Chapter 39: The Power of Golduck

Cain didn't have much time to observe, as the battle between Milotic and Gyarados followed the flow of the water, moving further and further away until the noise faded.

From a distance, only the beams of Hyper Beam could be seen shooting columns of water across the forest before disappearing completely.

"Whew! What a terrifying battle. I'm glad I didn't try to capture that Milotic. Judging by the remnants of the fight, both Pokémon are probably over level 40," Cain thought, feeling relieved.

With the departure of the two Pokémon, the small frightened Pokémon also hid, and the once-bustling lake fell silent. Apart from the constant rain, there were no signs of life.

Cain signaled Slowpoke to release his control over the waterfall, then returned deeper into the cave to wait for the rain to stop.

"I really want to reach that level of combat. That way, I won't have to follow anyone's orders." Influenced by the battle between Gyarados and Milotic, Cain thought to himself, "But in this life, I won't abandon them."

Looking at Murkrow, who had almost finished drying off, and Slowpoke, who always accompanied him, Cain made a silent promise to them.

After half an hour, the rain began to gradually subside, and with Slowpoke's help, Cain slowly exited the cave behind the waterfall.

Since the rain had just stopped, the forest was soaked, but at the same time, under the sunlight peeking through the clouds, the place radiated a completely new atmosphere. It was as if everything had come back to life.

Walking through the meadow drenched in water droplets, Cain, accompanied by Murkrow and Slowpoke, left the lake area.

Originally, he had planned to stay there for a day so Slowpoke could recover and to make some Pokéblocks, but the rain had interrupted his plans.

Fortunately, Slowpoke had recovered well, and the Pokéblocks were already made; they just needed to fully solidify.

Taking advantage of the clear sky after the rain, Cain walked along the river with Murkrow and Slowpoke, hoping to find the Squirtle he had seen earlier. He guessed there was a small colony of Squirtle in the area.

The water level had risen due to the rain, flooding the paths where the Pokémon walked. Now they could only walk through the grass, which was full of water droplets, and it didn't take long for Cain's pants to get soaked.

Despite everything, the clear water after the rain often allowed him to see small Water-type Pokémon, but Cain felt a bit disappointed as most of what he saw were common Pokémon like Magikarp, with the occasional Goldeen appearing.

Eventually, he resigned himself to the situation. After all, Squirtle is a valuable starter Pokémon; it was already surprising to see it in the wild. Capturing one would depend on luck.

Cain walked about ten kilometers along the river without finding a trace of Squirtle, although he did see some relatively rare Water-type Pokémon. But since he already had a Slowpoke, he wasn't interested in Water-types with mediocre abilities, and it wasn't worth spending resources on them.

"Looks like finding Slowpoke was just a stroke of luck," Cain thought after walking a bit further. He was quite satisfied with having captured such a talented Slowpoke. Searching for Squirtle had been an impulse, and if he didn't find it, it didn't matter.

After reaching that conclusion, Cain stopped focusing so much on the Water Pokémon. "I'll walk a little further and then head back," he thought as the sky began to darken.

However, just as Cain was about to walk a bit further, he encountered an "unexpected" situation that made him immediately retreat.

A light blue Pokémon, covered by a flow of water, jumped directly out of the water, landing not far in front of Cain.

"Golduck!" Cain exclaimed, frowning as he saw the Pokémon that had suddenly appeared.

This Golduck wasn't one Cain had seen earlier during the storm, and in fact, he hadn't seen a Psyduck during the storm either.

Seeing the Golduck that had appeared out of nowhere, Murkrow quickly positioned himself in front of Cain, while Slowpoke approached seriously. His Water-type instinct told him that this Golduck was strong, very strong.

Cain's eyes flashed as Golduck's data appeared in his mind.

Pokémon: Golduck (Yellow)

Gender: Male

Level: 38

Type: Water

Ability: Damp

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Mud Bomb, Yawn

Basic Moves: Aqua Jet, Water Sport, Scratch, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Confusion, Fury Swipes, Water Pulse, Disable, Screech, Zen Headbutt, Aqua Tail, Soak, Psych Up

Learned Moves: Hydro Pump, Iron Tail, Ice Punch

TMs: None

Cain instantly became serious, his expression turning grim. "I didn't expect to run into a level 38 Golduck. What luck..."

Originally, Cain thought that after the battle between Gyarados and Milotic, no strong Pokémon would appear in this water area, so he felt safe searching for Squirtle. But unexpectedly, a level 38 Golduck appeared.

What Cain didn't know was that this Golduck was actually the true owner of this area, while Gyarados and Milotic were just temporary visitors.

Due to the immense power of Gyarados and Milotic, Golduck hadn't dared to confront them, so he had hidden along with his colony of Psyduck.

It was only after the two Pokémon left following their battle that Golduck emerged from the water's depths. At that moment, he saw Cain and his group wandering through his territory.

Filled with fury, Golduck thought, "I can't face those two powerful Pokémon, but you little ones dare to provoke me!"

Fortunately, Cain was unaware of the situation. If he had known, he would have thought, "Disaster falls from the sky."

Looking at the two Pokémon advancing toward him, Golduck eyed them with disdain. As a Pokémon that had reached such a level, he had his own method of judging the strength of other Pokémon. Although Murkrow and Slowpoke showed good eyes and presence, to him, they were still too inexperienced.

As the ruler of the region, Golduck generally didn't bother dealing with "weak" Pokémon like Murkrow and Slowpoke, but his anger needed an outlet, and Cain and his team had just crossed his path.

"I'll show you who the real owner is here!"

Golduck roared internally as a powerful Water-type energy began to concentrate in his closed mouth, where the turbulent water began to overflow. He was charging an attack.

Cain's heart skipped a beat. "Is he really going all out right from the start? He's going to attack us with his full power!" he thought quickly.

"Slowpoke, Teleport, let's go!" Seeing that Golduck was about to unleash his attack, Cain quickly gave the order.

"Yadon~" Slowpoke immediately responded, and with his blue eyes full of psychic power, a blue wave enveloped Cain, Murkrow, and himself.

Golduck, sensing Slowpoke's movement, who was also a Psychic-type Pokémon, stopped charging the move and fired his Hydro Pump, his strongest Water-type move.

A column of water the size of a person shot out from Golduck's mouth, quickly approaching Cain.

"Murkrow, use Protect!" With a cold gaze, Cain gave the order just in time.

A light green energy shield surrounded Murkrow, and with great effort, he expanded the shield, blocking the Hydro Pump.

"Slowpoke, quickly!" Murkrow could barely maintain the shield as the Hydro Pump, under Golduck's control, continued to fire.

"Yadon~" Slowpoke, realizing the situation, ignored the limit of his psychic power and, with a flash of blue light, enveloped Cain and his team in an increasingly powerful wave of energy.

In an instant, the psychic wave reached its peak, and with a flash of blue light, Cain, Murkrow, and Slowpoke disappeared from the spot.

"Bang!" The suppressed Hydro Pump exploded in the spot where Cain had been.

Golduck watched helplessly as the weak insects vanished before his eyes and felt his majesty as the supreme ruler had taken another hit. But when he thought of Cain's eyes, an inexplicable chill arose from his heart.

Golduck couldn't help but shudder and abandoned his intention of pursuing them. With a whistle, he dived back into the water and disappeared.

With a fluctuation of psychic energy, the trio reappeared in the cave behind the waterfall. Murkrow stumbled and fell to the ground, exhausted after barely holding on. Slowpoke also collapsed to one side, his spirit drained.

Cain's expression was unusually solemn as he said, "There really are many powerful Pokémon in this forest." He helped Murkrow up, gave him a few Pokéblocks, and then let him rest for a while.

"Slowpoke, use Calm Mind to restore your psychic energy," Cain said apologetically after looking at the slow Slowpoke. "If Slowpoke hadn't explosively used his psychic energy at the last moment, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

"Yadon~" Slowpoke let out a faint cry, then closed his eyes and began using Calm Mind. A slight wave of psychic energy appeared around him.

This move not only increased the user's special attack and special defense in battle, but it also enhanced the effects of psychic energy during regular training.

(End of chapter)