The Swinub, which had been calm before, suddenly became enraged.
Although her nature is typically lazy and slow, that doesn't mean she's easy to intimidate. In this network of icy caves, her power is not negligible; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to guard so much food.
With an angry cry, Swinub shot out of the pool of water, her eyes bloodshot, staring at the culprit behind the destruction of her home: Slowpoke.
"Slowpoke, keep using Water Gun, back it up with Confusion," ordered Cain, continuing the attack.
From Slowpoke's mouth, a jet of water shot out once more. This time, unlike the last, the water was surrounded by a thin layer of psychic energy, speeding up the attack and increasing its power.
Moreover, this jet of water had the ability to adjust its direction; although it couldn't make sharp turns, it wouldn't lose momentum when changing course slightly.
Swinub, seeing the water approaching again, felt a natural repulsion to Water-type energy; as a Ground-type Pokémon, she truly didn't enjoy this energy.
Her small tail trembled slightly, all her fur stood on end, and a cold wind with tiny snow particles blew from her mouth: the Icy Wind move.
This cold wind collided with the Water Gun heading toward her. In this icy cave, where the temperature was already low, Ice-type attacks gained 30% more power.
You could see that the front of Slowpoke's jet of water began to freeze. At this rate, it would probably reach Swinub with much less power, significantly reducing the Water-type advantage.
But things didn't turn out as Swinub expected. Slowpoke's eyes shone with an intense blue light, and the psychic energy surrounding the Water Gun solidified further, accelerating the jet even more.
To Swinub's surprise, the water jet hit her head-on, and with the tip already frozen, it was like a sharp arrow that caused even more pain.
It seemed her own move had backfired.
"Purrin!"
Swinub cried out in pain.
However, Slowpoke wasn't going to miss this opportunity. Without Cain needing to remind him, he used his psychic power to launch several consecutive waves of water.
Swinub, already slow-moving with average defenses, couldn't mount an effective defense and lost the ability to fight without even being able to counterattack.
Slowpoke's Water-type moves were doubly effective against Swinub, a Ground-type Pokémon, and with the help of psychic energy, Swinub had no chance to defend herself.
The battle unfolded without surprises. Since Swinub isn't a Pokémon that lives in groups, facing a Pokémon of her level and quality was no challenge for Cain and his team.
Using an ordinary Poké Ball, Cain captured her and applied some medicine to ensure that Swinub wouldn't lose her life from the wounds.
Sneasel observed everything Cain and his team were doing, and seeing the difference in how Cain treated other Pokémon versus how he treated him, couldn't help but feel a bit happy, though he didn't know exactly why.
Perhaps, sometimes, comparisons are inevitable.
After successfully capturing Swinub, Cain decided not to go deeper into the ice cave.
As they advanced, the temperature became unbearably low. Even with a feathered coat, Cain was starting to feel cold.
Moreover, except for Miltank, who, thanks to her Thick Fat ability, withstood the cold well, and Sneasel, who was already used to this environment, the other Pokémon were also starting to suffer from the cold, especially Murkrow, who already felt like he couldn't move his wings.
Cain noticed this but also thought it could be a good training opportunity.
Although the ice cave was cold, training in such an environment would consume more energy, but the results would be impressively good and would help Murkrow improve his resistance to Ice-type moves.
Retracing his steps from the depths of the cave, Cain asked Sneasel if he knew anything about Onix's location, but this time Sneasel wasn't sure.
Although he knew the ice cave environment well, beyond his own den in the forest, he didn't have much knowledge of the outside.
After all, the area was too large, and he couldn't cover long distances in a single day.
Since Sneasel didn't know anything about Onix, Cain decided not to keep searching in the ice cave, as such a cold place probably wouldn't be home to Onix.
Once outside the cave, Cain breathed in the fresh air and realized just how cold the previous air had been.
After warming up, Cain returned Miltank to her Poké Ball and decided to explore the mountain in search of any sign of Onix.
The mountain was covered in rocks, so the chances of finding an Onix were quite high.
Cain decided to dedicate the rest of the afternoon and the following morning to searching for Onix. If he didn't find it, he would have to abandon the search for now.
Umbra's mission was already delayed, and Cain was also worried about a surprise attack by the League on Team Rocket's headquarters. He didn't know the exact date, but he knew it would be soon.
He didn't have much time to waste.
Climbing up the mountain path, Cain moved between uneven rocks, each step requiring extreme caution—one misstep and he could fall.
Murkrow and Slowpoke had nothing to worry about; one could fly and the other could use his psychic powers to move easily. Sneasel, for his part, was very familiar with this terrain and, thanks to his agility, was the fastest in the group.
Along the way, they encountered several Geodude and Graveler. They were quite peaceful, and although they noticed Cain's presence, they returned to eating rocks without paying much attention.
Besides Geodude and Graveler, they also saw some Diglett and Sandshrew. The Diglett posed no problem, but the Sandshrew were quite mischievous, attacking Cain and his team in groups. However, under the Water Gun fire from Slowpoke, only a few managed to escape with their lives.
The mountain was vast, but Cain found no sign of Onix.
Murkrow was sent to scout from the air several times but found nothing.
In theory, Onix, with its large size, should be easy to spot among the rocks. But luck wasn't on their side.
Cain could only hope to find Onix in a place Murkrow couldn't see.
The sun began to set, and with its last rays, it disappeared below the horizon.
Cain found a fairly clean rocky cave and, after a quick clean-up, turned it into his campsite for the night.
(End of chapter)