Mythical Island.
In the forest between the Tree of Life and the ruins of Mythical Island.
An advanced-level Beedrill was instantly defeated by Slowking, causing a small stir in the forest.
Over the past few days, Cain had fully absorbed all the radiant stones at his disposal.
After multiple attempts, he discovered that as he absorbed more stones, their effects on him gradually diminished.
By the time he absorbed the final stone, its effect was less than half of what he experienced when he absorbed his first one on Mythical Island.
Even so, after absorbing them all, Cain experienced a continuous increase in his psychic power.
Now, his level of psychic power was in the mid-to-high range of beginner psychics.
But this was his limit. With his current talent, it was evident that he couldn't progress further.
Still, Cain was satisfied. This had exceeded his expectations, and his psychic power was now more than sufficient for his needs.
In terms of telepathy, he could maintain connections for longer durations, and while complete communication wasn't possible, he could transmit simple signals over long distances to his Pokémon.
Compared to Slowking, Cain's psychic power was insignificant.
Thus, what Slowking could perceive, Cain couldn't necessarily detect.
Using telepathy, Cain received information from Slowking.
With a faint smile and a touch of irony in his dark eyes, he turned to Slowking and said, "Slowking, pull him out of there!"
Slowking nodded seriously, and his psychic power surged. A nearby tree branch snapped instantly, and the figure standing on it fell to the ground without resistance.
However, it was clear the intruder was skilled, showing no panic as they performed a mid-air somersault and landed gracefully.
Having been discovered, the intruder didn't attempt to hide further, slowly emerging from the forest to face Cain.
Cain quickly recognized the figure before him based on the information he had.
"Kellogg, specialist in Poison-type Pokémon?" Cain said directly.
The Team Rocket member named Kellogg wore the standard outdoor survival uniform of Team Rocket, with a Spinarak perched on his shoulder.
Hearing Cain say his name, Kellogg didn't look surprised and responded indifferently, "Cain, the top ranker on the Trial Island. Rumor has it you eliminated Vexor, a direct subordinate of Lord Lucius, and you've already reached advanced level."
Compared to Shuichi, whom Cain had encountered earlier, Kellogg was clearly much calmer.
Perhaps due to his expertise in Poison-types, he behaved like a snake, stalking his prey and striking only at the perfect moment for a lethal blow.
"Seems like Xenon has distributed my information quite thoroughly? Does everyone have a copy?" Cain joked.
"You're a high-value target, so naturally, many are interested. Besides, your Pokémon aren't bad either—they're worth the risk," Kellogg replied with the same calmness, as if stating a fact.
Cain knew that twenty million Pokédollars was no small amount, even for an advanced-level Team Rocket trainer.
And since his reputation within Team Rocket wasn't particularly high, it was normal for someone to attempt to target him.
But after this experience on Mythical Island, his reputation within Team Rocket was bound to rise significantly.
Smiling faintly, Cain didn't want to say much more. Since Kellogg was interested in his head, Cain had no intention of holding back.
"Well then, you'll have to give it a try and see if you can earn that money," Cain said.
"Don't rush. The remaining survivors on this island have probably already gathered in this forest. There'll be many more interested in taking you down. What do you think? Care to form an alliance?" Kellogg suggested calmly.
Cain frowned slightly before smiling, "How do I know you won't turn on me? After all, who trusts whom in Team Rocket?"
This was clearly a refusal.
After all, Kellogg had been secretly observing him. He only revealed himself after being discovered by Cain and immediately suggested forming an alliance.
How could that inspire trust?
"You're right. In that case, there's no other way. To enter the ruins, you need at least four people for safety. Since you don't want to cooperate, then die!" Kellogg's voice turned cold suddenly.
Cain knew Kellogg's profile. His strength was comparable to Shuichi's, but as an advanced-level trainer and Poison-type specialist, he had to be approached with caution.
An Ariados dropped from the tree behind Cain, descending on its web and attacking directly.
But from the moment Kellogg appeared, Cain had been on high alert and was fully aware of Ariados's presence.
A black shadow with a blue aura quickly descended from the sky, blocking Ariados's attack and violently slamming it against a tree with a single strike.
Boom!
It was Honchkrow, who had been keeping watch from the sky. When Cain instructed Slowking to flush out Kellogg, Honchkrow had already begun its descent.
Thus, Honchkrow executed a direct attack using Aerial Ace against Ariados, sending it flying.
This Ariados must have been one of Kellogg's main Pokémon. While it wasn't his ace, it was fairly strong.
Honchkrow's attack didn't knock it out, but the result was satisfactory.
For the first time, a slight look of concern appeared on Kellogg's perpetually calm face.
As an outdoor survival expert, his preferred strategy was lurking like a spider, weaving a web in a specific forest area, and deliberately revealing his position to lure prey into the trap's center. Then, his prey would face a devastating ambush.
Ariados was just his first move, but he hadn't expected it to have no effect and, moreover, for his opponent to respond so effectively.
He underestimated the person he was trying to ambush.
Cain, in both his past life and current one, was a master of ambush battles in the wild. How could he not understand Kellogg's tactics?
Who feared an ambush more than Cain?
"Slowking, Psychic!" Cain commanded.
The Ariados, still recovering from Honchkrow's strike, was hit by Psychic before it could rise.
A Flying-type attack followed by a Psychic-type attack—the combined damage and super-effective effect rendered Ariados incapable of further combat immediately.
However, Ariados's attack was only the first wave. Next, three more Pokémon emerged from the treetops and bushes, diving straight into the fray.
(End of chapter)