They walked for an unknown duration, through an uncertain distance, as Yuga and his group followed the compass's guidance towards the north.
Throughout the journey, the landscape was covered in yellow sand. Occasionally, they spotted a couple of Cacturne basking in the sun within the sand, but Yuga paid them no attention.
At this point, Yuga wasn't willing to waste time or energy on capturing Pokémon below the green aptitude.
Glancing up at the glaring sun, Yuga took a deep drink of water and wiped his sweat, saying, "I really miscalculated this. In such a vast desert, I have no idea where to find Trapinch!"
As Yuga complained, his Swellow suddenly let out a cry. Looking up, Yuga saw the bird pointing with its wings in a direction not far away.
Following its gaze, Yuga spotted a Gligar munching on a cactus.
Seeing Gligar, Yuga's eyes lit up. Gligar were impressive Pokémon too. They became powerful after evolving into Gliscor.
As Linoone and Swellow prepared to charge, Yuga stopped them.
"Let's not rush. We should find its nest first. Gligar are social creatures; it must have companions. Let's follow it discreetly."
So, Yuga and his team quietly trailed Gligar that had finished eating the cactus.
Although Gligar had wings, they couldn't fly but only glide short distances. Yuga's group managed to keep up.
However, perhaps due to hunger, Gligar didn't immediately return to its companions. Instead, it wandered around, grazing on plants.
Considering the scarcity of green vegetation in the desert, Gligar devoured everything in its path.
Once, it accidentally nibbled on a sleeping Cacturne that was sunbathing. This led to a fight between the two Pokémon, with Gligar emerging victorious.
To achieve their goal, Yuga patiently followed, never letting his guard down.
Fortunately, patience paid off. Just as Yuga had suspected, Gligar did have companions. Three other Gligar soon joined it.
After a brief exchange, the four Gligar flew in the same direction. Yuga signaled his Pokémon to follow them.
He had Swellow fly higher to track Gligar, ensuring they wouldn't lose them.
Seeing Gligar fly behind a sand dune, Yuga quietly followed. But to his surprise, Gligar were nowhere to be seen!
Yuga wondered if he was encountering something supernatural; how else could four Gligar vanish so suddenly?
Yuga called out to his Swellow, "Swellow! Where are those four Gligar?"
Responding to Yuga's call, Swellow descended from the sky and shook its head, indicating it didn't know either.
Yuga asked again, "They disappeared from right here, didn't they?"
Yuga examined the area around the sand dune, then rubbed his chin, saying, "This is bizarre! Could it really be something supernatural?"
Just then, Linoone's excited cries caught Yuga's attention.
Yuga rushed over and asked, "What's going on? Did you find something?"
Linoone used its claws to uncover the sand beneath it. As it dug deeper, a stone mesh made of some unknown kind of rock came into view.
The mesh was damaged, with a hole about one and a half meters in diameter. Gligar must have entered through here. Yuga couldn't fathom what lay beyond this rock formation.
Yuga exclaimed, "So they went inside here. No wonder they disappeared suddenly! Linoone, your contribution is invaluable!"
Yuga gave a tight bear hug to Linoone, who seemed to disdain the affection, but Yuga was in a good mood and didn't mind!
Yuga thought that Gligar likely had the ability to dig, as they couldn't have entered the rock formation so seamlessly without leaving a trace in the sand.
Examining the hole in the rock mesh, Yuga realized that apart from Gligar, only a "slender" Pokémon like Linoone could easily fit through it.
Addressing Linoone, Yuga said, "Linoone, try breaking this rock mesh."
Linoone nodded and attempted to use its moves, but surprisingly, the unknown material of the rock remained undamaged.
Linoone then tried using Shadow Ball and Play Rough, but to no avail.
At that moment, Swellow descended from the sky, signaling Yuga and Linoone to step back and let it try.
After Yuga and Linoone moved aside, Swellow flew up and used Air Slash on the rock mesh.
The white blade of wind cut through the mesh, stirring up sand, but the result was the same as with Linoone.
Yuga was taken aback; he hadn't expected the rock mesh to be this sturdy, especially since Swellow was considerably stronger than Linoone.
Yuga quickly called Audino, who was searching for clues elsewhere. If Audino couldn't help, Yuga would be out of options.
Upon hearing Yuga's request, Audino didn't hesitate. Flames blazed on its right fist, then it raised its fist high and smashed it down on the rock mesh.
The mesh shattered instantly, sending rock fragments flying due to the force of the Fire Punch.
Seeing the mesh broken, Yuga exclaimed, "It's open! Thank you so much, Audino."
Audino waved its hand as if to say "You're welcome" and made a gesture suggesting it wanted to eat.
Yuga understood – it wanted him to treat it to a feast later. Truly a dedicated food lover, Yuga laughed and said, "Sure, I'll make sure you eat to your heart's content!"
With the mesh shattered, Yuga peered inside but could only see pitch darkness; nothing else was visible.
Looking at the surroundings, Yuga hesitated; the darkness was a bit intimidating.
As Yuga pondered, he suddenly felt a push from behind. Before he knew it, he was falling headfirst into the hole.
After a brief vertical drop, just as Yuga felt he was about to hit the ground, Swellow swooped in, grabbing onto Yuga's clothes and gently placing him on the ground.
Yuga let out a long, relieved sigh, wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, and said, "That scared the life out of me."