Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

Visiting Celestic Town to meet Cynthia and learn about the legends and secrets of Sinnoh's past had been a significant achievement for Cain. This kind of information, though seemingly useless for now, could become crucial in the future.

After this valuable visit, Cain, under Cynthia's guidance, headed toward Mount Coronet.

Cynthia accompanied him to the mountain's entrance but then returned the way she came.

Cynthia's circumstances were different from Cain's. Her Pokémon had already reached similar levels, and with only seven days left before the Sinnoh Tournament, she didn't need constant training. After all, she had participated in countless battles up to that point.

Now, Cynthia was in a phase of consolidation. Her focus was on perfecting her Pokémon's moves, their synchronization, and energy control.

In short, Cynthia's Pokémon needed a stable training period, while Cain was in a different stage. His Pokémon had not yet reached the necessary levels, so stabilizing their strength was not a viable option.

After bidding farewell to Cynthia, Cain, accompanied by Marshtomp and Poliwhirl, began his ascent up Mount Coronet.

From below, the mountain looked as imposing as Mt. Silver. Cain's entrance had no impact on the surroundings.

As he slowly advanced with his Pokémon, Cain noticed an unexpected change within himself.

During a recent use of his psychic powers, he discovered that his control over them had slightly improved. Even the growth of his psychic power, which had previously seemed stagnant, had now begun to flow, albeit at a slow but steady pace.

Cain looked at the three symbols engraved on his wrist.

"Could the presence of the Unown be subtly influencing my psychic abilities?" Cain thought.

It seemed that merging with those three little Unown brought more benefits than expected.

Although having three unknown Pokémon inside his body was uncomfortable, if it came with advantages like this, it wasn't such a bad deal. That is, as long as they didn't affect him negatively.

Mount Coronet was almost deserted. As Cain ventured further in, signs of human presence faded away.

To facilitate battles, Cain also summoned Florges, who joined Marshtomp and Poliwhirl as his main team.

Thus began Cain's seven-day training period.

Progress was slow but deliberate. After an entire day of training and advancing, Cain had barely covered a third of the way to the summit.

Thanks to the secret power of the Unown, nights on Mount Coronet were much more comfortable. Cain could create small interdimensional spaces within the trees to sleep, protected from the wind, rain, and cold.

On the morning of the second day, Cain emerged from his shelter and heard the sounds of a nearby battle.

At first, he thought it was wild Pokémon, but the noise was getting closer.

Intrigued, Cain recalled most of his Pokémon, leaving only Marshtomp, Poliwhirl, and Florges by his side.

After a few minutes of walking, Cain hid among the vegetation and observed the scene.

He discovered that it wasn't wild Pokémon but four people engaged in a fierce battle.

Four people were fighting in two opposing sides.

On one side were two men dressed in Pokémon League researcher uniforms. They were injured and showed signs of exhaustion, as did their Pokémon, who were on the verge of defeat.

On the other side, the two opponents wore tattered clothes and black masks with strange patterns, giving the impression of individuals accustomed to surviving in the wild. Their gazes were fierce as they commanded their Pokémon with the intent to defeat the League researchers.

Cain observed that the two League researchers carried Junior rank badges, indicating they were novices in their roles.

"Should I intervene?" Cain thought as he evaluated the situation.

Finally, he decided to act.

"Poliwhirl, use Rain Dance and then attack with Water Pulse."

"Marshtomp, use Rock Slide to disrupt Ariados and then finish it with Aqua Tail."

Following Cain's orders, Poliwhirl let out a deep sound toward the sky, and within seconds, a light rain began to fall.

The sudden change in weather and the attacks from Cain's Pokémon destabilized the opponents.

Meanwhile, Marshtomp summoned rocks from the sky that interrupted Ariados's attack. Immediately after, Poliwhirl advanced under the rain, striking a Persian with Water Pulse.

Marshtomp, in turn, gathered water in its tail, creating a massive whirlpool that struck Ariados directly, sending it crashing into a nearby tree.

"Who's there?" shouted the two masked figures as they saw their Pokémon unexpectedly attacked.

On the other hand, the League researchers showed expressions of relief upon seeing someone in a uniform similar to theirs emerge from the trees.

An ally had arrived.

(End of chapter)