Those who originally planned to ambush others didn't know that they themselves had become guides for someone else.
It sounds like a tongue-twister, but Cain took advantage of the opportunity.
The people he was following wore no distinctive symbols on their clothing, so he couldn't confirm which faction they belonged to. However, they moved forward steadily without hesitation.
Cain, following closely, had a storm of thoughts crossing his mind.
In the end, he decided to capture them first before moving on. After all, he didn't know what he might encounter ahead. Taking immediate gains was the safest option.
With that decision made, Cain ordered another hunting round with Slowking and Gengar.
The five humans ahead weren't too close to one another, so ambushing them from behind wasn't too hard to pull off.
Slowking was in charge of neutralizing the enemy Pokémon, while Gengar trapped the humans using Hypnosis. Their Pokémon had barely reached the Quasi-Elite level, while Slowking was on a whole other level.
One!
Cain counted mentally.
He repeated the process, quickly capturing three of the five.
Added to the first one he had captured when acting as bait, he now had four in total.
But when going after the fourth, the enemy noticed the ambush.
Even so, he still couldn't avoid being captured by Cain.
The group's leader barely managed a look of horror and made no attempt to rescue his companions. Instead, he sped up his mount and rushed into the forest.
Given his determination, Cain decided five prisoners were enough.
But just as the last enemy was fleeing, he shouted: "Master Logan! Enemy attack!! Enemy attack!!"
While running, he desperately urged his mount forward.
Cain, who was about to retreat, froze in place when he heard that name.
Logan?
From the Hunter's Guild?
A smile of interest appeared on his face.
Apparently, this time the Hunter's Guild had bet big. From the start, they had sent Logan, and possibly other Elite-level trainers.
Cain didn't believe Logan was leading the operation.
He didn't have the rank to control people like Tabitha from Team Magma or Shelly from Team Aqua, let alone the authority to attack someone like Wattson.
So, there had to be stronger leaders from the Hunter's Guild involved.
With that in mind, Cain no longer intended to leave.
Alongside Slowking, he resumed the chase.
From the other side of the forest, a thin column of smoke rose into the sky—likely the temporary camp of the Hunter's Guild, set up to block League trainers heading to the Tree of Life.
From that camp, a man approached with his Pokémon.
He was still a bit far off, and Cain couldn't clearly make out his face, but from the fugitive's shout, he already had a pretty good idea who it was.
"Stop!" shouted the newcomer.
But Cain reached the last fugitive first.
His face was still masked by his psychic camouflage, and upon hearing the shout, he simply ignored it.
At that moment, Logan finally entered his field of vision.
Cain, no longer interested in capturing, directly eliminated the last enemy right before Logan's eyes.
If that prisoner had known his shout sealed his fate, he'd probably be regretting it even in the afterlife.
And if he had known it wasn't Logan who came, he might've still had a chance to live... or at least would've hated Logan for dragging him to his death.
That's right: Cain did it intentionally, right in front of Logan.
Logan's face turned so dark it seemed to drip with shadows.
When he looked at Cain, his eyes were filled with murderous fury... and a hint of confusion.
Since when did League members become so ruthless with killing?
Didn't they usually capture instead of eliminate?
And besides, in this space, most wouldn't dare ignore League orders.
But what Logan didn't know was that all of this was deliberate on Cain's part. For what purpose? Well...
Cain let out a cold laugh, turned, and walked away with Slowking.
Logan stood frozen.
Had he just been provoked?
Even knowing it could be a trap, Logan, burning with fury and confident in his own strength, gave chase.
Cain sensed the movement behind him and smiled beneath the psychic camouflage on his face.
He instructed Slowking to use the Teleport move—but at a slower pace, so they wouldn't lose the pursuer.
They were likely close to the Hunter's Guild's main camp. If they started fighting there, reinforcements would come, and Cain wouldn't just lose his chance for revenge—he might not escape at all.
The idea was to lure Logan to a safe area and eliminate him there.
Logan didn't suspect a thing.
He never connected Cain or his Slowking with that boy who had used a Shiny Slowpoke to escape the Guild some time ago.
Even though both Pokémon were shiny, Logan had completely forgotten that "nobody."
In his mind, they had always been in different leagues—and now, that gap had to be even wider.
What he didn't know was that this "nobody" still remembered the incident clearly and had come to settle the score.
Slowking also remembered Logan. If it hadn't been for him, maybe they wouldn't have met Sabrina.
And now that he thought about it, it was thanks to that encounter that Cain awakened his psychic abilities.
At that moment, the forest presented a strange scene: one man was jogging slowly, almost inviting pursuit, and another, dead serious, chased him relentlessly.
One fled, the other followed.
This went on for over an hour.
Given their speed, they had already covered a considerable distance.
They were far from the Tree of Life.
No matter how loud the upcoming battle, no one near the tree would hear it.
After such a long time, Logan began to cool down and considered abandoning the chase.
But Cain, sensing that he wanted to stop, turned around and provoked him again—he raised his middle finger straight into the air at him.
The meaning was clear.
How could he bear that?
Besides, they weren't heading toward the League's camp, so there was nothing to fear. Logan picked up speed again.
After all, the enemy Pokémon was Psychic-type, and he had ways to counter it.
Now that Slowking had become more common, Logan knew its moves well.
He knew that Slowking couldn't learn Miracle Eye.
And he had several Dark-type Pokémon.
He just had to make sure it didn't escape again with Teleport. That was his greatest concern.
Another hour passed.
Now, they were far enough.
Cain patted Slowking's back, signaling him to stop.
This would be the battlefield.
"What's wrong? Not running anymore? You dragged me all the way here without a trap? Then what was the point of all this?" Logan spoke coldly.
"Oh, there's definitely a point," Cain replied with a bitter smile. "This way, when you scream for help, no one will come save you."
He dissolved the psychic mask on his face. Maybe Logan still wouldn't recognize him...
But that no longer mattered.
The battle was about to begin!
(End of chapter)