Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

"Welcome to our group! Hahaha! You don't have to do anything! When the time comes for our group to act, you'll know. All I can say is that the foundation of this little group is primarily for... survival!" Regi said with a wide grin.

"This is my exclusive contact method; only a few people in our group have it. If you need anything, you can contact me directly."

As he spoke, Regi stood up, clearly preparing to leave.

"Do the leaders behind groups like yours know about this?" Cain couldn't hold back and asked the question.

Regi didn't answer Cain but instead gave him a cryptic smile, leaving Cain to interpret it for himself.

"Oh, by the way, a word of advice: stay alert around Umbra. Don't trust anyone completely; otherwise, in Team Rocket, there won't even be bones left of you—even in my case!"

With that, Regi disappeared into the forest.

Watching his figure fade into the distance, Cain had the impression that Regi resembled someone.

Who?

Giovanni!

Regi bore a certain resemblance to Giovanni. Although Cain hadn't seen Giovanni many times, he could definitely feel a hint of his shadow in Regi.

As for the small group he mentioned, there were things only the upper echelons of Team Rocket could know, but Regi seemed to know a lot.

Moreover, among the subordinates of the leaders, Aurelia and Glacius seemed to vaguely follow him, and even Vexor didn't seem to hold him in much regard.

As for people like Lucius and others who wanted to meddle in this trial, the final outcome wasn't something Cain could consider at the moment.

Cain half-believed Regi's words and kept the other half in mind for now.

However, Regi's arrival had a certain impact on Cain's plans.

He had originally thought that once the trial ended, he could relax a bit, but now it seemed he still had to keep racing against time.

The more he interacted with others, the more he realized he couldn't control his own destiny. Perhaps those who wanted to step off the chessboard—the Executives and Officers—only wanted to take control of their own fates.

But they had overestimated their abilities and, in the end, could only be ruthlessly crushed by the wheels of time.

"Maybe I should capture some Pokémon with good potential on the Trial Island. Once I enter Hoenn, I'll have to clearly distinguish between my multiple identities. Otherwise, instead of benefiting from both sides, I might be annihilated by both the Alliance and Team Rocket," Cain thought as he stood up.

He packed up his camp and set off directly with his Pokémon.

He stood on Arbok's back, with Slowpoke by his side, and Honchkrow—now fully evolved—flying nearby.

"Does the Moxie ability really have no limits, or are there certain requirements?" Cain wondered as he encountered interference from wild Pokémon shortly after leaving and let Honchkrow handle the battle.

Cain was pondering Honchkrow's Moxie ability.

Although he had owned other Pokémon with this trait before, he had never studied it closely.

Soon, Honchkrow won the battle.

However, Cain noticed that Honchkrow's Moxie ability didn't activate.

"If it didn't activate after a victory, that means there are some requirements. Let's test it again."

After some battles, Cain discovered that Honchkrow's Moxie ability had no limit on stacking, but it did have a requirement: the level of the Pokémon Honchkrow fought could not exceed his own by more than five levels.

In other words, Honchkrow, at level 34, could only stack Moxie by defeating Pokémon at level 29 or higher. If the level was too low, the victory was considered a one-sided win, and Moxie wouldn't activate.

After evolving and gaining the Moxie ability, Honchkrow also needed to adjust its fighting style.

Cain would have to help it make those adjustments gradually.

...

After dealing with Vexor, the trial became much easier for Cain.

The remaining two days were spent training his Pokémon.

By the sixth day, Arbok's abilities had recovered to a dark green quality. After a conversation with Cain, Arbok decided to stay on the Trial Island but didn't allow Cain to sever their bond through the Poké Ball.

In other words, Arbok became a Pokémon Cain left on the Trial Island. No one else could capture it, and if Arbok were to die, Cain would know through the link with the Poké Ball.

Although Arbok's dark green quality wasn't bad, it was already in its final evolved form, making future quality improvements very difficult. This left Cain hesitant.

Fortunately, Arbok also recognized its own limitations. During the last two days, Cain helped it correct bad combat habits. As long as it continued training according to Cain's instructions, it could eventually defeat the Pokémon that had killed its mother.

In the end, the only Pokémon Cain kept from the Trial Island was a blue-quality Shellder. He released all the others, which also helped reduce the strain of daily meals.

Cain also released Fearow before returning to the Team Rocket base, hoping it could live well on the Trial Island.

When Cain returned to the Team Rocket base, others were already starting to arrive.

Most of them returned injured.

Surviving in the wild was no longer a problem for them; however, in the wilderness, humans often proved more dangerous than Pokémon, and there were more considerations when encountering humans than Pokémon.

Sometimes, collecting point cards required fighting strong Pokémon, making injuries inevitable.

The trial began at 8:00 AM and ended at 8:00 AM. Anyone returning after eight would be considered a failure; if no one wanted to take them in, it meant death.

When Cain arrived, a few familiar faces had already returned.

For instance, Regi, Aurelia, and a young man with icy-blue hair who was with them, reading a book.

When Regi saw Cain arrive, he smiled, and Aurelia winked at him, clearly knowing that Regi had already included him in their small group. As for Glacius, he gave Cain a glance before returning to his book.

The people at the Team Rocket base were clearly divided.

Those participating in the trial were on one side, while those who joined later were on the other.

However, those who joined later clearly looked down on the trial participants and followed Regi as their leader, standing in the center of the plaza, looking at the trial participants with disdain.

(End of Chapter)