Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom (200 - 398)

Chapter 216: Tail-Cutting Technique

Once again, he rented a training field at the Pokémon Center.

It was already night, but thanks to the adequate lighting, there were still quite a few people training their Pokémon on the field.

Cain found a secluded training field and released the Poké Ball containing Gyarados.

Since capturing it, Cain had only provided basic treatment to keep it alive, without giving it much more attention.

As a result, when it came out again, its physical and mental condition was not good at all; in fact, it was extremely poor, even worse than Cain had expected, due to the fury it had experienced during the day.

Slowpoke stood beside Cain, calmly observing the severely weakened Gyarados, with a blue glow in its eyes. If an experienced psychic were present, they would sense that the psychic power within Slowpoke was flowing strongly.

Then, Haunter, who always hid in Cain's shadow, appeared beside Slowpoke, mockingly looking at the scarred Gyarados with its triangular eyes.

But Gyarados, true to its species, despite being covered in scars and with a low spirit, showed no signs of surrendering, especially when it looked at Slowpoke and Haunter.

Although it's a temperamental Pokémon, that doesn't mean it lacks intelligence. It immediately recognized that Slowpoke and Haunter were the same Pokémon that had defeated it.

Now, seeing its old enemies, its rage increased even more. Just as it was about to roar, Slowpoke silenced it using its psychic power, preventing any sound from escaping.

After all, the training field was still full of people, even though Cain was in an isolated area where no one paid them any attention.

However, if Gyarados were to roar, with its powerful voice, it would undoubtedly attract the attention of most people.

Luckily, in its current state, Slowpoke alone was enough to overpower it.

Realizing it couldn't make any sound, Gyarados's fury grew even more, and it tried to charge.

But upon moving, its wounds throbbed with pain, and it couldn't even cry out before collapsing to the ground.

When it tried to get up again, it felt a massive force pressing down on it, preventing it from moving.

"Haunter, use Skill Swap, let it feel what Intimidate is," Cain said in a cold voice. He knew that Gyarados was a difficult Pokémon to tame. Although they had defeated it, its fierce temperament was the main reason so few trainers dared to use a Gyarados.

Without the right tactics, taming a Gyarados wasn't an easy task. Sometimes, even if it appeared submissive on the surface, it could become uncontrollable during a battle, making it even harder to handle.

So, with a stubborn, straightforward-tempered Pokémon like Gyarados, the only option was to keep it under constant control, beating it down until it fully submitted and lost all spirit.

Most Gyarados have Intimidate as an ability, and this one was no exception. So, after Haunter used the move Skill Swap, Gyarados's ability changed to Levitate, while Haunter gained the Intimidate ability.

At that moment, for Gyarados, Haunter, who was already unpleasant to look at, became even more terrifying, filling it with fear.

During the previous battle, Haunter (when it was still a Gastly) had already defeated Gyarados, so the effect of the Intimidate ability was even more pronounced.

One could see Gyarados lying on the ground, its movements of struggle growing weaker.

Its huge eyes showed a trace of fear.

It was then that Cain began to walk slowly towards it, with Slowpoke and Haunter flanking him on the left and right.

Even lying on the ground, Gyarados's head was much larger than Cain's entire body, though in height, Gyarados's head didn't reach Cain's.

Cain looked down at it coldly, showing no emotion, with an icy expression.

And Gyarados's attention also shifted from Haunter to Cain. Its enormous eyes met Cain's, neither backing down.

But, for some reason, Gyarados felt that this human's expression was incredibly cold. The look in his eyes was not one usually directed at a Pokémon, but rather as if he were looking at a worthless object.

This made it feel a chill deep within.

This was the way Cain used to capture Pokémon in his previous life.

For the Cain of his past life, Pokémon were nothing more than valuable tools. If they were damaged or couldn't keep up with him, he would simply replace them.

That's why, when he captured Pokémon, he did so without showing emotion. If they didn't submit, he would beat them until they did.

And it was for this reason that in his past life, Cain ended up being betrayed by everyone.

But in this life, Cain had changed his way of thinking. He considered each Pokémon he recognized as part of his family and treated them with affection.

The results were much better than he expected. His Pokémon not only showed outstanding combat power but also an extraordinary sense of cohesion.

However, Cain only showed this affection toward Pokémon he recognized. He knew his heart was small, and that being able to welcome these Pokémon was already enough.

This Gyarados, to Cain, was nothing more than a tool Pokémon, so his approach was simple and direct, just like in his past life. After all, in his previous life, he had been a high-level trainer, and facing a level 20 Pokémon was not something that intimidated him.

So, although Cain was much smaller than Gyarados, to that Pokémon, Cain seemed incredibly imposing, as if he were growing and becoming even taller.

Especially with Haunter's Intimidate ability constantly at work beside him.

"Gyarados, I know you can understand me. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say: if you dare resist again, today will be the day of your death," Cain said in a cold, emotionless voice.

For some reason, when Gyarados looked into Cain's eyes and heard his words, it stopped struggling, though a trace of rebellion still remained in its enormous eyes.

Cain nodded to himself. This Gyarados had a bit more courage than some of the cowards he'd captured in his past life.

"It doesn't matter if you accept it or not, during the day, it was me who defeated you. If it weren't for my mercy, you would already be dead. As the victor, I have the right to order you to do whatever I want." Saying this, Cain lifted his foot and firmly planted it on Gyarados's head.

When Gyarados saw Cain's action and wanted to resist, Cain shouted sternly, "If you move, I'll cut off your tail first and then throw you back into the sea."

Immediately, Gyarados stopped moving.

The tail?

If Cain had threatened to kill it, it probably wouldn't have been afraid, but by mentioning cutting off its tail and then tossing it into the sea, Gyarados realized that this would mean becoming the laughingstock of all Gyarados.

It would probably never be able to return to its group, as a tailless Gyarados would have no face to see its companions.

Most importantly, Gyarados had something very important in its tail.

Was Cain referring to that "something" when he talked about cutting off its tail?

(End of chapter)