Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom (200 - 398)

Chapter 234: The Blue Handkerchief

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The two trainers on the battlefield had similar skills, and their match was intense. In the end, they each had only one Pokémon left, and after a fierce battle, one of them managed a hard-won victory.

After the battle ended, Jin snapped back to reality and showed Cain a wide smile, displaying two rows of teeth. "Cain, just wait and see how I win three in a row!"

Without waiting for a reply, he quickly left, as his next battle was about to begin.

Cain observed the battlefield for a moment. When the battle began and he saw his opponent's Pokémon, Cain immediately walked away.

The opponent was too weak, only slightly stronger than Takuya Imamura. Jin would probably win all three fights in a row, or at most, he'd need to use a second Pokémon to finish the battle.

Cain wasn't interested in watching such a predictable match.

Furthermore, this kind of fight reminded Cain of a children's game, which he found uncomfortable.

It was as if two people were fighting, both armed with guns, but instead of shooting, they used the weapons as melee weapons, hitting each other until one fell.

A waste of time.

Cain took a walk around the ship's deck but didn't find the old man Matsuda he had seen the day before.

Originally, Cain had wanted to chat with him to strengthen their relationship, but since he couldn't find him, he decided to return to his room.

However, he didn't stay in the room for long. Judging by the progress of the battles, even though his turn was in the afternoon, Cain estimated he'd still have a long wait.

So, Cain changed clothes, stored his Slowpoke, and left the room.

Slowpoke was too recognizable, making it easy for others to guess his identity.

Cain carefully avoided the staff while heading to the lower part of the ship.

Since he boarded, he hadn't seen any sailors, which might seem exemplary behavior, as sailors shouldn't enter passenger areas.

But to Cain, this was a problem. There was no completely clean water; even if the sailors were very respectful, Cain didn't believe they could resist the temptation of entering the passenger zone, even if only in passing.

This situation was unusual.

Cain slowly descended the stairs, firmly holding Slowpoke's Poké Ball in his hand. His mind was alert, prepared to summon Slowpoke to use Teleport at the slightest hint of danger.

Fortunately, he didn't encounter anyone on his way down.

When Cain reached the sailors' quarters, he saw the first sailor through a window.

Nothing seemed unusual; the sailor didn't notice Cain's presence and was focused on his tasks.

Cain observed for a moment, but detecting nothing strange, he cautiously moved inside.

Seeing a single sailor didn't mean there wasn't a problem.

Cain entered the sailors' locker room, and after making sure no one was around, he began searching for anything out of the ordinary.

Enduring the bad smell, he used his weak psychic ability to open the lockers one by one, looking for something suspicious.

Just when Cain was about to give up and search elsewhere, he found a clue in the last locker.

Underneath several dirty clothes in the last sailor's locker, Cain discovered a blue handkerchief.

Upon seeing the emblem on the handkerchief, Cain's hand trembled. His pupils, which had dilated in the darkness, sharply contracted.

Cain, visibly shocked, stared at the handkerchief in the locker. After making sure he hadn't mistaken it, he quickly put the clothes back as they were.

He closed the locker door and called Slowpoke.

Under Slowpoke's inquisitive gaze, Cain didn't explain anything, simply asking him to take him back to his room.

Back in his room, Cain sat silently on the sofa.

What he had seen earlier left a deep impression; if it weren't for his strong adaptability, he might have cried out in surprise.

Cain felt deeply unsettled.

The blue handkerchief he had seen bore a white emblem.

Although an ordinary person might not give it any importance, Cain knew well what that emblem represented.

In the current timeline, that organization should be in its inactive phase. So why had he seen their emblem here?

If that organization was involved, then the S.S. Anne was truly in grave danger.

Suddenly, Cain thought of something else. "Could it be that Yamamoto and that organization are collaborating? But Yamamoto... I'm not sure that's his real name. However, when I saw him the other day, many people called him by that name. Seeing how scared Takuya Imamura was, it doesn't seem fake."

Cain began organizing his thoughts in his mind.

Then he remembered the Elite-level League trainer named Matsuda, who had appeared on the ship dressed humbly. What was his real purpose?

Was his warning to be careful a reference to that organization or a warning about Yamamoto?

Why, the first time Yamamoto saw him, did Cain feel his gaze was strange, but he couldn't say exactly why?

Why did the first rewards Yamamoto offered include three moves that Slowpoke could use?

Why was this competition organized so suddenly and with such generous rewards? The tournament prizes seemed too high.

Why did everything in the tournament seem to have been prepared in advance, with the tournament progressing so quickly and efficiently? There was still a lot of time before reaching the next destination; why speed things up so much?

Those factors combined couldn't be a coincidence.

After reviewing all these thoughts, Cain saw he had two options.

The first was to abandon the S.S. Anne right now and not get involved.

The second was to participate, win the first prize, and then leave.

But the second option was clearly more dangerous, and he wasn't even sure the tournament would reach its end.

Cain sat on the sofa, frowning, without saying a word.

(End of chapter)