As the middle-aged man led Cain deeper into the tunnel, he glanced at the ground and noticed no footprints that could have been left by Cain. The young man's intentions were now apparent.
The middle-aged man saw through the ruse but remained silent, his eyes devoid of emotion as he looked at Cain.
The pair, each harboring different thoughts, ventured further into the tunnel.
After walking for ten minutes without any intention of stopping, the middle-aged man didn't question Cain about the whereabouts of the 'stuff' he mentioned.
It was as if they had an unspoken agreement: neither would speak, and their distance from each other gradually increased.
Gradually, the two who had been walking side by side ended up near the opposite walls of the tunnel.
Another ten minutes passed, and they were nearly at the tunnel's end when the middle-aged man finally stopped. His once-amicable smile had vanished.
With a somber expression, he stared at Cain, "We're almost at the end, young man. Where's the stuff you mentioned?"
As he spoke, he removed a Pokeball from his waist, holding it in his hand, ready to summon his Pokemon at any moment.
"Heh, it's right here—the thing you're after is that stuff," Cain sneered.
In truth, Cain could have had his Slowpoke eliminate the middle-aged man at any moment during their journey, but he refrained.
He wanted to know the reason this man had killed someone—a person he might even know, perhaps a friend.
Cain didn't care about who the man had killed; he was interested in his motive.
To kill so calmly the first time was rare, even in Team Rocket. Such a person might make a good subordinate, provided Cain could maintain control over him.
"What do you know?" The man's face darkened at Cain's words. His eyes began to show a tinge of bloodshot red, signaling that he was nearing his breaking point.
Cain glanced at him and gave a mysterious smile.
"You look quite composed, but your movements are light and evasive. You try to hide it, but the bloodshot eyes betray your inner turmoil. There's a faint smell of blood on you that you failed to clean up. Your first kill, right? And it was someone you knew?"
Cain's words were like daggers, stabbing the man's heart with each sentence.
"What exactly do you know?" the man roared, tossing out his Poké Ball, and summoned his Pokémon—a Graveler.
Pokémon: Graveler (Dark Yellow)
Gender: Male
Level: 26
Type: Rock + Ground
Ability: Sturdy
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Block, Endure
Basic Moves: Tackle, Defense Curl, Mud Sport Rock Polish, Rollout, Magnitude, Rock Throw, Smack Down, Bulldoze, Self-Destruct
Taught Moves: Stealth Rock, Snore
Technical Machines (TMs): None
Cain seemed unbothered by the Graveler's appearance.
To face a Slowpoke and send out a Graveler—what a joke.
Cain continued, "It seems my guess was correct. Whatever you're looking for is in this tunnel, buried in the dirt at the very end, right?"
The man must have chosen to confront Cain deep in the tunnel for two reasons. Firstly, it was far from the entrance, so any commotion from a battle would go unnoticed. Secondly, he wanted to ensure the item wasn't taken by Cain or someone else.
Moreover, from the man's reaction, it appeared the item hadn't been taken.
He pulled another Poké Ball from his pocket, growing impatient with Cain's refusal to answer his question. He decided to use force.
Although Cain's Slowpoke was a Water and Psychic-type and appeared to be special with considerable battle power, the man believed his Pokémon, working together, would have no problem handling it.
As for whether Cain had other Pokémon, the man didn't give it a thought.
At first glance, Cain appeared to be a novice Pokemon trainer, with his youthful appearance suggesting he had not been on his journey for long. The Slowpoke seemed to be his only Pokemon.
It was only natural for his opponent to think this way. After all, people tend to judge others by their own standards.
Given the man's age, his low-level Pokemon suggested he lacked natural talent as a trainer. As such, those who accompanied him probably weren't very skilled either.
This assumption seemed reasonable, especially considering that he seemed to have defeated an acquaintance of his, bolstering his confidence.
With a flash of red light, a Beedrill appeared in the tunnel.
Its light-yellow aptitude and level 22 status made it a formidable Pokemon for an average civilian trainer, and among civilian trainers, having two Pokemon with yellow aptitudes was a rare accomplishment.
However, he didn't stop after summoning Beedrill. He took out another Pokeball and, without hesitation or further questioning, threw it with bloodshot eyes.
Another light-yellow aptitude, this time a level 21 Raticate, emerged.
Though none of these three Pokemon were particularly exceptional, Cain was wary of Graveler's Self-Destruct move. If it chose to go down the suicide bombing route, a cave-in could occur in this small tunnel.
"Is that all of them?" Cain asked, raising an eyebrow.
It seemed his earlier assumptions were mostly correct. The man in front of him was feeling the pressure of having killed someone for the first time.
The weight of taking a life, combined with Cain's relentless exposure of the man's hidden actions, pushed him to the brink of a mental breakdown.
Without hesitation, Cain summoned all his Pokemon: Murkrow, Sneasel, Gastly, Miltank, and Skorupi.
He had never been afraid of a numbers game. If necessary, he would even summon his Fearow and two Grimers.
The middle-aged man's face paled as he watched Cain's Pokemon appear one by one, sensing their unrestrained presence.
He realized he had underestimated the seemingly friendly, easygoing youngster in front of him.
Once all his Pokemon were out, Cain asked sternly, "Now, will you tell me what you're hiding and why you did what you did?"
Gazing at the increasingly desperate middle-aged man, there was no doubt this man had killed for the first time, and the lingering effects seemed significant. What could possibly have driven him to such extremes?
Cain had no problem with fighting for resources, as it was a dog-eat-dog world. To not fight meant not becoming a high-ranking figure within the Association. And for ordinary people, rising through the Association ranks was the goal they aspired to achieve.
"Enough talk! Graveler, use Stealth Rock! Beedrill, Focus Energy! Raticate, Sword Dance!" The middle-aged man's face was pale, but the bloodlust in his eyes showed no sign of diminishing. He clearly intended to bury Cain here.
Despite his fury, the man hadn't completely lost his rationality. His battle tactics were still sound. Stealth Rock would hinder fast Pokémon, while Beedrill and Raticate used buff moves. Raticate' Swords Dance, when executed successfully and combined with a powerful move like Hyper Fang, could potentially one-shot an opponent.
"Murkrow, use Snatch on Raticate! Slowpoke, use Confusion to control Water Gun, and aim at Graveler! Sneasel, Icy Wind!" Cain retorted. Seeing that his opponent had no intention of talking things through, he decided to take out the three Pokémon first, then negotiate.
Cain was cautious of Raticate's Sword Dance boost. However, Murkrow's Prankster ability combined with Snatch meant that as long as the level difference wasn't too great, almost all the opponent's status moves would be rendered ineffective.
Dark tendrils wrapped around Raticate as it prepared to use Sword Dance. So instead of Raticate getting the boost, Murkrow was the one who gained the benefits of Sword Dance!
Slowpoke's Water Gun, enveloped by Confusion, shot at Graveler with incredible speed. With Confusion's support, the power of Water-type moves could be amplified as long as the attack didn't need to change direction.
Graveler, weak to Water-type moves, stood no chance against Slowpoke. Since there were no Pokémon engaging in close combat, Stealth Rock had no effect.
Sneasel remained in place, unleashing Icy Wind. The enemy was unable to close the gap swiftly, and as they were close to the tunnel's end with their backs against the wall, they had no option but to withstand the frigid gust.
"Argh!" Graveler was the first to suffer, struggling to withstand the Water-type attack.
"Slowpoke, keep it up! Murkrow, Tailwind then follow up with Wing Attack on Beedrill! Sneasel, use Ice Shard!" Cain continued to issue attack commands, unfazed.
"Graveler, use Rock Throw on Slowpoke! Beedrill, fly up and use Fury Attack on Slowpoke! Raticate, use Hyper Fang after Quick Attack on Slowpoke!" The middle-aged man knew that of Cain's Pokémon, Slowpoke posed the greatest threat to his own trio. He wanted to eliminate Slowpoke first.
His prized Graveler was being completely countered by Slowpoke, unable to display its full power. If this continued, there would be no need to continue the battle.
However, he seemed to forget that Cain had more than three Pokémon. Gastly and Miltank eagerly awaited their turn.
As for ganging up, so what? This was a life-or-death battle in the wild, where losing meant death.
Both men had killed before. What did it matter if they killed one more?
"Gastly, use Fire Punch on Beedrill! Miltank, Endure, and then use Block to stop Raticate."
Slowpoke's Water Gun struck Graveler once more, causing it to wobble, barely able to maintain its footing. One more attack from Slowpoke, and Graveler would be completely incapacitated.
Beedrill had it the worst. Murkrow, empowered by Sword Dance and its double-effective Wing Attack, ruthlessly slammed it into the air. But that wasn't the end. Gastly closed in rapidly, its Fire Punch now significantly more refined. The condensed smoke fist, wreathed in flames, hammered Beedrill while it was still midair, sending it crashing to the ground.
With the combined force of Murkrow's Swords Dance-enhanced attack, the double-effective Flying-type move, and Gastly's doubly-effective Fire Punch, Beedrill was knocked out before it could even land a single attack.
As for Raticate, it appeared in front of Slowpoke after using Quick Attack. But just as it was about to use its deadly Hyper Fang, Miltank's massive body appeared in its path, having just used Endure. Without Sword Dance to support it, Hyper Fang's attack was only average, and it didn't trigger any special effects. So Miltank easily blocked Raticate's advance.
Sneasel's relentless Ice Shards battered Raticate, causing it to wince in pain and attempt to retreat. But Miltank wouldn't let it go so easily, stepping on its tail.
"Finish them off," Cain said calmly.
This battle had always been one-sided. Even without his command, his Pokémon's coordination would have made it a breeze.
Soon, both Graveler and Raticate collapsed, devoid of any signs of life.
As the middle-aged man watched his chances of victory vanish, he considered having Graveler use Self-Destruct, dragging Cain down with him. At least that would show some guts.
Then again, if he lacked guts, he wouldn't have attacked his own acquaintance for a few resources.
"Are you ready to talk now?" Cain approached, looking down at him.
The middle-aged man lay on the ground, his eyes empty, unable to comprehend this outcome.
As for Cain's question, he ignored it. In order to claim those resources for himself, he had killed his friends without hesitation. But now he wondered if it would have been better to have shared with them instead.
"Forgive me..." Those were his final words, whispered over and over, endlessly repeating.
That's just the way of the world. To become stronger, to walk further on the path of a Pokémon trainer, one must fight for resources, especially civilian trainers. The struggle for resources was essential and never-ending.
However, some people can't even find the door to that struggle. They don't have a chance to become trainers, which is why so many join Team Rocket willingly. Only then can they have the opportunity to shed their commoner status.
It was also because of this that Team Rocket could develop quickly and compete against the Association; fight for resources, fight for status, and fight for the right to speak.
Many organizations in different regions had utilized similar strategies to expand and strengthen their ranks.
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