, the odd procession slowly moved forward, entering the dense forest at a cautious pace.

As the local bosses of this immediate area, the Skuntank were quite familiar with the environment, so Aoki did not let his Tyranitar rough them up further, deciding they could still play a useful role for the time being. They were, at the very least, reasonably good at pulling a cart. Under the Tyranitar's watchful eye and palpable "tyrannical power," the three Skuntank had no intention of resisting at all, and obediently led Aoki and the others to a place that was more suitable for setting up a temporary camp. If nothing else, the location needed to have a certain source of fresh water. Then, after slowly investigating the surrounding situation and ensuring a measure of security, he could finally start properly exploring this mysterious space. As for Aoki's own injured body, it would simply have to recover slowly on its own timeline. Anyway, with his team mobilized, there shouldn't be much danger now. Two properly Champion-level elves and four solid Elite Four-level elves could be considered a relatively powerful combat force no matter where they were in the wild, a formidable group not to be trifled with. The reason for choosing such a robust, cautious approach was simply to reduce all unnecessary risks, to ensure his own safety while he was in this vulnerable state. Soon, the group arrived at a small pond. It was indeed a very small pond, seemingly no more than fifteen square meters in total area, with some clear traces of wild Pokemon living around its edges. However, the Skuntank assured them through nervous gestures that there were no overwhelmingly powerful Pokémon claiming this territory; they themselves could be considered the more domineering Pokemon in this particular area, and the Tyranitar could easily deal with any wild Pokémon that might approach. They just needed to find a suitable spot to set up a secure camp and rest for the night.