Florges unleashed all her power.
First, she successfully used the move Grass Knot, halting Nidoqueen's steps.
Just as she was ensnared by the vines, two green energy spheres shot out from Florges' hands.
Boom!
Boom!
Nidoqueen, who had fallen to the ground, took both hits directly.
She tried to stand up with difficulty, but more vines burst from the ground, dragging her back down.
From there, it was Florges' time to shine.
Nidoqueen didn't even get the chance to get close.
Boom!
At the same time Florges was attacking Nidoqueen, Nidoking — whom she had tried to rescue — was struck by the devastating Sky Attack that Honchkrow had been charging for a long time.
Nothing could block Honchkrow's attack.
Logan had already ordered Nidoking to use Protect to withstand the blow, but what he didn't expect was that Drapion, who had already prepared following Cain's orders, would break the green energy shield the moment it appeared, using his tail to seize the opportunity.
Thus, he cleared the way for Honchkrow.
The violent collision kicked up a cloud of dust.
After the attack, Honchkrow flapped his wings, stabilizing himself once again in the air.
Nidoking took the full brunt of the attack, and his legs sank into the ground, lowering his height by dozens of centimeters, leaving him completely incapacitated.
Cain's Pokémon unleashed all their power in unison.
After Houndoom's defeat, Logan's team was left with a clear gap.
Cain could attack or crush at will.
He didn't even show the slightest intention of talking.
Although Logan's face had already turned pale and he opened his mouth trying to negotiate with Cain, Cain didn't pay him any attention at all.
The next Pokémon to fall was Weezing, whose movement capabilities were relatively low.
He didn't get a chance to shine in this battle. He never even used his Poison-type moves, solely focused on dodging Slowking's attacks.
Slowking attacked from a distance continuously, and when Weezing tried to get closer, he teleported to avoid it.
The poison attacks were blocked before they could even approach, thanks to the psychic powers.
A true hit-and-run strategy.
Against a slow Pokémon, that's how Slowking fights. If the opponent is fast, he activates Trick Room and keeps using the same tactic.
In this battle, Slowking, with the Sniper ability, activated its special effect twice in just a few attacks.
Weezing, with a type disadvantage, couldn't last long.
After all, he was outmatched in both level and power.
When Weezing fell, Logan's Pokémon completely collapsed.
Slowking began using his psychic powers to support the other Pokémon.
For example, he helped Drapion immobilize Nidoking so he could land more attacks.
Nidoking and Nidoqueen fell almost simultaneously.
These two Pokémon, lifelong companions, even in defeat, did so together.
A scene worthy of a romantic drama: as they fell, they reached out for each other, touching tenderly.
With Nidoking and Nidoqueen defeated, Logan's total defeat was now certain.
He had only a Feraligatr left at his side.
Oh — and one more still fighting Weavile in the forest.
Wham!
Just as he thought about his Shiftry, he saw him flying out of the forest, completely frozen in a block of ice.
Weavile appeared next to the block in a flash.
He was injured, with a few visible cuts, but judging by the expression in his eyes, he looked ready for another round of combat with no problem.
If someone entered the forest where Weavile and Shiftry had fought, they'd surely be stunned by the scene.
A frozen landscape, as if the north had completely frozen over — snow and ice everywhere, enormous stalactites, both on the ground and in the trees.
During the battle, Weavile had unleashed all his control over Ice-type energy.
He completely transformed a field that favored Shiftry into terrain totally advantageous to himself.
Just by seeing the transformation of the field, one could understand how far Weavile had developed his Ice-type energy talent.
If this frozen zone expanded three to five times more, it could already be considered a real geographical alteration.
Only legendary Pokémon could reach such extremes.
So, seeing that level of control in Weavile said a lot about his power.
The ice block with Shiftry was the last straw for Logan.
Plop!
He collapsed straight to the ground.
Although he still had Feraligatr at his side, it was clear that against so many Elite-level Pokémon, he had no chance of holding out.
At that moment, he realized that what Cain had said at the beginning — that he had lured him here so no one could help him — wasn't a taunt, but a fact.
If only...
If only he had stayed at the camp, even if he lost, if he had managed to buy time and backup arrived, they could have defeated Cain together.
There weren't just him and another Elite-level trainer at the camp — there were three!
Such a powerful force had blinded him.
That made him very similar to the Cain from his past life. While Cain began to grow arrogant when he reached Quasi-Elite level, Logan only swelled with pride upon reaching Elite level.
With a sarcastic smile, Cain slowly walked toward Logan.
His Pokémon were a bit injured, but their combat capacity was unaffected.
The most injured was Weavile, who had fought Shiftry one-on-one.
Florges was already tending to his recovery.
"Who the hell are you? Why did you lure me here? You're not from the League — the League doesn't kill like this!" Logan shouted, completely hysterical.
Even if he was going to die, he at least wanted to understand why.
He had a bright path ahead. If he developed steadily, maybe he wouldn't break through the Elite level, but he could reach its peak.
But today... everything was ruined.
Cain slowly shook his head. Just like Rose, Logan didn't remember him either.
He motioned for Slowking to come closer.
He gave him a few pats on the back and asked, "Do you recognize this Pokémon? Back then, it was just a Slowpoke."
"Slowpoke?" Logan's pale face showed a doubtful expression. He stared intently at Slowking, searching through his memories.
But deep in his reflective gaze... hid a flicker of hysterical madness.
Cain noticed it instantly.
After all, he himself had shown that exact same expression in his previous life, knowing he was about to die.
All too familiar...
(End of chapter)