Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

Jumping out of the window, just before hitting the surface of the sea, Slowpoke used its psychic powers to suspend them above the water.

Cain took out a regular Poké Ball and threw it.

A large Gyarados appeared in the sea.

Gyarados, who had been trapped in the Poké Ball for quite some time, finally returned to the ocean and, upon emerging, wanted to roar to release his frustration.

Although he lived comfortably in the Poké Ball, with food and rest, so much so that he nearly gained weight.

But he is the king of the sea! Did that human really treat him as if he were a pig?

So, just as he came out, he wanted to roar at the sky.

"Quiet!"

But before he could roar, a cold, sharp voice interrupted him. He immediately felt a chill run down his body and obediently made no sound.

He looked silently at Cain, who, in his eyes, seemed like a demonic figure.

Although he was so small, why did his voice have such authority?

Cain and Slowpoke slowly flew toward Gyarados' head.

After they were settled, Cain said calmly, "Make less noise; first, let's move away from the cruise."

He tapped his foot lightly, indicating that he could move.

After receiving Cain's order, Gyarados obediently leaned down and began to swim slowly through the sea.

Because he didn't dare to make noise, his movement speed was not fast.

Swimming in the opposite direction of the cruise, Gyarados carried Cain toward unknown waters.

What Cain didn't know was that his movements were being observed by an old man on the upper deck of the cruise.

If Cain were here, he could probably recognize this old man as the man with the last name Matsuda with whom he had had lunch.

The old man remained silent on the upper deck, listening from the room below to Yamamoto's arrogant voice, then looked in the direction Cain was heading and gave a slight smile.

His lips moved, without making a sound, but from the shape of his mouth, one could guess he said something like, "Interesting young man."

Luckily, Cain had been quite cautious, not summoning too many Pokémon or showing his mask; otherwise, the old man's tone might have changed.

The old man only recognized Cain by his height under the black cloak and the Slowpoke accompanying him.

So, this young man noticed something strange just from a small warning during the day? But why is he leaving now? Where will he go?

Old Matsuda wondered internally, but Cain's actions seemed insignificant; his attention was focused on the conversation between Yamamoto and the mysterious person in the room below.

When he heard them talking about something important, his eyes gleamed with coldness. After waiting so long, they had finally left a clue.

Right now, since he had no funds for his research, he could use this to obtain some reward.

After Cain and the others moved a bit away, Gyarados received Cain's order to sail at full speed.

Immediately, the freed Gyarados moved his body and began to speed through the ocean. It had been a long time since he had swum so freely in the sea.

Some wild Pokémon, sensing the vibrations in the water, began to approach.

Realizing other Pokémon were approaching, Gyarados released his Intimidate ability, causing many Pokémon to flee in terror at the pressure.

Even the stronger Pokémon, upon seeing Gyarados' silhouette, quickly fled as well.

Although some Pokémon were stronger than Gyarados, they didn't dare to provoke him. After a brief look, they simply turned around and returned to their territory.

Everyone knew that Gyarados often appeared in groups, and even though they saw only one, provoking a whole group would be trouble.

Gyarados is not like Beedrill; when they appear in groups, they are truly terrifying.

Feeling the fear of the other Pokémon toward him, Gyarados felt much more at ease. He had been trapped in the Poké Ball for so long that he almost considered himself a pig.

Returning to the sea allowed him to feel his power as king of the ocean again.

Casting a furtive glance at Cain and Slowpoke on his head, and seeing that they showed no expression, Gyarados felt he couldn't hold back.

Opening his mouth again and noticing that the person and Pokémon on his head were not paying attention to his behavior, he finally let out a loud roar.

"Roooaaaar!"

The roar lasted a whole minute, and after roaring, Gyarados felt completely relaxed. It had been a long wait, but he finally could roar.

What a relief!

Suddenly, Gyarados stiffened a little because he felt the gaze of the person on his head, who had an intimidating presence, focus on him again.

With slight fear, Gyarados put in more effort and increased his speed.

Only when the person on his head looked away did Gyarados breathe a sigh of relief and concentrate on swimming.

Cain looked into the distance. He had no intention of having Gyarados take him back to Vermilion City; he had already been sailing for a whole day, and the S.S. Anne was not slow. If they tried to swim back, they would lose a lot of time.

But while sailing aboard the S.S. Anne, Cain noticed they passed a small island. He decided to leave a psychic marker there with Slowpoke.

If anything happened on the S.S. Anne, he could have Slowpoke teleport him immediately, thus avoiding being stranded in the sea without a course.

That's why, taking advantage of the darkness, he had Gyarados take him to the island.

Cain had already decided that, if he had the chance, he would leave a psychic marker each time he passed an island. So, no matter when an incident might occur, he wouldn't have to wander blindly in the sea.

Initially, upon confirming the danger, Cain had considered leaving directly; waiting for the next cruise at Vermilion City didn't matter.

But that would take up too much time, and at the moment, time was the most valuable thing to him.

Another important point was that Cain was very interested in the three moves for first place.

If he could obtain those three moves, Slowpoke's attack power would increase by thirty percent.

Cain looked at the island, growing larger in the distance, and murmured, "It's better if there are no incidents and we reach Hoenn safely."

But he knew that was impossible; a powerful League trainer was already on the ship, and he had personally heard them warn to be cautious. So, there was a ninety percent chance something would happen during this trip.

The island seemed close, but Gyarados took twenty minutes swimming at full speed before reaching it.

Exhausted after swimming at full speed, Gyarados was breathing heavily. This effort had worn out even his stamina.

Cain threw some mid-level energy Pokéblocks to Gyarados to help him regain strength and then returned him to his Poké Ball.

(End of chapter)