Cain took down two more.
By now, those who had fallen by his hand were no fewer than seventeen or twenty.
All of them, without exception, were members of the Nishikawa family.
As for those who sided with Team Rocket, even though they obeyed Rox's orders, that was part of their responsibilities—so Cain did not act against them.
"Are you the one who's been attacking our people? Are you with Team Rocket too?" a voice called out from the forest as Pupitar covered the two corpses on the ground with energy.
Upon hearing that familiar voice, a smile appeared on Cain's face.
To avoid scaring his targets away, Cain had long since removed his black cloak and his Elite Officer badge from Team Rocket.
Otherwise, who would dare approach him?
Just seeing the Elite Officer badge would have terrified them.
It still wasn't the right time to face Rox.
Although Cain didn't hold Rox in high regard, he had to admit that Rox's strength was still greater than his own.
"Well, look who it is," Cain said indifferently, head lowered.
Upon hearing his voice, Regi froze.
Cain hadn't tried to disguise himself or hide his tone of voice.
To Regi, that sound was all too familiar.
It was that very voice that had dragged him from the pedestal of a prodigy to the abyss of failure. If not for his position in the Nishikawa family —and the fact that his father was the patriarch— that defeat would have stripped him of his right to inherit the clan.
Others might not have known the details, but as the patriarch's son, Regi took part in internal clan meetings and was well aware of the Nishikawa family's policies and goals.
If everything had gone according to plan, as heir to the clan, he might have become the next leader of Team Rocket.
But all of that had nearly been ruined by the man now standing in front of him.
Even though he had regained some of what he lost, the wasted time still weighed heavily on him.
"Cain!" Regi growled through clenched teeth.
Saying that name, the usually composed Regi nearly lost control.
Cain raised his head, looked directly at Regi, and smiled.
"What a coincidence. Have you recovered all your strength?"
Back on Mythical Island, Regi had still retained some of his fighting ability, but in the end, Cain had sent Gengar to take out his remaining Pokémon, giving him no chance to fight back.
Since then, Regi had secluded himself in intense training, aiming to regain his strength and surpass his former self.
All for this moment: to find Cain and take revenge.
Now that his enemy was in front of him, he hesitated.
The news that Cain had become an Elite Officer of Team Rocket had not yet spread internally. Only Giovanni, Umbra, and Tenebris knew his status—precisely to take the others by surprise.
That's why Cain hadn't revealed his identity at the aerial fortress either.
Regi knew Cain was strong, but he never imagined that in just one year he could go from a mere Trial Island participant to an Elite-level trainer.
Now he compared his strength with Cain's.
He looked at the four Pokémon beside Cain.
"They can't all be his main Pokémon," Regi thought to himself.
Even so, he believed he had a chance. He still had cards up his sleeve.
As a precaution, he considered contacting his uncle first.
But while he hesitated, someone reacted quickly.
Cain wasn't the type to wait for the opponent to prepare and get into position.
Not taking advantage of an edge would be foolish.
"Aggron, Stone Edge!"
"Blaziken, Swords Dance!"
"Pupitar, Stealth Rock!"
"Politoed, Icy Wind!"
Regi's expression changed dramatically. The hand that reached for his communicator moved instead to his belt to throw four Pokéballs.
"Battle! Raichu, Magneton, Jolteon, Ampharos!"
Four Electric-type Pokémon!
Regi's specialty.
But that meant Pupitar had the advantage.
He had nothing to fear from Electric-type moves, and with his extremely high physical defense, he was completely unstoppable.
The same applied to Aggron. As long as there were no Pokémon with a type advantage against him, he was like an invulnerable beast.
Perhaps the only weak point was Politoed, but with support from the others, it wasn't a big concern.
Cain's system quickly scanned the four Pokémon's characteristics.
All were at Advanced level, above level 45. The one with the lowest potential was Magneton, with a Light Blue grade, while the other three had Blue-grade quality.
This showed that, while the Nishikawa family had some strength, they still lacked depth.
The gap with a true elite family was evident.
No wonder Giovanni didn't act directly against them and instead sent Cain to "teach them a lesson."
With their current level, they had no chance of controlling Team Rocket.
The truly powerful Elite Officers of Team Rocket weren't opponents the Nishikawa family could dominate.
Their only advantage was the backing of Giovanni's father.
"All Pokémon, Charge! Target Politoed and take him down!" Regi ordered.
He still hadn't accepted his previous defeat.
Because on that occasion, his Pokémon had fallen to Regirock—not by Cain's hand directly.
Cain had only used Gengar to finish them off.
So this time, he immediately launched his strongest attack combo.
He combined electric currents of various charges and voltages, manipulating the electromagnetic field to cause maximum damage.
Aggron's Stone Edge was obliterated on contact with the electric surge.
Cain's expression showed surprise. He hadn't expected Regi to have that trick up his sleeve.
"But that's it. Politoed, Protect! Hold the attack!"
"Aggron and Pupitar, double Earthquake!" Cain ordered.
Pupitar couldn't intercept in time, but Politoed still had a way to endure it.
"Blaziken, Quick Attack! High Jump Kick!"
Politoed withstood the blow using Protect.
Aggron and Pupitar, the two most coordinated of the four, unleashed a powerful double Earthquake, sending a devastating seismic wave straight at Regi and his four Pokémon.
Aside from Magneton, the other Pokémon would take significant damage.
"Protect!" Regi shouted just in time.
Raichu, Ampharos, and Jolteon reacted instantly, raising green barriers to block the wave.
But they couldn't stop Blaziken's attack.
Following the seismic wave, Blaziken lunged at Ampharos. Just as his barrier faded, a brutal kick struck him directly in the face.
Bam!
Bam!
Ampharos went flying, tumbling across the ground several times before coming to a stop, seriously injured.
"Discharge!" Regi ordered, though it was already too late.
The three remaining Pokémon created an electric net trying to trap Blaziken as he retreated, but they failed.
Ampharos shakily got back up, visibly weakened.
(End of chapter)