A quiet night passed.
Cain, who had been meditating throughout the night, woke up.
He took his Pokémon and resumed his exploration journey.
Although the forest had diverse terrains that forced Cain to take detours, overall, he was heading southwest, in the direction of Littleroot Town.
However, when passing through darker, more humid parts of the forest or swamps, Cain ventured in to investigate, mainly looking for traces of Scolipede.
After all, training his Pokémon and earning money along the way was something Cain wouldn't pass up.
The Pokémon they encountered on their way and showed decent quality, Cain captured for future sale.
Nevertheless, the deeper he went, the stronger and more powerful the wild Pokémon became.
This was exactly what Cain was hoping for.
"Skorupi, use Bug Bite!" Cain ordered.
At the moment, Cain was directing Skorupi in a battle against a wild Pokémon—an Ursaring at level 31 with a light green quality.
Ursaring is a Pokémon known for its strength. It usually lives in the forest, and due to its robust body and a temper that makes it lash out even at itself when enraged, few dare to provoke it.
But this time, Ursaring had chosen the wrong opponent.
Facing Ursaring's charge, Skorupi not only didn't dodge but charged directly at it, its pincers concentrating Bug-type energy and launching a Bug Bite attack.
Since learning a new way to use the move yesterday, Skorupi had started mastering how to use its pincers instead of its mouth.
Cain was preparing Skorupi for evolution.
When Skorupi evolves into Drapion, it gains the innate ability to use moves like Ice Fang, Fire Fang, and Thunder Fang.
With these, its attack power will increase significantly. If Drapion can use its pincers instead of its mouth to execute these moves, its combat capabilities will reach a whole new level.
Additionally, since equipping the Fragmented Toxic Orb yesterday, Skorupi had started developing antibodies against the poisonous energy within, accelerating its Poison-type development several times over.
Skorupi's pincers clashed with Ursaring's massive claws.
Both Pokémon, known for their strength, refused to back down.
However, to Ursaring's surprise—used to intimidating others with its power—today, a small bug-like Pokémon was resisting and, more so, overpowering it, pushing Ursaring back.
Ursaring's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Skorupi, Poison Tail!" Cain continued.
Skorupi didn't rely solely on its pincers to attack.
Upon hearing the command, its eyes gleamed. Its pincers shifted slightly from pushing to gripping, locking onto Ursaring's claws. Its venom-coated tail shot swiftly toward Ursaring's underarm.
Ursaring roared in pain. Skorupi had targeted a weak spot in its body, activating its Sniper ability.
The pain was immense.
Now, Skorupi was like it had three hands, with its tail being the strongest.
Ursaring's body began showing signs of poisoning, a purplish tint spreading—clearly entering a poisoned state.
Skorupi seized the opportunity, releasing Ursaring's claws and following up with Poison Fang, this time with its pincers.
This intensified the poison within Ursaring's body.
Struck once more, Ursaring staggered back a few steps, feeling its body weaken. Dizzy and disoriented, it collapsed onto its back, losing its ability to fight.
"Well done, Skorupi. Remember this rhythm: use your strength to break the enemy's coordination. When necessary, use moves to disrupt the opponent's rhythm and then strike their weakest point with your tail, aiming to take them down in one blow," Cain said, rewarding Skorupi with some Pokéblocks and patting its now iron-hard armor encouragingly.
Skorupi nodded with determination. It now had a better understanding of how to utilize its ability and always sought to pinpoint the enemy's weak spots before launching a decisive attack.
This Ursaring was just one of the many opponents Skorupi had defeated, and its strength was quite impressive.
Now, defeating Pokémon three or four levels higher without a type disadvantage was relatively easy for Skorupi.
Cain threw a Poké Ball, capturing Ursaring. Whether he'd use it or not, it could at least strengthen his team.
And so, Cain continued his journey with his Pokémon.
This brief battle, lasting only a few minutes, was just a reflection of what the next days would hold.
Traveling, battling, and moving forward, all while searching for traces of Scolipede.
Thus, Cain and his Pokémon had been trekking through the forest for five days.
Now, they were deep in the forest, where they could encounter an opponent Cain couldn't defeat with his current strength at any moment.
Therefore, he had to be extremely cautious, avoiding clearly marked dangerous territories.
Fortunately, with Slowking's Teleport move, Cain didn't always need to flee. Sometimes, challenging the forest's leaders with his Pokémon was also a way to train them.
During these five days, Cain felt like he was back on the Trial Island, growing stronger in the forest.
Only this time, the enemies were much more terrifying than back then.
Fortunately, Cain was now much stronger.
Five days of combat had brought significant changes to his Pokémon.
Since, aside from resting, all they had done was fight continuously, all of Cain's Pokémon had undergone a shift in temperament, becoming more feral and developing a greater desire to fight.
Slowking, as one of the main combatants in their deep forest adventures, had reached level 39. It only needed one more level to reach the advanced level. But since it had recently leveled up, it required time to accumulate experience.
Honchkrow had risen three levels, reaching level 38. The abundance of Grass- and Bug-type Pokémon in the forest allowed it to maximize its Flying type advantage, and with its Moxie ability and Sky Attack move, it could unleash its full potential when facing swarms of Bug-type Pokémon.
Under such circumstances, Honchkrow was practically the combined strength of all of Cain's Pokémon. Once its Moxie ability was boosted, it could knock out Pokémon in a single strike.
If not for its endurance, Cain believed Honchkrow could sweep through a section of the forest teeming with Bug-type Pokémon.