However, Cain didn't summon his Pokémon immediately. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed for a long while on those three Pokémon from Alola.
The League shouldn't have officially discovered the Alola region yet—or rather, perhaps they already had, but hadn't established a presence there.
In the previous Sinnoh League, Lorelei had received an Alolan Sandshrew as the final prize.
That proved that the League already knew about Alola, but most likely hadn't managed to consolidate control over it yet—or was still in the process of doing so—which was why they hadn't announced it publicly. Only a very small number of people were aware of it.
And yet, that man had suddenly summoned three Pokémon from Alola, and the way he arranged them suggested he had been preparing for this for a long time.
"Have you been to Alola?" Cain asked suddenly.
"Oh? I didn't expect you to know about Alola as well. I see you truly aren't just anyone. You must already know the League is trying to establish diplomatic relations with the Alola region," the man replied with a smile.
"That kind of information isn't something many people know... Then, are you people from Alola?" Cain pressed.
His suspicion was growing stronger by the second.
That silver robe...
Suddenly, Cain's eyes narrowed.
"You belong to the Aether Foundation, don't you?"
The Aether Foundation!
At the mention of that name, the man was left stunned, a look of shock spreading across his face.
Although he neither confirmed nor denied it, his reaction was enough for Cain to know he was right.
The Aether Foundation, the Sacred Church...
Everything was becoming more and more entangled.
Pokémon: Gardevoir (Dark Blue)
Gender: Female
Level: 74
Types: Psychic + Fairy
Ability: Synchronize
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Disable, Destiny Bond, Skill Swap, Ally Switch
Basic Moves: Moonblast, Misty Terrain, Healing Wish, Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport, Disarming Voice, Wish, Magical Leaf, Heal Pulse, Draining Kiss, Calm Mind, Imprison, Future Sight, Captivate, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Stored Power
Learned Moves: Pain Split, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Magic Coat, Telekinesis
TM Moves: Protect, Psychic, Psyshock, Grass Knot, Substitute
This Gardevoir had the Synchronize ability. Although not as versatile as Trace, within this lineup, it was the best choice.
The ability Synchronize allowed her to pass on any status conditions she suffered—such as burns, poison, toxic poisoning, or paralysis—to her opponent.
Just looking at Alolan Muk and Alolan Marowak was enough to understand the strategy: load Gardevoir with all those negative effects, then forcibly transfer them to the enemy. It was a "hurt the enemy by harming oneself" tactic—but taken to its fullest potential.
With moves like Disable, Destiny Bond, Ally Switch, and Pain Split, the concept of a self-destructive endurance battle was being displayed to perfection.
When Cain looked into Gardevoir's empty eyes, obeying commands without will of her own, he understood that to this man, she was nothing but a tool.
Cain asked nothing further. After one last glance at Gardevoir, he threw his own Poké Balls.
Out came Slowking, Drapion, Florges, Tyranitar, Aggron, Blaziken, Gengar, and... Diancie.
Seeing those Pokémon, the man let out a cold laugh.
"Gardevoir, begin!"
An overwhelming psychic power surged forth. Ever since she and the other psychics had appeared, their energy had been spreading invisibly, expanding to fill the entire alternate space.
With the command, Gardevoir's eyes gleamed. The white dress that formed part of her body began to float, and she rose into the air. From her body emanated countless fine threads of psychic energy, like spider silk, weaving a net that covered the entire area.
Her eyes glowed again, and those threads connected with the other five Pokémon on her team.
The man's eyes also shone with psychic light.
A storm of uncontrollable fury erupted within Cain's heart.
Perhaps it was anger at seeing how he treated Gardevoir as a mere tool—or maybe because Cain himself had once acted the same way.
Only someone who had once used that same strategy could recognize it instantly upon seeing Gardevoir's data.
"Tyranitar, Sandstorm!" Cain ordered coldly.
That man had touched one of his deepest wounds.
Immediately, countless grains of sand shimmering with golden light began to fill the space. Under Tyranitar's control, the sand expanded from the ground upward, covering everything, and its intensity kept increasing.
Gardevoir's psychic threads began to distort under the interference of the storm.
The man frowned at such a display of power.
Throughout the time Cain had fought against Team Magma and Team Aqua, Tyranitar's greatest improvement had been in mastering the Sand Stream ability—and therefore, in his control over sandstorms.
But this sandstorm was only beginning.
Aggron stepped forward firmly to stand beside Tyranitar. His body released Rock-type energy; the ground trembled as fragments of stone rose up and merged into the storm.
Diancie, standing tall beside Cain, watched her companions act and nodded toward him.
She raised her hands, and countless pink diamonds began to emerge, spinning and multiplying in a spiral.
It was her signature move—Diamond Storm!
The pink diamonds fused into the sandstorm, even altering its color.
"TYRRAANN!!" Tyranitar roared mightily.
At that very moment, Aggron and Diancie released their control over their moves, surrendering all the rock fragments and diamonds to Tyranitar.
And it still wasn't over!
Gengar emerged from Tyranitar's shadow, his eyes glowing, and replicated the Sand Stream ability.
Around his body, sand particles began to rise, gradually merging with Tyranitar's storm.
Though Gengar's control wasn't as precise as Tyranitar's, his level was higher, and even so, he managed to significantly amplify the effects of Sand Stream.
Once his storm was fully activated, Gengar also released control, transferring all the sand to Tyranitar.
In an instant, the quantity and quality of the sand Tyranitar could manipulate multiplied several times over.
The storm wasn't just vast—it was immensely powerful.
Its strength had reached the point where it could rightfully be called...
The Domain of the Sandstorm!
(End of Chapter)