Sieg observed that this Cacnea's size and energy fluctuations weren't particularly high, probably below level 10, which perfectly matched Sandile's training needs.
"Sandile, use Focus Energy."
Sieg prioritized having Sandile boost its stats first. Focus Energy was a move it had been practicing since hatching from its egg.
Sandile didn't have many stat-boosting moves available, it couldn't learn Dragon Dance or Swords Dance.
Only Hone Claws and Focus Energy, two relatively basic enhancement moves, were within its repertoire, making them absolutely essential to master.
Focus Energy increased the power of the next attack and made critical hits more likely, unlike other skills that provided timed buffs.
Focus Energy enhanced only the next move used, disappearing after a single attack.
Sandile took a deep breath, its dark eyes widening as it concentrated intently.
Cacnea swung its spike-covered arms, launching countless poison needles wreathed in purple mist. Each needle contained terrifying toxins.
If an ordinary human were struck by even one, they'd likely die from poisoning within minutes. Poison-types were often the attribute trainers least wanted to face.
Sandile showed no fear, simply rotating its body to face the needles with its back, its hardened scales deflecting every single one.
Ting~ Ting~ Ting~
The rain-like poison needles proved completely ineffective. Sandile turned its head, revealing a vicious grin.
Using its stubby tail for momentum, it launched itself forward using the recoil, its four short legs scrambling rapidly across the ground.
"Sandile, use Bite," Sieg continued his commands.
Sandile opened its massive jaws, revealing razor-sharp teeth still stained with traces of blood from some previous unfortunate Pokémon.
Dark-type energy gathered as Sandile clamped down on Cacnea's spiky arm. Even as the thorns pierced its mouth and drew blood, it showed no concern whatsoever.
Instead, tasting its own crimson blood seemed to excite it further, intensifying its battle fury.
Cacnea extended several emerald energy tendrils from its arm deep into Sandile's body, the move Absorb.
It began slowly draining Sandile's stamina.
Unfortunately for Cacnea, Sandile didn't care. It had no intention of fighting a prolonged battle, its combat style was pure, relentless offense.
Finding an opponent's weakness in battle, then pressing the attack until delivering a killing blow!
Sandile especially enjoyed the moment when Pokémon cried out in agony before dying beneath its assault. Among all of Sieg's Pokémon, its passion and talent for combat ranked first.
Even the typically cruel and cunning Murkrow paled in comparison.
Sandile raised its head again, using its sharp teeth to tear at Cacnea's body. In less than half a minute, multiple wounds had appeared across its opponent.
The small amount of stamina recovered through Absorb couldn't keep up with the mounting injuries.
Sieg didn't issue any more commands, simply watching the carnage quietly. By the end, it could only be described as a slaughter.
Sandile's powerful scales protected it from most attacks, and its trading-damage-for-damage fighting style quickly left Cacnea lifeless after just a few exchanges.
Another Pokémon's life had been extinguished.
Sieg watched silently, feeling no pity whatsoever.
Setting aside the fact that this Cacnea had actively sought them out to attack, Sieg wouldn't have spared it anyway.
While Cacnea would gain Dark typing upon evolution, the Grass/Dark combination was simply too bad, and its base stat total of 475 was far too low. Sieg had no intention of training one.
He walked over to Sandile's side, fed it an energy cube to restore its injuries and stamina, offered a few words of encouragement, then returned it to its Pokéball to rest.
Cacnea's body was still bleeding. Sieg drew his dagger and cut off the small yellow flower from its head, adding it to his alchemic ingredients.
He then dissected Cacnea's body, removing its heart. Grass-type Pokémon hearts often contained immense life energy.
Sieg could use this to create a simple healing potion.
It was unfortunate he couldn't determine this Cacnea's potential, though judging by its use of only two basic moves, Absorb and Poison Sting, during battle, it likely had no egg moves.
Besides that, Sieg had carefully observed the corpse and found its development quite ordinary, indicating poor natural ability.
"Then again, where would you find so many high-potential Pokémon in the wild?" Sieg muttered to himself.
Glancing around at the Pokémon still hidden in the surrounding bushes, he noticed their numbers had decreased significantly. Sandile's brutal execution of Cacnea had clearly intimidated these wild creatures.
Self-preservation instincts, or perhaps simply knowing when to pick their battles.
This had always been a survival lesson every wild Pokémon learned.
Sieg knew that simply avoiding these wild Pokémon was useless, they would only become bolder and pursue more aggressively.
In the wilderness, this lawless place, you needed to show your fangs and strength to deter enemies. Only by making them fear you could you survive in the wild.
Sieg's lips curved into a cruel smile as he said, "Murkrow, hunt with me!"
Murkrow let out an excited, harsh cry, its black wings beating as Tailwind activated instantly.
Nearby, Umbreon moved with graceful agility, leaping continuously through the darkness. As a creature of the night, darkness was its natural battlefield.
As dawn broke, Sieg returned to camp with his Pokémon after a night of combat.
Sieg's face showed traces of fatigue, but his Pokémon appeared unusually excited, especially Sandile and Murkrow, who seemed to have grown closer after their night of battle.
Both Pokémon shared cruel, bloodthirsty natures, and during the night's fighting, they had apparently found kindred spirits in each other.
When they returned to camp, Murkrow had perched on Sandile's back, and they appeared inseparable, causing Sieg to chuckle helplessly.
After the night's battles, all his Pokémon had improved significantly. Crawdaunt and Sharpedo had only provided support, ensuring the safety of the other three.
Sandile had undoubtedly made the greatest progress. After scanning it with his Pokédex, Sieg discovered it had reached level 9.
These were just improvements in raw statistics, but what pleased Sieg even more was that his Pokémon all carried faint scents of blood and an underlying aura of menace.
Humans might not notice it, only sensing that the Pokémon looked somewhat fierce.
But other Pokémon could clearly feel the dangerous atmosphere emanating from his team.
"Even Umbreon doesn't seem to mind this kind of violence. It's definitely undergone significant changes in temperament."
Sieg observed Umbreon curled up nearby, recovering its energy, and reflected thoughtfully.
Perhaps due to Dark-type Pokémon being generally cold-blooded and aloof, even the evolved Umbreon had been considerably influenced.
In Sieg's opinion, this was a positive change.
As his Pokémon, how could they maintain weak, gentle appearances that recoiled from taking life?