Boom!
Suddenly, from Rox's shadow, another Pokémon appeared, blocking Gengar's advance.
Banette!
Rox still had one last ace up his sleeve.
Although, come to think of it, that was to be expected. As a high-ranking trainer, it was reasonable for him to keep something hidden to protect himself.
With this, it was no longer possible to take him out directly.
So Cain had to go with the second-best option: deal with the other two Pokémon first.
Gengar avoided getting too entangled with Banette and turned toward the other two Pokémon.
With Cain giving precise orders, Mismagius supported him in keeping the enemies at bay.
The Shadow Ball move together with Confuse Ray from Mismagius were enough to knock out the already weakened two enemy Pokémon.
The final blow against Moltres had failed, and they lost two more Pokémon. Rox and Brannis looked visibly upset.
Cain, wrapped in his black cloak, slowly stepped out from the shadows.
Rox, recognizing the familiar silhouette, was startled and shouted, "You!"
Exactly. He recognized Cain.
And that was exactly what Cain wanted to happen.
"What a coincidence, Lord Rox. We meet again," Cain said with a smile, stepping out from the shadows with Mismagius floating at his side.
Gengar, after finishing off the two opponents, floated next to Drapion.
Altaria flew near the exhausted Moltres, pulling out some medicines Cain had prepared from her pouch and offering them to the bird.
Moltres hesitated for a moment while looking at Altaria, then turned his gaze to the enemy Charizard. His eyes were filled with fury once again.
Brannis's expression grew increasingly tense.
They had managed to severely wound Moltres with a lot of effort...
Now, if it recovered its strength, they would be in big trouble.
"Who the hell are you? Wasn't your mission to get Moltres's DNA? Are you betraying Team Rocket now?" shouted Rox furiously.
Cain didn't answer. He simply walked toward Moltres.
Gengar approached the legendary bird and, pulling out a test tube Cain had given him earlier, extracted a considerable amount of golden blood from one of its wounds.
He then handed the tube to Cain.
Cain shook the test tube, smiling.
"Now that we've got the DNA, Lord Rox, there's nothing to worry about, right?"
Rox's face darkened even more.
"So your mission was to stop us, huh?" Brannis chimed in coldly.
Cain looked at him in surprise for a moment.
Looks like, as the head of the Nishikawa family, he had at least some brains.
"Seems like Father was right to take precautions," Brannis said while pulling a Poké Ball from his belt.
Cain frowned.
He had underestimated this family.
Brannis tossed the Poké Ball, and out came an Ampharos.
But not just any Ampharos.
The pressure it emitted the moment it entered the field was comparable to Moltres at its peak.
Cain scanned the Ampharos using his system and confirmed his suspicions.
Level: 74.
Most impressive of all: it had maintained that level for so long that its control over energy and moves was perfect.
"Well, well..." commented Cain, looking at Ampharos.
Brannis and Rox watched his reaction closely.
"The strayed father, the delinquent son... now it all makes sense. No wonder Regi was always using other people's Pokémon as a trump card. Turns out his old man does the same," Cain said with a light laugh, as if the Ampharos didn't bother him in the slightest.
Brannis's smile froze.
"Regi?"
For some reason, Brannis had a bad feeling.
Cain deactivated the psychic concealment around his face and pulled down his hood, revealing his face.
Black hair. Black eyes.
I'm not hiding anymore.
It's time to shine!
Everyone, out of my way!
Today, I'm in the spotlight! And I won't be stopped!
"It's you!" Brannis exclaimed upon recognizing him.
And just by recognizing him, he was left speechless.
If he could, he would've preferred never to have recognized him at all.
"Weren't you that brat who came out of Trial Island and humiliated Regi on Mythical Island? I think your name was... Cain? Have you already reached the Elite level?" asked Brannis, incredulous.
No wonder he was able to defeat Regi.
Thinking of Regi, he asked, "Regi? What happened to him?"
Cain gave a mysterious smile and didn't answer.
But that only deepened Brannis's unease.
"You're revealing your identity just like that? Are you going to fight us to the death? Who gave you that confidence? That Moltres?" Brannis tried to stay calm.
Cain didn't answer. Instead, he looked at Moltres.
He asked telepathically: "How's your energy? Can you take on Ampharos?"
Moltres, with a fiery gaze, nodded.
As a legendary Pokémon, it would never admit weakness.
Cain smiled again.
"Then there's no problem. A battle? So be it."
He pulled out two more Poké Balls.
Slowking and Florges appeared.
Now that his identity was revealed, there was no point in hiding his Pokémon anymore.
He had decided those two idiots weren't leaving this place alive. Besides, he hadn't expected Moltres to hold out for so long—otherwise, he would've intervened earlier.
But in the end, the timing turned out to be perfect.
Cain had cards up his sleeve.
And today he was going to use them!
"Let them see what we're made of!" Cain shouted.
Eight Pokémon in total. None of them showed fear.
Even if the enemy had a level 70 Charizard and the rest were above level 60—some even above 65—as long as Cain had conviction, his Pokémon wouldn't back down.
Afraid?
Let's fight then!
"Mega Evolution, Gengar!" Cain exclaimed, pulling out the Key Stone.
Gengar nodded. His playful grin vanished.
The Mega Stone had always been inside his body.
Under Cain's control, the Key Stone and Mega Stone synchronized.
A powerful psychic energy enveloped Gengar.
Mega Gengar entered the battle!
Cain's telepathic network activated, linking all his Pokémon.
Only one Mega Evolution could be active at a time, but with a strong enough connection, he could maintain it for up to half an hour.
Everything depended on how long Moltres could hold out.
As long as it endured, Cain wouldn't need to reveal any more of his cards.
Gengar, now at level 66 thanks to the Mega Evolution, had surpassed the entry level of Elite and stepped into mid-tier Elite level.
This was Cain's trump card against Charizard.
The opponent was exhausted after using Belly Drum and barely had half his energy left. The other Pokémon were also injured, and Rox only had Banette.
It was a fight they could win!
(End of chapter)