Chapter 213: Disheartened Murkrow

After Haunter's training ended, Cain made him return to his shadow. Then, he reserved a private room in the Pokémon Center cafeteria and enjoyed a large meal with his Pokémon, especially Slowpoke, who had worked all day and was eating almost as much as Miltank.

During the meal, Miltank looked at Slowpoke in surprise, as if wondering, "Since when do you eat this much?" Slowpoke simply replied with a sound and continued eating, which, in turn, increased Miltank's appetite. Due to these two big eaters, Cain's meal cost almost twice as much as usual.

After dinner, Cain discreetly headed to Vermilion City's black market.

Strictly speaking, Vermilion City is one of the cities under Team Rocket's control. Although they only control the dark side of the city, that's enough. After all, one of the three top Executives is the Vermilion City Gym Leader.

Therefore, Vermilion City's black market is also under Team Rocket's control, and as one of Team Rocket's business partners, the Hunter Guild enjoys a very high position here.

Cain was wearing a black cloak, almost identical to the one he wore before, and Murkrow was perched on his shoulder. However, for some reason, Murkrow didn't seem to be in a good mood. Despite looking imposing on Cain's shoulder, the latter, who knew him better than anyone, understood what he was really feeling.

"Murkrow, every Pokémon has its own role, and you've done yours in the best possible way. It's just that there haven't been suitable battles for you recently, which is why you feel this way." Cain understood that Murkrow had always taken on the role of older brother in the team, looking after the other Pokémon.

However, as he watched the other Pokémon surpass him one by one, Murkrow began to feel a bit uneasy. Slowpoke, who was once his equal, had now completely surpassed him. If it weren't for the Dark-type advantage, he probably wouldn't be able to beat him in a fight.

Sneasel, who joined the team later, initially didn't get along with Murkrow, but after several attempts by the latter to befriend him, both Pokémon now got along well.

After all, they were both Dark types and could share many things. Sneasel also understood Murkrow's feelings and respected his dedication to the team. However, Murkrow couldn't deny that Sneasel was stronger than him.

Even after gaining a level during the battle in Diglett Cave, reaching level 24, the gap between him and Sneasel hadn't closed, as Sneasel had mastered three Ice-type moves and improved his synchronization with Cain.

All of that was fine, as both Slowpoke and Sneasel were originally stronger. But now, Gastly had evolved into Haunter and reached level 25, surpassing him in power.

Additionally, Haunter had also developed his Poison-type attribute under Cain's guidance, meaning that Murkrow could no longer beat him in a battle.

Although Murkrow was genuinely happy for Haunter's evolution, the little Pokémon who used to ask him everything when he joined the team had now surpassed him.

And then there was Skorupi, who had just hatched from his egg. Murkrow could also see that Skorupi had great potential, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he would surpass him too.

This was why Murkrow felt disheartened. He felt that his presence in Cain's team was becoming less relevant, as if his absence wouldn't make much of a difference.

Cain, understanding Murkrow's thoughts, assured him that he had fulfilled his role in the best possible way and that he didn't need to compare himself to the other Pokémon. Furthermore, his training pace had been slower because he'd had fewer opportunities to battle lately.

"Murkrow, you just need to keep accumulating experience. I'll make sure you grow stronger," Cain said as he gently petted Murkrow's head.

For Pokémon, getting stronger is a responsibility that falls on their trainer, and Cain was determined to do everything he could to help Murkrow reach his potential.

Although Murkrow's initial capacity was a bit lower than that of the other Pokémon, Cain knew there were still ways to compensate for that, though these plans were still in development.

Murkrow understood Cain's words and gently rubbed his head against him, indicating that although he felt downhearted, it didn't affect his loyalty to Cain or his joy for Haunter's evolution.

After comforting Murkrow, Cain stepped firmly into the Hunter Guild, already starting to plan the next step in Murkrow's development.

First, he went to the Hunter Guild task counter, where he handed over a light-green-quality Sandshrew and five Gyarados, all of low quality, to complete some missions.

Under the strange gaze of the staff, he managed to match all these Pokémon with the appropriate missions.

He was lucky, as Sandshrew matched a well-paying mission. As for the Gyarados, Cain wasn't worried in the least. This highly coveted Pokémon sold for high prices, even if its quality wasn't the best.

And so it was—the purchase price for the light-green-quality Sandshrew was 300,000 Pokédollars, while each low-quality Gyarados sold for 250,000 Pokédollars, only 50,000 less than Sandshrew.

Of course, level was also an important factor, as all the Gyarados were above level 25, while Sandshrew was only a little over level 10. That was a big difference.

The five low-quality Gyarados earned him a total of 1,000,000 Pokédollars and 1,000,000 points from the Hunter Guild.

The higher-quality Gyarados sold for 350,000 Pokédollars, surpassing even the purchase price of the Sandshrew.

This shows how popular Gyarados is in the market.

As for the light-green-quality Gyarados, Cain decided not to sell it immediately.

Considering he would soon spend a long time traveling by sea, Cain thought that, in case of an accident, although Slowpoke and Fearow could help him move a certain distance, neither of them could do so for very long.

If the distance were too great, neither Slowpoke nor Fearow could carry Cain safely.

After all, there were many wild Pokémon in both the water and the air, so battles would be inevitable.

However, if he had a Gyarados, the situation would be completely different.

So, although this Gyarados only had light-green quality, Cain didn't plan to keep it as his own Pokémon. He would only use it temporarily and then sell it once he arrived in Slateport City. He wouldn't lose much money in the process.

(End of chapter)