Indeed, they are making some headway compared to earlier. You're quite good at this. [ The cheering, he means but he also looks at the two listless pokemon as he says it. ]

Litleo—move forward, and choose which bush you think the rock is in. [ Shirou opts to continue to give clear orders rather than cheer, and to his credit his Litleo does follow his most recent command. ...nada on choosing a bush though. ]