After all the Pokémon finished breakfast, Cain assigned them their morning training tasks.
"The day's planning begins in the morning," a phrase that is sometimes more than just a saying. Cain discovered that morning training for Pokémon tends to be the most effective of all times of the day.
Since they were by the lake, Slowpoke did not go through its usual psychic power training.
Although its skill in Water-type moves is slightly weaker than its skill in Psychic-type moves, it is still an important ability that needs to be mastered, at least so that it doesn't become a weakness.
Slowpoke entered the water to train in managing Water-type energy.
On the other hand, Murkrow was assigned physical training. It usually carried a 15 kg weight, which allowed it to stay in good shape with continuous training. However, this weight was not overly burdensome.
For this reason, Cain increased the weight to 20 kg during its physical training, which would further improve its results.
Murkrow's task today was to fly back and forth along the edge of the lake, with each lap covering a distance of about 1000 meters. In total, it had to complete twenty laps.
For Miltank, Cain prepared a weighted vest and had her run on a pebble beach near the lake. As the pebbles are slippery and uneven, Miltank was not only training her physical endurance but also her balance and body control.
Since childhood, Miltank had survived alone, so she had not absorbed enough nutrients, making her smaller compared to others of her kind.
For instance, the Miltank they met earlier, which belonged to Whitney, was considerably larger.
Although Miltank did not enjoy battles very much, she had recently become passionate about training, giving her all in every session and achieving better results over time.
Gastly, who had been on watch all night, was not assigned a heavy training task. Cain only gave it a simple task and allowed it to rest after completing it.
Gastly's task was to practice the combination of Rest and Sleep Talk while trying to control which moves it used during Sleep Talk.
Seeing that all the Pokémon were starting their training with dedication, Cain nodded with satisfaction and took out the psychic training manual from his ring. Based on his recent understanding, he began meditating again.
Previously, it took him half an hour to enter a meditative state, but after several attempts and new insights from the manual, it now only took him ten minutes to reach that state.
Of course, the effects of the meditation were not ideal; the system constantly monitored Cain's state, and each meditation session only followed the results calculated by the system.
In other words, Cain would need at least thirty-one years of constant meditation to become a beginner psychic. However, it must be admitted that after each meditation session, his mind felt fully refreshed, more so than after a night's sleep.
After two hours, Cain led his Pokémon, who had completed their training, into the forest, heading towards Ecruteak City, north of Goldenrod City.
According to the map, to reach Ecruteak City, they had to pass through two large forests, which would take about three days. Although traveling on foot was much slower than by car, Cain didn't mind, as he planned to take the opportunity for his Pokémon to gain levels.
Since leaving the Island of Judgment, the growth rate of his Pokémon had slowed considerably. This was a good chance for his Pokémon to gain some experience.
There were many Bug and Poison-type Pokémon in the forest, making Murkrow's Flying-type moves and Slowpoke's Psychic-type moves very effective.
Although Gastly is a Ghost-type Pokémon, it also has the Poison type, allowing it to effectively counter the Grass-type Pokémon that were abundant in the forest.
In short, the forest was a perfect training ground for Cain's Pokémon, as many of the Pokémon they encountered had types that his Pokémon could counter.
As the morning sun gradually rose, the forest Pokémon that had been asleep began to wake up.
Under the rays of the sun barely peeking through, the forest was filled with patches of light, and if one looked closely, many Pokémon could be seen in the bushes and on tree branches.
They saw a Butterfree collecting morning nectar, a Ledyba sucking sap from a tree, a Rattata searching for seeds in a pile of leaves, and a group of Spinarak weaving a web together, waiting for their prey to come. It was a most peaceful scene.
But this peace only lasted as long as no more aggressive wild Pokémon, like Beedrill, Spearow, or Ekans, appeared. When these Pokémon showed up, the calm would break, and chases would begin throughout the forest.
Unless wild Pokémon attacked them first, Cain did not have Murkrow and Slowpoke fight them, to move through the forest more quickly. However, if they encountered aggressive Pokémon that attacked them, Cain showed no mercy and defeated them without hesitation.
Of course, if he found Pokémon with great potential or battle value, Cain did allow Murkrow and Slowpoke to strike first, but he did not necessarily eliminate them.
However, throughout the journey, the number of wild Pokémon Cain deemed to have good potential was low, demonstrating how difficult it was to find high-quality Pokémon in the wild.
While moving through the forest, they also found some valuable medicinal herbs or rare items, but these things were often guarded by strong Pokémon. Fortunately, Cain had his system, which could scan and provide accurate data.
If they encountered a Pokémon they could defeat, Cain didn't miss the opportunity to collect the materials, but if the situation was unfavorable, he withdrew without hesitation, making rational decisions.
Although Cain and his Pokémon were quite strong in that forest, it did not mean they could move freely without concern. There were many dominant Pokémon in the forest that Cain could not yet face, which forced him to avoid them.
If they came across powerful and aggressive Pokémon, they had to escape quickly. For example, at that moment, they were being chased by a level 35 Ursaring.
Ursaring is a Normal-type Pokémon, powerful and violent in nature. After Cain accidentally entered its territory, the Ursaring chased them for nearly five kilometers as Cain dodged its Hyper Beam attacks.
Fortunately, Ursaring was not very agile, and Cain managed to escape using the forest terrain to his advantage. However, the chase was not in vain, as Murkrow, being very cunning, stole some Beedrill honey from Ursaring's territory while they fled.
This was the reason why the enraged Ursaring pursued them relentlessly.
(End of Chapter)