Sato and Murkrow moved swiftly through the Forest of Shadows. Since Murkrow's mother was the forest's ruler, as long as they didn't actively provoke any of the larger Pokémon clans, they usually wouldn't encounter much trouble.
Under Sato's guidance, Murkrow had also learned the classic tactic of: "walking into enemy turf and issuing 1v1 challenges" as a way to improve its strength.
In the Pokémon world, strength reigned supreme. So whenever Murkrow issued a challenge, the opposing Pokémon would give their all in battle… which led to many of Murkrow's defeats.
But failure wasn't the end. As the child of a ruler, Murkrow had to challenge each of its chosen opponents one by one and defeat them all.
That's when Sato stepped in: just like Karen had said, "wasn't a Trainer supposed to help their partners overcome opponents and achieve victory?"
"We're here? Judging by how cautious you're being, are there a lot of them?" Sato followed behind Murkrow and stopped as well.
"Krow!" Murkrow nodded at Sato, then stepped forward and cawed loudly twice.
Rustle Rustle Rustle~
A flurry of noise burst from the bushes. Over a dozen cute yellow Mareep came running out, followed by several pink Flaaffy, and finally, two Ampharos standing side by side.
The more muscular male Ampharos immediately waved its tiny arms and bellowed as soon as it saw Murkrow, clearly not taking the former loser seriously.
Murkrow ignored the male Ampharos's taunts and instead bashfully greeted the female Ampharos first.
The female Ampharos calmly nodded back at Murkrow, while also soothing her enraged partner.
From the back, Sato watched silently, realizing that his Murkrow had something going on… it looked like it was trying to befriend the female Ampharos.
…But Murkrow's Egg Group and Ampharos's were completely different. There was no future between them.
Should he break the harsh truth to it? Sato thought about it and decided it was still too young. Better to let it go for now.
The male Ampharos stepped in front of his mate and provocatively beckoned at Murkrow, signaling it to bring it on. He wasn't scared at all.
Murkrow flapped its wings twice, then hesitated and backed up, turning to Sato with a hopeful look.
It was only then that the male Ampharos noticed Sato's presence. Its guard shot up several notches, and it glared at Murkrow with increasing hostility.
"I'm Murkrow's Trainer. We're here to help it reclaim its 'pride'. Care to go another round?" Sato got straight to the point. Pokémon like Ampharos were very intelligent, and naturally more wary of humans.
"If you win, I'll heal your injuries for free and give you three bottles of Sweet Milk."
Sato began bargaining and casually took out a bottle of Sweet Milk, pretending to sip it.
"Umbre! Umbre!" Umbreon, who had been quiet until now, urgently cried out, placing both front paws on Sato's leg with a look that clearly said, 'Are you using my Sweet Milk?'
"Relax, yours are still in the bag. This one's an advance I got from Joseph," Sato said shamelessly as he sealed the bottle again. The scent of the Sweet Milk wafted across to the other side, and several of the dopey Mareep couldn't resist and instinctively walked toward Sato.
A weak current struck each of the Mareep, instantly snapping them out of their daze. Realizing they had wandered beyond the bushes, they all panicked and scrambled back, each leaving only their heads poking out as they nervously watched Sato and the others.
The male Ampharos stepped forward and made a "come at me!" gesture toward Sato, signaling that it accepted the challenge.
"Murkrow, Air Slash."
Murkrow flapped its wings and began circling above Ampharos. As it moved behind its target, it swiftly launched several sharp, blue-and-white Air Cutters.
Ampharos twisted its body slightly. Its long tail began to glow a silvery white, and with a clean sweep of Iron Tail, it shattered the Air Cutters with ease.
Its crisp, decisive movements and strong counter indicated that this Ampharos had fought many battles, it had even learned Iron Tail.
Truly a worthy opponent.
"Murkrow, Tailwind!" Sato didn't rush to press the attack and instead had Murkrow boost its speed.
Ampharos gave a disdainful glance at Murkrow. It hated opponents that were faster than it. Seeing Murkrow trying to go even faster, it immediately unleashed Thunder Wave across the entire area, leaving Murkrow no room to dodge.
Using the Tailwind, Murkrow shot out of the thick forest and soared into the skies. Thunder Wave wasn't meant for power, and once it hit the canopy, the trees quickly dissipated it.
"Krow~ Krooooow~ Krow~~"
From above, Murkrow's taunting cry echoed in all directions, and by the time it reached Ampharos's ears, it was just a string of reverberations.
Ampharos flew into a rage. Murkrow was publicly slandering it, claiming it didn't dare to face opponents head-on, that it just kept paralyzing everything all day.
'That loud echo…' now who knew how many neighboring Pokémon had heard it and would laugh at him? It was too much!
Ampharos roared and unleashed a full-on barrage of electricity: Discharge.
Electricity was already incredibly fast, and Discharge hit the whole field. Sato wasn't far from the blast, but at the crucial moment, Umbreon stepped forward and activated Protect, shielding Sato from the attack.
The terrifying surge of electricity lasted quite a while before fading. The surrounding trees were scorched black, and Ampharos stood in a large crater, panting as it searched frantically for Murkrow.
Murkrow descended from the sky but didn't strike the exhausted Ampharos. Instead, it flew straight toward Sato, its eyes full of fear and concern.
"With Umbreon protecting me, of course I'm fine. But you… why'd you charge in and suffer like that…" Sato looked at Murkrow, its feathers occasionally sparking and singed black from the electricity. He wanted to scold it, but in the end, held back.
On the other side, the female Ampharos who had shielded the Mareep and Flaaffy marched furiously over to the male Ampharos. She slapped him several times, then pointed sternly at the Mareep and the others, scolding him nonstop.
The male Ampharos didn't even dare to breathe loudly. With his head down, he silently took the scolding, both cheeks flushed red… it was clear the female had hit hard.
"You sure picked a tough opponent. You really can't take on these two Ampharos yet," Sato said while spraying Potion on Murkrow and watching the drama unfold.
"Krow…" Murkrow let out a feeble protest, but just recalling that terrifying Discharge made its body shudder again.
"Fighting against your counter-type has never been easy… unless you're the chosen one in a novel or anime," Sato added.
Murkrow didn't argue this time.