Ten minutes later, Cain, along with his Murkrow and Slowpoke, set off again to complete the mission.
Holding a dagger in hand, Cain walked through the forest, comparing his surroundings with the marks on the map. If he wanted to keep searching for the mission items, the first thing he had to do was return to the path drawn on the map.
Murkrow hovered above Cain's head, constantly watching the surroundings. In a forest as dangerous as this, the limited detection range of the system wasn't enough to respond to unexpected situations.
Slowpoke closely followed Cain, its eyes glowing with a blue shimmer. Under the effect of telekinesis, Slowpoke, usually slow, could now keep up with Cain's pace.
After learning the lesson from the encounter with Golduck, Murkrow, as Cain's first line of defense, was able to spot enemies and attack them before they could approach Cain, neutralizing the threat.
If an enemy was strong enough to break through Murkrow's defense, it didn't matter, as Slowpoke, closely following Cain, served as the second line of defense.
Slowpoke could use its psychic power to control an enemy once it got past Murkrow, and with Murkrow's help, quickly defeat it.
Even if an attacking Pokémon was extremely powerful, and Murkrow and Slowpoke couldn't defeat it together, Slowpoke had the ultimate resource of using Teleport to ensure everyone's safety.
Perhaps due to the intense battle between Gyarados and Milotic the day before, today in the forest near the lake, wild Pokémon were scarce. Thus, Cain walked for almost an hour without encountering any powerful Pokémon.
Gradually, the distance from the waterfall increased, and the humidity in the air became less dense. As they progressed, more Pokémon began to appear in the forest.
According to the map, if they continued at this pace, in an hour they would return to the marked path.
After cutting a vine blocking the way, an animal trail hidden behind it was revealed. Walking along an animal trail, though with more chances of encountering Pokémon, was easier than pushing through branches and bushes.
Cain didn't hesitate and began walking along the trail. Now, with the dual protection of Murkrow and Slowpoke, safety was almost guaranteed. Even if they couldn't win a battle, they could always flee.
As expected, it wasn't long before a battle occurred.
Maybe due to his earlier luck, things weren't going so well now, or perhaps it was because he was walking along the animal trail. Several wild Pokémon attacked Cain one after another.
Though none of them were high-level, under the protection of Murkrow and Slowpoke, none managed to get close to Cain; in fact, few managed to surpass Murkrow's first line of defense.
In the forest battle, Murkrow moved as freely as a dragon in the sea, and its body, increasingly accustomed to the weight load, was also getting faster. Now, carrying 5 Kg of weight, its speed almost matched what it had initially.
It quickly moved between trees, toying with its enemies.
For instance, the Mankey Murkrow had just taken down tried to use its ability to move quickly between trees to attack Cain, but was discovered by Murkrow the instant it tried.
Under the Flying-type advantage over Fighting-type, this level 19 Mankey was defeated in a single Wing Attack from Murkrow.
This was just one of many attempted attacks, but in all cases, the fate of the Pokémon trying to ambush Cain was the same.
Cain showed no mercy, and all Pokémon that attacked were eliminated by Murkrow and Slowpoke. In this forest where only the strongest survive, the lack of mercy sent a clear message to the other Pokémon.
Each time one of these standout Pokémon fell, no others dared to attack for a while until Cain left the area.
Upon reaching a new area, other Pokémon would start attacking again.
Since the Golduck incident, Murkrow and Slowpoke had been ruthless with each Pokémon daring to attack them, venting their frustration on them.
However, as they eliminated more Pokémon, Murkrow and Slowpoke's aura of danger increased, and fewer Pokémon dared to attack them. Many who initially intended to attack were intimidated by the bloodlust they emanated.
The one-hour stretch of road took them almost two hours due to the number of attacks they faced.
Though annoying, the progress was evident: Murkrow leveled up once more, reaching level 18, and though Slowpoke didn't level up, its mastery over its moves improved significantly. It also became more familiar with battling under its trainer's orders.
If today's Slowpoke faced the Murkrow from when it was captured, the capture wouldn't have been as easy, even though Murkrow, as a Dark-type Pokémon, has an advantage over Slowpoke's Psychic type.
In just two hours, Slowpoke not only improved its psychic move mastery but also increased its Water-type move proficiency.
The most important thing is that Slowpoke started learning its own battle rhythm, able to react quickly to attacks.
Finally, they returned to the path. Initially, Cain had fled from the Raticate to the waterfall, where he encountered Slowpoke and ultimately captured it. You could say it was fate.
After a brief reflection, Cain said, "We're finally back on the path, but it took longer than I expected." A bit resigned, he added, "Let's take a break and prepare some lunch, and we'll continue later."
He chose a relatively flat spot under a tree, gathered some dry branches and leaves, and lit a small fire.
Finally, Cain took out two of the four rabbits he had caught on the way from his Team Rocket belt, along with salt, pepper, and other spices he had specially bought.
Skillfully, Cain skinned the rabbits with his dagger, removed their guts, and with Slowpoke's help, cleaned them with water. Soon, the rabbits, previously covered in fur, were transformed into juicy pieces of meat.
Before long, Cain, after carefully roasting them, had before him four golden, crispy pieces of rabbit meat, and Murkrow and Slowpoke, tired from the morning battles, were already beside him, eagerly watching the golden, juicy meat.
Though it was better for Murkrow to feed on Pokéblocks, which also tasted great, it couldn't resist Cain's excellent roasting skills, so it always ate roasted meat before supplementing with Pokéblocks.
Slowpoke, after tasting Cain's roasted fish for the first time, couldn't forget that flavor, and now, seeing what seemed like even more delicious rabbit meat, waited eagerly.
Cain smiled, using the dagger to cut one of the pieces of meat and eat it, leaving another on Murkrow's plate, and giving the other two and a half to Slowpoke.
Slowpoke's appetite was much larger than Murkrow's, and only with two and a half pieces of rabbit meat could it feel barely satisfied. Cain saved the rest for later, gathering berries from the trees as they walked and eating them along the way.
"Well, time to eat." After serving the food, neither Murkrow nor Slowpoke moved until Cain gave the order, and only then did they start eating quickly.
Murkrow was the first to finish and glanced at Slowpoke's plate, where some meat remained, before returning to its Pokéblocks.
Slowpoke wanted to share a bit with Murkrow, but seeing its refusal, decided to finish it alone.
Soon, lunch time ended. Some wild Pokémon were attracted by the smell, but seeing Murkrow and Slowpoke and sensing the bloodthirsty aura surrounding them, they decided to move away.
After the meal, Cain took out the map.
Now that they were back on the original path, though the distance seemed like a day, considering the encounters with Pokémon and the fact that as they progressed, the Pokémon would be stronger and the path more difficult, he calculated it would take two days.
But with Murkrow and Slowpoke once again in full form after a midday rest and lunch, the trio set off once more, into the depths of the forest.
Shortly after they left, a group of people appeared at the spot where Cain had just roasted his meal. The group's leader, a man with a slender, white hand and a malicious smile, approached the ashes left behind, extending his hand and touching the warm ashes, then bringing them to his nose and sniffing.
Turning his back to his companions, he wore a grim smile and murmured, "What a coincidence, Cain!" He spoke the last two words through gritted teeth.
One of the men behind him, noticing his actions, stepped forward and touched his shoulder, "Have you found something, Soros?"
(End of Chapter)