Only a Magneton and a Jolteon remained.
They couldn't stand up to even Pupitar, much less to Blaziken and Aggron in their Mega Evolution state.
Blaziken directly eliminated Magneton with Flamethrower.
Pupitar, using Precipice Blades, also defeated the already injured Jolteon.
At this point, all of Regi's Pokémon had lost the ability to battle.
At that moment, he still looked somewhat stunned.
He stared in awe at Blaziken and Aggron after their Mega Evolution, noticing that not only had their appearances changed, but their strength had also increased dramatically.
This improvement wasn't inferior to a real evolution. In fact, it was even greater.
Once the battle ended, the Mega Evolution energy dissipated from Blaziken and Aggron's bodies.
That energy returned to the Mega Stones.
And they reverted to their original forms.
Cain frowned.
Even though they hadn't reached the three-minute limit, keeping Mega Evolution active for two minutes was already a significant burden for him in his current state.
Just as Blaziken and Aggron deactivated their Mega Evolution, Cain felt a sharp pain in his head.
Blaziken and Aggron, for their part, had no major problems.
They simply weren't fully used to losing such immense power all at once.
Besides, during the battle, they hadn't suffered any major injuries. Crobat's attacks on Aggron were like mosquito bites.
"What... what exactly is that?" Regi asked with a dry throat and a hint of dizziness, still staring at Blaziken and Aggron, now in their normal state.
Cain smiled slightly without answering right away.
He used his psychic powers to pull toward him the communication device Regi had been hiding behind his back.
He saw that it had the recording function active.
Although he hadn't had time to call his uncle, in the final moments of the battle, Regi had done the only useful and correct thing he could.
But he forgot that Cain, being psychic, could easily detect movements like that.
The communicator had a program set up to automatically send the recording once it ended.
Cain rubbed a nearby tree branch slightly, opened a crack, and tossed the communicator inside.
Then, the crack closed on its own.
He had thrown the communicator into alternate space, completely cutting off its connection to the Pokémon world.
Regi's face turned pale and visibly upset.
This time, he had fallen completely.
But what confused him was that Cain's Pokémon didn't seem particularly strong. He had only chosen to fight because he was sure he had a chance.
He was mainly defeated because of that strange evolution of Blaziken and Aggron.
"This is called Mega Evolution," Cain said with a faint smile.
In Team Rocket, Cain had three main enemies. Xenon had already been eliminated. And now, Regi, the one with the most potential, was also out of the picture.
Only the last member remained: Lucius.
That one probably didn't even remember Cain anymore.
"Mega Evolution..." Regi muttered.
His gaze went blank, and his pupils started to lose focus.
Cain appeared in front of him and, without hesitation, launched a spatial slash directly at his neck.
Regi, who once gave confident orders back on Trial Island, now died on this Island of the Three Legendary Birds.
No ceremony, no mourning.
Cain collected all valuable items from Regi's body and also tossed him into alternate space.
It couldn't be denied—this alternate space ability was perfect for erasing traces. Much better than simply destroying the bodies.
Then he gathered all the fallen Pokémon. He even saved the life of the dying Crobat.
After all, those Pokémon still held value. Their potential and talent weren't low, and they could be sold for good money.
With Regi out of the way, Cain was one step closer to the location of Rox and his subordinates.
From this point on, he needed to act with extreme caution.
"Screeeeech—!"
A long cry echoed through the sky.
Accompanied by a sky in flames, a large fire-wrapped bird appeared on the horizon.
The entire sea of clouds turned red like fire—an impressive sight.
Moltres!
It appeared!
Upon seeing Moltres appear, Cain froze.
According to Umbra's intel, Moltres was the target of Rox's mission.
But just from the aura it emitted at a distance, it was obvious it wouldn't be easy to deal with.
No one knew just how strong Rox had truly become.
Cain's thoughts spun quickly in his mind.
Suddenly, he smiled.
"Looks like I underestimated him. With this kind of veteran, only when they show a weakness do I have a chance. For now, it's unwise to make him my main target," he thought, and felt the internal pressure ease.
Even so, Slowking had already laid out his hidden cards. It wasn't that Cain lacked the power to fight.
Eliminating the heir of the Nishikawa family, Regi, already counted as a major success in the mission.
He was certain Giovanni hadn't expected him to face Rox directly. Giovanni knew the difference in strength between them.
Besides, the main focus remained capturing the Three Legendary Birds and collecting their genetic material. If interfering too much meant they couldn't obtain Moltres's, it would be a huge problem.
Now that Moltres had appeared, Rox would surely focus most of his attention on it—giving Cain more room to maneuver and the chance to act boldly.
Also, he needed some time to recover from the double Mega Evolution.
Cain once again ventured into the forest with his Pokémon, searching for his next target.
The more he eliminated, the greater the rewards.
...
Elsewhere, Umbra had already begun his battle with Zapdos on Thunder Mountain.
Meanwhile, Tenebris was on the snowy mountain, watching from the other side.
Moltres had already returned, and that meant Rox's battle was about to begin.
It still wasn't certain how strong Moltres truly was.
Tenebris had already ordered his subordinates to stop looking for Articuno and start setting up defenses around the snowy mountain.
Given the situations with Zapdos and Moltres, it was unlikely that Articuno was on that mountain.
Instead of wasting time searching, it was better to reinforce defenses—not just against wild Pokémon, but also against Rox and his team.
"I wonder how far Cain's made it..." Tenebris suddenly thought.
"Screeeeech—!"
Suddenly, a new bird's cry echoed in the sky.
Shortly after Moltres's appearance, Articuno also emerged.
With every beat of its wings, it dragged a snowstorm behind it, and wherever it passed, the temperature dropped drastically.
Tenebris no longer had time to worry about others—his own battle was about to begin.
With a Poké Ball in hand, he stared intently at Articuno, flying toward him from afar.
Fortunately, the three Legendary Birds didn't seem to get along particularly well. Otherwise, had they joined forces, the first to fall would've been Umbra, who had started the battle with Zapdos.
(End of chapter)