"Boom! Boom!" Suddenly, thunder rumbled in the sky, and a flash of lightning cut through the clouds. Dark clouds rolled in swiftly, obscuring the sun and spreading across the sky, accompanied by the roaring thunder.
In the original blue sky, dark clouds began to gather, blocking out the sun and filling the sky. The lightning and thunder grew stronger, expanding rapidly until they covered the entire sky.
Noticing the change in the sky, the Slowpoke, more sensitive to the rising humidity, waddled over to Aoki's side. Its thick pale pink little hand tugged at Aoki's trousers, and it pointed at the sky with the other hand, signaling that rain was coming—and not just light rain, but a heavy downpour.
"I see. We need to find some shelter from the rain," Aoki said as he looked up, realizing the thunder was no joke. The heavy rain caught him off guard.
When the Slowpoke heard this, it turned its head and seemed to have an idea. It quickly grabbed Aoki's pants again, tugging persistently, "Yeah, yeah!"
"Oh? You know where to go to avoid the rain?" Aoki said, understanding the Slowpoke's body language. He had learned that he could often understand the Pokémon through their actions. This must be a trait of Slowpoke's psychic powers.
"Murkrow, let's go! Follow the Slowpoke to find shelter," Aoki called to his Murkrow, which stopped its training and joined them.
The Slowpoke's injury had nearly healed, and its blue eyes flashed as it used its psychic powers to lift itself up with ease, moving more quickly than before.
Aoki, Murkrow, and Slowpoke headed back to the waterfall. As the rainstorm approached, the air grew heavy with moisture. Pokémon that typically lived underwater began surfacing in droves, including Magikarp, Poliwhirl, Goldeen, and other common Pokémon of the Kanto region. Aoki was used to seeing these Pokémon, but his System still scanned them one by one, displaying their information.
Most of the Pokémon were common or red-qualifying, some orange-qualifying. Aoki wasn't interested in training any of them.
When they reached the lake below the waterfall, the humidity in the air was so thick that it felt like they were getting wet just standing there.
Murkrow, who was uncomfortable with the water vapor, flapped its wings in annoyance, trying to shake off the moisture. However, the vapor didn't disperse; it only made the situation worse.
"Caw!" Murkrow complained, flapping its wings in frustration.
Slowpoke, observing Murkrow's discomfort, moved a little faster and approached the waterfall, calling out, "Yeah!"
"You mean there's a cave behind the waterfall?" Aoki asked as he realized what the Slowpoke was indicating. He had thought the waterfall was just an ordinary one, but now it seemed there might be something more.
The Slowpoke nodded, its blue eyes glowing brighter as it used its psychic power to clear the path. With a wave of its mind, the waterfall parted, forming a narrow passage large enough for one Pokémon to pass through. Although the Slowpoke could easily squeeze through, it had made the passage wide enough for Aoki and Murkrow to follow.
Aoki and Murkrow entered the cave without hesitation. The Slowpoke, having made the path, followed shortly after, letting the waterfall rush down around it without much trouble.
"This is amazing, Slowpoke! Well done!" Aoki praised the Pokémon as it expertly navigated the passage. The cave itself was dry, a stark contrast to the humid air outside. The flow of the waterfall cut off the outside moisture, keeping the interior dry.
With the moisture finally dissipating from their bodies, Aoki and Murkrow could move more freely in the cave.
Not long after they entered, the rain began pouring down, creating a symphony of sounds as it crashed against the rocks outside and mingled with the waterfall's roar.
The atmosphere in the cave grew calmer, and Aoki noticed that the Pokémon in the water below started to become active again, emerging from the lake and onto the shore.
Aoki approached the waterfall and saw through the misty water some shapes of Pokémon outside. He wasn't able to see them clearly, but a few rare flashes caught his eye.
Suddenly, a familiar, beautiful shape appeared in Aoki's vision. It had colorful scales covering its body, two long tentacles, and a tail that resembled a fan. The Pokémon was stunning, shimmering in the rain.
"Milotic! I didn't expect to find a wild one here!" Aoki exclaimed. Milotic was the evolved form of Feebas, a rare and beautiful Water-type Pokémon. In the wild, Milotic was almost impossible to find due to the rarity of the necessary Prism Scale for evolution. For a wild Milotic to appear, it had to be exceptionally rare.
Aoki's immediate thought was to capture the Milotic, but he quickly dismissed the idea. The rain made it difficult to capture any Pokémon, and since he couldn't tell the Milotic's level from this distance, rushing into a battle could be disastrous for both him and his Pokémon.
He sighed and let the thought go, instead focusing on the rest of the Pokémon in the water.
Aside from the Milotic, Aoki noticed other rare Pokémon, including a group of Squirtles. A wild group of Squirtles in the Kanto region was a rare sight—so rare that the Pokémon League usually dispatched teams to capture any wild Squirtle groups to prevent them from being exploited by non-alliance trainers. But as a place where Team Rocket operated, the League had no control over what was happening here.
Aoki made a mental note to look for the Squirtles once the rain passed. If he was lucky, he might capture a good-quality one. He already had a Slowpoke, so he wasn't worried about training new Pokémon. After the trial, he could return to his old work as a Pokémon hunter. With the help of his System, he believed he could gather the necessary resources to train his Pokémon.
But before he could plan further, a sudden roar interrupted his thoughts.
"Roar!!!" The ground trembled as a massive Pokémon emerged from the lake, the powerful current and its Intimidate ability scaring all the Pokémon nearby. A violent Gyarados had appeared, its rage evident in the way it thrashed through the water.
"Milotic!" The Milotic swam to the front of the group, trying to protect the others from the aggressive Gyarados.
But the Gyarados ignored Milotic's call. It was too angry to listen, and with a thunderous roar, it gathered a destructive yellow light in its mouth. The Gyarados was preparing to unleash a devastating Hyper Beam.
Milotic swam in front of the other Pokémon, trying to shield them from the attack.