Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom (200 - 398)

Chapter 341: Preparations to Improve Murkrow's Quality

When Cain emerged again, Haunter had completely regained its size. However, ghost-type energy continued to be absorbed steadily into its body.

Cain used his system to scan Haunter's data and discovered that its capacity to hold energy had significantly increased. Furthermore, Haunter, who had leveled up that very morning, had gained another level, reaching level 32.

"Haunter, that's enough. This ghost-type energy has made you gain another level, and you've already leveled up twice today. Gaining levels so quickly isn't very beneficial for you," Cain said.

Hearing this, Haunter immediately opened its eyes and stopped absorbing energy. It had felt an incredible improvement, and following Cain's guidance on compressing energy within its body, it had been able to absorb even more.

However, Cain had to remind it of the level-ups—something Haunter hadn't even noticed.

If it continued absorbing energy like this, it could reach level 40 in a few months, but that would ruin all the training and the foundation it had been building. It would be a bad trade-off.

The best way to grow stronger is still through combat or training.

"It's better for you to return to the shadows for now," Cain said with a smile, seeing that Haunter had awakened.

Rising just two levels wouldn't be too much of an issue. With a bit more training, Haunter could fully assimilate everything.

Together with Slowpoke, Cain headed to the cave's entrance, where the elder Gastly was still watching intently. It had seen Slowpoke and Cain disappear twice but had no idea where they had gone.

Now that they had returned and the black stone pillar showed no changes, with the ghost-type energy emanating from it remaining the same, the old Gastly sighed in relief.

Haunter absorbing some of that energy wasn't a concern, but Gastly feared that Cain, in his enthusiasm, might destroy the pillar. That would be a disaster.

What the elder Gastly didn't know was that the pillar actually regulated the speed at which ghost-type energy was released. If it were broken, the liquid energy accumulated below would gush out rapidly, filling the cave in no time.

Without proper control, the trial island could become a paradise for ghost-type Pokémon.

"Thank you for letting us in, elder Gastly. I've obtained what I needed," Cain said with a smile.

"Hehe, it was the least I could do, Cain. If you don't need anything else, how about we leave quickly?" The elder Gastly was visibly nervous. From the moment Cain entered the cave, it had regretted its decision, but it was too late to stop him.

"Alright, let's go," Cain said, understanding Gastly's anxiety and choosing not to mention it.

After several twists and turns, the elder Gastly quickly led Cain and Slowpoke to the cave's entrance.

The message was clear: the day was nearly over, and they should find another place to camp. This cave wasn't suitable for them.

After a quick farewell, Haunter remained in Cain's shadow, focused on digesting all the energy it had absorbed. If not necessary, it preferred not to emerge for the moment.

Once Cain left, the elder Gastly fully relaxed. However, it didn't know that the next time Cain wanted to approach the pillar, he wouldn't need its help to find the way. Slowpoke could teleport him directly to the spot without anyone noticing.

Even so, Cain didn't plan to return without certainty. Who knows what kind of terrifying Pokémon might appear if he continued exploring.

As they exited the Gastly cave, the sky was already partially dark. The western sun was about to sink below the horizon, and within half an hour, night would fall completely.

Together with Slowpoke, Cain decided to head into the depths of the trial island. Using the fragmented map he had obtained, he saw that the location of the point card was beyond the Gastly cave.

After walking for about twenty minutes, Cain decided to stop.

It wasn't wise to explore the forest at night. In a clearing, before entering the forest's thick expanse, Cain decided to camp for the night and continue his exploration in the morning.

He released several Pokéballs, summoning all his Pokémon.

Now that he had more Pokémon on his team, whether for battle or support, Cain had nearly a dozen. Meal preparation was becoming a big task.

Fortunately, all the Pokémon knew that if they wanted to eat well, they had to do their part.

Each one had assigned tasks, and the one in charge of assigning them was the team leader, Murkrow.

In the clearing, there were plenty of wild Pokémon, so food wouldn't be an issue.

After the other Pokémon dispersed to their tasks, Cain called Murkrow.

"Murkrow, I've found the highest-quality Dusk Stone you need for your evolution," Cain said, stroking Murkrow's soft feathers.

Murkrow's body had already grown larger than usual. Its long diet of Pokéblocks had made its feathers shinier and softer.

Hearing Cain's words, Murkrow's eyes immediately lit up.

It knew that its quality was falling behind in the team and that its strength was no longer on par with the others. Cain had assured it that all it needed to do was fulfill its tasks, and he would take care of its growth and strength.

It didn't expect Cain to bring a supreme-quality Dusk Stone today.

"It's not the right time to use it yet. While your physical development is almost complete, your quality still has room for improvement. It would be better if you could enhance your quality a bit more before using this Dusk Stone, so you'll get better results," Cain said.

Murkrow was Cain's first Pokémon, so he understood how it felt.

When he caught Murkrow, its quality was already green but in a deteriorating state.

With great effort and intermediate Pokéblocks made from yellow berries, Cain managed to keep Murkrow's quality at the peak of the green level.

Cain suspected that before its quality started deteriorating, Murkrow had reached dark green quality. However, intermediate Pokéblocks weren't enough to restore it fully.

That's why Cain planned to improve Murkrow's quality to dark green before allowing it to evolve, which could further boost its power.

Hearing this, Murkrow nodded without hesitation. It had no objections.

For Murkrow, Cain's orders were absolute, a sign of the utmost trust a Pokémon could have in its trainer.

"Alright, I'm going to increase the amount of energy crystals in your Pokéblocks. Your body might feel a bit strange, but if you endure it, you'll overcome it," Cain said.

(End of chapter)