Cain gave no opportunity for further exchange.
He needed a swift victory.
He threw four Poké Balls.
Honchkrow, Drapion, Weavile, and Florges appeared together.
Adding Gengar and Slowking, who were already out.
All six Pokémon from his first team were now on the field at the same time.
Seeing Cain summon all his Pokémon at once, Logan's expression changed.
He abandoned all intentions of mockery and hurriedly released five Poké Balls.
Including the Houndoom that always accompanied him, the other summoned Pokémon were Shiftry, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Feraligatr, and a Weezing.
In terms of level and strength, all had reached the Elite level.
Among them, the strongest was that Houndoom that always stood beside Logan.
Pokémon: Houndoom (Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 64
Types: Dark + Fire
Ability: Early Bird
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Fire Spin, Reversal, Feint, Destiny Bond
Base Moves: Inferno, Nasty Plot, Thunder Fang, Leer, Ember, Howl, Smog, Roar, Bite, Odor Sleuth, Beat Up, Fire Fang, Feint Attack, Embargo, Flamethrower, Crunch
Learned Moves: Iron Tail, Throat Chop, Heat Wave, Foul Play, Hyper Voice
TM Moves: None
A Houndoom of Intermediate Elite level.
Behind him stood Nidoking and Nidoqueen, both at level 63. Then Feraligatr at level 62, and finally Shiftry and Weezing, both at level 61.
This clearly reflected Logan's position within the Hunter's Guild.
The Guild was not ruled by a single person, but managed by a group of elders.
The direct descendants of these elders could obtain resources equivalent to those of high-ranking members of other organizations.
Logan's growth speed was impressive.
Probably due to his great natural talent, combined with the full backing of the Hunter's Guild, he received a massive resource infusion that propelled him to this point.
Being sent to the Hoenn region as the main contact for Team Magma was no simple task; without sufficient strength, negotiations would have been extremely difficult.
Twelve Pokémon deployed at once.
Logan began giving orders to his Pokémon.
Meanwhile, Cain activated his telepathy, linking his mind with all of his Pokémon.
In terms of level and strength, Cain still held a considerable advantage.
At the very least, Slowking was clearly the strongest of them all.
Honchkrow flapped softly, generating a wind current around itself and its allies, lightening the load on their bodies.
The next to act was Weavile. With its agile body, empowered by Honchkrow's Tailwind move, it vanished from sight in a blink, darting into the forest.
To avoid an ambush, Shiftry, following Logan's orders, also slipped among the trees.
Shiftry, being a Pokémon specialized in forest environments, moved like a fish in water in that setting.
However, Weavile had the advantage with its Ice type, effective against Grass.
After using Tailwind, Honchkrow soared vertically into the sky, as if completely ignoring the battlefield.
Logan didn't have many ways to counter such a swift, freely flying Pokémon like Honchkrow. His only aerial option was Weezing, who stood no chance against Honchkrow and could only take hits.
Slowking silently activated Miracle Eye, casting it on himself.
Meanwhile, Florges changed its type to Grass and, according to Cain's plan, spread multiple zones of Grassy Terrain across the battlefield.
Finally, Drapion advanced steadily to face Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Feraligatr directly. Three Pokémon stood in front of him, yet he showed not even a trace of fear.
Florges positioned itself behind Drapion, launching support moves.
There wasn't much time for setup or strategies.
Nidoking and Nidoqueen charged straight toward Drapion with firm and swift steps.
In their minds, Drapion was nothing more than a nuisance easy to crush.
"Chaa!"
Drapion roared excitedly, not backing down. On the contrary, he charged straight at them.
Florges formed a glowing sphere of energy in front of her chest and hurled it at Nidoqueen, intending to reduce the pressure on Drapion.
Gengar, with a sinister laugh, sank into the shadows and disappeared.
To avoid an ambush from Gengar, Logan left Feraligatr guarding his position.
Meanwhile, his loyal Houndoom charged straight toward Slowking.
Dark-type Pokémon do have the advantage over Psychic-types, but Slowking's Water type countered Houndoom's Fire type.
More importantly, Cain's Slowking was no ordinary Pokémon. The stealthy use of Miracle Eye ensured it caught the opponent off guard.
Besides, Cain knew Houndooms far too well.
Gengar didn't go for Logan but instead reappeared beside Slowking. Following Cain's orders, he transferred Drapion's ability to Slowking's body.
Boom!
The first clash was between Drapion and the Nidoking–Nidoqueen pair.
Ssshh!
Drapion's four legs screeched as they scraped against the ground.
He was pushed back about three or four meters.
But he held his ground!
"Chhhaaaa!"
Drapion looked at Nidoking and Nidoqueen, who had blocked his pincers, and grinned.
"Since you've shown your strength... now it's my turn."
Drapion's muscles and carapace tensed to the limit.
With all his might, he managed to hold Nidoking and Nidoqueen in place.
The two Pokémon showed expressions of total surprise.
But before it could last much longer, Nidoqueen took a green energy sphere straight to the face.
BOOM!
Florges wasn't about to let up on the assault.
With Nidoqueen down for the moment, Drapion roared loudly and could now fully focus on facing Nidoking.
Nidoking wasn't weak—he endured Drapion's attacks while counterattacking with Earthquake.
Drapion took significant damage.
Meanwhile, Houndoom finally reached Slowking, who had been focusing his power.
The psychic energy was so dense it was almost visible.
It was launched violently at Houndoom.
But under Logan's orders, Houndoom, confident in his Dark-type advantage, didn't dodge. In fact, he wore a mocking grin.
That was the advantage of telepathy: the opponent had no idea what Cain had prepared and fought based only on basic knowledge.
BOOOM!
AUUUU!
Houndoom howled in pain, was sent flying, and began bleeding from every orifice.
One single move, and he was severely wounded!
With his pre-planned strategy, his level 65 strength, and his nature as a Shiny Pokémon, Slowking unleashed devastating power.
Houndoom felt as if his head was about to explode.
In just this first round of combat, Slowking had already secured the advantage for the entire team.
(End of chapter)