Pokemon Chronicles of Darkness

Chapter 13

Cain's eyes flickered as he listened to the distant chatter of the treasure-hunting trio. He knew that Team Rocket had many maps that led to real treasures, and though he had considered obtaining some for himself, he had decided that berries were of greater value. But never in his wildest dreams did he expect to come across a group of treasure hunters.

He remembered Jack and his yellow-aptitude Koffing, a Pokémon of decent talent but not particularly high level. The other two, however, left little impression on him. But regardless, they had crossed paths in the middle of the wilderness and they were in possession of something that caught Cain's interest, so why not engage in a battle?

His mind raced as he prepared for the worst. Jack's Koffing would certainly be a formidable opponent, but Cain couldn't tell if it had learned 'Self-Destruct'. He was too far away to scan its data with his system. The Zubat and Oddish, however, should pose little problem. Oddish would be particularly vulnerable to Murkrow's flying-type moves.

Fighting against three trainers and their Pokémon was a different beast than fighting wild ones, but Murkrow had been growing strong of late. With a glance, Cain summoned Murkrow's stats:

Pokemon: Murkrow (Green)

Gender: Male

Level: 12

Type: Dark + Flying

Ability: Prankster

Held items: None

Egg moves: Punishment, Feint Attack, Roost

Basic moves: Peck, Astonish, Pursuit, Haze

Taught moves: Snatch, Tailwind, Gust

Technical Machines (TMs): None

After two days of intense battle, Murkrow had leveled up and learned two new moves, Haze and Gust.

The dense grass in the forest provided excellent cover, and Murkrow stayed close to Cain's back, not daring to make a sound.

Cain crept forward, halting when he was less than five meters from the treasure hunting trio. This was the limit; any closer and he would be easily detected. But even from this distance, his system was able to conduct a scan.

With a flash of light in his eyes, the information of the three Pokémon appeared before him. As he had suspected, there was a level 14 yellow-aptitude Koffing that had not yet learned Self-Destruct, a level 13 orange-aptitude Zubat, and to his surprise, the Oddish was also yellow-aptitude, but it was only level 11. This proved that the trainer wasn't very skilled.

With this new information, Cain's plan became clear. Even though Oddish's level was low and its combat power was weak, it was still a Pokémon, and battling two against one was better than three against one. And with Oddish's weakness to flying-type moves, it would be the first target.

"Murkrow, activate Tailwind and attack the Oddish directly. Start with Gust, then immediately follow up with Peck. Finish it off fast!" Cain whispered to Murkrow, who nodded firmly. After a few days of battle, Cain and Murkrow had developed a silent understanding, and with a little reminder, Murkrow knew exactly what to do.

Cain held up three fingers, signaling a countdown, and as his fingers closed one by one, a pale white stream of air appeared around Murkrow, his eyes gradually becoming sharper amidst the black and white colors.

One! The last finger fell.

"Whoosh!" Murkrow's wings fiercely flapped, and a strong wind blew through the grass, exposing Cain in the process.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Cain slowly stood up. Murkrow approached the Oddish in an instant, and to the surprise of the trio, sharp-looking wind blades appeared from his wings, targeting none other than the Oddish who was caught in a daze.

The treasure-hunting trio reacted immediately, tumbling away to escape the range of Murkrow's attack. To Cain's surprise, Jack was the most agile of the three. As they moved, the Koffing and Zubat also reacted and rushed to dodge.

Two powerful blasts of wind arrived in front of Oddish in a flash and slammed into it as it stared dumbfounded!

"Bang! Bang!"

With two loud sounds, Oddish fell to the ground. The impact was so strong that it even caused the ground to sink slightly, a testament to the strength of Murkrow's attack.

While everyone was busy dodging, Murkrow, who had finished releasing Gust, closed in sharply and Pecked at the Oddish!

"Koffing, Tackle!"

"Zubat, use Bite!"

The two teenagers hastily ordered.

"Murkrow, dodge!" Already exposed, Cain certainly wouldn't hide anymore, and seeing the two give the order to attack, he hurriedly told Murkrow to dodge.

Murkrow quickly got up and narrowly avoided the two Pokémon's attack. Although he did not manage to kill the Oddish, it was already on the verge of death.

"Oddish!" Tim screamed, he was worried but didn't dare to approach. His weak body would not be able to block a single attack from Murkrow.

Jack glanced at the short youth who was sitting on the ground crying and sneered. Taking a clear look at who it was that had sneaked up on them, both Jack and John frowned. They recognized Cain, after all, he had gotten second place in the first test.

"It's you!" Jack spat, his expression cold.

Cain simply smiled, not deigning to respond.

"Don't think you're something special, just because you managed to cheat your way to second place. And now you resort to sneaking around and ambushing us," Jack jeered, but his subtle gestures betrayed his true intentions as he signaled for John to launch an attack.

John, quick on the uptake, shouted "Zubat, close in on him, Wing Attack!" "Koffing, Smog!"

"Murkrow, Gust! Blow away the smog!" Cain responded calmly, his presence steady and unwavering. Under Cain's influence, Murkrow remained composed as well.

The Zubat faced Murkrow's Gust head-on and took direct damage while quickly closing in on him, its one wing emitting a faint glow as it swung towards Murkrow. The Smog was blown away by Gust, but during this time, the Koffing was also rapidly approaching.

Struck by Zubat's Wing Attack, Murkrow was sent flying backwards a few meters. Though injured, his physique was strong enough to not affect his combat abilities.

"Koffing, Tackle!" Jack shouted, sensing an opportunity.

"Murkrow, dodge!" Cain commanded, his expression unchanged.

"Go for Zubat, Feint Attack!"

With lightning speed, Murkrow dodged Koffing's attack and closed in on Zubat.

"Get out of the way, Zubat!" John shouted in alarm, as he saw Murkrow quickly approaching.

Unfortunately, Feint Attack was guaranteed to hit.

"Bang!" Murkrow's sharp beak viciously hit the Zubat.

After that one attack, Murkrow made a quick retreat.