Chapter 173:

Once all his Pokemon were out, Cain asked sternly, "Now, will you tell me what you're hiding and why you did what you did?"

Gazing at the increasingly desperate middle-aged man, there was no doubt this man had killed for the first time, and the lingering effects seemed significant. What could possibly have driven him to such extremes?

Cain had no problem with fighting for resources, as it was a dog-eat-dog world. To not fight meant not becoming a high-ranking figure within the Association. And for ordinary people, rising through the Association ranks was the goal they aspired to achieve.

"Enough talk! Graveler, use Stealth Rock! Beedrill, Focus Energy! Raticate, Sword Dance!" The middle-aged man's face was pale, but the bloodlust in his eyes showed no sign of diminishing. He clearly intended to bury Cain here.

Despite his fury, the man hadn't completely lost his rationality. His battle tactics were still sound. Stealth Rock would hinder fast Pokémon, while Beedrill and Raticate used buff moves. Raticate' Swords Dance, when executed successfully and combined with a powerful move like Hyper Fang, could potentially one-shot an opponent.

"Murkrow, use Snatch on Raticate! Slowpoke, use Confusion to control Water Gun, and aim at Graveler! Sneasel, Icy Wind!" Cain retorted. Seeing that his opponent had no intention of talking things through, he decided to take out the three Pokémon first, then negotiate.

Cain was cautious of Raticate's Sword Dance boost. However, Murkrow's Prankster ability combined with Snatch meant that as long as the level difference wasn't too great, almost all the opponent's status moves would be rendered ineffective.

Dark tendrils wrapped around Raticate as it prepared to use Sword Dance. So instead of Raticate getting the boost, Murkrow was the one who gained the benefits of Sword Dance!

Slowpoke's Water Gun, enveloped by Confusion, shot at Graveler with incredible speed. With Confusion's support, the power of Water-type moves could be amplified as long as the attack didn't need to change direction.

Graveler, weak to Water-type moves, stood no chance against Slowpoke. Since there were no Pokémon engaging in close combat, Stealth Rock had no effect.

Sneasel remained in place, unleashing Icy Wind. The enemy was unable to close the gap swiftly, and as they were close to the tunnel's end with their backs against the wall, they had no option but to withstand the frigid gust.

"Argh!" Graveler was the first to suffer, struggling to withstand the Water-type attack.

"Slowpoke, keep it up! Murkrow, Tailwind then follow up with Wing Attack on Beedrill! Sneasel, use Ice Shard!" Cain continued to issue attack commands, unfazed.

"Graveler, use Rock Throw on Slowpoke! Beedrill, fly up and use Fury Attack on Slowpoke! Raticate, use Hyper Fang after Quick Attack on Slowpoke!" The middle-aged man knew that of Cain's Pokémon, Slowpoke posed the greatest threat to his own trio. He wanted to eliminate Slowpoke first.

His prized Graveler was being completely countered by Slowpoke, unable to display its full power. If this continued, there would be no need to continue the battle.

However, he seemed to forget that Cain had more than three Pokémon. Gastly and Miltank eagerly awaited their turn.

As for ganging up, so what? This was a life-or-death battle in the wild, where losing meant death.

Both men had killed before. What did it matter if they killed one more?

"Gastly, use Fire Punch on Beedrill! Miltank, Endure, and then use Block to stop Raticate."

Slowpoke's Water Gun struck Graveler once more, causing it to wobble, barely able to maintain its footing. One more attack from Slowpoke, and Graveler would be completely incapacitated.

Beedrill had it the worst. Murkrow, empowered by Sword Dance and its double-effective Wing Attack, ruthlessly slammed it into the air. But that wasn't the end. Gastly closed in rapidly, its Fire Punch now significantly more refined. The condensed smoke fist, wreathed in flames, hammered Beedrill while it was still midair, sending it crashing to the ground.

With the combined force of Murkrow's Swords Dance-enhanced attack, the double-effective Flying-type move, and Gastly's doubly-effective Fire Punch, Beedrill was knocked out before it could even land a single attack.

As for Raticate, it appeared in front of Slowpoke after using Quick Attack. But just as it was about to use its deadly Hyper Fang, Miltank's massive body appeared in its path, having just used Endure. Without Sword Dance to support it, Hyper Fang's attack was only average, and it didn't trigger any special effects. So Miltank easily blocked Raticate's advance.

Sneasel's relentless Ice Shards battered Raticate, causing it to wince in pain and attempt to retreat. But Miltank wouldn't let it go so easily, stepping on its tail.

"Finish them off," Cain said calmly.

This battle had always been one-sided. Even without his command, his Pokémon's coordination would have made it a breeze.

Soon, both Graveler and Raticate collapsed, devoid of any signs of life.

As the middle-aged man watched his chances of victory vanish, he considered having Graveler use Self-Destruct, dragging Cain down with him. At least that would show some guts.

Then again, if he lacked guts, he wouldn't have attacked his own acquaintance for a few resources.

"Are you ready to talk now?" Cain approached, looking down at him.

The middle-aged man lay on the ground, his eyes empty, unable to comprehend this outcome.

As for Cain's question, he ignored it. In order to claim those resources for himself, he had killed his friends without hesitation. But now he wondered if it would have been better to have shared with them instead.

"Forgive me..." Those were his final words, whispered over and over, endlessly repeating.

That's just the way of the world. To become stronger, to walk further on the path of a Pokémon trainer, one must fight for resources, especially civilian trainers. The struggle for resources was essential and never-ending.

However, some people can't even find the door to that struggle. They don't have a chance to become trainers, which is why so many join Team Rocket willingly. Only then can they have the opportunity to shed their commoner status.

It was also because of this that Team Rocket could develop quickly and compete against the Association; fight for resources, fight for status, and fight for the right to speak.

Many organizations in different regions had utilized similar strategies to expand and strengthen their ranks.