Cain stopped emphasizing speed as he advanced.
After finding traces of Solrock, Cain slowed his pace slightly.
At any moment, he could encounter that Pokémon.
The further he walked, the more familiar the surroundings felt to Cain.
This was the place where he had captured the strongest Pokémon of his past life. He even dreamed about this site in his sleep.
In those dreams, that Pokémon had already been caught by someone else, and as a result, he lost his chance to grow stronger.
Every time he woke up from those dreams, Cain laughed at himself. His obsession with that past life Pokémon was too intense.
Now, he already had a dark-blue-quality Larvitar, along with a Fragment of Groudon's Armor that was gradually transforming it, a dark-blue-quality Torchic with the ability Speed Boost, a dark-blue-quality Aron, a blue-quality Marshtomp, and a light-blue-quality Poliwag.
All of these Pokémon had terrifying potential, and with Cain's breeding skills, reaching purple quality wasn't a distant dream.
Not to mention he already had a shiny Slowking of quasi-purple quality.
As a shiny Pokémon, Slowking had tremendous potential, especially in its psychic abilities, which Cain planned to develop meticulously.
On top of that, his main team of Pokémon was already incredibly powerful.
At this rate, Cain was achieving in a short time the strength it had taken him years of effort to reach in his past life.
This was the greatest testament to his progress.
After passing a fork in the path, he encountered a large group of Lunatones.
Solrock and Lunatone differed only in appearance, but their abilities were similar.
Solrock excelled in physical attacks and could use some Fire-type moves, while Lunatone focused more on special attacks. However, for Cain, the difference wasn't significant.
In front of him were about a dozen Lunatones.
"Interesting. This tunnel is small, yet there are so many Lunatones. Could something important lie ahead?" Cain mused with a smile.
He took two Poké Balls from his belt, releasing Drapion and Honchkrow, while Gengar emerged from his shadow.
Although the space was narrow, Honchkrow didn't mind. Being a Dark type, it didn't need to worry about Lunatones' Psychic-type moves; it only had to dodge Rock-type attacks.
Moreover, its Moxie ability gave it an edge in these situations.
Was there a better opponent than Lunatone for Honchkrow to power up against?
As all his Pokémon charged into battle, Mismagius appeared at Cain's side.
Over the past month, Mismagius had begun to adjust to life outside the shadow realm. Cain no longer forced her to remain in his shadow all the time.
Since there was no one else around, there was no issue with Mismagius appearing.
During this time, Cain had also introduced Mismagius to the concept of battle, with promising results.
Now, Mismagius had a preliminary understanding of what it meant to fight.
Like a blank slate, Mismagius had come to depend heavily on Cain, obeying nearly everything he said, even if she didn't fully understand it at times.
Cain hadn't forced her to participate directly in battles. While Mismagius, as an Elite-level Pokémon, was tempting to use, Cain didn't want to rush a Pokémon with a still-childlike mindset into combat.
First, he showed her what a battle was, gradually teaching its risks and rewards.
Mismagius began forming a basic understanding.
Because of the level gap between Mismagius and the other Pokémon, trust among them grew.
The battle was entirely one-sided. Honchkrow and Weavile, immune to Psychic-type moves, swept through mercilessly. Drapion darted back and forth, striking Lunatones' weak points. Slowking and Gengar launched powerful ranged attacks from the rear.
Gengar fired Shadow Ball like a machine gun, and its sustained offensive capability wasn't far behind Slowking's.
Mismagius watched everything intently, her red eyes unblinking.
So this was a battle?
It seemed like everyone was enjoying it.
Was battle something pleasurable?
Cain had told her that throwing oneself fully into a fight could be fun.
But what about injuries? Didn't getting hurt hurt?
As she pondered this, she saw one of the Lunatones use Stone Edge, striking Drapion at the center of the battle. Drapion roared in pain but continued attacking with even more ferocity, his expression turning fiercer.
Seeing Drapion's injuries, Mismagius's little heart trembled.
But just as Mismagius began to worry, she saw Floette wave her flowers, creating a grassy field beneath Drapion's feet that quickly healed his wounds. Drapion, now recovered, fought even harder.
Since Floette had joined as the team's healer, minor injuries during battles were hardly an issue.
Mismagius displayed an expression of astonishment, her face lighting up with joy.
She looked at Drapion, fighting fiercely, then at Floette, focused on her work.
If they had such a reliable companion, it didn't matter if they got hurt, right?
What a good relationship they had!
Mismagius's eyes began to shine with a spark of understanding. As she continued watching the battle, her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
So this was a battle!
This was what Cain had been describing all along!
Was this the destiny Pokémon were meant to fulfill after being born?
Cain glanced at Mismagius, who floated beside him, watching the battle with sparkling eyes, and smiled with satisfaction.
Mismagius was finally understanding the concept of battle.
Just as they were about to defeat all the Lunatones, Cain spotted a pair of shining eyes in the dark depths of the tunnel, filled with admiration.