Chapter 193: Interrogation

As the middle-aged man led Cain inside, he intentionally looked down at the ground and noticed there were no footprints from Cain, making it clear what Cain was implying.

The middle-aged man, realizing this, said nothing, but when he glanced at Cain from the corner of his eye, he no longer showed any emotion.

Both continued walking toward the end of the tunnel, each with different thoughts.

After ten minutes of walking, neither stopped, and the middle-aged man didn't ask Cain why they hadn't found the tools he had mentioned.

It seemed they had reached a tacit agreement: they wouldn't speak, but the distance between them kept growing.

Gradually, the two, who had been walking side by side, moved apart, each to a different side of the tunnel.

After walking another ten minutes, almost reaching the end of the tunnel, the middle-aged man suddenly stopped, and the friendly smile disappeared from his face.

With a grim look, he stared at Cain. "Brother, we're almost at the end. Where are the tools you talked about?"

As he spoke, he took a Poké Ball from his belt, ready to summon his Pokémon at any moment.

"Heh, here it is. What you're looking for is my tool," Cain let out a cold laugh.

In truth, at any point along the way, Cain could have had his Slowpoke take care of this middle-aged man, but he hadn't acted.

He wanted to know why this man had killed someone. If Cain wasn't mistaken, he probably knew the person he killed; perhaps they were even friends.

In reality, Cain didn't care who he had killed; what interested him was the motive.

To kill someone for the first time and remain so calm is rare, even in Team Rocket. He wouldn't be a bad subordinate, of course, as long as Cain could keep him under control.

"What do you know?" The middle-aged man, upon hearing Cain, grew even more grim, his face darkening, his eyes beginning to fill with blood, on the verge of losing control.

Cain looked at him and smiled mysteriously.

"You look very strong, but your steps are clumsy, as if you're trying to hide it. However, the red veins in your eyes give you away, and the faint scent of blood on your body shows that you tried to clean the traces, but you didn't quite succeed. This is your first time killing, isn't it? And you killed someone you knew?"

Cain's words were like daggers, slowly stabbing into the middle-aged man's heart, hitting each of his weak spots.

"What do you know?" the middle-aged man roared, immediately throwing his Poké Ball to summon his Pokémon. A Graveler appeared in the tunnel.

Pokémon: Graveler (Dark Yellow)

Gender: Male

Level: 26

Type: Rock + Ground

Ability: Sturdy

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Block, Endure

Basic Moves: Tackle, Defense Curl, Mud Sport, Rock Polish, Rollout, Magnitude, Rock Throw, Smack Down, Bulldoze, Self-Destruct

Learned Moves: Stealth Rock, Snore

TM Moves: Take Down

Cain ignored the appearance of Graveler.

Seeing that his Pokémon was a Slowpoke, yet sending out a Graveler... that was unheard of.

Cain continued, "It seems I was right in my assumptions. Is the item here in this tunnel? Buried deep down?"

The fact that he waited until they were so far into the tunnel to act suggests two things: first, that here the battle noise wouldn't attract attention, and second, that the item he's looking for is here, and he wants to make sure no one has taken it, neither Cain nor anyone else.

From his reaction, it seems no one has taken it.

He took out another Poké Ball. Since Cain hadn't responded to his question, he began to lose patience and decided to use force.

Although Cain's Slowpoke was a Water- and Psychic-type Pokémon and seemed somewhat special, it should be easy to defeat by combining his other Pokémon.

He hadn't even considered whether Cain had more Pokémon.

From his appearance, Cain looked like a rookie trainer from the League, and given his young age, he was probably someone who had just started his journey. Slowpoke might be his only Pokémon.

It was understandable that he would think this way; after all, a person's social environment influences their perspective.

Given that Cain, at his age, only had Pokémon of such a low level, this indicated that he didn't have much talent as a trainer, which likely meant that the people he associated with didn't either.

So, from his perspective, it made sense that Cain only had one Pokémon.

Moreover, he had easily defeated several friends he believed to be on his level, which inflated his confidence.

After a flash of red light, a Beedrill appeared in the tunnel.

A yellow-quality, level 22 Pokémon, quite strong for an average trainer.

No wonder he could defeat his friends. Having two yellow-quality Pokémon is rare among average trainers.

However, he didn't stop after summoning Beedrill. He took out another Poké Ball, and this time, without hesitation, threw it again with bloodshot eyes.

A Raticate, another yellow-quality Pokémon, level 21, appeared.

In reality, these three Pokémon were fairly average, but what really concerned Cain was Graveler's Self-Destruct move. In such a narrow tunnel, even if he relied on Diglett's work, a collapse might be unavoidable.

"Have you summoned them all?" Cain raised an eyebrow as he asked.

Evidently, all his assumptions were almost correct. This man was acting this way because it was his first time killing someone.

The stress of the murder, combined with the pressure Cain exerted by exposing all his hidden actions, had brought the man to the brink of collapse.

Cain didn't hesitate and took out all his Super Balls. He summoned Murkrow, Sneasel, Gastly, Miltank, and Skorupi.

When it comes to the number of Pokémon, Cain has never feared facing anyone.

If necessary, he could also bring out his Fearow and the two Grimer he had in reserve.

The middle-aged man saw Cain's Pokémon appearing one after another, and upon feeling their powerful presence, his face paled.

He finally understood that he had underestimated this young man, who, though he seemed friendly and easygoing, turned out to be far more dangerous than he had imagined.

(End of chapter)