Just as Cain and Aliana were in the midst of battle, the fight between Lance and Bas had also reached a boiling point.
Bas wasn't royalty for nothing—his talent wasn't bad at all.
However, considering his age was more than twice that of Lance's, having that level of strength wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
His signature Pokémon was Goodra, a pseudo-legendary from the Kalos region, now battling Lance's Dragonite head-to-head. While not as powerful as Dragonite, Goodra's defensive nature allowed it to endure without too much trouble.
But right then, Bas's expression had turned grim.
He had underestimated Lance's strength and didn't expect him to fight so evenly.
Even less did he expect an Elite-level Trainer to appear at Lance's side.
That trainer was commanding an Elite-level Slowking and two Maximum Quasi-Elite Pokémon, successfully stalling Aliana's two Elite-level Pokémon.
And he was even starting to gain the upper hand.
It's worth remembering that when Aliana approached Bas to discuss cooperation, he had tested her strength.
That Druddigon wasn't weak, and Diggersby, in particular, was a "wolf in sheep's clothing": its Huge Power ability combined with Swords Dance gave it such explosive power that not even Bas could face it head-on.
But now, what was he seeing?
That once-menacing Diggersby was being chased and ruthlessly beaten by three Pokémon, battered and bruised—literally turned into a beaten pig.
And Druddigon? Cain was cleverly keeping it at bay, using speed to prevent it from getting close.
Druddigon was also a Pokémon focused on physical attacks and lacked any truly powerful long-range moves.
They were taking advantage of its slowness to relentlessly hunt down Diggersby.
Even when Druddigon tried to approach, Slowking could teleport with Gengar and Florges to vanish.
If someone were to interview Diggersby now, he could probably spend three full days complaining about the abuse he suffered from Slowking and his teammates.
What a way to abuse a decent Pokémon!
No—what a way to abuse a decent rabbit!
He didn't even understand why they were chasing him so obsessively.
Meanwhile, his partner Druddigon still maintained his dignified posture.
The contrast was brutal.
Yes, you! Don't think blushing makes you look shy! And don't think having wings gives you the right to fly around like that!
Diggersby grumbled internally, but the attacks kept pouring in without pause.
Finally, under Aliana's gloomy expression, Diggersby collapsed to the ground.
And it was then that Aliana understood: Cain had summoned Politoed and Horsea just to take advantage of their Drizzle and Swift Swim abilities.
Diggersby was defeated.
He lay motionless on the ground like a dead pig.
Cain's Pokémon then turned their attention toward Druddigon.
Oh, did we hear you were the one chasing us earlier?
Gengar laughed uncontrollably. Florges was much more reserved—she covered her mouth with one hand while laughing, never taking her eyes off Druddigon.
The once-imposing Druddigon immediately trembled.
His scales stood on edge.
With Diggersby no longer there to attract aggression, could he endure such intense attacks alone?
The answer was no.
Druddigon slowly turned his head toward his trainer, gulping nervously.
Gulp.
The sound was so loud, everyone heard it.
Aliana's face was a poem.
Following Mr. Lysandre's orders, she had come to assist Bas in finding what he sought. Supposedly, there was something in the Parfum Palace that Lysandre needed.
But everything had been ruined by the man standing in front of her.
On the other side, Bas was also in a foul mood.
He had bitten off the toughest bone and still hadn't gotten what he wanted.
The heirs of the Parfum Palace, sheltered under an umbrella behind Cain, nearly applauded when they saw Diggersby fall.
They finally released the breath they had been holding and sighed in relief.
"Miss Aliana, do you really wish to continue the battle?" Cain asked, a smile on his face.
"Hmph!" Aliana snorted, turning to look at Bas.
And Bas was looking back at her.
Neither wore a friendly expression.
Aliana blamed Bas for not investigating properly before taking action, and Bas blamed Aliana for being "a desk champion but a street rookie." (No offense, I swear!)
Against him, Druddigon and Diggersby were strong. But facing an Elite-level Pokémon and two Maximum Quasi-Elite Pokémon, they couldn't keep up.
And worse—they were the first to lose a Pokémon.
"Hmph! Let's see how long you can keep protecting them. We're retreating!" Bas declared with a sweeping gesture, unilaterally ending the battle.
Lance couldn't go all out against Bas, so he simply stood there, watching them leave.
After Bas withdrew, a group of red-suited individuals led by Aliana remained.
"We're leaving too," Aliana said coldly, casting one last glance at Cain as she prepared to depart.
Bas had gotten away without interference, but Aliana was a different case.
"Miss Aliana, leaving just like that doesn't seem very polite, does it? You should at least leave us something," Cain said.
But Aliana ignored him completely. Stay any longer?
There was no one who could stand against Lance.
Just as she turned around, a Gengar appeared at full speed and slipped into her shadow.
By the time Aliana reacted to counterattack, Gengar was already right in her face.
He didn't strike—but snatched the large black visor glasses she wore.
Gengar attempted to keep going, but Druddigon leapt beside Aliana.
With that, Gengar retreated and returned to Cain, handing him the glasses.
Target acquired.
Cain confirmed it silently in his mind.
At the same time, he gave the system a command: "Trace signal source. Lock position."
Those weren't just glasses—they were a microcomputer headset, connected to the Team Flare central communications system.
Cain's real goal in having Gengar act was to obtain those glasses. Everything else was a distraction.
At the point where the glasses had touched her skin, tiny electric currents—imperceptible to the human eye—could be seen. The system took only a few seconds to hack them.
And it immediately began tracing the location of the main server.
Lance, standing with Dragonite and Gyarados, approached Cain as they watched Aliana and her people retreat rapidly.
"Well done, Cain. I didn't expect you to defeat two Elite-level Pokémon with just three of yours," Lance said, patting him on the shoulder with an approving expression.
A promising future.
Cain just smiled without saying much.
Exploiting information advantages and versatile abilities to gradually wear down the opponent's strengths—that was Cain's battle style.
When the enemy is too powerful, the first step is to bring them down to your level. Then, with experience and superior intel, you win the fight.
That's how you fight on even ground.
Simple and direct.
As Cain chatted with Lance, a voice rang out in his mind: "Target locked!"
(End of chapter)