Pokémon: Lucario (Dark Purple)
Gender: Male
Level: 70
Types: Fighting + Steel
Ability: Inner Focus
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Cross Chop, High Jump Kick, Blaze Kick, Meteor Mash
Basic Moves: Aura Sphere, Laser Focus, Foresight, Quick Attack, Endure, Detect, Metal Claw, Counter, Feint, Power-Up Punch, Swords Dance, Metal Sound, Bone Rush, Quick Guard, Me First, Work Up, Calm Mind, Heal Pulse, Close Combat, Extreme Speed
Learned Moves: Thunder Punch, Magnet Rise, Ice Punch, Water Pulse, Iron Tail, Role Play, Low Kick, Dragon Pulse, Absorb, Dual Chop
TM Moves: Protect, Earthquake, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Brick Break
That Lucario had reached level 70 in such a short period of time was closely related to its constant training and active participation in battles.
The main reason Cain had assigned it so many weights was to specifically train the move Extreme Speed.
In the games Cain had played before, Extreme Speed was a rather unbalanced move. However, after experiencing it several times in reality, he discovered that it was not as exaggerated as he had imagined.
Even so, the upper limit of this move turned out to be much higher than Cain had expected.
That is to say, if used poorly, its minimum performance could be very low; but if trained properly, the maximum potential of the move Extreme Speed was extremely high.
Whether as a finishing move or as a link between multiple moves, it was an excellent technique.
Pokémon: Shiny Venusaur (Dark Purple)
Gender: Female
Level: 70
Types: Grass + Poison
Ability: Chlorophyll
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Charm, Petal Dance, Power Whip, Grassy Terrain
Basic Moves: Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Take Down, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Sweet Scent, Growth, Double-Edge, Petal Blizzard, Solar Beam
Learned Moves: Worry Seed, Snore, Synthesis, Seed Bomb, Bind, Giga Drain, Stomping Tantrum, Block, Grass Pledge, Frenzy Plant, Knock Off, Synthesis, Outrage
TM Moves: Protect, Toxic, Venoshock, Earthquake, Sludge Bomb, Energy Ball, Substitute, Grass Knot
Venusaur's growth speed was not much inferior to Lucario's. In fact, this environment was even more favorable for Venusaur than for Lucario.
As a Pokémon with plant affinity, Venusaur could absorb a large amount of special and valuable energies from the environment and the soil.
One of the reasons there were so many precious materials and rare plants here was the scarce human presence; but the main reason was that, on this continent, both the air and the land contained a much greater amount of invisible energy than in the Pokémon world.
Because of this, Grass-type Pokémon enjoyed an enormous advantage living here.
After observing Venusaur's condition, Cain even began to suspect that Leafeon's evolution was also closely related to the abundance of this Grass-type energy.
Both Leafeon and Jolteon had been left by Cain in the valley. Although they were not weak, he did not have much intention of capturing them.
However, as guardian Pokémon, they were quite suitable.
Currently, the entire Aura Valley was protected not only by Togekiss and the Clawitzer leader, but also by Leafeon and Jolteon.
Three Pokémon that had surpassed the first Champion-level threshold, combined with a Champion-level Clawitzer, made it nearly impossible for any ordinary person to break into the valley where Cain was located. And with someone on guard every day, the difficulty was even greater.
Cain advanced quickly alongside Venusaur and Lucario. The area they were passing through had already been cleared countless times by Steven and the others. However, following the principle of sustainability, even when defeating powerful wild Pokémon, they never chose to kill or capture them.
In the short term, wild Pokémon could endure it, but over time, who could hold out?
One minor battle per day, one major battle every three days, and a group fight every five... not even a body of steel could withstand that rhythm. That was why the strongest wild Pokémon chose to flee and relocate.
Now, if Cain and the others wanted to find Pokémon of a certain strength, they had to travel quite far. This had practically become a daily routine.
Today, Cain planned to explore a new area.
But there was something he had to keep in mind: with the increase in contact with the Sacred Church, this area had already been marked as a key inspection zone.
Anyone who went out could run into powerful members of the Sacred Church at any time. Cain and his group had also gathered a great deal of information about the people and Pokémon of that organization.
Although all members of the Sacred Church dressed similarly—long black robes with hoods covering their heads and faces blurred by their psychic abilities—it was still possible to distinguish who was who based on the Pokémon they carried.
The journey passed without obstacles. For Lucario and Venusaur, the battles along the way were nothing more than a warm-up; the real fight would begin upon reaching their destination.
What seemed like another calm and productive day did not last long. The serene improvement Cain was experiencing was interrupted when an unexpected visitor managed to reach the area, drawn by the noise of the battles.
During these two months of training, Cain had not stopped encountering members of the Sacred Church. Although they had not engaged in large-scale battles, minor clashes had been frequent.
And Cain had confirmed one thing: the Sacred Church was looking for him. For the past two months, they had been on his trail.
Although he did not know the exact reason, Cain suspected it was related to having defeated Jacob and that middle-aged man dressed in yellow, an expert in Electric-type Pokémon.
Whether for revenge or other reasons, Cain had become their top priority target.
Upon sensing the opponent's movement, Cain had planned to store his Pokémon away and avoid the encounter. It was not yet time to start an open war with the Sacred Church, and he also did not want to get too entangled with them here. After all, this place was already some distance away from the Aura Valley, and support from Steven and the others would not arrive in time. If the enemy acted in pairs, the threat to Cain would be considerable.
However, the speed at which this person arrived far exceeded Cain's expectations.
And when Cain saw the Pokémon accompanying the newcomer, he suddenly stopped.
A robust-bodied Gengar and an agile Weavile. Cain was very familiar with those two Pokémon.
Although the attire of the Sacred Church was practically identical—loose black robe, hood covering the head, and a face blurred by psychic abilities—aside from slight differences in build, they all looked the same.
Of course, as psychics, each person possessed slight variations in their powers, and that was the best way to distinguish them.
But upon seeing this person, Cain's eyes narrowed slightly. An idea that had once been bold, but that he had never had the chance to carry out, resurfaced in his mind.
(End of chapter)