Under Cain’s command, Honchkrow disposed of the nuisance Weezing without paying attention to the moves it launched from behind. Honchkrow trusted Cain completely.
Ignoring Weezing’s moves, Honchkrow quickly concentrated its energy, enveloping itself in a blue aura resembling the flames of a divine bird. It calculated Pinsir’s trajectory and intercepted it before it could charge at Drapion.
Meanwhile, Weezing’s attacks were stopped by a psychic barrier that appeared out of nowhere. Not only that, but Slowking projected its psychic power as an invisible blade, cutting through Weezing’s move and striking it directly.
Poison-type Pokémon are especially vulnerable to Psychic-type moves, and the effect was devastating!
Even with its psychic power spread thin to manage two Pokémon, Slowking could still dominate the battle. This was the strength Slowking could unleash upon reaching the quasi-elite level.
Hypno tried to restrain Slowking with its own psychic power, but it was in a tough spot as Cain’s fastest Pokémon, Weavile and Gengar, had already reached the rear lines.
Weavile, with a pair of metallic claws infused with Ice-type energy, unleashed a blizzard toward the rear and then directly attacked Victreebel.
Given Victreebel’s large size, it found it hard to keep up with Weavile’s agile movements. The vines it extended from its body were easily slashed apart by Weavile’s sharp claws.
Weavile’s goal was clear: to disrupt the roots Victreebel used to regenerate. Once that advantage was gone, defeat would be inevitable.
Meanwhile, Weavile paid no attention to Hypno’s moves, as Hypno lacked the Miracle Eye move, limiting its effectiveness against Dark-type Pokémon.
With Weavile wreaking havoc in the rear and Hypno focused on containing Slowking, the situation became desperate for the enemy team.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Gengar materialized from the shadows of the trees, cackling maliciously as it hurled several dark spheres filled with a strange purple poison at Hypno.
Although Hypno’s psychic power blocked the moves, each collision resulted in a crackling sound, as ghost and psychic energies dissolved each other.
Meanwhile, Floette, perched on Cain’s shoulder, supported Drapion by generating a grassy terrain beneath its feet and using Lucky Chant and Aromatherapy to revitalize the team. This allowed Drapion to fight without restrictions.
Facing Arbok, Drapion showed no signs of defense. Its pincers firmly held the snake Pokémon as the two exchanged relentless blows with their tails and fangs.
Drapion’s tail tangled with Arbok’s, while the flames from Arbok’s Fire Fang were countered by Drapion’s own Fire Fang move.
The smell of burning flesh began to waft across the battlefield.
With a hardened expression, Sox continued directing his team. Hypno tried to use Role Play to copy Drapion’s Sniper ability and transfer it to Arbok.
It then passed it to Pinsir, using a combination of Role Play and Skill Swap it had perfected to create a counterattack opportunity.
However, Cain had anticipated this combination from the moment he analyzed Hypno’s data.
As Hypno attempted to transfer the Sniper ability to Pinsir, Slowking doubled the intensity of its psychic power, piercing Hypno’s defenses and using Disable to render the Skill Swap move unusable.
With Skill Swap disabled, Gengar, who had been closely observing Hypno’s moves, began to grasp the concept behind Role Play.
For some time, Cain had been training Gengar with a Spoink that knew this move, but Gengar had yet to master it. However, after observing Hypno, it seemed to have understood the essence of the move.
Although Gengar felt close to learning the move, it decided to save that task for later since the battle wasn’t over yet.
Drapion repeatedly struck Arbok’s weak points. Even with the Sniper ability transferred by Hypno, Arbok couldn’t withstand the attacks and was taken down, pinned to the ground by Drapion’s stinger.
Meanwhile, Pinsir, despite receiving support, was also defeated by Honchkrow due to its type advantage, leaving it sprawled on the ground.
Once both Pokémon fell, the rest began to falter rapidly.
Victreebel, after being frozen and damaged by Weavile’s powerful Ice-type moves, was the next to fall. After this, the entire enemy team started to collapse.
Honchkrow and the rest of Cain’s team knew Houndoom well, knowing exactly where to strike for maximum damage. Facing multiple Houndoom during daily training had taught them well.
The last to fall was Hypno. Completely ignored by Weavile, it received a series of combined blows that left it unconscious at Cain’s feet. Only Sox remained, his face grim.
Of all the enemies Cain had faced, Sox had been the most thoroughly prepared.
But Cain’s abilities had grown immensely during his absence, and his psychic-powered combat coordination gave him an unmatched advantage.
By neutralizing Hypno, Sox’s team was left uncoordinated, and their defeat was only a matter of time.
Without hesitation, Cain ordered Weavile to freeze Sox.
Many of the answers Cain sought didn’t require words; he already had access to all the information he needed.