The morning sun had barely risen when a young man of ordinary appearance, dressed in the standard League trainer uniform, appeared in the northern outskirts of Goldenrod City.
Beside him walked a light pink Slowpoke, and on his shoulder perched a small, violet-blue Pokémon. If one didn't look closely, it would be difficult to confirm it was a Pokémon.
Cain had woken up before dawn and left Goldenrod City, venturing into the forests surrounding the city in search of a Nidoran. In his hands, he held a map with several small circles drawn on it, marking areas where Nidoran might likely be found.
He had purchased this information the day before from an informant in the black market. Though it wasn't completely reliable, at least it saved Cain from searching blindly.
Comparing the nearby hill with the map, Cain confirmed he was at the first possible marked location and headed directly there, following the map's directions.
Although the hill seemed close, it took him almost an hour to reach it. Fortunately, Cain was already accustomed to the harsh conditions of Judgment Island, so the forest on the outskirts of Goldenrod City felt like a small grove to him.
As he ventured deeper into nature, signs of human activity became less frequent, while the levels of wild Pokémon began to rise. However, all were within Slowpoke's skill range.
"It should be around here. I don't know if there will be any, but come out now, Murkrow, and look for traces of Nidoran." Cain released Murkrow's Poké Ball. As a Flying-type Pokémon, Murkrow could use his wide field of vision to help with the search.
Additionally, in this remote place, there was no need to worry about being seen with his Pokémon.
"Caw!" Murkrow flew out and, with a slight flap, became a black shadow disappearing into the sky.
As he watched Murkrow disappear into the distance, Cain fell into deep thought.
That morning, the system had finished analyzing the task, and to Cain's surprise, the system's database really contained methods to quickly increase psychic energy, or in other words, the level of psychic abilities.
However, upon seeing the strange names of the required items, Cain began to wonder if he really had lived another life.
He hadn't heard of any of the names except one: a tool called the Meditation Pearl, which supposedly could increase the speed and efficiency of psychic meditation. However, the authenticity of this tool remained to be verified, or even if it truly existed.
The system's database only stored data and didn't discard items based on feasibility or efficacy. Even if the system filtered out some items, Cain couldn't be entirely sure of their effectiveness.
Perhaps in this life, he was not destined to become an advanced psychic.
If he had never awakened psychic abilities, Cain probably wouldn't feel so dissatisfied. But now that he had awakened this rare power, he couldn't help but feel frustrated at remaining at a novice level. Every time he thought about it, a sense of discontent arose within him.
This is human nature. If an object never had any connection to you, no matter how valuable, you would feel only a slight desire for it. But when you discover that you have a chance to obtain it, that desire grows.
You wonder: What if it were mine? What if I could get it?
Cain was caught in that state.
This had nothing to do with experience but simply with human nature.
After a brief pause, Cain continued walking towards the hill with Slowpoke.
Although Murkrow had not yet returned, that didn't prevent Cain from exploring the area. It wasn't necessary to find a Nidoran for him to capture a Pokémon; if he encountered a relatively rare Pokémon or one with great potential, Cain would capture it as well. After all, it was all money.
As he climbed the hill, the levels of wild Pokémon began to fluctuate significantly. Below, Pokémon were numerous but around levels 13 or 14. However, on the hill, the levels quickly jumped to 18 or 19, with even some level 20 Pokémon appearing.
But the quality of these Pokémon wasn't very high.
It was clearly noticeable that the frequency of high-quality Pokémon in the wild was significantly lower than on Judgment Island.
Although the levels of the wild Pokémon had risen, that didn't prevent Slowpoke from defeating them. At this moment, Cain also had Gastly join the battles.
Gastly's level was lower compared to the rest of the team, so increasing the number of battles would help speed up his progress.
After all, for Gastly to start showing his combat potential, he needed to evolve.
However, because of this, progress became slower. As they climbed the slope, Murkrow finally returned.
Perching on Cain's other shoulder, Murkrow shook his head, indicating he hadn't found any trace of Nidoran.
"It's fine, we'll take this as training." Cain took out an advanced Pokéblock for Murkrow and gave it to him to replenish his energy.
Although Murkrow hadn't found Nidoran, that didn't mean there definitely weren't any. Murkrow had only taken a look from the sky, so Pokémon hidden in caves or dense brush might have gone unnoticed.
After this, Cain's pace quickened. With Murkrow joining the battles, his coordination with Slowpoke was so skillful that no Pokémon could withstand their combined attack. Gastly occasionally launched support moves for training as well.
The Pokémon distribution on the hill wasn't as clear as on Judgment Island. Various Pokémon species lived mixed together, and competition for resources wasn't as fierce. Perhaps because of this, the wild Pokémon here weren't as strong in combat.
Ever mischievous, Gastly even provoked some Pokémon that looked fierce, only to retreat when outnumbered, then return with his two companions for revenge.
Cain didn't say much about it, as it was part of Gastly's nature, though he couldn't help but enjoy it.
However, the closer they got to the peak, the fewer Pokémon they encountered. They even found some empty areas, with no trace of life.
"Looks like there's a strong Pokémon up ahead," Cain thought.
The most likely cause of this situation was that a very powerful wild Pokémon, or a strong group, was at the peak. But based on what he had seen so far, Cain believed it was a powerful individual wild Pokémon.
Murkrow and Slowpoke had noticed this too. As Pokémon, their sensitivity surpassed Cain's.
Suddenly, they felt a new surge of energy. The previous battles had been exciting, but their opponents were too weak to make a lasting impression. However, this possible powerful opponent piqued their interest.
Gastly, the trickster, also squealed excitedly at his side, showing not the slightest sign of worry.
"Since everyone wants to take a look, let's recover a bit and face it at full strength." Seeing his Pokémon's excitement, Cain smiled.
(End of chapter)