Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

"Slowpoke, Psyshock! Sneasel, Ice Beam! Skorupi, Bug Bite!" Cain stood calmly beneath a tree, directing his three Pokémon to unleash their moves.

The three Dustox of varying levels in front of them fell to the ground immediately.

Cain pulled out a few Poké Balls and captured the three Dustox.

He had already spent three hours in the Dustox forest on the hillside.

With the help of the system, he had captured all the mid-quality Dustox with decent levels. These Pokémon already had a basic level of strength and only needed a bit of training from their trainers to become useful in battle.

This type of Pokémon was ideal for Cain's subordinates at the moment.

He also eliminated all the low-quality Wurmple.

Cain had conducted a preliminary selection of the Dustox group, removing the bad and keeping the good.

Bug-type Pokémon reproduce quickly. Cain only needed to periodically revisit to clean up a bit, and the overall quality of the Pokémon in this area would significantly improve.

Additionally, thanks to Cain's efforts, the Dustox would not become a pest, and the forest's energy would remain balanced.

After finishing with the Dustox group, Cain had over thirty Poké Balls in his pocket, most containing mid-quality but high-level Dustox. He had also captured a few high-quality Wurmple, which he could use to reward people with great potential, further strengthening his team.

"I think I'm done here. Now I just need to clean up the Beautifly group, and it'll be ready. If I control the quantity and quality of the Pokémon on the hill, I can fence off this area and allow a few deserving or promising individuals to train here and capture whatever Pokémon they want. Although, adding more variety would be nice," Cain thought as he made his way to the forest where the Beautifly group resided.

Unlike Dustox, Beautifly had a calmer temperament, but their combat capability was no less formidable.

As Cain ventured into the Beautifly forest, he encountered an unexpected person.

"Is it you?" two voices said simultaneously.

Cain found himself face-to-face with a girl around seventeen or eighteen years old, accompanied by a Roserade.

The girl also seemed surprised to see him.

Cain clearly remembered who she was.

Once, in the Johto region, they had crossed paths while he was attempting to capture an Onix, a mission published by the Hunter Association.

The girl, named Karen, had been fighting two Onix when one of them came close to Cain, who seized the opportunity to capture it.

This led to a confrontation between them, ending in a battle.

The girl had called him "crazy," and, realizing she couldn't win, had fled on her Skarmory.

At the time, Karen had a Roselia, which had now evolved into Roserade. This caught Cain's attention because evolving Roselia into Roserade required a Shiny Stone, a rare item in the Hoenn region.

The fact that Karen had obtained one meant she was either lucky or had help from someone else. Moreover, the quality of that Shiny Stone seemed high, as the system displayed the following information:

Pokémon: Roserade (Blue)

Gender: Female

Level: 32

Type: Grass + Poison

Ability: Technician

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Synthesis, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder

Basic Moves: Absorb, Growth, Poison Sting, Stun Spore, Giga Drain, Leech Seed, Magical Leaf, Grass Whistle, Toxic Spikes, Sweet Scent, Venom Drench, Grassy Terrain, Weather Ball

Learned Moves: Worry Seed, Snore

TM Moves: Protect, Hidden Power (Water), Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Grass Knot

If Roselia had previously been light blue in quality, that might explain it, but if it had been dark green, that Shiny Stone must have been of the highest quality.

"Karen!" Cain exclaimed, recognizing the young woman.

"Crazy!" Karen replied, using the nickname she had given him during their first encounter.

Cain frowned at hearing his nickname. "Crazy?" he thought. One fight, and now he had a nickname.

Karen's face turned serious. She hadn't expected to encounter Cain in this remote forest—it truly felt like fate.

But now, Cain was more relaxed. In the past, Karen had managed to escape thanks to her Skarmory's speed, but now Cain had both Honchkrow and Tropius, who could easily outfly the Skarmory.

Additionally, Roserade, which seemed to be Karen's strongest Pokémon, was completely vulnerable to Honchkrow, giving Cain a significant advantage.

Seeing that Cain wasn't attacking immediately, Karen also felt more at ease.

No matter how strong she was, facing someone considered "crazy" was always unsettling.

"What are you doing here?" Cain asked, frowning.

While this place didn't belong to him, Cain had mentally marked it as part of his development plan, and he didn't like seeing intruders.

Karen pursed her lips, clearly thinking, "Why should I tell you?"

However, noticing Cain's growing seriousness and the intimidating stance of the Pokémon surrounding him, she decided to speak. "Aren't you also a hunter? What's wrong with a hunter coming to the forest to catch Pokémon?"

She then added, "But you—what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the Johto region?"

"As you said, I'm a hunter. It's not unusual for me to appear in a remote forest," Cain replied calmly.

"Then... have you also come for that mission?" Karen's expression shifted to one of surprise. She had gone to great lengths to secure that mission, traveling to numerous places and paying a high price before tracking her target to this location.

Karen's words made Cain think quickly.

He felt a slight excitement inside.

A big deal was on the horizon!

(End of Chapter)