"Boom! Boom!" Suddenly, the sky roared with a rumble, and lightning tore through the firmament in an instant, quickly disappearing into the increasingly dark clouds.
The sky, which had originally been a clear blue, began to fill with black clouds that covered the sun. These clouds, accompanied by lightning and thunder, expanded rapidly, eventually dominating the entire sky.
Sensing the change in the sky and being especially sensitive to moisture, Slowpoke approached Cain, tugging at his pants with his small pink hand, saying, "Yadon, Yadon," while pointing toward the sky. He was telling Cain that rain was coming, and it wasn't going to be just a drizzle, but a torrential downpour.
"I know, we need to find a place to take shelter from the rain," Cain said, also noticing the change in the sky. After all, the thunder wasn't for nothing. However, this sudden storm took Cain by surprise.
Hearing that Cain wanted to find shelter, Slowpoke rolled his eyes, suddenly remembering a place. He tugged at Cain's pants again, saying, "Yadon, Yadon."
"Oh? You're saying you know where we can take shelter?" Cain, observing Slowpoke's actions, quickly understood his intent.
Looking into Slowpoke's eyes, Cain could always understand what he wanted to convey; perhaps this was one of the peculiarities of Psychic-type Pokémon.
"Murkrow, let's go, we'll follow Slowpoke to find shelter," Cain signaled for Murkrow to stop training.
The wounds on Slowpoke's body had mostly healed. With a blue glow in his eyes, he used his telekinesis to lift himself slightly into the air.
Although he normally never used his psychic powers to levitate, inspired by Cain, Slowpoke began to lift his body to move more quickly.
Leading Cain and Murkrow, Slowpoke returned to the waterfall. Due to the impending rain, the air became denser, and the Pokémon in the water, suffering from a lack of oxygen, began to surface.
Magikarp, Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Goldeen, Seaking, Wooper, Marill, and other common Pokémon from the Kanto region surfaced one by one. Although Cain was used to seeing them, his eyes gleamed as the system in his mind quickly analyzed each Pokémon, displaying their data in front of him.
Most of the Pokémon had red-quality, and a few were orange. Cain looked at them but wasn't interested in capturing or training them.
"Yadon, Yadon." Upon reaching the edge of the lake beneath the waterfall, the atmosphere became even more humid. Just by staying for a while, their bodies became noticeably damp.
For Murkrow, the humid air was very uncomfortable. His black, shiny feathers became heavy with moisture, making each flap of his wings harder. Moreover, the sensation of sticky feathers gave him the impression of falling into the water.
"Gah." Murkrow flapped his wings in displeasure, trying to shake off the moisture, but it was futile since the air was filled with water.
Seeing Murkrow's disgusted expression, Slowpoke hurried up. He headed for the waterfall and pointed towards it, saying, "Yadon."
"You mean there's a cave behind the waterfall?" Cain asked, intrigued by Slowpoke's action. He had originally thought it was just a regular waterfall, but it turned out there was a "Cave Behind the Water Curtain."
Slowpoke nodded, and his eyes gleamed with an intense blue glow as he increased his telekinesis, creating a gap in the waterfall large enough for a person to pass through.
Normally, Slowpoke would have just crawled through, but knowing Cain and Murkrow didn't enjoy getting soaked, he used his psychic power to create a passage for them.
Seeing Slowpoke was slightly fatigued, Cain and Murkrow wasted no time and quickly entered the cave behind the waterfall. After they went in, Slowpoke stopped controlling the waterfall and crawled inside under the water pressure, which only slightly pressed down on his body.
"You're amazing, Slowpoke, thanks for the effort!" Cain praised Slowpoke before continuing deeper into the cave with Murkrow.
For Cain, it was customary to explore any unknown cave first. However, considering Slowpoke's situation, it seemed likely this was where he had been living lately. It wasn't unusual for him to crawl out of the water frequently, allowing him to discover this place.
Unlike the outside, full of humidity, the inside of the cave became drier the further they went. This could be because the waterfall blocked contact with the outside, preventing moisture from entering.
Finally free from the humid environment, Murkrow flew quickly around the cave, drying himself off as he moved.
Not long after they entered the cave, it began to pour outside. The roar of the water, combined with the sound of the waterfall, created a symphony of nature in the jungle.
As the rain began, the air ceased to be so dense, and the Pokémon in the water became immediately more active, appearing in the lake and on the shores.
Cain approached the waterfall and, through the clear water, could see a bit of what was happening outside, though not clearly.
Finally, Slowpoke used his telekinesis to form a small hole in the waterfall, allowing Cain to see fully what was happening outside.
Cain watched as several Pokémon, usually hidden under the water, surfaced. In addition to the common Magikarp and Goldeen, a few relatively rare Pokémon appeared.
"What's that?" Cain couldn't help but exclaim as he saw the figure of a Pokémon quickly pass by.
"It can't be! Besides those common Pokémon, she's here too!" Before Cain's eyes passed a figure adorned with shining multicolored scales. Her elongated, elegant body had two long antennas, and her tail moved like a fan, glimmering under the rain.
"Milotic! I can't believe the water quality here is so good that there's even a wild Milotic."
Milotic, being the evolved form of Feebas, only evolves when it carries a Prism Scale. Given how extremely rare the Prism Scale is, it's very unlikely for a wild Feebas to obtain one, so finding a wild Milotic is almost impossible.
In Cain's mind, at this point, no one in the Pokémon League knew that Feebas could evolve, much less that its evolution resulted in the beautiful Milotic.
To them, Milotic had no pre-evolved form, and they considered Feebas, which didn't have a known evolution, as a Pokémon even inferior to Magikarp.
For a moment, Cain felt a strong temptation to rush out and capture that Milotic, regardless of its quality. After all, a Pokémon that managed to evolve in the wild couldn't be an ordinary Pokémon.
However, that temptation was quickly dismissed.
It would be madness to go out during a storm to capture a Milotic that was being admired by all the other Pokémon. Additionally, due to the distance, it wasn't clear what level Milotic was, and attacking rashly could mean the end for Cain and all his Pokémon.
Shaking his head, Cain abandoned that idea and continued to observe the Pokémon in the water.
Besides the surprise of seeing a Milotic, Cain also noticed the presence of some other rare Pokémon. What caught his attention the most was the occasional appearance of Squirtle.
There was more than one wild Squirtle here!
This was something Cain hadn't expected. And considering how frequently they appeared, it seemed like there was a small group of Squirtle in the area.
As one of the Water-type starter Pokémon from the Kanto region, Squirtle had always been controlled by the Pokémon League.
If the League found out about the existence of a wild Squirtle group, they would quickly take action to ensure they were captured and prevent starter Pokémon from spreading beyond their control.
Although there were always some starter Pokémon left in the wild, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find them due to the efforts of the Pokémon League.
This place, being controlled by Team Rocket, was outside the League's reach. That's why Cain wasn't surprised to find wild Squirtle here.
However, he was excited by the idea of capturing one, as obtaining a Water-type starter would be extremely useful in the future.
Nevertheless, after thinking for a moment, Cain decided to wait until the storm passed. It wasn't safe to go out during a storm just to capture a Squirtle, especially considering he already had enough on his plate.
However, the calm didn't last long. The Pokémon who had been happily playing in the rain under Milotic's guidance were interrupted by the arrival of another Pokémon.
"Roar!" With a thunderous dragon's roar, a large Pokémon appeared in the lake. With the impact of the water and its intimidating presence, all the Pokémon were frightened. A Gyarados surfaced in the lake.
"Milotic~~!" Seeing Gyarados, Milotic swam toward all the Pokémon and cried out to the enraged Gyarados.
However, Gyarados paid no attention to Milotic. Annoyed by his nap being interrupted by the joyful Pokémon, he was extremely angry and needed a fight to vent his fury.
"Roar!" A yellow glow quickly gathered in Gyarados' mouth, followed by a devastating Hyper Beam.
Water currents gathered around Milotic, and swimming at great speed in the water, she moved ahead of all the Pokémon, enduring Gyarados' attack.
"This cave is such a unique place. If I get the chance in the future, I might consider coming back to capture those Squirtle or even Milotic," Cain murmured, contemplating the vast world of Pokémon and the surprises that still awaited him.
With the sky still cloudy, Cain and his Pokémon took shelter in the cave, waiting for the storm to pass, while thinking about their next steps.
(End of chapter)