Arbok

The first to be released was Miltank, the team's primary source of logistics. She provided Murkrow and Slowpoke with the highest quality milk to help them recover their strength. Combined with the replenishment of high-grade Pokeblocks, their conditions quickly returned to peak form.

"Alright, we've rested enough. Let's go pay a visit to the 'local snake' up here," Aoki said with a smile, standing up and brushing the dust off his pants.

"Caw!"

"Yeah!"

"Jie Jie!!"

When it came time to battle, Murkrow and Slowpoke grew excited, while Gastly eagerly wanted to join in. Though he knew he wasn't a match for the opponent, he still found joy in watching the action unfold.

As for Miltank, she remained calm and uninvolved. She would never take the initiative in a fight, and Aoki had no intention of sending her in. Instead, she simply stood off to the side, watching her companions enjoy themselves.

Upon reaching the mountain's peak, the landscape changed. Unlike the dense woods along the trail, the summit had far fewer trees, and there were almost no wild Pokémon in sight.

In the middle of the peak, a large tree stood tall, its branches casting long shadows. Coiled around it was a purple figure, lazily flicking its tongue as it basked in the sunlight.

An Arbok!

As Aoki and his team entered its line of sight, the serpent slowly lifted its head, revealing the large, menacing patterns on its hood.

Its tongue flicked more frequently, and its narrow eyes gleamed with cold calculation. Yet, when it looked at Aoki, there was something else—a flash of hunger.

This Arbok had ruled over this peak for a long time, with few challengers daring to disturb it. But today, prey had come straight to its doorstep.

Before it had claimed this territory, it had once been active in human settlements. It was quite familiar with these two-legged creatures—not for any particular reason, but because they were delicious!

This was a man-eating Arbok.

As its hood fully expanded, Aoki's heart sank slightly, his brows furrowing. Intimidate…

However, for Murkrow, the ability didn't have much of an effect. While Intimidate lowered its attack power, it didn't dampen its fighting spirit.

Arbok slithered down from the tree, its purple scales scraping against the ground with an eerie sound. As it drew closer, its deep, deliberate breaths became more audible.

Once within range, the system scanned Arbok, displaying its details before Aoki.

Pokémon: Arbok (Light Green)

Gender: Male

Level: 23

Type: Poison

Ability: Intimidate

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Poison Fang, Poison Tail

Basic Moves: Bite, Ice Fang, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Wrap, Glare, Poison Sting, Crunch, Screech, Acid

Taught Moves: Gastro Acid, Bind, Snatch

TM Moves: None

Aoki's eyes glinted slightly upon seeing its stats. A light green Arbok?

Not that he had any interest in catching it.

The way Arbok looked at him—those burning, predatory eyes—made it obvious that this snake had eaten humans before. And not just once.

Aoki wasn't averse to killing when necessary, but the thought of keeping a man-eating Pokémon by his side was out of the question.

Besides, this Arbok had clearly been ruling this area for some time. A proud king. Pokémon like that were difficult to tame, and Aoki wasn't in the business of doing thankless work.

However, a wild Pokémon of this caliber would surely catch the interest of the Hunter's Guild.

"A true 'local snake' indeed," Aoki smirked. "Alright, Murkrow, Slowpoke—take it down!"

Two against one.

Neither Murkrow nor Slowpoke minded. In the wild, nobody fought fair one-on-one. That kind of mindset was a luxury only found among League trainers.

If you could overpower an opponent without taking damage, why hold back? Only fools fought on equal footing for the sake of 'honor.'

Survival of the fittest. Strength in numbers. It was the same principle behind powerful Pokémon groups dominating resources in the wild.

Arbok wasn't surprised by their approach and rushed forward to engage them head-on.

Slowpoke had the advantage in terms of type—its psychic abilities were especially effective against poison-types like Arbok.

"Slowpoke, use Confusion! Murkrow, Tailwind into Wing Attack!" Aoki commanded.

A burst of psychic energy rippled from Slowpoke, distorting the air around Arbok's head.

"Arbai!!"

A sharp cry of pain erupted from Arbok as the attack sent a stabbing sensation through its mind, halting its advance.

Just then, Murkrow, empowered by Tailwind, streaked through the air with glowing white wings, slamming into Arbok's hood.

Bang!

The impact sent Arbok skidding backward nearly three meters.

Its head was the toughest part of its body—while Murkrow's attack had done some damage, the real effect was snapping Arbok out of its psychic-induced daze.

With a sudden lunge, Arbok's massive jaws opened wide, releasing a foul stench. Several sharp, purple Poison Stings shot out, aiming straight for Murkrow.

Immediately after, Arbok sprang forward like a coiled spring, using its body as a spear to close the distance.

Arbok's strength lay in its close-range combat—once it wrapped around an opponent and applied its crushing force, most Pokémon stood no chance.

"Murkrow, dodge and use Dark Pulse! Slowpoke, hold it with Psychic, then use Calm Mind!"

Slowpoke's psychic power struck first, restraining Arbok mid-charge. The double weakness to psychic moves caused Arbok to groan in pain as its movements slowed.

Murkrow weaved through the Poison Stings before a dark, malevolent energy gathered around its body. The black wave of Dark Pulse shot forward, slamming into Arbok while it was still struggling against Slowpoke's control.

"Gastly, get in there! Use Night Shade!" Aoki called out.

Night Shade, a ghost-type move that dealt damage based on the user's level.

While the game simplified it as fixed damage, in reality, it was just less affected by level differences compared to other moves.

"Jie Jie!"

Excited, Gastly let out a mischievous cackle and eagerly joined the fight.

At this point, Arbok finally realized it had severely underestimated its opponents.

Their coordination was perfect, and they were relentless.

Most frustratingly, that deceptively harmless-looking pink Pokémon kept bombarding it with psychic attacks—its most hated type of move.

It wasn't even able to get close!