Chapter 149:

Cain had been reluctant to sell these Pokémon earlier, fearing that it would attract unwanted attention. Now that he was in Saffron City, however, he knew that the black market operated under Team Rocket's control – there was no better place to offload the captured Pokémon. But he decided to wait until Umbra appeared before making his move.

In the meantime, Cain began pondering the future training direction of his own Pokémon. Murkrow and Slowpoke had been with him from the beginning, and their development had always been tailored to their strengths. All they needed now were a few more moves to expand their range of attacks.

As for Gastly, it had joined Cain's team early on but was relatively underpowered compared to the rest of his main lineup. Although it had progressed rapidly in recent times, it still ranked near the bottom among his Pokémon.

One reason was that Gastly hadn't evolved yet, leaving its battle capabilities somewhat limited. Another reason was that Gastly's Poison-type attribute hadn't been developed fully, and its combat rhythm wasn't well-established. Cain didn't pressure Gastly to reach a specific level, as the timing wasn't quite right.

In the following period, Gastly would likely become a primary focus for Cain's training efforts.

Gastly would evolve into Haunter at level 25, and it was now level 20—almost there.

Cain had previously acquired the potent Toxic move at the gaming arcade but hadn't taught it to Gastly yet.

The plan was to develop Gastly's Poison-type attribute further before teaching it the move, which would enhance the effectiveness of its Poison-type moves.

Since leaving the Trial Island, Gastly had been consuming Pokéblocks that subtly enhanced its Ghost and Poison-type attributes. Its Poison-type energy was now quite substantial, but it still hadn't met Cain's expectations.

Once Gastly mastered moves like Rest, Toxic, and Sleep Talk, and paired them with Destiny Bond, Substitute, and Perish Song, it—or rather, Haunter—would become one of the most formidable members of Cain's team. Even higher-level opponents would likely be worn down, as long as the level gap wasn't too wide.

So, during their trip to the black market, Cain's primary goal was to find items that would boost Gastly's Poison-type energy.

Next up was Miltank, the Pokémon Cain originally bought for Skorupi. Despite its light-green aptitude, Miltank had integrated well with the team.

Miltank hadn't been developed as a main battle Pokémon, so it had only been consuming intermediate Pokéblocks.

In the black market, Cain planned to purchase materials suited for Miltank to create specialized, high-grade Pokéblocks.

Even if Miltank primarily served a supporting role, Cain would treat all his Pokémon fairly.

Moreover, Miltank's role within the team wasn't limited to just that. Apart from battling, Miltank was the most responsible member, always helping Cain with various tasks and maintaining the relationships among the Pokémon.

As the only female on the team, her status was high, and she was respected by all, from the earliest addition of Murkrow to the most recent, Sneasel.

Of course, the battle Miltank had with Arbok played a crucial role in her importance to the team.

Moreover, Miltank's milk had now become an indispensable part of the team's routine.

...

Then there was Sneasel, the proud and tsundere Pokémon Cain had recently caught.

Although it verbally resisted, its actions proved it to be more honest than it let on.

Deep down, Sneasel resisted Cain's presence, but after a few days together, that resistance was slowly fading. However, it would still take some time for it to fully let its guard down.

When Sneasel joined the team, it was already the highest-leveled member. Perhaps due to Murkrow and Slowpoke's relentless attacks during their battle, it still harbored some resentment.

Though he never went too far out of line, Sneasel sometimes appeared indifferent towards Murkrow and Slowpoke.

In fact, Cain suspected that Miltank held a higher place in Sneasel's heart than he himself did, which was a bit frustrating for him.

However, Cain believed that with more time spent together, these issues would be resolved.

Sneasel's weakness stemmed from living alone in the wild for too long, gradually developing its own battle habits. It had yet to build a combat rapport with Cain, and it didn't respond to his commands as promptly as Murkrow and Slowpoke, who were ready to act even before he gave an order.

During battles, Sneasel was always half a beat slow. Against weaker opponents, this wasn't a problem, but against equally or more powerful adversaries, this became a significant weakness.

As such, Sneasel and Gastly were the two Pokémon Cain planned to focus on training next – one for honing physical attributes, the other for developing combat awareness and synergy.

Moreover, Sneasel was currently consuming only ordinary mid-level Pokéblocks. On his next trip to the black market, Cain intended to gather materials to create custom high-level Pokéblocks for Sneasel.

Murkrow, Slowpoke, Gastly, Miltank, and Sneasel were the Pokémon in Cain's current lineup with combat capabilities.

Of course, with Miltank serving in a support role, Cain effectively had only four combat-ready Pokémon.

Murkrow and Slowpoke made a good team, while Gastly and Sneasel had strong individual combat skills.

Another Pokémon, Skorupi, was still in its infancy. However, it had recently been spending less time asleep.

According to data obtained through the AI system's scan, Skorupi's various physical parameters were gradually reaching perfect balance, and it seemed it would soon enter its growth phase.

When that time came, Cain would have another Pokémon to train.

Fortunately, Cain had already prepared the custom high-level Pokéblocks Skorupi would need for its growth.

In the early stages, Skorupi wouldn't need to participate in battles, so Cain could delay deciding on its move set, focusing first on his primary combat Pokémon's moves before considering Skorupi's.

Lastly, there was Fearow, which Cain used for transportation and did not consider a true part of his Pokémon team, nor did he need it for combat.

Once Cain captured another Pokémon capable of carrying passengers while flying, Fearow would become redundant. He would be willing to release it back into the wild or sell it.

"System, set up two tasks: analyze the ingredients needed for custom high-level Pokéblock recipes suitable for Miltank and Sneasel."

"Beep... Beep... Task... Task established."

The AI system was becoming more and more laggy, causing Cain to worry that the excessive data might destroy it entirely. That would truly be a devastating loss for him.