Seeing Giovanni approach, Cain couldn't help but feel a slight sense of helplessness.
Judging by the way he looked, Giovanni really intended to battle him.
Seriously? Coming to intimidate a kid like him? That didn't seem like Giovanni's style...
He couldn't quite understand what was going through his head.
"This field is really nice," Cain replied, nodding.
"I'm glad to hear that. Even though in Team Rocket we believe in defeating our opponent by any means, it's still important to understand the basics. Knowing the fundamentals of battle is essential," said Giovanni, walking to the position opposite Cain.
Once he stopped, a small platform rose from the ground, on top of which were several Pokéballs.
"Let's have a little battle. Until now, I've only heard about your strength from others. Today, I want to see it for myself," said Giovanni with a smile, as he casually picked one of the Pokéballs from the platform and threw it into the field.
The Pokéball opened.
Releasing a purple-colored Pokémon with an extremely robust appearance.
Nidoking!
Upon seeing the Pokémon that appeared, Cain couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye slightly.
Is this for real?
He sends out his favorite Ground-type Pokémon right from the start?
Though judging by its appearance, it didn't seem to be one of Giovanni's main ones...
Still, a Nidoking paired with Giovanni... wasn't something anyone could take lightly.
Cain activated his system to scan Nidoking's data.
Pokémon: Nidoking (Purple)
Gender: Male
Level: 68
Types: Poison + Ground
Ability: Sheer Force
Held Item: Life Orb
Egg Moves: Counter, Take Down, Head Smash, Iron Tail
Basic Moves: Leer, Peck, Focus Energy, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Fury Attack, Horn Attack, Helping Hand, Toxic Spikes, Flatter, Poison Jab, Chip Away, Thrash, Earth Power, Megahorn
Learned Moves: Focus Punch, Water Pulse, Thunder Punch, Superpower, Stomping Tantrum, Outrage, Dragon Pulse, Ice Punch, Throat Chop, Icy Wind, Fire Punch
TM Moves: Protect, Toxic, Venoshock, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Earthquake, Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, Sludge Bomb, Shadow Claw, Stone Edge, Surf
"...", upon seeing that information, Cain was even more baffled.
This is too much.
Really too much.
Too exaggerated!
How was he supposed to go up against a Nidoking like that?
Just with that level 68 and purple quality, Cain already felt like he was at a disadvantage.
And that's not even counting Sheer Force combined with Life Orb...
A walking damage machine?
And that endless move list?
This Nidoking wasn't just any regular one. It was literally a mobile turret.
With that offensive power, how could any Pokémon of the same level handle it?
If Cain's Tyranitar or Aggron were higher level, maybe they'd stand a chance.
But now...
Cain sighed in resignation, pulled out a Pokéball, and threw it.
Against Giovanni, there was no point in hiding anything. He directly summoned his trump card: Slowking.
If he could use Mega Evolution, maybe Gengar could fight with a shot at victory.
But right now Mega Evolution wasn't allowed, especially not in a sparring match like this.
"I've always heard your Slowking is something special, and that its strength is considerable. Today I'll finally see for myself," Giovanni said, a glint of interest in his eyes. "I hope it's not disappointing. Otherwise, this could get boring."
"Nidoking, say hello with Thunderbolt!" Giovanni ordered with a smile.
Cain activated psychic communication with Slowking. No hiding of abilities this time.
In front of Giovanni, there was no point in holding back. If he did, he'd simply get crushed.
Even though he said he didn't want to fight, deep down Cain was somewhat excited about battling Giovanni.
Not to beat him, but to see how far he still had to go to reach him.
"Slowking, Trick Room!"
For a one-on-one battle, the move Trick Room was the best option for Slowking.
As he received the order, Nidoking charged up electricity, which quickly focused on the horn on its head and was then launched at Slowking like a lightning bolt.
Slowking had just activated Trick Room.
"What speed!" Cain was internally surprised.
This Nidoking used Thunderbolt with astonishing speed.
Even though it wasn't an Electric-type, its execution speed surpassed even many Electric Pokémon.
Thanks to Trick Room, Slowking barely managed to dodge it.
But the Thunderbolt hit the ground, leaving a crater. And that's with this being a special battlefield, harder than a regular one.
Cain swallowed hard before giving further instructions to Slowking.
The effect of Trick Room enveloped both Pokémon.
The battle started intensely.
It was the first time that Cain, using psychic communication to direct a battle, didn't have an advantage over a trainer giving verbal commands.
In fact, if it weren't for that mental link, Cain sometimes wouldn't even have been able to react to Giovanni's well-coordinated and chained attacks.
Slowking had a type advantage over Nidoking.
But little by little, that advantage was worn down by the combination of raw power and strategy.
In the end, Slowking fell to another Thunderbolt from Nidoking.
The explosive power of Sheer Force was simply terrifying.
Luckily, Slowking had done enough damage and worn Nidoking down considerably.
That gave Cain's next Pokémon the upper hand.
Without hesitation, he summoned Gengar from the shadows.
The battle continued against Giovanni's Nidoking.
Both were Poison-types, but Gengar used all his strange and crafty moves to finally defeat a clearly worn-out Nidoking.
Afterward, Giovanni hesitated for a moment before releasing his second Pokémon: a Swampert.
One of the starter Pokémon from the Hoenn region. With Giovanni's status, it wasn't strange for him to have one.
This Pokémon was no weaker than the Nidoking before it.
Gengar suffered tremendously. It seemed like Swampert could predict his movements, and Cain couldn't get an edge with his commands.
And without Mega Evolution, Gengar eventually fell.
However, before going down, he managed to drag Swampert with him using Destiny Bond.
If it lands, it's devastating.
Cain, using two Pokémon, managed to take down two of Giovanni's.
Giovanni, somewhat unsatisfied, finally sent out his third Pokémon: a level 70 Garchomp.
Cain had no choice but to send out Florges.
A Fairy-type Pokémon, using Misty Terrain, which caused Garchomp a lot of trouble.
But the power gap was immense.
Moreover, this Garchomp didn't even focus on Dragon-type moves; its strength lay in Ground-type attacks.
The result was clear: Florges fell under its offense.
Cain's three strongest Pokémon had been defeated.
At that point, continuing the battle no longer made sense.
(End of Chapter)