Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom-Chapter 631 - 630: And What Do You Think?

Steven and Cynthia battled for an entire hour.

Steven's Metagross, thanks to the resilience of this Steel-type Pokémon, ultimately managed to defeat Cynthia's Garchomp.

Then, Cynthia sent out her Lucario, which, after expending a significant amount of energy, barely managed to defeat Metagross.

At that point, Lucario's energy was almost completely depleted.

Metagross had nearly taken down two Pokémon at once, largely due to Steven's consistent use of the most suitable Pokéblocks for it.

Afterward, Steven sent out his Skarmory, which, using the advantages of being a Flying-type Pokémon, managed to defeat Lucario.

It seemed that at that moment, Steven had the upper hand.

But then Cynthia sent out her Milotic, which not only defeated Skarmory but also retained nearly half of its energy, keeping the suspense alive in the battle.

Finally, Steven was left with only his Aggron, which had evolved not long ago, to face Milotic.

The result was that after exchanging a couple of moves, both Pokémon lost their ability to continue battling.

Both trainers reached the end of the battle without a clear winner.

However, for both of them, the result wasn't what mattered most, as each achieved what they sought from the battle.

Steven's Metagross was strong, but Steven's other Pokémon were still somewhat weaker. If Aggron had been one or two levels higher, perhaps a victory could have been determined.

On the other hand, Cynthia's Garchomp was slightly weaker than Metagross, but Cynthia's Pokémon were more evenly trained, without a significant difference in levels.

So, after Garchomp lost its ability to battle, Cynthia managed to recover ground with Lucario and Milotic.

Cain, who had been watching the battle from the sidelines, was utterly captivated.

Two future champions of their respective regions battling each other. This was the first time they faced off, and it might possibly be the last.

After all, both would eventually become champions, and once they reached that status, any battle between them, regardless of the outcome, could have negative consequences.

Of course, before they became champions, it was possible they would face each other again and determine a winner. That was something no one could predict.

With Cain's help, both trainers managed to restore their Pokémon's energy.

Once Cynthia's Pokémon had recovered, she bid farewell. She had already faced the two people she wanted to challenge in the Hoenn region.

She was very satisfied with the results and what she had gained.

Additionally, Cynthia sincerely thanked Cain for the help he provided in treating her Pokémon. She attempted to offer him something in return, but Cain declined.

The only thing she could do was invite Cain to contact her when he visited the Sinnoh region or to seek her out in Celestic Town, where she would extend her hospitality.

The three exchanged contact numbers, and then Cynthia departed elegantly, leaving Cain and Steven staring at each other in surprise.

"And what do you think?" Cain gave Steven a light nudge.

"Yeah, it was amazing; she's really strong," Steven nodded, watching Cynthia leave with admiration.

The age difference between the two wasn't much. It was the first time Steven had encountered someone his age who was such a powerful opponent.

Lance was one or two years older than Steven, while Cain was one or two years younger, so all three could be considered of the same generation.

However, between Steven and Cynthia, the age difference was small enough that they could be considered peers. (This age difference is fictional.)

This made Steven feel a certain pressure.

He had always thought he was the best of his generation, but now he realized that while he had the talent to make the most of his "money" ability, Cynthia, with her natural talent and willingness to dedicate so much time to training, could keep up with him.

It was as if one was a high-budget player, and the other an tireless expert; both invested different resources but pursued the same goals.

As for Cain, he was like a cheater in the game, so he didn't count for comparison.

A high-budget player, a tireless expert, and a cheater!

"Obviously she's strong, but that's not what I was asking about," Cain shot Steven a frustrated look.

"You weren't asking about her strength? Then what were you asking about?" Steven asked, confused, as he looked at Cain.

There was a brief silence.

"...Forget it, it doesn't matter," Cain waved his hand and headed toward the gym.

Since the gym had officially opened, Cain hadn't had the chance to fully explore it. Everything had been managed by Skye, who took care of furnishing and stocking the upper areas of the gym with various items.

Fortunately, Skye did a great job and already had everything in order.

Cain led Steven to the reception area on the gym's upper floor.

As the host, Cain didn't even know where the tea was, which was a bit embarrassing.

"Did you get anything out of this last trip?" Cain, unable to find tea, pulled out a bottle of mineral water from his storage space and tossed it to Steven.

Steven didn't mind in the slightest, opened the bottle, and took a big gulp. The previous battle had left him parched from shouting so much.

"I learned a lot. My Pokémon's levels have improved quite a bit, and I think Metagross is about to reach the quasi-elite level, so I thought I'd return to settle down a bit."

Cain nodded in agreement.

Indeed, Metagross had already reached level 49 and would soon enter the quasi-elite Pokémon category. Once it surpassed that threshold, its power would grow significantly.

"That's great, but now you've got a pretty noticeable power gap. Don't neglect training your other Pokémon," Cain reminded him.

At that moment, Metagross was Steven's strongest Pokémon, carrying the weight of his team, while the other Pokémon were a bit weaker.

Luckily, Aggron had already managed to evolve.

"Yeah, I want to improve my other Pokémon, but you know, Metagross is at its peak development stage right now, so I need to focus most of my time on it," Steven replied with resignation.

Cain understood completely.

"By the way, what happened with the two fossils you mentioned last time?"

Hearing this, Steven showed an expression of joy.

"Thanks to your help, after talking to some friends, I finally managed to revive both fossils. Although I'm not sure how to train these two ancient Pokémon species, one reason I returned was to have you take a look at them."

Anorith and Lileep? Cain was also intrigued by them.

"Oh, I also have something else to tell you. Last time, you asked me to look for some rare stones. Well, during my training, I got lucky and found one that might be what you're looking for."

Saying this, Steven pulled out a small box, and upon opening it, revealed a small stone inside.

Seeing it, Cain's expression showed surprise.

(End of Chapter)