Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom (200 - 398)

Chapter 245: Rain Team

Murkrow used the Dark Pulse move at full power, directly breaking the window.

Haunter also found the oxygen bottle hidden in the room, which Cain immediately stored in his ring.

"Slowpoke, mark a coordinate on my body. I'm going to jump out, and then you'll use your psychic powers to throw these bodies out one by one. Remember, heads down to make it look realistic," Cain instructed.

"Yadong!" Slowpoke nodded with effort.

Cain then returned Sneasel and Murkrow to their Pokéballs, while Haunter slipped back into Cain's shadow.

Standing at the window, Cain signaled for Slowpoke to be ready.

With a leap, Cain jumped straight out the window.

Afterward, Slowpoke used its psychic powers to throw the Aqua Team members' bodies one by one, as if they were pursuing Cain.

When everyone was in the water, Slowpoke used the move Teleport to vanish from the room.

......

Old Matsuda and Archie had been clashing for over half an hour, fighting intermittently, both attempting to buy time.

Until a man dressed in Aqua Team uniform arrived on the upper level, cautiously approached Archie, and whispered something in his ear.

Suddenly, Archie became furious.

"Yamamoto! Give me the item, we have to retreat immediately! You, go tell everyone not to worry about those who escaped—catch as many as you can and pull out!" Archie yelled.

Old Matsuda observed Archie's enraged expression. Although he didn't know the reason, he understood that Archie was starting to grow desperate.

With a cold smile, Old Matsuda ordered Aerodactyl and Charizard to attack at full strength, initiating a true battle.

Since the enemy planned to retreat, Old Matsuda only needed to hold them off without worrying about the reason for their retreat.

"Leader! If I retreat now, I fear I'll never be able to return to the League," Yamamoto said, hesitant, without immediately fetching what Archie needed.

Archie, withstanding Old Matsuda's fierce attack, narrowed his eyes and slowly moved his right hand to his belt, a cold glint flashing in his eyes without attempting to hide it.

Yamamoto immediately felt his hair stand on end, sensing imminent death. He quickly forced a nervous laugh and said, "Leader, leader, it was just a slip! What you need is most important, what you need."

Saying this, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly ran towards the room.

His clothes were completely soaked, clinging to his body from sweat.

After a moment, Yamamoto returned with a silver briefcase in hand, handing it to Archie.

Archie took the case, and though he was still furious, the joy on his face was undeniable. "You don't have to go back to the League anymore. Your family isn't of much importance anyway. This time, come with me to Aqua Team's base. Soon, we'll reveal ourselves to the world."

Yamamoto nodded, feeling deeply affected.

He had invested great effort in growing his family from a minor third-rate clan to a first-rate one, spending countless resources.

Now, being told he had to abandon it all—how could it not pain him?

Not to mention that his family's current funds would be enough to train several elite-level trainers.

That was his foundation, but now he could only give it up.

In the future, he'd likely have to settle for Aqua Team, without knowing when he could return to the League.

Archie didn't care what Yamamoto was thinking and spoke again: "Full attack! First, let's take down this old man, then we'll retreat quickly. The League must be about to arrive."

Archie threw out two more Pokéballs, releasing a Pelipper and a Ludicolo onto the ship.

With Pelipper's appearance, a gentle rain began to fall, and soon, the drizzle turned into a downpour.

Aerodactyl and Charizard, flying in the sky, were affected.

Aerodactyl, a Rock and Flying type, and Charizard, a Fire and Flying type, suffered from the impact of the rain, making it difficult for them to fight.

Old Matsuda's face turned serious at the sight of the Pokémon Archie released.

"It seems he's serious," Old Matsuda muttered.

Although Archie wasn't very well-known and few knew his strength, Old Matsuda had seen many things in his life.

The Pelipper with the ability Drizzle and the Ludicolo with the ability Swift Swim formed a classic Rain Team, showing that Archie was now bringing out some of his strongest Pokémon.

If Old Matsuda chose to keep fighting, Archie would undoubtedly call out the rest of his team.

They were on the sea, and Old Matsuda's Pokémon already had a type disadvantage. If he continued the battle, the outlook wasn't good.

Suddenly, Old Matsuda found himself at a crossroads.

Should he keep holding them off?

......

After jumping out the window, Cain saw the bodies of Aqua Team members being thrown into the water one by one, as if they were in pursuit of him.

In reality, no one was paying attention to Cain at that moment, and the ship's security cameras didn't capture the entire scene.

But Cain did this to be sure.

Once in the water, Cain quickly took out the oxygen tank from his ring and placed the respirator in his mouth, taking a deep breath.

Then, a ripple in the water revealed that Slowpoke had appeared beside Cain.

Cain grabbed onto Slowpoke's shoulder, signaling for it to move him out of the area.

Shortly after Cain fell into the water, it started to rain, but for him, already in the water, it made little difference.

After Slowpoke moved him a certain distance, Cain slightly surfaced and saw Old Matsuda and Archie in combat.

In the torrential rain, Ludicolo moved quickly in the water, nearly invisible.

Meanwhile, Old Matsuda could only hold his ground by using his advantage in the air. Finally, when he couldn't hold back any longer, he released another Pokémon.

A Lapras landed in the water, facing Archie's Pelipper.

Although Old Matsuda managed to maintain a standstill, he was starting to struggle.

It wasn't that Old Matsuda was no match for Archie; rather, Archie was fighting without concern for the S.S. Anne, while Old Matsuda had to protect the ship.

Furthermore, Archie's Pokémon were strategically organized, with support from Yamamoto's team.

Old Matsuda had only brought three Pokémon, thinking they would be enough, but Archie had appeared suddenly.

"This is troublesome, I can't hold out much longer. If I had known, I would have brought all my old friends. Getting outmatched by a youngster like you... if the old League guys knew, they'd laugh at me," Old Matsuda thought with resignation.

"Ah, I'm getting old, I'm getting old. No more! They said they'd be here in an hour, and forty-five minutes have passed!"

Thinking this, Old Matsuda ordered Aerodactyl to rise, facing only Crobat and Pelipper, ignoring the other Pokémon for now.

(End of Chapter)