Hearing Cain's provocative words, both men felt their faces flush with rage, a feeling of being mocked flooded their hearts.
Almost simultaneously, they pulled out two Poké Balls.
"Gastly, use Hypnosis!" While the others were acting, Cain was already prepared.
Following Cain's command, Gastly took advantage of the irregular shadows of the trees and, almost instantly, appeared in front of the two Team Rocket members.
However, unlike those who had never fought in the League, Team Rocket members, even if they were mere grunts, had much higher responsiveness in emergency situations.
Instinctively, they closed their eyes and tossed out two Poké Balls.
Two Koffing, an Arbok, and a Golbat—standard Pokémon for Team Rocket—appeared.
As Cain assessed them, he released two Poké Balls, sending Murkrow and Miltank into battle.
Although it seemed a lot had happened, everything took place in an instant. When Gastly failed in its attempt to use Hypnosis and hesitated on whether to attack again, wary of a potential counterattack from the four Pokémon, Cain said:
"Gastly, fall back and use Confuse Ray on Golbat! Slowpoke, Calm Mind! Murkrow, use Tailwind and then Hidden Power to attack Golbat. Miltank, use Defense Curl!" Cain issued a series of commands in an instant.
Each Pokémon listened to the orders and used their respective moves.
Gastly avoided being surrounded by the four Pokémon through the shadows and then used Confuse Ray on Golbat.
A small, glowing orb appeared in front of Gastly, emitting a strange light as it flew erratically toward Golbat.
Slowpoke closed its eyes and began using Calm Mind. Cain had trained it to maintain focus in any situation, and although it hadn't reached perfection, it could enter a meditative state almost instantly.
"Caw!" Murkrow cried, and a gentle air current surrounded its team.
Miltank took the frontline, using Defense Curl to boost her defense.
While giving commands, Cain quickly assessed the level and quality of the enemy Pokémon.
The two Koffing were almost identical, both around level 21, with slight differences in quality; Kevin's Koffing had a yellow quality, while the other young man's Koffing was of slightly lower quality.
Golbat was at level 24, with a dark yellow quality, probably Kevin's main Pokémon. Arbok had a yellow quality, but its level was lower, only 22, suggesting it had recently evolved.
The two Team Rocket members opened their eyes after Gastly retreated, their faces showing displeasure; they had underestimated Cain, thinking he was an inexperienced League rookie.
But having reacted slower, they were now at a disadvantage.
Gastly's Confuse Ray struck Golbat, causing it to see strange lights and fly erratically.
"Golbat! Damn it! Koffing, use Sludge. Golbat, close your eyes and follow my instructions. Use Screech," Kevin ordered through gritted teeth.
"Koffing, use Sludge as well. Arbok, approach Slowpoke and use Bite," the other Team Rocket member said hastily.
Both were clearly accustomed to fighting together, and their Pokémon had a certain level of synchronization. Although there was a small conflict between them, they understood they needed to cooperate against a strong opponent.
Golbat used Screech, emitting an annoying sound, but due to its confusion, the effect impacted both Cain's Pokémon and those of Team Rocket.
Hitting everyone equally!
Seeing this, the other young man temporarily set aside his resentment, casting a glance at Kevin but without changing his commands.
If Arbok managed to get close to Slowpoke, even with its reduced defense, Slowpoke would suffer substantial damage due to the type advantage of Dark-type moves.
But Cain wasn't going to let them achieve their goal so easily.
"Miltank, use Block and stop Arbok! Murkrow, use Gust to blow away the Sludge! Slowpoke, give it your all and use Psyshock to attack Golbat! Gastly, disrupt those Koffing with Hypnosis!" Cain commanded calmly.
Despite directing four Pokémon, Cain, knowing them so well, had no hesitation in giving the right commands for each situation.
"Mii!" Miltank took a large step forward, extending her arms to block Arbok's path.
Seeing itself blocked, Arbok didn't know how to proceed, momentarily dazed.
The Sludge attack from the two Koffing was deflected precisely by Murkrow's Gust, and the few drops that hit their target didn't cause much damage.
Since all four enemy Pokémon were Poison-type, Slowpoke was the primary attacker in this fight. After using Calm Mind, it felt highly focused, and its Psyshock hit the confused Golbat in quick succession.
The two Team Rocket members, fearing an ambush from Gastly, didn't dare move the Koffing far, limiting their effectiveness.
"Arbok, take down Miltank using Bind followed by Fire Fang."
Seeing that Golbat wasn't recovering, Kevin tried to cover it with smoke to give it time to recover.
Golbat was his trump card, and losing it would mean defeat.
"Murkrow, use Gust. Miltank, use Bide," Cain ordered upon hearing Kevin's commands.
Cain had Murkrow disperse the smoke before it fully covered the area, allowing Slowpoke to continue its attack.
Miltank, on the other hand, prepared to endure Arbok's attack.
The battlefield changed in an instant. Golbat, after taking Slowpoke's consecutive attacks, fell to the ground, defeated.
"Golbat!" Kevin shouted, his eyes wide with shock.
The battle was clearly turning in Cain's favor.