Cain used Slowpoke's Teleport to move to Vexor's side.
With a single tug, he removed the Team Rocket belt from Vexor and then retrieved the Golduck that had been under control, locking its Poké Ball.
This Golduck wasn't weak, but Vexor had only used it as personal protection—a complete waste.
As for the other Pokémon, they had all been taken down by Honchkrow. Even if any survived, having consumed so many potential-draining pills, they were no longer worth training.
Bug-type Pokémon already have short lifespans. If they further shorten their lives with pills, they can't reach their full potential. Before they can peak, they begin aging and losing strength.
Among Pokémon, Dragon-types are the ones that can maintain their peak power for the longest.
Though Dragon-types are hard to train and require a lot of time and resources, they sustain their prime state for the longest period.
Oh, and Ghost-types too.
After taking out Vexor and seizing all his belongings, Cain turned his gaze to the other side of the battlefield.
Now, Daishi, who was fighting Miyamoto, seemed desperate to shake him off and escape.
After providing emergency medical attention to his Pokémon, Alec approached Cain.
"Honchkrow, deal with him," Cain said, then turned to Alec. "Are you okay?"
Alec nodded and kicked Vexor's lifeless body. "I'm fine. My Pokémon were only incapacitated; Honchkrow wasn't too harsh."
"Thank you, Cain, for avenging me," Alec said, kneeling on one knee to show his loyalty.
Cain waved his hand, signaling Alec to stand. "I did it for myself, not for you. Only what you do for yourself truly belongs to you."
"Don't blame me—winning required it," he added, referring to when he weakened Alec's Pokémon to boost Honchkrow's strength.
Alec felt a bit uneasy but decided to let it go since Cain seemed to be indirectly apologizing by bringing it up several times.
Cain released Grimer to devour the corpses scattered on the ground.
Now that Grimer had reached a dark green quality level, it had excellent stats and abilities, even if it lacked much battle experience. With a bit of training, it could become an extremely valuable Pokémon.
Furthermore, since its potential had reached such a level, further improvement would be difficult, so there was no issue showing it to others.
These corpses, brimming with energy, shouldn't go to waste.
In Miyamoto and Daishi's battle, Miyamoto was already exhausted. But seeing Honchkrow coming to assist, his confidence soared.
Victory belongs to Lord Cain!
From now on, my future is bright!
All I need to do is keep up with Lord Cain.
At that moment, Miyamoto fully committed himself to Cain, directing his Pokémon to attack Daishi's Pokémon ferociously, preventing him from escaping.
Honchkrow quickly joined the fray.
Although Daishi's Pokémon were Rock-types, reducing the damage from Flying and Dark-type moves, Cain's Honchkrow now had eight Moxie boosts.
It was at its peak!
With one attack, it could defeat one of Daishi's Pokémon.
Fortunately, Honchkrow didn't use its strongest attack, and Rock-types had good defenses, so they were only defeated, not killed.
But with each victory, Honchkrow's Moxie kept stacking.
"Does Honchkrow's Moxie really have no limit?" Cain wondered.
Accompanied by Alec, Cain slowly approached, gathering the injured Pokémon.
There were now many wounded Pokémon, and he would tend to them all later.
Plop!
With all his Pokémon defeated and no chance of escape, Daishi dropped to his knees, repeatedly bowing and pleading with Cain.
"Lord Cain, please... I... I..."
Before he could finish, Cain interrupted, "While I value pragmatism, you're useless to me. And I detest hypocrites. I prefer those who are openly wicked. You're just like Vexor—always scheming in the shadows. Finish him, Honchkrow."
He then instructed Miyamoto to take all of Daishi's belongings and gather the surviving Pokémon to deal with later.
Thus, Vexor and his group were completely eliminated on the Trial Island.
"Let's go. Slowpoke, take us somewhere safe—not far, just safe enough," Cain said.
Although Slowpoke was also injured, it could handle a short-range Teleport for three people.
"Slowpoke, Teleport."
With the expansion of Slowpoke's psychic power, the three disappeared.
Moments after Cain left, two figures appeared at the battlefield where he and Vexor had fought.
Surveying the devastation—the grass torn apart—one of them, a young man with a red "R" tattooed on his forehead, wearing a punk-style leather jacket and several ear piercings, let out a sigh.
"Did they loot everything? Not even a blade of grass left," the young man remarked.
The other, with icy blue hair, wore a light blue shirt, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a book. He also bore a red "R" tattoo on his hand.
"Vexor is dead, Regi," said the blue-haired youth.
The punk was Regi, the strongest among the new recruits and a direct subordinate of Surge, one of Team Rocket's three senior Executives.
"Tch, that useless Vexor only knew how to play dirty, and look where it got him—scheming himself to death," Regi said with disdain.
"Speaking of which, Glacius, if you keep wandering around without collecting points, aren't you afraid Lord Darius will scold you?" Regi continued.
Glacius, the blue-haired youth, was a direct subordinate of Darius, another Team Rocket Executive, and one of the four powerhouses in this trial, specializing in Ice-type Pokémon.
"Aren't you doing the same?" Glacius retorted, casting a cold glance, his face expressionless.
"Bah, so boring," Regi muttered, scratching his head as he headed into the forest.
Glacius lingered for a moment, his eyes gleaming. "Cain... interesting," he murmured before following Regi in the same direction.
(End of Chapter)