After another five days of training and preparation, Airi finally met Icarus's requirements and officially became his third teammate.
At this moment, the three of them were moving through a dim cave, escorting a small family's caravan toward Pewter City.
This was also their first mission as a full team.
Originally, Airi wouldn't have been accepted.
A low-tier standard trainer with only one Pokémon simply didn't meet the requirements for crossing such a dangerous cave.
Even Icarus had only been accepted because Victreebel—as a Grass-type—was highly effective in controlling the battlefield with powder-based moves.
But everything changed when Airi revealed that her Poliwhirl had the Damp ability.
In a place like this—filled with Rock-types like Geodude that could use Self-Destruct—that ability was incredibly valuable.
"Poliwhirl, use Bubble Beam!"
"Yobo—!"
"Boom! Boom!"
Near the caravan's flank, Airi quickly spotted a Geodude camouflaged among the rocks and eliminated it in one clean attack.
"It feels so weak…" she said smugly, crossing her arms.
"Relax," Icarus cut in immediately. "That was just a high-level rookie Geodude. You're a full standard-level trainer with type advantage. Don't act like a pro yet."
"Heeey~ just let me enjoy it a bit!" Airi laughed.
She then pulled out a small hammer and walked over.
"Thud! Thud!"
After a few strikes, the defeated Geodude broke apart into scattered rocks.
"Let me find it…"
Carefully sorting through the rubble with gloved hands, she soon picked out a gray, glossy core ore.
"Got it! That's ₽1200."
She dusted it off and stored it in her backpack.
Despite being dangerous, Geodude weren't actually very profitable for most trainers.
Risk: Self-Destruct
Reward: moderate
Effort: high
That's why few people came here willingly.
Which, ironically, made this place even more dangerous.
The cave had effectively become a wild Pokémon haven, even though it was technically a "safe route" marked by the League.
The team's role was simple:
They patrolled roughly 100 meters ahead of the caravan, clearing threats on the path.
As long as the caravan reached Pewter City safely, each of them would earn:
₽8000
15 contribution points
But naturally, Icarus had stacked additional tasks:
Side Missions:
Collect 10 Geodude core ores
Rookie: ₽1200
Standard: ₽2400
Bonus: 30 contribution points
Capture a mid-tier Diglett (rookie level)
Reward: ₽12,000 + 10 contribution points
"Rumble—"
A minute after they cleared the area, the caravan trucks rolled forward behind them.
"Let's move," Icarus said.
"Got it!"
"Yobo!"
The group advanced deeper into the cave.
Pidgeotto flew low overhead, acting as a scout.
In the cave, it couldn't fight effectively:
Limited space
Rock-types resisted its attacks
So Icarus assigned it to reconnaissance instead.
Combat was handled by:
Victreebel
Poliwhirl
"Good thing the League installed those lights…"
Icarus glanced up at the dim embedded spotlights.
Though many were broken, enough remained to provide faint visibility.
Without them, the cave would be pitch-black—perfect territory for Zubat swarms.
Even so, Pokémon like Geodude and Sandshrew were unaffected by light and appeared frequently.
"Pidgeotto, scout 100 meters ahead."
"Beep!"
The bird silently flew forward, suppressing its presence.
In this environment, it blended in easily—most ground Pokémon ignored it, assuming it was just another cave-dwelling flyer.
Soon, it returned.
"Beep beep—!"
Icarus listened, then relayed the information:
4 Geodude
2 standard low-tier
2 high-tier rookie
1 Graveler (mid-tier standard)
1 Sandshrew (rookie)
2 Diglett (standard-tier)
He narrowed his eyes.
Then calmly made his decision.
"Let's pick our first target."
-------------Author---------------
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