Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Future Training Direction
But now he's in Saffron City, and the black market here is Team Rocket's territory, so there's no better place to circulate these Pokémon.
However, Cain is in no rush. These Pokémon can wait until he receives a message from Umbra.
Instead, Cain begins to think about the future direction of his Pokémon's training.
Murkrow and Slowpoke are fine since they were the first Pokémon to accompany Cain. Their training direction has always aligned with what's most suitable for them; they just need a few additional moves to boost their attack capabilities.
If specific adjustments are needed, they will probably wait until they evolve.
Then there's Gastly.
Gastly is also one of the Pokémon that joined Cain early on, though it joined the team at a low level. Although its growth has been rapid in this time, it's still one of Cain's less outstanding Pokémon.
One reason is that Gastly hasn't evolved yet, so its combat capacity is quite limited.
Another reason is that Gastly's Poison-type nature hasn't been properly developed; its combat rhythm is still undefined, and Cain won't force it to reach a certain level, as the time isn't right yet.
In the future, Gastly could become one of Cain's key Pokémon in training.
Gastly evolves into Haunter at level 25; currently, Gastly is at level 20, so it's close.
Previously, at the Goldenrod City casino, Cain exchanged for the move Toxic, which Gastly hasn't learned yet.
Cain plans to have Gastly develop its Poison-type attribute before learning the move; this way, the effectiveness of Poison-type moves will be greater.
Since leaving the Trial Island, Gastly has been consuming pokéblocks that have subtly enhanced its Ghost and Poison attributes. In fact, Gastly's Poison energy level is already quite high, although it hasn't yet met Cain's expectations.
When Gastly masters the moves Rest, Toxic, and Sleep Talk, combined with moves like Destiny Bond, Substitute, and Perish Song, Gastly—or Haunter—will become one of Cain's toughest Pokémon to deal with.
Even if facing higher-level opponents, as long as the level gap isn't too large, Cain is confident they can be defeated over time.
Thus, one of Cain's main goals on his black market visit is to find items that increase Pokémon's Poison energy.
After Gastly comes Miltank. Originally acquired for breeding Skorupi, this Pokémon, despite its light green quality, has integrated very well into Cain's team.
He has never trained Miltank as a main battle Pokémon, so it's only been consuming intermediate-level pokéblocks.
On this black market visit, Cain will buy suitable materials for Miltank and prepare advanced, customized pokéblocks.
Although Miltank has always been a support Pokémon, any Pokémon acknowledged by Cain receives the same treatment.
Furthermore, Miltank has an important role on the team beyond battle. Outside of combat, it's the most understanding Pokémon in the group, helping Cain with minor tasks and managing the relationships between Pokémon.
As the only female Pokémon on the team, her status is very high. Whether it's Murkrow, one of the first to join, or Sneasel, one of the latest, they all respect her.
Of course, the event where Miltank fought Arbok is also an important reason for her status.
Additionally, Miltank's milk has become an essential part of the team.
...
Sneasel, the Pokémon Cain just captured, is very proud.
Although it says it doesn't care, its actions speak differently.
Deep down, it still shows some resistance toward Cain, but after a few days together, that resistance is gradually decreasing. However, for it to fully let go of its distrust, it will probably take some time.
Sneasel was the highest-level Pokémon when it joined the team, and perhaps due to the toughness Murkrow and Slowpoke showed in defeating it, it still has some reservations.
Although it doesn't do anything unusual, it can be a bit aloof with Murkrow and Slowpoke.
As for Miltank, it might consider Miltank more important than Cain in its heart, which worries Cain.
However, Cain believes that with continued interaction, these issues will be resolved.
Sneasel's weakness is that it's lived alone in the wild for too long, developing its own combat habits, and it still lacks good battle synchronization with Cain. It doesn't respond to Cain's commands as quickly as Murkrow and Slowpoke do.
During battles, it tends to act a bit late. This isn't an issue with weaker opponents, but it becomes a weakness against similarly or higher-leveled opponents.
So Sneasel and Gastly will be the two Pokémon Cain prioritizes for future training: one to develop physical attributes and the other to develop combat awareness and synchronization.
Additionally, Sneasel is still consuming intermediate-level pokéblocks. On this black market visit, Cain will also prepare materials to make advanced, customized pokéblocks for Sneasel.
Murkrow, Slowpoke, Gastly, Miltank, and Sneasel are Cain's current combat-capable Pokémon.
Of course, with Miltank in a support role, Cain effectively has only four battle-ready Pokémon.
Murkrow and Slowpoke have good coordination, while Gastly and Sneasel are strong in individual combat.
And then there's Skorupi.
Though still in its juvenile stage, it has recently been sleeping less.
According to the system's scan data, its bodily functions are reaching an almost perfect balance. Cain believes that in a few days, it will reach adulthood.
By then, Cain will have one more Pokémon to train.
Fortunately, Cain prepared the advanced pokéblocks necessary for Skorupi's growth from the start.
Also, in the initial phase, Skorupi doesn't need to participate in battles, so its move combination can wait until after defining the moves for the main Pokémon.
Finally, there's Fearow. This Pokémon is currently Cain's means of transportation and isn't considered a combat Pokémon or expected to battle.
Once Cain captures a flying Pokémon that can carry a person, Fearow will lose its purpose. At that point, either releasing or selling it will be within Cain's options.
"System, set two tasks: analyze materials for advanced pokéblocks suitable for Miltank and Sneasel."
"Beep... beep... tasks... tasks set."
The system is becoming increasingly slow, and Cain is really worried that the system might break down due to data overload. If that happens, Cain will genuinely regret not having prepared more.
(End of chapter)
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