Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

Watching Pinsir's actions, Cain almost laughed out loud. This was one of the differences between wild Pokémon and those with a trainer. Without someone to guide them, they rely on their own intelligence and instincts to fight—how could he not take advantage of that?

"Keep using Thief!"

Pinsir was tensing its body tightly, but what it didn't know was that its opponent was waiting for it to use that move. The familiar dark aura surrounded it once again, and the effect of Murkrow's Thief move manifested once more.

Pinsir was puzzled after trying to use the move Harden. Although it didn't use it often, it shouldn't have any effect, right? Unwilling to give up, it used Harden again.

This time, it finally saw the dark aura flying from its side toward Murkrow. Although it didn't know what it was, it realized it was all the work of that annoying dark bird in the sky, which it had never seen before.

And at that moment, Murkrow was feeling incredible. With the double boost from Harden, it felt like it was covered in armor, and its feathers had become so tough that they made a metallic sound when they rubbed together.

Pinsir could only roar in frustration, powerless to do anything else.

After enduring another gust of wind, Pinsir gave up, turned around, and fled. Against such a shameless opponent, all it could do was run away.

But, while Pinsir had a base speed of 85, Murkrow also had a speed of 91 points, and it was boosted by Tailwind. Could Pinsir escape? The answer was clearly no.

Under a series of powerful attacks from Murkrow with the effect of Focus Energy, Pinsir finally collapsed, helpless in its attempt to flee.

However, this time Cain didn't let Murkrow finish it off. It wasn't that he felt sorry for Pinsir or wanted to catch it, but he thought this Pinsir was an excellent Pokémon to train against.

Defeating Pinsir caused Murkrow to level up, reaching level 13, which showed that defeating such a high-level opponent gave it a great amount of experience.

"Craw!" Murkrow cried out energetically after defeating Pinsir. It had never had such a satisfying battle... or rather, such a satisfying attack.

Who wouldn't want to attack without having to worry about being attacked back?

Paying no more attention to the fallen Pinsir, Cain ignored it. Since he had already decided that Pinsir would be the perfect target to train and level up Murkrow, whether Pinsir should feel grateful or sorry for its luck remained unknown.

Slowly walking toward the large tree, Cain looked up and realized the tree was much bigger up close than it had seemed from a distance. Its dense branches and leaves stretched out like a green cloud, blocking the sun and casting a refreshing shadow on the ground.

Cain grabbed a nearby dry branch and began digging into the soft soil beneath the tree.

Without tools, he could only do it in a rudimentary way. Fortunately, the earth was soft, and with a bit of effort, he could drive the branch into the ground.

As Cain concentrated on digging, Murkrow had already made a complete circle around the tree and was now perched on one of the larger branches, nodding repeatedly as if admiring the tree.

As a Flying-type Pokémon, it had a natural affinity with trees.

"Bang!" As he dug hard, Cain hit a solid object.

He put the branch aside and used his hands to clear the dirt from the object, revealing a metal box that glimmered in the sunlight.

He had only dug about ten centimeters deep. Cain realized why it had been so easy to dig: they probably hadn't tried to bury it very deep, just enough to hide it.

Carefully, Cain pulled the metal box out of the ground, shook it slightly; it wasn't heavy. After brushing the dirt off the surface, it revealed a completely silver box.

Murkrow flew down quickly and stood beside him, curiously eyeing the box.

Cain sat cross-legged, placing the silver box on his lap. There was a small lock securing the lid.

"Murkrow, gently open this lock," Cain instructed Murkrow.

With a "clink!", the lock was easily destroyed by Murkrow, with no effort.

Slowly opening the box, Cain found a palm-sized disc emitting a white glow. Apart from this disc, there was nothing else inside the box.

Seeing the contents of the box, Cain couldn't help but feel his facial muscles twitch.

First, a treasure map valued at just 100 points, then a rudimentary map drawn with questionable accuracy, a barely hidden burial site, and finally, a big box with just one disc inside.

The whole Rocket team's operation seemed so careless that Cain didn't know what to think. Although he knew these treasures were just to entertain the trial participants, this was the first time he had encountered something so random.

He shook his head to clear the disorganized thoughts.

Although this 100-point treasure box didn't contain much, Cain was satisfied with its contents. If he wasn't mistaken, that disc was a Technical Machine, also known as a TM.

As for what move it contained, it could only be known by using a special machine, unless there was some special indication. However, since the disc emitted a white glow, it was likely a Normal-type move.

Regardless of the move, it was definitely worth more than 100 points.

After closing the box, he stored it in the storage system. Since he didn't need it now, he would check it the next time he returned to the base to see if Murkrow could learn the move. If not, he could sell the disc to Team Rocket and exchange it for some points.

Team Rocket had a points system that allowed participants to earn points not only through the trials but also by trading items or completing missions. Both outside and on this trial island, Team Rocket maintained this system.

However, earning points wasn't easy.

On the island, Cain had taken a look at the available missions at Team Rocket's base. Most of them were simple tasks like cleaning or collecting berries and herbs.

Even though Cain had spent only 80 points to trade for berries, gathering berries would only give a few points. Tasks like cleaning awarded only one point per completed task.

However, Cain guessed this was because the new recruits had just arrived on the island, and the more difficult missions weren't available to them yet.

Although Team Rocket had no qualms about the participants' deaths, they didn't want to waste this resource without reason. After all, the participants were trainers with Pokémon, and even if they weren't very strong, they were more useful than ordinary people.

Additionally, Team Rocket offered 70% of the exchange value for items sold to them. That is, an item worth 100 points would only give you 70 points if sold, ensuring that Team Rocket never lost out in a deal.

Despite this, many still traded valuable items for points due to the rare things Team Rocket offered.

Thus, the only person likely willing to spend 100 points on a treasure map was that fat guy who wanted to try his luck.

But in the end, Cain and Murkrow benefited.

Though Cain found Team Rocket's careless attitude ridiculous, he was satisfied with this treasure. If he was lucky and the disc contained a rare move, it could be worth thousands of points.

After storing the box with the disc in the storage system, Cain didn't rush to leave. Instead, he rested his head on his hand and began to ponder.

The plan he had set for Murkrow over the week was now complete, and it seemed that Murkrow had regained much of its strength. Whether it had reached its optimal state, Cain didn't know.

Since the plan was complete, and with more than two months left on the island, it was necessary to design a detailed plan for the future.

First, due to limited resources and time, Cain didn't plan to capture more Pokémon on the island. After all, only one Pokémon could be used in the trial. Focusing on training Murkrow was the priority.

Second, leveling up Murkrow was crucial. Since it hadn't dared to battle much in the past, Murkrow's level was relatively low compared to the other participants.

During the treasure hunt, Cain developed a plan. And after defeating that level 18 Pinsir, he was confident in its viability.

Murkrow, being a Dark and Flying-type Pokémon, was strong against Psychic and Ghost-types, although those types were rare on the island. But Murkrow also had an advantage over Grass, Bug, and Fighting-types, and these Pokémon were abundant on the island.

Additionally, the two areas Cain had passed earlier—the Weedle and Caterpie territories—were practically perfect training grounds for Flying-type Pokémon.

Although Weedle would evolve into Kakuna and Caterpie into Metapod, that wouldn't be a significant problem. Even if swarms of Beedrill or Butterfree appeared, Murkrow, with Tailwind and the Prankster ability, could employ guerrilla tactics without much risk.

(End of chapter)