The setting sun hung low in the sky, casting a pale glow across the surface of the lake as a light breeze sent ripples across the water.
Aoki slowly walked toward the edge of the cave with Murkrow.
Unnoticed at first, the air gradually turned foul.
Aoki frowned, and even Murkrow instinctively covered its beak with a wing, clearly unsettled by the stench.
The closer Aoki got to the cave, the lighter his footsteps became.
By the time he reached the entrance, the smell was severe, but he and Murkrow had gradually grown used to it.
Frowning, he peered into the pitch-black cavern.
It clearly wasn’t a natural cave; there were numerous scratch marks carved into the surrounding rocks.
“Judging by the scratch marks, this cave was excavated a long time ago.
I hope there aren’t any overwhelmingly powerful Pokémon inside,” Aoki muttered to himself.
Perched on Aoki’s shoulder, Murkrow gradually focused.
Its tense muscles and the faint air currents swirling around its body signaled that it was ready for battle.
Seeing Murkrow’s tense posture, Aoki smiled faintly and offered a word of comfort.
“Don’t worry, Murkrow.
Let me check what’s inside first.” Hearing this, Murkrow began to relax slightly, though it remained vigilant.
Aoki casually picked up a loose stone by his feet, weighed it in his hand, nodded, and threw it hard into the cave.
*Thump!
Thump.
Thump.* After a few bounces, silence returned.
“Squee, squee…” A moment later, faint noises echoed from inside the cave, followed by the rustling of countless beating wings.
Aoki, who had already backed away from the entrance, relaxed his brow slightly upon hearing the sound.
As long as it wasn’t an overwhelmingly strong Pokémon like an Ursaring, he believed Murkrow could handle it.
A swarm of Zubat flew out of the cave.
Having had their peaceful slumber disturbed, they were now furious.
Wild Zubat were like ordinary bats—they slept during the day and hunted at night.
Having their sleep interrupted made them react like a sleeping human suddenly jarred awake.
Among the swarm, one Zubat was noticeably larger than the rest, clearly the leader of the group.
Upon seeing that the ones who had disturbed them were merely a human and a seemingly unimposing Pokémon, the Zubat leader cried out a few times to several Zubat around it.
Then, leading the rest of the swarm, it flew back into the cave to continue sleeping.
Watching the Zubat swarm’s actions, Aoki was slightly taken aback.
If all dozen or so Zubat had attacked, no matter how confident he was, he would have had no choice but to retreat with Murkrow.
But the Zubat leader’s obvious disdain significantly reduced the pressure on them.
Four Zubat opened their mouths wide, exposing their bloodsucking fangs to the air.
With a gentle flap of their wings, they charged toward Aoki and Murkrow.
“Just four red-aptitude Zubat, the highest level being only Level 10,” Aoki chuckled softly.
The moment they appeared, he had already scanned their data using his microchip.
Murkrow took off on its own accord.
After two days of training and recovering its potential, it had gradually come to enjoy battle—it loved turning into a gust of wind, darting freely among enemies, and playing them in the palm of its claw.
“Murkrow, activate Tailwind, then use Astonish!” Air currents rapidly gathered around Murkrow, transforming it into a streak of black light that stood out sharply under the setting sun.
Opening its beak wide, it released a sharp, piercing screech that sent visible ripples through the air.
Two of the Zubat caught in the screech suddenly halted, their expressions twisted in shock.
Although they didn’t flinch, their speed noticeably dropped.
The other two seemed largely unaffected, merely shaking their heads at the harsh noise.
Zubat generally possessed the Inner Focus ability, preventing them from flinching.
However, with their sensitive ears, the harsh sound of Astonish still inflicted significant discomfort.
Moreover, since Zubat used Supersonic to navigate, the piercing noise severely disrupted their movements.
The remaining two Zubat seemed to exchange a glance before opening their mouths wide, unleashing invisible sound waves—the move Supersonic.
“Murkrow, keep accelerating and take them out first,” Aoki said calmly, enduring the interference of the Supersonic waves.
The air currents around Murkrow grew stronger, and within an instant, it arrived right in front of the two Zubat.
“Use Peck!” Before the two Zubat could react, Murkrow struck with two full-power Peck attacks, sending them crashing to the ground.
Using Peck while flying at high speed was a technique practiced earlier that day—combining momentum with the move allowed Murkrow to instantly knock out both Zubat.
At that moment, the two Zubat that had been heavily affected by Astonish finally recovered.
Restoring their hearing only to find their companions incapacitated on the ground, a hint of fear appeared on their faces.
Their beating wings fluttered unsteadily, as if unsure whether to attack or retreat.
Aoki narrowed his eyes, a faint cold smile on his lips.
Zubat might hesitate, but Aoki would not.
“Murkrow, use Punishment!
Finish them off in one go!” Punishment was a Dark-type move.
Because Murkrow’s ability was Prankster, status moves had high priority.
Combined with the sustained boost from Tailwind, a streak of black light flashed between the two Zubat, leaving only two more unconscious bodies on the ground.
Aoki nodded in satisfaction at Murkrow’s execution.
Although Murkrow had not yet recovered to its peak condition, there was no denying that a Murkrow with the Prankster ability was exceptionally strong.
Any status move could be executed extremely quickly, and its increasingly proficient Tailwind was the icing on the cake.
With its green aptitude, Murkrow was innately superior to these Zubat by more than a margin.
Coupled with seamless move combinations, instantly taking out these Zubat was entirely expected.
Following the same tactic, Aoki exploited the Zubat leader’s arrogance and laziness to pick off the remaining Zubat one by one, until only the completely enraged Zubat leader remained in front of them.
[Pokémon: Zubat (Yellow)] [Gender: Male] [Level: 12] [Type: Poison / Flying] [Ability: Inner Focus] [Held Item: None] [Egg Moves: Quick Attack] [Basic Moves: Absorb, Supersonic, Astonish, Bite] [Tutor Moves: Wing Attack] [TM Moves: None] This was the first time Aoki had encountered a wild Pokémon with yellow aptitude.
If he had spare Poké Balls right now, he would capture it without hesitation.
Whether he kept it as an assistant or found an opportunity to trade it for resources, it would be a great choice.
After continuous fighting, the speed at which Murkrow flapped its wings had slowed slightly.
The air currents generated by Tailwind around its body were also noticeably thinner than at the start.
Seeing Murkrow’s state, Aoki couldn’t help but frown.
*It’s still pushing it too far.* However, seeing the Zubat leader on the verge of total fury, he had no choice but to press the attack.
Aoki had considered letting Murkrow rest, but looking at the sun about to set completely beneath the horizon, he abandoned the thought.
Zubat were far more energetic at night.
And while the pitch darkness wouldn’t hamper Murkrow’s fighting ability, Aoki’s own command capability would drop due to the lack of vision.
Therefore, it was best to finish off this yellow-aptitude Zubat before the sun sank entirely, then claim this foul-smelling Zubat cave.
After all, the forest at night was when danger was at its highest.
Compared to the outer perimeter where he had been before, deep inside the forest, danger lurked around every corner.