Chapter 57: Dusk Stone

To be honest, Cain didn't really want to take advantage of the Gastly.

After all, although they appeared cunning and terrifying, after a brief period of interaction, he discovered that Gastly were not very different from other Pokémon: they were also a simple and honest species, although their appearance might not seem so benevolent.

What Cain mentioned was, in fact, the evolution stone. Whether or not the Gastly had seen it before, he was only going to mention it once. Being able to obtain the mission item smoothly and teach Slowpoke the telepathy skill had already fulfilled his goal.

What surprised Cain was that after he finished speaking, the old Gastly, with a strange expression, pulled out two black stones from a corner of the cave, floated over to Cain, and said, "You... are you talking about these stones?"

"..."

Cain watched as the Gastly used gases to form two virtual hands in the air, holding two black stones in its gaseous hands—stones known as Dusk Stones.

Cain couldn't help but be speechless. He had only spoken without much intention, and didn't expect the Gastly to actually pull out evolution stones, much less two at once.

The first to react upon seeing the two Dusk Stones in the Gastly's hands was Murkrow, who made a slight sound and then tugged on Cain's pant leg with its claw.

Murkrow stared at the two Dusk Stones, and though it didn't know why, a deep desire arose within, telling it that it must obtain those two strange stones. Those stones could make it much stronger, to the point where it would experience a qualitative change.

Although it didn't know why it had that thought, Murkrow tugged at Cain's pant leg again, signaling that it needed those stones.

Cain looked at Murkrow, knelt down, and gently stroked its feathers, softly saying, "Murkrow, I know, but don't rush. It's not time for you to use these stones yet."

Hearing Cain's voice, Murkrow also calmed down. Although the thought persisted in its mind, it knew Cain wouldn't hurt it. All it had to do was follow Cain's instructions.

Cain also understood why Murkrow was so excited—it was a kind of instinct in its blood. With a Dusk Stone, it could evolve into Honchkrow, and its power would increase tremendously.

But according to Cain's plan, Murkrow was still far from meeting the conditions necessary for evolution. Evolving now would be a total waste of its exceptional talent and potential.

Originally, Cain had no intention of coveting the Gastly's evolution stones, but he didn't expect the old Gastly to be so direct. He barely mentioned the stones, and Gastly actually pulled out two Dusk Stones.

"Oh, right." Cain had a small idea and quietly activated the system in his mind. The quality of the two Dusk Stones was scanned and revealed.

Dusk Stone (Mid-Level): A magical stone that allows specific Pokémon to evolve. It is black as night and can slightly enhance the Pokémon's potential.

Dusk Stone (Initial-Level): A magical stone that allows specific Pokémon to evolve. It is black as night. It enables the Pokémon to evolve, but does not optimize its potential.

"As I thought, just like in my past life, even evolution stones have different qualities that affect their effects. A mid-level evolution stone can slightly enhance a Pokémon's potential."

"If Murkrow uses a mid-level evolution stone, its potential might increase even more after evolving. Reaching dark green quality wouldn't be impossible." Cain reflected silently.

"So what if it were a higher-level evolution stone?" Cain couldn't help but think of the possibility. Although the chances of finding a high-level evolution stone were very low, Murkrow wasn't at the point where it needed to evolve yet.

It could wait, right?

Without rejecting the offer, Cain silently stowed the two evolution stones into his Team Rocket belt and said, "Thank you."

"It's only fair. You help us, and we help you. Besides, these two stones are of no use to us. We only kept them because they contain too much power; otherwise, we wouldn't have found what you were looking for so quickly." The old Gastly explained.

Cain nodded slightly.

In fact, Dusk Stones are only effective for Pokémon that need an evolution stone to evolve, and they serve no special purpose for the Gastly.

After finishing, the old Gastly's eyes filled with dark energy. A visible gas began to spread from its body toward Slowpoke.

"Caw!" Seeing what the old Gastly was doing, Murkrow was alarmed and prepared to attack.

After all, Slowpoke was its companion, and Murkrow wouldn't allow anyone to hurt it.

Cain raised a hand to stop the tense Murkrow, who was ready to attack, and observed the old Gastly, narrowing his eyes. Although he didn't know what Gastly was doing, he suspected it had to do with telepathy, and besides, Slowpoke wasn't showing any signs of resistance.

They didn't have to wait long. The dark gas disappeared from Slowpoke's body and slowly returned to Gastly.

"All done, I've taught him telepathy." The old Gastly's voice echoed in Cain's mind again. Just as he had suspected, it was teaching Slowpoke how to use telepathy.

"His talent is very high, he just needed a guide." The old Gastly continued, "I can sense great power within him, but he hasn't fully mastered it. You'll need to guide him well, human."

Cain nodded. He knew Slowpoke had immense talent, but didn't expect it hadn't yet reached its limit.

"Master..." Suddenly, a voice like that of a child appeared in Cain's mind.

Cain looked at Slowpoke in surprise, whose eyes emitted a faint blue glow. Evidently, that was its voice.

"Is that you, Slowpoke?" Cain asked.

Slowpoke nodded, but didn't use telepathy again. It seemed it wasn't yet used to the ability, and being naturally shy, wasn't very talkative.

Cain patted Slowpoke's soft pale pink head and smiled encouragingly, saying, "Don't worry, we'll take it slow. You'll learn how to use it eventually."

"Mm-hmm!" Slowpoke's voice echoed again. Judging by human standards, Slowpoke was probably like an adorable child.

Murkrow also heard Slowpoke's voice in its mind. As Pokémon, they didn't need mental communication, but it found it quite interesting. Murkrow flew around Slowpoke a few times, curious that its companion had learned such a fun ability, making Slowpoke feel a little embarrassed.

Telepathy is a very special ability. It doesn't mean you can learn another species' language, but rather it's a form of mental communication. The voice you hear is just a mental simulation, not actual verbal communication.

With that, Cain's journey was nearly complete. He was very satisfied with the results, the most valuable being the acquisition of the Larvitar egg. Although it was said that it couldn't hatch, as long as the egg wasn't dead, there must be a way to hatch it; he just needed to find it.

The second major achievement was obtaining the ten bottles of geocentric cleansing milk, which were an enormous fortune. If elite trainers knew about it, they might be tempted to act.

After that, the two Dusk Stones were an unexpected reward.

(End of chapter)