Pokemon: Rising From The Dark

Aoki, who had packed up the spoils, asked Miltank to restore stamina to the Murkrow.

Inexplicably, Aoki suddenly felt a gaze watching him.

Originally, when he was fighting with the two, he felt it, and he always thought it was one of them, but now that both had kneeled, the gaze was still there.

He raised his head and looked around, but there was no movement.

But this lack of movement was the strangest thing.

The battle was over. Even if it had been quiet due to the previous fight, it was a little too quiet now.

Suddenly, Aoki seemed to see a black shadow flashing on a big tree fifty or sixty meters away. If it wasn't for the fact that he had always felt eyes watching him, Aoki might have thought it was just an illusion.

After the shadow left, Aoki felt the sensation of being watched disappear.

He was even more certain that he had been watched by that dark shadow before.

Aoki gradually frowned.

Although it was only fleeting, Aoki could still see something. The shadow was very fast, and it was not big or tall. It was definitely not a human, so it could only be a Pokémon.

Moreover, a Pokémon that could climb trees and move so agilely was obviously not one of the larger, four-legged kinds, ruling out several possibilities.

What surprised him was that the most sensitive Pokémon in his team hadn't noticed the prying eyes in the distance.

Shaking his head, he temporarily let go of the matter. Since the other party did not attack, it meant they were still wary of Aoki and his Pokémon, or perhaps the Pokémon was simply curious and had no hostility.

After cleaning up the loot, Aoki left quickly with his Pokémon. The smell of blood would attract many wild Pokémon, making it unsuitable to stay for long.

What Aoki didn't know was that after he left, a black shadow appeared in the clearing. If Aoki's eyes had been sharp enough, he would have recognized that this shadow was the same one that had been secretly watching them before.

The shadow stood in front of a dead Koffing and didn't move, but after a moment, it vanished once again.

...

After leaving the battlefield, Aoki took his Pokémon deeper into the forest.

The patches of sunlight on the ground gradually lessened, and the woods became denser as they went further in. The trees' branches and leaves grew wider, casting more shade.

The temperature gradually dropped as they approached the iceberg.

Because there was almost no one here, Aoki let his Pokémon roam freely instead of keeping them in their Pokéballs.

Since leaving the Trial Island, his Pokémon's leveling speed had slowed down. Although they had spent a few days battling in the forest between Goldenrod City and Ecruteak City to compensate, their growth still hadn't met Aoki's expectations.

However, passing through this forest was necessary to reach the iceberg, giving them another opportunity to train.

The wild Pokémon here were clearly stronger than those in the forest between Goldenrod and Ecruteak. Presumably, the environment here was harsher, and human interference was minimal.

For example, a Level 30 Persian was currently fighting Murkrow and Miltank.

Pokémon: Persian

Gender: Female

Level: 30

Type: Normal

Ability: Technician

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Fake Tears, Foul Play

Basic Moves: Swift, Play Rough, Pay Day, Bite, Screech, Quick Attack, Taunt, Feint Attack, Fury Swipes, Shadow Claw

Taught Moves: Iron Tail, Water Pulse, Snatch

TM Moves: None

Though its potential was only average, its high level and Technician ability made its Quick Attack and Fury Swipes exceptionally troublesome for Murkrow.

If it weren't for Miltank's healing, they might not have been able to keep up.

Gastly didn't participate, choosing to stay near Aoki to guard against surprise attacks. Additionally, Persian's Normal typing made it immune to Ghost-type moves, and Gastly's Poison-type moves weren't well-developed yet. The Poison-type moves Aoki had obtained from the Game Corner hadn't been taught to it yet.

Normal-types weren't super-effective against anything except Ghost, and they themselves were only weak to Fighting-types.

Unfortunately, none of Aoki's Pokémon had Fighting-type moves.

As a result, the battle became awkward. Persian was extremely fast, having lived in the wild for years and relying on speed to survive.

Fortunately, Miltank was able to block its escape routes. Unable to flee, Persian was eventually cornered and defeated through coordinated attacks from Murkrow and Slowpoke under Aoki's precise commands.

Aoki swiftly threw a Pokéball and captured the Persian.

A Level 30 Persian with the Technician ability was valuable. Selling it to the Hunter's Guild would net him a decent profit.

Lately, Aoki had started seeing wild Pokémon as little more than Pokécoins. A sign of just how deeply poverty had shaped his mindset.

Taking the Pokéball from the eager Gastly, he shrank it down, locked it, and pocketed it.

Persian hadn't sustained many injuries, mainly collapsing from exhaustion. A short rest would be enough for recovery, so no treatment was needed.

Just as he put the Pokéball away, Aoki had that feeling again—he was being watched.

His hands briefly hesitated, but he pretended not to notice.

"Slowpoke, use Telepathy to sense if any Pokémon are hiding nearby and observing us," Aoki said softly, keeping his movements casual.

Slowpoke hesitated for a moment but followed the command. His Psychic energy spread out, flowing through the trees and underbrush. However, he sensed nothing.

Slowpoke slowly shook his head, signaling that he had found nothing.

Aoki's frown deepened, but he didn't react outwardly.

Just as he was considering sending Murkrow to investigate, the sensation disappeared once again.

If he hadn't felt it twice now, he might have dismissed it as his imagination.

But this time, he no longer believed it was meaningless. Once might be a coincidence, but twice was suspicious.

"Let's go find a place to prepare dinner first," Aoki finally said.

Since the feeling had vanished again, whoever—or whatever—was watching them had already left, making further action pointless.

The sun was setting, and the most pressing task now was to find a good camping spot.