Chapter 139: Watched Again

After collecting the spoils of battle, Cain had Miltank restore the energy of Murkrow and the others.

Suddenly, Cain felt as though a gaze was fixed on him. During the fight with the two, he had that feeling but assumed it was from one of them. However, now that both were defeated, the sensation persisted.

He raised his head and looked around, but he didn't notice any movement. Still, the silence was unsettling. Though the fight was over, the area's stillness was excessive.

Then, Cain saw a shadow pass quickly between the trees about 50 or 60 meters away. If not for the constant feeling of being watched, he would have thought it was an illusion.

After the shadow left, the sensation of being observed disappeared as well, confirming that it was that shadow that had been watching him.

Cain frowned, analyzing the situation. Although the shadow had appeared for only an instant, he could deduce a few things. The shadow moved quickly and wasn't large, which indicated it wasn't human, but rather a Pokémon.

Additionally, the ability to climb trees with agility suggested it wasn't a large, four-legged Pokémon, ruling out several suspects.

What surprised him most was that Slowpoke, who was the most sensitive to such things, hadn't noticed the presence watching from afar.

Cain shook his head, setting the matter aside for now. Since the shadow hadn't attacked, it meant it still held some fear of him and his Pokémon, or it was simply a curious Pokémon with no ill intent.

After gathering the remains of the battle, Cain and his Pokémon quickly left the area, aware that the smell of blood might attract other wild Pokémon.

What Cain didn't know was that, after he left, the shadow appeared in the battlefield, next to one of the fallen Koffing. Without doing anything in particular, the shadow lingered there for a moment before disappearing again.

...

After leaving the battlefield, Cain and his Pokémon ventured deeper into the forest. The sunlight filtering through the trees became scarcer as the forest grew denser, with larger and thicker trees.

As they approached the snowy mountain, the temperature began to drop as well. Since almost no people frequented the area, Cain didn't bother returning his Pokémon to their Pokéballs, allowing them to play and train in the open.

Since leaving Judgment Island, the training rhythm for his Pokémon had slowed down. Although they had battled a few days in the forest between Goldenrod City and Ecruteak City, their progress hadn't met Cain's expectations.

Now that they had to cross this forest to reach the snowy mountain, Cain decided to take the opportunity to train his Pokémon.

This forest was more dangerous than the previous one, with higher-level wild Pokémon. This was likely due to the area being more inhospitable and less frequented by humans.

For example, at that moment, Murkrow, Slowpoke, and Miltank were fighting against a level 30 Persian.

Pokémon: Persian (Yellow)

Gender: Female

Level: 30

Type: Normal

Ability: Technician

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Tail Whip, Foul Play

Basic Moves: Swift, Play Rough, Switcheroo, Scratch, Growl, Bite, Fake Out, Fury Swipes, Screech, Feint Attack, Taunt

Learned Moves: Iron Tail, Water Pulse, Snatch

TM Moves: None

Although Persian had yellow quality, her level was high, and along with her Technician ability, moves like Fake Out and Fury Swipes made it difficult for Murkrow and the others to handle her.

If it weren't for the constant recovery Miltank provided with the move Milk Drink, they might not have managed as well.

Gastly didn't join the fight as he needed to stay with Cain to prevent surprise attacks from other Pokémon, and his Poison-type moves were still underdeveloped.

Cain hadn't yet taught him the move Toxic that he had acquired at the Casino.

Though Normal-type Pokémon don't have many resistances, they also don't have many weaknesses, except to Fighting-type moves. However, none of Cain's Pokémon knew any Fighting-type moves.

The battle became tense, as Persian was fast, and her survival skills in the wild made her speed even greater.

Fortunately, Miltank used the move Block to prevent Persian from escaping when things got tough. With close cooperation between Murkrow and Slowpoke, under Cain's precise direction, they managed to weaken Persian until she lost her ability to fight.

Cain quickly threw a Pokéball and captured Persian.

A level 30 Persian with the Technician ability was quite valuable, and Cain knew he could sell it at the Hunter's Guild for a good amount of money.

He received Persian's Pokéball from the enthusiastic Gastly, shrank it, locked it, and placed it in his pocket. Though Persian had lost her ability to fight from exhaustion, she hadn't taken much damage, so she didn't need treatment. With a bit of rest, she would recover.

Just after stowing Persian's Pokéball, Cain asked Miltank to restore everyone's energy.

Suddenly, Cain frowned as the feeling of being watched returned.

Though he paused, Cain pretended not to notice.

"Slowpoke, use your psychic abilities to see if there's a Pokémon spying on us," murmured Cain as he continued his actions.

Slowpoke blinked in confusion but obeyed, extending his psychic energy around them. However, he detected nothing and shook his head.

Cain frowned even more but did nothing unusual.

Just as he was about to command Murkrow to search for the observer, the sensation vanished again.

If he hadn't felt this same sensation before, Cain might have dismissed it as a mere illusion.

However, he wasn't taking it lightly now. Once could be a coincidence, but twice was suspicious.

"Let's go find a place to prepare dinner," Cain said after a moment of hesitation.

After the feeling disappeared, the observer seemed to have left, so doing anything more wouldn't have served any purpose.

The sun was setting, and the most urgent task now was finding a place to camp.

(End of Chapter)