The night didn't bring many surprises. With the sound of insects and the whisper of leaves, Cain and Murkrow fell into a deep sleep in the tent.
Time passes unnoticed while one sleeps, and when Cain opened his eyes again, the sun was already peeking over the horizon with a reddish glow.
Lighting the fire, cooking, training—it all followed the same routine as every morning. Cain trained his body, while Murkrow practiced its moves. Both firmly believed that consistency in training always brought rewards.
It's said, "the year's planning depends on spring, and a day's planning depends on the morning," so morning training always yields better results.
Murkrow had recently learned four new moves thanks to the TMs obtained: Dark Pulse, Protect, Substitute, and Screech.
Learning four moves at once required good training and mastery. Except for Protect, which couldn't be trained in the usual way, the other three moves needed constant practice to be used effectively in battle.
Especially Protect and Substitute, essential for survival in the wild. And as Murkrow's main Dark-type move, Dark Pulse also required training.
In reality, these four moves were crucial since each could be decisive in specific situations.
In addition to these moves, the recently learned Wing Attack from leveling up also needed practice. However, due to the weight Murkrow always carried, it constantly trained the strength of its wings, naturally improving the power of Wing Attack.
"Murkrow, use Dark Pulse on that tree!" Cain ordered. After finishing his physical training, he began helping Murkrow with its specific training.
Murkrow nodded upon hearing Cain's command and unleashed Dark Pulse on a tree of medium thickness. Suddenly, a wave of sinister energy, filled with extreme malice, gathered around Murkrow and shot toward the tree.
The small forest in front of Murkrow began to tremble, and a whisper of leaves could be heard where Dark Pulse impacted. On the tree, a few black marks appeared. As the move ended, a soft "hiss" emerged from the marks, an additional effect of the Dark-type.
"Did you see the damage you caused with Dark Pulse? With that power, you could hardly do much harm to an enemy. You've barely scraped some bark off this tree. Probably, it would only cause significant damage to Psychic-type Pokémon."
"But don't worry, you just learned this move. If you train properly and control the dispersion range, you'll be able to concentrate the energy and increase its power."
"Then, some powerful Psychic and Ghost-type Pokémon will fall to your move." Cain explained to Murkrow the points to improve on with the move.
Murkrow quickly nodded upon hearing Cain's instructions. As a Dark-type Pokémon, how could it lose to a Psychic or Ghost-type? Though it had just learned the move, Murkrow could feel its great power.
It just needed more practice to master the move. With the prospect of mastering a powerful attack, Murkrow became filled with determination.
The malice continued to manifest around Murkrow, and Dark-type energy surged again. But this time, Murkrow didn't release the move right away.
It began controlling the energy, reducing its dispersion, trying to focus it to maximize damage.
After a moment, when Murkrow felt the energy was sufficiently concentrated, it launched Dark Pulse at the tree again.
Boom!
The surrounding trees didn't shake as before; there was only a slight tremor. However, the tree hit directly by the attack now had a black hole the size of a finger, with black smoke rising from it—clearly more powerful than the first attempt.
Seeing Murkrow's improvement in using Dark Pulse, Cain nodded in satisfaction. There was no doubt Murkrow had an exceptional talent for controlling energy.
This kind of talent wasn't reflected in a Pokémon's stats but discovered through consistent training.
"As long as you control the energy concentration well and avoid unnecessary losses, you'll be able to increase the power of your moves. This time was much stronger than before. However, the concentration speed is still slow; you'll need to work on that. This type of progress comes with continuous practice, and you're doing very well, Murkrow." Cain praised Murkrow for its progress.
This kind of monotonous and arduous training requires the trainer to give recognition and praise to encourage the Pokémon to keep trying harder.
And indeed, after Cain's praise, Murkrow nodded excitedly and resumed its training with even more enthusiasm.
With a slight smile, Cain sincerely approved of Murkrow's effort. Winning the loyalty of such an outstanding Pokémon is an honor for any trainer.
After about an hour, Cain and Murkrow resumed their journey. Although their main goal was to find what Umbra had indicated, they couldn't neglect basic training; otherwise, it would be a waste of time and life.
Murkrow's somewhat fatigued body quickly regained its energy after consuming some Pokéblocks, and even its aura seemed to strengthen a little.
This is the subtle effect of Pokéblocks. Energy that would normally take two or three hours to recover was restored in just a few minutes with the help of Pokéblocks.
Additionally, a fatigued body acts like a dry sponge, quickly absorbing the enormous amount of energy from the Pokéblocks—more than it would normally absorb during recovery.
With a steady supply of Pokéblocks, the difference between Murkrow and other Pokémon will become increasingly apparent.
Yesterday, in their search for water, they strayed slightly from the original route, so the task now was to return to the path.
As the sun rose higher, the temperature in the forest increased, and the daytime Pokémon began to appear. Under the sun's rays, the forest radiated vibrant energy.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, the strength of the Pokémon they encountered also increased. However, the number of Pokémon decreased compared to before, as higher-level Pokémon began establishing their own territories.
Occasionally, injured Pokémon were seen along the path or in the trees, or even the bodies of Pokémon.
Cain and Murkrow ignored these signs. But as they ventured further, their alertness grew. Murkrow carefully watched its surroundings, ready to act at any moment.
Fortunately, thanks to the system's ever-active scan feature, no Pokémon could approach Cain undetected.
That's how Cain noticed several Pokémon approaching them with intent, having followed them for quite a while.
As they neared, just as Cain suddenly stopped, a Pinsir burst from the bushes, quickly aiming for the "weak" Cain.
"Squawk!"
Murkrow, who had been on alert, reacted instantly when Pinsir appeared, and with the help of Tailwind, used Feint Attack to knock down the Pinsir attempting to strike Cain.
Seeing the Pinsir's failed attack, Cain couldn't help but laugh. This Pinsir was the same one Murkrow had defeated before. But this time, Pinsir had learned and decided to attack Cain first.
Unfortunately, it underestimated the situation. Even without Murkrow's presence, the system had already detected the danger, and the moment Cain stopped, his body was ready to dodge.
"Squawk!" However, this time Pinsir wasn't alone. Hearing its cry, three more Pinsir jumped from the bushes, and according to the system's data, they were as strong as the first.
Cain smiled and said, "They have no idea the danger they're in. They came together just to be taken down together." A few days ago, Murkrow could already easily take on Pinsir, and now, with its improved strength, facing four Pinsir was nothing more than a simple exercise.
"Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!" The four Pinsir exchanged glances, and with considerable coordination, rushed toward Cain, aware that this seemingly defenseless being was now their greatest threat.
"Murkrow, use Screech." Cain, unperturbed, calmly ordered.
(End of chapter)