Pokemon: Rising From The Dark

In fact, when it comes to fighting this Sneasel, Aoki really has a headache.

Because of the Dark Type and the Ice Type, although the attack coverage is relatively wide, Aoki thought about it carefully and realized that he really does not have a Pokémon that can counter these attributes effectively.

Even if he relies on neutral damage, there aren't many options.

Only Murkrow's Flying-type moves, Slowpoke's Water-type moves, and Koffing's Poison-type moves could deal neutral damage.

Only Miltank was not at a disadvantage against Sneasel.

Slowpoke, who specializes in Psychic-type moves, was completely ineffective, and Murkrow's Dark-type moves would be resisted. As for Koffing, its Ghost-type moves wouldn't be effective either.

Thinking of this, Aoki felt that the Miracle Eye strategy should be put into action.

In the past Pokémon games, Slowpoke shouldn't be able to learn Miracle Eye, but this is reality, not a game. As long as you find the right method and training, there is a chance to teach it.

Coincidentally, Aoki had already obtained this method in his past life.

Back then, he met a Trainer at the Elite level who was able to make all of their Psychic-type Pokémon learn Miracle Eye.

Aoki had obtained this knowledge at a high price and was planning to train a powerful Psychic-type Pokémon, but before he could carry out the plan, he was reborn in this world.

So now, teaching Slowpoke Miracle Eye was crucial; otherwise, it would always be at a disadvantage against Dark-types.

Although it still had Water-type moves to rely on, its Psychic-type abilities were its main strength, and Water moves were just secondary.

This situation also proved that despite having great offensive coverage, facing a well-rounded opponent could be difficult without the right counters.

"Zorua!"

In the end, Sneasel couldn't resist the temptation of Aoki's two bottles of Moomoo Milk.

But in reality, it had no other choice—Aoki had already blocked all its escape routes. Even if it didn't agree to battle, it would be forced to. At least this way, if it won, it would get two bottles of milk.

Carefully, Sneasel placed the half-drunk milk bottle on the ground and screwed the cap back on.

Its instinct to protect its food was clear.

"Don't worry, I won't take your milk," Aoki reassured.

For some unknown reason, seeing Sneasel's reaction made Aoki feel a pang of emotion.

He saw a reflection of himself in it.

When he first came to this world, he was an orphan with no parents, and the strange environment and harsh reality nearly broke him.

Before being captured by Team Rocket for experimentation, he had wandered through various garbage dumps just to find food.

Survival was his only goal. Becoming a Trainer had never even crossed his mind.

But no matter what, there were always people who would try to take away the little he had. Back then, he must have looked just like Sneasel—clutching whatever food he could find, trying to protect it from others.

It was that time in his life when he first saw the truth of this world. The so-called beautiful world of Pokémon was nothing more than a utopia—beneath the surface, darkness thrived.

Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, Aoki refocused. Now was not the time for hesitation. If he wanted to control his own fate, he had to become stronger. This Sneasel in front of him—he had to catch it, no matter what.

If Slowpoke couldn't beat it, he'd send in Murkrow. If that didn't work, Miltank would step in. In the wild, outnumbering an opponent was just another survival tactic.

Hearing Aoki's words, Sneasel was still skeptical.

How could he trust someone who just barged into its home and demanded a fight?

"Miltank, Miltank~~" Miltank called out, trying to ease the tension.

"Sneasel!" Sneasel interrupted, waving a claw dismissively.

Although it had no hostility toward Miltank—if anything, it felt some familiarity with her scent—it still considered her an enemy. It wasn't interested in listening. If a fight was coming, then so be it!

"Sneasel, Sneasel!"

Now that it had made up its mind, it stopped worrying about the milk and stepped forward, crossing its claws over its chest. Its sharp eyes locked onto Aoki—emotionless, like a cold-blooded assassin.

"Murkrow, Slowpoke, let's go!" Aoki commanded.

Sneasel's level and talent were higher than Murkrow's and Slowpoke's. It also had a natural advantage in terms of typing. If either of them fought one-on-one, they would lose. Even together, victory wasn't guaranteed.

The only advantage Murkrow and Slowpoke had was their teamwork.

Of course, after training under Aoki and consuming Pokeblocks for so long, their strength couldn't be measured by level alone.

"Zzzt—"

Sneasel moved first, crossing its glowing white claws over its chest, rubbing them together and making an unpleasant metallic screeching sound.

Sharpen Claws—boosting its Attack and Accuracy!

"Murkrow, Snatch!"

Sneasel's natural attack power was already high. If it boosted itself even more, the fight would become incredibly difficult.

Luckily, Murkrow's Prankster ability gave it priority when using status moves, allowing it to steal Sneasel's stat boost.

A faint black glow surrounded Murkrow's body, wrapping around its claws.

Sneasel suddenly froze—something was wrong. The satisfying sensation of sharpening its claws was… gone?

Instead, Murkrow's talons gleamed, having stolen the buff.

"Murkrow, set up Tailwind! Slowpoke, Water Gun!"

Taking advantage of Sneasel's moment of confusion, Aoki gave his next commands.

"Caw!" Murkrow flapped its wings, summoning a powerful gust of wind. This time, it didn't hold back—the Tailwind would benefit Slowpoke too.

Of course, Slowpoke was naturally slow, so it only felt a light breeze, but at least its movements were slightly quicker than before.

Following Aoki's order, Slowpoke fired a jet of water from its mouth, aiming straight at Sneasel!

But by now, Sneasel had snapped out of its daze. It dodged nimbly, closing the distance between itself and Slowpoke with alarming speed.

If Sneasel got close, the battle could take a dangerous turn.