Murkrow, the proud and powerful bird, found no pleasure in vanquishing weak opponents. He knew his duty was to follow the commands of his trainer, Cain, but it was not until the arrival of the Beedrill leader that he truly felt the thrill of battle.
Cain watched on with a smile, stroking the smooth feathers of his companion. "You are quite the warrior, Murkrow," he said.
The bird let out a fierce caw, as if to say that the only way to truly respect power is to defeat it with one's own strength. The Beedrill colony was now curled up like a hedgehog, making it difficult to attack. Nevertheless, they would have to wait until morning to deal with the Beedrills.
Back at their camp on top of the familiar hill, Cain built a fire and, as was customary, gave Murkrow a full body massage. "Murkrow," Cain said, "your strength is still lacking if you wish to fight the Beedrill leader. We must ramp up your training. Are you up for the task?"
The bird nodded solemnly, indicating that he was willing to endure any hardship in the pursuit of strength. "Very well," Cain said with a slight smile. "Let us begin our after dinner workout."
With that, Cain picked up two pieces of wood weighing 2.5 kilograms and tied them to Murkrow's wings with a pre-made rope. The bird felt a heavy weight as he flapped his wings, struggling to lift off the ground. But with each flap, he adjusted to the new stress and flew higher, pushing himself to new limits under the guidance of his trainer.
"You know the drill, Murkrow," Cain said, nodding at the large tree before them. Its branches and leaves spread out wide, making it a formidable obstacle to fly around. "One hundred laps, my friend."
The bird took off, circling the tree with precision, not stopping for a moment. As the night fell, Cain and Murkrow, having completed their training, slowly drifted off to sleep.
Five days had passed since their last trial test, and another was set to take place in two days' time. Whether they could solve the Beedrill problem or not, they would have to return to the base after the next day.
-----
Hidden in a bush, Cain was covered in leaves and grass, his head wrapped in a ragged cloth and his face heavily oiled. Only his eyes were visible, peeking out from the undergrowth. The smell of tree sap clung to him, making it difficult to spot him among the foliage. This was a simple camouflage technique, one he had mastered as a member of Team Rocket.
The Beedrills flew overhead, their yellow bodies and red eyes a blur. Cain knew that his presence had a significant impact on Murkrow's ability to battle freely. If it weren't for protecting Cain, the Beedrills would never have been able to keep up with Murkrow's speed. So Cain simply hid in one place and waited for Murkrow to lead all the Beedrills away.
He waited for ten minutes until a jet-black bird Pokemon landed next to the bush and called softly.
"Caw," Murkrow cawed as it returned to Cain's side, having successfully led the swarm of Beedrills on a wild goose chase. Following Cain's orders, Murkrow had maintained a steady pace that allowed the Beedrills to keep up, but not to attack. Once safely away
from Cain's position, Murkrow had used Tailwind to fly at full speed and shake off the pursuit.
Cain emerged from his hiding spot, patting the dirt from his clothes and stamping his feet to restore feeling. He fed Murkrow a Black Bolt Pokeblock to replenish his stamina and nodded in satisfaction, a hint of a smile on his lips.
With the Beedrills safely lured away, it was time to properly scout the central part of their territory. Cain and Murkrow made their way through the dense woods, the only sounds coming from the rustling of leaves and the occasional snap of a twig. The trees were stripped of their leaves, the ground littered with nibbled bits, and threads tangled in the branches - evidence of the presence of Weedles.
The scent of fresh leaves hung in the air as Cain and Murkrow pressed on. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the heart of the territory - a massive old tree, nearly three times the size of the one Cain usually lived in, with a bird's nest-like structure on top made entirely of clay.
Cain stood at the edge of the massive hive, staring in disbelief at the scene before him. The hive was filled with Pokemon eggs. If they all hatched successfully, there would be a massive number of Weedles, which would eventually evolve into a swarm of Beedrills. Despite their short lifespan, these bug-type Pokemon had a reproductive rate that was unrivaled by other Pokemon.
Cain, taken aback, activated his system and began scanning all the eggs. The data flickered before his eyes, mostly red-aptitude Pokemon eggs with a few orange ones thrown in. After a few moments, all of the data had been scanned, yielding a total of over 500 Beedrill eggs, with only three of them at the yellow-aptitude level and twenty-five at the orange.
Cain took a deep breath, unsure of what to do with these eggs. Destroying them had no meaning or value to him.
Murkrow, who had been standing beside him, suddenly patted Cain's leg, drawing his attention to a branch higher up. Looking in the direction Murkrow indicated, Cain noticed a smaller hive at the top of the tree, more delicate and detailed in terms of craftsmanship.
Murkrow led him to the hive higher up. This must be the nest of the Beedrill leader, Cain thought as he looked at the three Pokemon eggs in the hive. When he reactivated the system, he was astounded by the results of the scan. Two of the three Pokemon eggs had a yellow aptitude, and one had a green aptitude.
Pokemon: Weedle (Egg Form) (Green)
Gender: Female
Level: 1
Type: Bug + Poison
Ability: Unknown
Held items: None
Egg moves: Bug Bite, Focus Energy
Basic moves: None
Taught moves: None
Technical Machines (TMs): None
Although this Pokemon was only a common Weedle, when a Pokemon's talent reaches the green level, the species restriction becomes much less limiting. This was the Beedrill leader's child, and based on the aptitude of these three eggs, the Beedrill leader's talent must have reached the yellow level, if not the green.
In general, if there are no special circumstances in a Pokemon's genetics, their children's talent will be within one level of their parents' talent. In other words, if the parents have a yellow aptitude, their children will at worst have an orange aptitude, most likely a yellow aptitude, and possibly a green aptitude. There will be a variety of situations if the parents have different aptitudes, but the minimum will only be one rank lower than the parent with the lowest talent, and the maximum will be one rank higher than the parent with the highest talent.
With a piece of cloth, Cain wrapped the green-aptitude Weedle egg, tied it securely to his back, and jumped a few times to make sure it wouldn't fall. Pokemon eggs cannot be placed in the storage belt, otherwise, the egg will become dormant and die. Storage spaces are typically used for non-living things, placing a living thing in one would cause it to perish.
Cain was determined to keep this green-aptitude Pokemon egg. He could keep it for himself or sell it to Team Rocket to get what he needed. As a Pokemon hunter, Cain was no stranger to this type of thing.
YOU ARE READING
Pokemon Chronicles of Darkness
AdventureFor Cain, the promised land of the Pokémon World was not the idyllic paradise he had hoped for. Instead, he found himself cast into the depths of darkness, a captive of the nefarious Team Rocket on the infamous Purgatory Island. But even in the dark...
