Chapter 181: Skorupi's Capture

As expected, when Cain woke up the next morning, Skorupi, who originally fit in the palm of his hand, had grown to the size of a basketball.

Scanning it with the system, Skorupi's data had also changed:

Pokémon: Skorupi (Light Blue)

Sex: Male

Level: 5

Type: Poison + Bug

Ability: Sniper

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Screech, Agility, Poison Tail, Pursuit

Basic Moves: Bite, Poison Sting, Leer, Knock Off

Learned Moves: None

TM Moves: None

Skorupi had gone from level 1 to level 5, officially becoming a battle-ready Pokémon.

When Skorupi woke up, it wasn't used to its new body. It looked at Cain's shoulder, then at itself, and realized it no longer fit there.

Cain crouched down, petted Skorupi's shell, and asked with a smile, "Skorupi, from now on, you'll start fighting. Are you ready?"

Skorupi felt so comforted by Cain's petting that it quickly forgot the odd feeling of having grown.

When Cain took out a Super Ball, Skorupi willingly approached and touched the center of the Poké Ball, being absorbed by a red light.

There was no resistance. With a soft "ding," Skorupi was officially captured by Cain.

After releasing it again, Skorupi officially became a battle Pokémon, one of Cain's primary Pokémon, no longer a growing baby.

It's undeniable that Bug-type Pokémon have a very short growth cycle. In such a short time, Skorupi had passed its infancy phase. If it were another Pokémon, the infancy stage would have lasted at least a month.

However, compared to Pokémon like Beedrill or Butterfree, Skorupi was already evolving more slowly.

Cain remembered selling a Weedle egg to Umbra on Challenge Island. In just a week, that egg became a Beedrill, though Umbra had sped up its growth. The growth rate of Bug-type Pokémon is truly impressive.

But Beedrill reaches its final evolution at level 10. In the wild, it could even evolve at a lower level.

Skorupi, on the other hand, will only evolve into Drapion at level 40. This pace is considered extremely slow among Bug-type Pokémon.

As far as Cain remembers, aside from Drapion, only Armaldo and Volcarona evolve after level 40, and both Pokémon are incredibly powerful after evolving.

Especially Volcarona, which in parts of the Unova region is revered as a deity and considered the embodiment of the sun. Its power is undeniable.

Although a Pokémon's evolution doesn't necessarily become better if it happens at a higher level, it's undeniable that those that evolve at higher levels often experience a greater power transformation.

The most typical example is the pseudo-legendary Pokémon of each region. None of them reach their final evolution before level 40, and their power is undeniable.

Therefore, although Skorupi is a Bug-type Pokémon, its potential is considerable.

After capturing Skorupi in its growth stage, Cain felt he had resolved an important concern.

With Slowpoke, he left the Saffron City Pokémon Center.

Since Umbra had instructed him to strengthen his power without assigning specific missions, Cain decided to make the most of the month and a half he had to boost his Pokémon's strength as quickly as possible.

Since the rules of the challenge were unclear and not limited to a single Pokémon, Cain couldn't focus on training only one or two. He would have to train all his Pokémon to be ready for the final challenge in a month and a half.

Cain devised a suitable plan and divided that month and a half into three fifteen-day phases.

During the first fifteen-day phase, Cain planned to train his Pokémon to reach a uniform level, with Skorupi and Gastly as the primary training targets.

Of course, being primary targets doesn't mean the other Pokémon will be ignored, just given slightly less attention.

During the second fifteen-day phase, Cain planned to take his Pokémon into the forest for a survival exercise in the wild. Only by facing unexpected situations could they develop agile response abilities.

Moreover, in society, situations that represent life-threatening danger are few. Only by getting his Pokémon accustomed to fighting on the brink of survival could they be ready for Team Rocket's challenges.

In the third fifteen-day phase, Cain planned to face many Pokémon trainers so his Pokémon could get used to battles against trainers. If Team Rocket's final challenge involved a rotating battle format, this would give them an advantage.

However, this was only Cain's preliminary plan. He was open to adjusting it if unexpected situations arose.

For now, he would follow this plan, and Cain decided that his destination would be Mauville City in the Hoenn region.

It's said that Mauville City in the Hoenn region has a large number of fighters and various Pokémon trainers. Trainers from all regions gather there to engage in Pokémon battles.

This fit with the third phase of Cain's plan, so he decided to head there.

To reach Mauville City, there were two ways to do it.

One option was to take a plane directly from Saffron City Airport to Mauville City. This would save time and be a safe journey.

The other option was to head first to Vermilion City in the Kanto region, then take a boat to Slateport City in the Hoenn region, and finally head to Mauville City.

Slateport City is the ninth-largest city in the Pokémon world, a very developed city only slightly smaller than Saffron City in the Kanto region.

Once in Slateport City, Cain would need to travel north, passing through a stretch of forest to reach Mauville City.

For Cain, taking a plane wasn't an option, as it didn't provide any training opportunities.

Thus, Cain decided to travel on foot to Vermilion City and then take a boat to Slateport City.

This solo journey would not only protect his identity but also allow him to train his Pokémon specifically, achieving two goals in one.

Cain packed everything he needed into his storage space.

This time, Cain had prepared a lot of supplies in his ring, nearly filling up his five cubic meters of storage space.

He didn't know how long he'd be away before returning to a big city with a black market, so he decided to be well-prepared.

After leaving the Pokémon Center, Cain took a taxi to the southern end of Saffron City, at the intersection with Route 6.

Passing by the famous Pokémon Daycare, Cain chose not to enter and continued onward.

Perhaps his previous trick on the young woman had already been discovered by her grandparents, and to avoid awkward situations, Cain decided to go around the daycare and continue on Route 6.

(End of chapter)