Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom-Chapter 460 - 459: Toxic Orb

"Who are you, really? Why are you attacking us? I don't recall ever offending someone as powerful as you," Keiji asked in a grave tone; even if he were about to die, he wanted at least to understand why.

Cain approached slowly with his Pokémon.

Despite his youthful appearance, he looked like someone who hadn't fully matured yet.

With a sarcastic smile, he said, "I've heard you have a good relationship with Kainan. Is that true?"

Hearing those words, Keiji finally understood why Cain had attacked his group—it was all because of Kainan.

"We're simply from the same place and joined the same group, but we don't have the close relationship you're imagining," Keiji replied, trying to sound sincere.

However, it was clear Cain didn't believe him. With a mocking smile, Cain said, "And why shouldn't I believe you?"

Seeing Cain's expression, Keiji realized that from the beginning, Cain had only been toying with him. He knew Cain had overheard the conversation he'd had with his two subordinates.

"Enough. To me, your presence is just an obstacle, so stop resisting and rest in peace. I'll make sure Kainan joins you soon," Cain said coldly, giving Skorupi a signal with his eyes.

Skorupi, who had accumulated most of the anger from this battle, was tasked with unleashing its fury.

Keiji made one last effort to resist, commanding Kecleon to attack directly at Cain, hoping to take him down in his fall.

But Cain was already prepared for this, and with a swipe of its tail, Skorupi sent Kecleon down the same path as Keiji's two subordinates.

Thus, the three members of the Void organization were eliminated by Cain.

Cain took Keiji's Poké Balls and collected the four defeated Pokémon lying on the ground. Although they had lost their ability to fight, Cain didn't kill them outright, as they could still be useful.

Whether to sell them or strengthen his subordinates, they were valuable resources.

Cain had quickly improved his own combat strength, but his subordinates were still relatively weak in comparison.

If they continued to improve so slowly, they wouldn't be able to keep up with Cain.

Therefore, raising the strength of his subordinates would also enable them to carry out more tasks for him.

While Cain was nearing the level of an Officer, his subordinates were barely maintaining the level of a Captain—a considerable gap.

In addition to Keiji, Cain also took the Poké Balls from Keiji's two subordinates and found that they were of good quality and well-trained.

Keiji had clearly chosen them as his companions wisely; in terms of overall strength, they weren't much weaker than Alec and the others.

Fortunately, Cain had eliminated them before they could act.

In total, he obtained twelve Poké Balls from the four opponents, which was a decent haul.

Aside from the Poké Balls, Cain also took their storage devices and released Grimer to clean up all traces of the battle.

Clearly, these three individuals had come to complete a mission, and now that it was finished, they likely carried several valuable items.

However, Cain decided not to inspect the items in that location, as the noise from the battle could have attracted other members of the Void organization. It was best to leave the area before facing another possible encounter.

Cain had considered capturing Keiji to gather more information about the Void organization, but ultimately decided to eliminate him, as it wasn't necessary.

Eventually, Cain would have to face Kainan; when the time came, he would learn what kind of organization Void truly was.

If the leader was at a level lower than that of an elite-level trainer, Cain had little to worry about.

Once Mismagius completed its training, even if they couldn't defeat the leader of the Void organization, at least they would be able to escape without issue.

After returning Honchkrow and Slowking to their Poké Balls, Cain left the area with Skorupi and Sneasel.

The forest returned to its usual calm.

Slowly, the surrounding Pokémon resumed their normal states, as if nothing had happened.

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Cain continued with his original plan, venturing deeper into the forest with his Pokémon.

Along the way, he encountered numerous Pokémon—some that Skorupi could easily defeat, while others even gave Sneasel difficulty.

In those cases, Cain called upon Honchkrow and Slowking to assist in the battles.

The day passed in a cycle of battles and progress.

Although the Pokémon he encountered grew increasingly stronger, Cain was still able to handle them.

The day's accomplishments were quite significant.

The most notable was that Honchkrow, Skorupi, and Sneasel all leveled up. Although Slowking hadn't leveled up, this was because it had recently advanced very quickly and was still accumulating experience.

The only one who hadn't leveled up was Haunter, who had been hiding in Cain's shadow, serving as his last line of defense.

Haunter hadn't actively participated in the battles, which meant its combat strength was beginning to lag behind the others; even Skorupi was about to catch up.

Therefore, after consulting with Haunter, Cain decided it would start participating in battles the next day. Slowking, who had been observing so far, would take on the role of Cain's last line of defense.

With Slowking protecting him, Cain's safety wouldn't be at risk.

Thus, the main members of the team for the following day's battles were decided: Skorupi, Sneasel, and Haunter.

Three Pokémon in total.

For dinner, Cain decided to keep things practical and distributed canned food. He had brought a good amount of canned supplies, filling half of his storage space.

Until all the cans were used up, Cain had no plans to cook, as he preferred to spend more time meditating to master his inner psychic abilities.

Cain hoped to soon reach the level of a novice psychic, which would significantly enhance his ability to direct battles.

After dinner, Cain didn't go straight into meditation. Instead, he took out the storage devices of the three Void members.

He emptied their contents onto the ground.

It seemed that, being close to returning to the city, the three didn't carry many daily-use items.

What stood out were healing potions and antidotes—essentials for surviving in the wild.

There were also repellents and some tools, like ropes and shovels.

These things didn't interest Cain much.

However, in Keiji's storage, Cain found something that caught his attention.

First, a broken purple orb radiating toxic energy.

Cain didn't dare touch it directly with his hands.

The shattered orb had fallen to the ground, with all the surrounding grass withered.

At the center, the soil was blackened from corrosion.

It was a Toxic Orb.

Unfortunately, it was broken.

(End of Chapter)