In the morning, Cain jumped down from a large tree, landing firmly on the dew-covered ground and feeling the cool, fresh morning air.
He stretched, making his bones crack with the movement.
Seeing this, Cain's Pokémon also began descending from the tree one by one.
This forest was different from the outskirts of Goldenrod City; for one thing, the Pokémon levels here were generally higher. To be safe, Cain and his Pokémon spent the night in the trees.
Although he didn't feel the presence of the shadow that had observed him the previous day, Cain couldn't completely relax.
After a good night's sleep, Cain felt full of energy.
After a day of travel, the icy mountain that once seemed so distant now appeared much closer. Through the dense foliage, he could already make out some large rocks and patterns on the mountain.
However, as they approached the mountain, the temperature also dropped.
After a light breakfast, they continued their journey.
Due to the high levels of the Pokémon in this forest, Cain and his team's progress wasn't as fast.
This forest had marked territories; some powerful individual Pokémon occupied large areas, while others did so because of the strength of their packs. But they all shared a common characteristic: they were extremely territorial.
The lone Pokémon were easier to avoid; Cain only had to be careful not to invade their territories. In the worst case, they could flee if necessary.
But the pack territories were more problematic, as they were often full of Pokémon, making it easy to be discovered and expelled, or even chased.
What concerned Cain most were the Beedrill.
Though native to Kanto, they were also abundant in Johto, albeit not as much as in Kanto. However, if there was one in the forest, their numbers could quickly grow.
If it weren't for the presence of many natural predators, Cain believed the Beedrill would dominate the Pokémon world due to their rapid reproduction.
Fortunately, they had many natural enemies.
In their Weedle form, they were a primary food source for Pidgey and Spearow. Once evolved into Beedrill, Ursaring and other Pokémon fed on their honey, and various flying species also considered them prey.
Despite everything, they remained one of the most numerous species in the forest.
A moment ago, Cain and his team had accidentally invaded the territory of a group of Beedrill and were quickly driven out. The number of Beedrill was so overwhelming that Cain got goosebumps.
The group of Beedrill in this forest was much larger and stronger than the one Cain had encountered on Trial Island. After Murkrow and the others managed to defeat several Beedrill, they enraged the entire swarm, which led to a chase.
After finally losing the Beedrill, Cain, with his endurance at its limit, was breathing heavily.
"Mii~" Miltank offered Cain a glass of fresh milk.
Catching his breath, Cain smiled faintly, thanking Miltank as he drank all the milk.
After drinking it, he regained his energy.
Just as he was about to speak, Cain again felt that strange sensation of being watched.
This time, the feeling was stronger, indicating that the mysterious shadow was closer than before.
"I wonder if what that being is watching is this..." Cain looked at the cup he held in his hand, the one he had just emptied.
To test his theory, Cain took out an emergency bottle of Miltank milk. Immediately, the feeling of being watched shifted from the empty cup to the milk bottle.
Then he remembered the previous times he'd felt that gaze: the first time, after the battle with the two Team Rocket members, when Miltank had given milk to Murkrow and the others to regain strength.
The second time was when Murkrow and the others couldn't defeat Persian and had to rely on Miltank's milk to hold on until they won.
Putting all the pieces together, Cain reached a conclusion.
"Is that being interested in the milk?" Cain felt a bit puzzled.
Though he couldn't deny that Miltank's milk was quite appealing, he hadn't expected someone to watch it so intensely from the shadows, making him think it was a mischievous Pokémon.
Knowing that the target wasn't him, Cain felt somewhat relieved.
He placed the milk bottle on the ground and signaled to Murkrow and the others not to act unusually.
Then, he slowly walked away with his Pokémon, leaving only the Miltank milk bottle on the ground.
...
Ten minutes later, the milk bottle was still on the forest floor, while Cain and his team watched from a safe distance, hidden among the thick branches of a tree.
Ten minutes had passed, and the mysterious shadow still hadn't appeared. Just when Cain was about to give up, something changed.
In the blink of an eye, a shadow dropped from a nearby tree, grabbed the milk bottle from the ground, and then disappeared again.
"What was that?" Cain had been watching closely in that direction. Although the shadow moved quickly, he could make out some details.
He could barely see a red flash and a bit of white light.
However, the shadow had its back to him and moved so fast that Cain couldn't fully identify it.
"Murkrow, follow it!" Cain ordered.
Since he couldn't see it clearly, he decided to pursue it to find out what kind of Pokémon seemed so obsessed with Miltank's milk.
Without hesitation, Murkrow took flight in the direction where the shadow had disappeared.
Cain, for his part, followed with Slowpoke and Miltank behind him.
They were in the forest, so they couldn't focus solely on the chase; they also had to stay alert for possible attacks from wild Pokémon.
Whether intentional or not, the shadow had fled in the direction of the icy mountain.
Half an hour later, Cain, who could no longer run, stopped to rest by a small lake.
He'd had to run twice that day, leaving him exhausted. Not even a bottle of Miltank's milk could help him recover his energy; his body was at its limit.
"Caw!"
Shortly after, Murkrow returned, embarrassed, using his wings to indicate that the shadow moved very fast and knew the terrain well, so he'd lost it.
"Don't worry. If it's interested in Miltank's milk, it'll surely come back. I think I already know what it is, or at least what kind of Pokémon it is," Cain said, reassuring Murkrow as he caught his breath.
(End of Chapter)