Chapter 164:

"Murkrow, keep an eye on the surroundings. Gastly, come here." Cain instructed Murkrow to watch for any disturbances while Gastly attempted to absorb Poison Gas for the first time.

Since it was Gastly's first attempt, there might be some danger involved. After all, the gases were of different types, and some rejection was inevitable. Gastly just needed to grit its teeth and endure it.

However, if a powerful Pokémon appeared and attacked Gastly while it was absorbing the gas, the preoccupied Gastly might be in real danger.

Fortunately, the wild Pokémon here weren't of a high level. Even if a surprise attacker appeared, Murkrow and the others could handle it.

Nevertheless, necessary precautions had to be taken.

Murkrow, Slowpoke, and Sneasel formed a protective circle around Cain and Gastly. Miltank and Skorupi stayed close to Cain, ready to prevent any unexpected incidents.

Cain retrieved a pitch-black, bottle-shaped device from his ring. It contained the last bit of poison gas extracted from a deceased Weezing.

This residual poison gas was a valuable commodity from Weezing, filled with potent poison-type energy. Gastly couldn't absorb it all at once, so Cain only planned to release a small amount to help Gastly develop a resistance.

Once everything was prepared, Cain slowly opened the device's nozzle under Gastly's determined gaze.

The device had been specially treated, as the poison gas would have corroded any ordinary material.

Cain carefully held the end of the device and pressed a button near the nozzle. A wisp of faint purple gas slowly drifted out.

The air instantly filled with a pungent, nauseating odor.

Cain frowned, not letting go of the bottle. His exposed hands felt a slight stinging sensation, as if a highly corrosive gas was close by.

After the gas had fully dispersed, Cain promptly closed the valve and put the device away.

Gastly, who had been ready and waiting nearby, pounced eagerly on the poisonous gas as soon as it emerged. The faint wisp of gas was instantly absorbed into the swirling gases surrounding Gastly.

Only after Gastly had absorbed the wisp did the foul smell in the air slowly dissipate.

Floating in the air, Gastly closed its eyes. With only a face to express itself, it displayed a wide range of emotions: happiness, joy, discomfort, and pain.

Other than Skorupi beside Cain, who seemed slightly agitated by the gas, none of the other Pokémon showed much of a reaction or discomfort. Skorupi, being a poison-type Pokémon, must have sensed the poison energy within the gas. An innate reaction from its bloodline told it that absorbing this gas would surely help it grow further.

Cain calmed Skorupi down but couldn't help furrowing his brow. If this poisonous gas held a significant allure for Skorupi, it was likely that other poison-type Pokémon would be drawn to it as well. Pokémon were far more sensitive to the energies in the air than humans, so even if Cain couldn't sense it, that didn't mean other poison-type Pokémon wouldn't.

In this tunnel, for instance, there were plenty of poison-type Zubats, and there might even be a few Golbats lurking around. As if to confirm Cain's thoughts, the sound of wings flapping began to emerge from within the tunnel, growing louder and more chaotic as numerous Pokémon drew nearer.

"Slowpoke, Calm Mind; Murkrow, Tailwind; Sneasel, Hone Claws!" Cain, while soothing Skorupi by his side, issued commands to his Pokémon. Preparing his team with stat-boosting moves, Cain believed that, even if they encountered a large number of wild Pokémon, they could handle it as long as they unleashed their full power.

Slowpoke closed its eyes and entered a meditative state. With its current familiarity with Calm Mind, it could meditate even while walking if it focused just a little attention on it. However, doing so would not only impair its ability to walk but also decrease its meditation efficiency.

Despite this, it was a significant improvement, and it had taken the first step towards Cain's goal of meditating while in motion.

Murkrow, on the other hand, stirred up flying-type energy around its body and cast Tailwind to boost the speed of its allies. Murkrow, with its Prankster ability, had a natural advantage with status moves, and it completed the boost almost instantly.

As for Sneasel, it stood quietly, except for its two claws that continuously emitted a grating sound, having entered an extremely calm state. Cain noticed that Sneasel, perhaps due to its ice-type attribute, always remained level-headed during battles. Even though their teamwork wasn't as seamless as with Murkrow and the others, Sneasel's composure allowed it to adapt and switch moves promptly as needed.

Lately, Cain's and Sneasel's rapport had been growing rapidly. Unbeknownst to it, that lingering doubt in its heart about Cain had gradually dissipated. He believed that as long as Cain remained sincere, he would eventually open up to him and accept Cain completely.

Soon, the speedy Zubats appeared before Cain and his Pokemon.

At this point, Gastly barely managed to open its eyes a sliver, showing Cain an apologetic expression.

If Gastly could absorb the Poison-type energy more quickly, it wouldn't have caused such trouble for Cain and the others.

Seeing Gastly's expression, Cain smiled slightly and reassured it, "Don't worry, Gastly. Just focus on absorbing the energy. These Pokémon are nothing but a small challenge for Murkrow and the others. They haven't been fighting at full strength all this time, so this is a great chance for them to let off some steam."

As if to confirm Cain's words, Murkrow let out an impressive cry.

Though Murkrow wasn't the most powerful among Cain's Pokémon—Slowpoke and Sneasel were stronger—it definitely held the position of the team's "big brother."

Murkrow never showed fear due to its own lack of strength, nor did it assume that it was the most important member of the team simply because it was Cain's first Pokémon.

Instead, it demonstrated its duty as an older sibling in both daily behavior and battle. It never demanded anything of the other Pokémon but quietly contributed to the team.

Murkrow would do anything that might be helpful to Cain.

For example, when Sneasel first joined the team, it was quite hostile towards Murkrow and Slowpoke. However, Murkrow believed that as fellow members of Cain's team, there shouldn't be any barriers between them, as it could negatively impact future battles.

Thus, it went with Slowpoke to apologize to Sneasel and ask for forgiveness. It was because of this that Sneasel's prejudice against Murkrow and Slowpoke lessened, and now they could cooperate in battle.