As Cain and the others walked away, the old Gastly remained at the entrance of the cave for a long time. In the end, as if sighing, he returned to the cave alone, his silhouette reflecting an inexplicable melancholy.
Shortly after, in a place where the old Gastly couldn't see them, Cain and his team were standing under a tree, all looking at Slowpoke.
Cain gently patted Slowpoke's back and, with a smile, said:
"Slowpoke, use Teleport to take us back. Don't push yourself too hard; go as far as you can and conserve your energy."
That's right, Cain had no intention of retracing their steps. It was at least a three-day journey back to the Team Rocket base from here, something they couldn't cover all at once.
Luckily, Cain had already accounted for Slowpoke's use of Teleport, or he wouldn't have been so calm and relaxed while training as they advanced.
There's no doubt that Teleport is a god-tier move for survival in the wild.
Slowpoke's telepathy was not yet fully developed, so he didn't say anything, just nodded slightly, enveloping Cain and the others in his psychic power, even covering Gastly, who was in Cain's shadow, with his energy.
Gastly began to take form in Cain's shadow, curiosity in his eyes. It was the first time he'd been pulled directly out of a shadow.
Ignoring Gastly's curious gaze, Slowpoke focused on locking in the coordinates. Teleporting so many beings over a long distance all at once was quite a burden for him at this point.
As his psychic power intensified, Slowpoke's eyes shone brighter. With a flash of his energy, the entire group disappeared from the spot.
Apart from a single leaf that slowly fell, there was no trace left of Cain and his companions.
"Boom!"
In a part of the forest on Test Island, Cain and his team suddenly appeared, having just arrived via Teleport.
"Ugh..." Cain shook his head slightly; the sudden shift in space left him a little dizzy, though his resilience had greatly improved.
However, for Pokémon like Murkrow and Gastly, it had no effect at all.
"Plop!"
With a light thud, Slowpoke, a bit exhausted, couldn't maintain his floating position and fell to the ground, showing signs of fatigue. Luckily, Cain had warned him at the start, so it wasn't severe, just mental exhaustion.
"Slowpoke, start Meditating (meaning, use Calm Mind). Recover since you've pushed yourself quite a bit."
Cain was serious. Although he wasn't entirely sure where they were, seeing how tired Slowpoke was, they must be very far from the Gastly cave.
Slowpoke nodded, using the last of his psychic power to return the egg incubator to Cain before lying down on the ground. A mysterious psychic wave enveloped him as he began to meditate.
Without worrying about their location or potential dangers, Slowpoke started meditating, trusting his Trainer.
"Murkrow, Gastly, keep watch over the area. If anything approaches, attack immediately," Cain ordered firmly.
"Caw!"
"Kekeke!"
Murkrow and Gastly nodded, fully aware of the importance of their teammate's safety. Even Gastly, who had just joined, was putting in his best effort on watch duty.
"Gastly, go scout around using the shadows. Don't engage in fights; just check for any powerful Pokémon," Cain told Gastly.
Not knowing where they were, sending Gastly to scout was a necessary measure.
"Hehe!" Gastly nodded. Although he was very curious about the outside world, he knew that the safety of his teammates was the most important thing right now.
He slowly disappeared into the shadows of the trees, going to explore. In a forest filled with shadows, he had the freedom to move as he pleased.
Meanwhile, Cain sat down next to Slowpoke, unconcerned about the dirt on the ground, and examined the incubator he held. Inside was the Larvitar egg. The incubator's indicators showed everything was in perfect condition, with some values even above average, but the hatching time was still unknown.
Now, with the incubator technology confirming that the Larvitar egg wasn't ready to hatch, Cain felt a bit frustrated.
"How can I get you to hatch? It's such a headache," Cain muttered to the egg in his hand.
Time passed quickly, and when the sun started to set, Gastly returned.
Using the forms created by his gas, Gastly communicated to Cain the information about the Pokémon and special areas he had found.
With Gastly's description, Cain finally understood where they were.
"So, we're already in Scyther territory. No wonder Slowpoke is so exhausted," Cain thought.
They were actually on the outskirts of Scyther territory. Just a little further and they would have left the territory of these Pokémon.
It wasn't surprising they hadn't encountered any powerful Pokémon in all that time.
The Scyther, known for their love of combat, were rarely challenged by other Pokémon, because regardless of the outcome, another Scyther would always appear to fight.
If they won, a stronger Scyther would challenge them. If they lost, a weaker one would come to fight them, until they were completely worn out.
This constant battle frenzy would make any wild Pokémon tremble just thinking about it.
However, for Cain, this meant he could relax. If Scyther was the strongest Pokémon in the area, he was confident enough to leave without much trouble.
Moreover, the base wasn't far. If they hurried, they could reach it in a day.
Of course, if Slowpoke used Teleport again after resting, they would get there even faster.
Finally, when the sun was just brushing the tops of the trees, Slowpoke recovered.
Although each use of Teleport drained much of his psychic energy, the benefits were huge.
For example, the first time he used it, he could only teleport a few kilometers before exhausting himself, but this time he had covered more than a hundred kilometers—a growth nearly tenfold.
The most important thing was that this time, after using Teleport, he still had energy left to deal with any unexpected situations.
Of course, he wouldn't always grow so dramatically, but his understanding of the move Teleport had definitely improved considerably.
When Slowpoke opened his eyes again, the brightness and vitality in them made it clear that he had gained a lot this time.
"Slowpoke, how do you feel now?"
Cain was the first to notice Slowpoke's recovery, and seeing his renewed energy, he felt relieved.
(End of chapter)