Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

"Damn it!" Vexor glared at his Ariados lying on the ground, unable to suppress another curse.

Even though he had strengthened his Pokémon, he still couldn't stop Cain's Honchkrow's attacks.

It wasn't just that he couldn't stop it—Cain had orchestrated his other Pokémon to clear the way and shield Honchkrow, stacking an excessive number of Moxie layers on his Pokémon.

"Hmph, Honchkrow, use Sky Attack again. Target... Butterfree!" Cain ordered coldly.

With five layers of Moxie stacked, a base physical attack stat of 125, and the Flying type advantage against Bug types, one hit spelled the end for Vexor's Pokémon.

Honchkrow flapped its wings again and took flight, feeling incredibly invigorated. Helping Cain defeat powerful enemies gave it immense satisfaction.

Not even Beedrill's Hyper Beam had been able to stop Honchkrow, and now that Beedrill was exhausted, it stood even less of a chance.

Although Vexor instructed his Scyther to use Protect to cover Butterfree, the move was quickly destroyed by Slowpoke's Confusion, and Sneasel removed it from Honchkrow's line of attack.

Meanwhile, Cain commanded Haunter to harass Butterfree. Since Haunter was immune to physical attacks, it could move freely as long as it dodged on time.

"Graah!!!"

Honchkrow's Sky Attack struck another of Vexor's Pokémon, and Butterfree crashed to the ground, its condition unknown.

Honchkrow successfully stacked a sixth Moxie layer.

How many more layers could it stack?

That depended on the next attack.

Vexor watched helplessly as his Pokémon fell one by one, unable to counter Honchkrow's current level of combat power, which had surpassed the limits of his team.

Elsewhere, on Miyamoto and Daishi's battlefield, both glanced at the clash between Cain and Vexor. Although Miyamoto had lost two Pokémon and Daishi only one, it was Miyamoto who smiled.

"I just need to hold on a bit longer, just a bit longer. Once Lord Cain defeats Vexor, victory will be ours!"

Daishi's eyes glinted as he scanned his surroundings, clearly plotting an escape route.

"Hahaha! You've forced my hand! You've forced me, Cain!" Vexor ground his teeth as he spoke.

"Scyther, block them!"

"Beedrill, return! Eat all of this." Vexor pulled out every pill from his storage space—nearly twenty in total.

Beedrill's eyes lit up at the sight of the pills, and without hesitation, it flew over to Vexor, devouring all of them from his hand.

Vexor watched Beedrill with a pained expression as it consumed the pills.

He didn't just regret the loss of the pills but also the cost to his prized Beedrill. With so many pills ingested, even if he won this time, Beedrill wouldn't live much longer. Its strength would soon diminish, making it no longer worth training.

But it was all worth it. If he didn't defeat Cain here, it would be his own life on the line!

As Beedrill swallowed the pills, Honchkrow defeated Scyther, which had been blocking its way.

Moxie's ability had no limits! With Scyther's defeat, Honchkrow stacked a seventh Moxie layer.

At that moment, Beedrill finished consuming the pills.

Its eyes, already red, now gleamed crimson, and its body had grown slightly larger.

A dense Bug-type energy enveloped its form.

"Beedrill, kill them all! Use Hyper Beam!" Vexor shouted in a frenzy.

This time, Beedrill's target was none other than Cain.

Its wings buzzed as its speed reached an unprecedented level. The Pokémon couldn't react before Beedrill darted past them.

Cain's expression suddenly shifted. Had Beedrill transformed after ingesting so many pills?

His Pokémon reacted too late, and Honchkrow flapped its wings to pursue it, initiating Sky Attack.

But it still couldn't catch up.

"Hahaha! Cain, if I kill you, all your Pokémon will be mine! These losses don't matter! I've noticed your Honchkrow is at least mid-high tier! Even senior officers would covet a Pokémon like that!" Vexor laughed maniacally as Beedrill charged straight toward Cain.

"Skorupi, Miltank, use Protect!" Cain ordered calmly, showing no fear.

However, Cain's Tropius refused to move, sensing that neither Honchkrow nor Beedrill was within its league.

Cain's progress had been too rapid!

Cain could already dominate others with just one Pokémon. At that moment, Tropius surrendered, no longer driven solely by food but by respect.

"Hahaha, Beedrill, keep firing Hyper Beam! You won't tire after just one attack!"

Though Cain's Pokémon attempted Protect, Beedrill shattered Skorupi and Miltank's defenses with consecutive attacks.

Its next target was Cain.

"Slowpoke! Teleport Honchkrow away!" Cain ordered, his calm demeanor unwavering. A trainer's composure in critical moments dictated their Pokémon's decisiveness.

Following Cain's command, Slowpoke instantly activated Teleport.

It appeared in front of Honchkrow, and just before the impact, it activated Teleport again, taking Honchkrow along and moving directly in front of Cain. Honchkrow, still poised for attack, collided with Beedrill.

"Honchkrow, use Protect!"

Boom!

The Hyper Beam clashed head-on with Sky Attack.

With a deafening explosion, Beedrill was hurled to the ground while Honchkrow activated Protect at the last moment, avoiding any damage.

Beedrill was defeated!

With that, all of Vexor's Bug-type Pokémon were vanquished.

Only his Golduck remained, but it was no longer a match for Cain.

"Honchkrow, finish it! Slowpoke, control Golduck!" Cain gave his final orders.

Unlike Xander and Paul, Vexor didn't break down. He knew his defeat was inevitable and glared coldly at Cain, unmoved by the Honchkrow rushing toward him.

"Cain, fine, I'll go ahead and wait for you. The master has already marked you. Do you think killing me will keep him from knowing? You're wrong! Do you think this trial is just about winning first or second place? You're far too naïve!" he said with a disturbing, twisted grin.

Vexor calmly accepted Honchkrow's attack. As he fell, he smiled, as if he had already foreseen Cain's fate.

Vexor, a direct subordinate of Team Rocket Executive Lucius, had been defeated!

The assassin.

Cain.

(End of chapter)