Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom-Chapter 660 - 659: Drake?

Not being able to challenge the Fallarbor Town Gym was a disappointment.

However, leaving a contingency plan with Professor Cozmo allowed Cain to gain more precise insight into some of Team Aqua and Team Magma's movements. Therefore, that small detour in time was entirely worthwhile.

He decided to depart directly from Fallarbor Town, heading east. After covering a certain distance, he would reach Fortree City, and southeast of it lay Cain's true objective: the place where he had once discovered a Mega Stone.

Due to the considerable distance, even flying at maximum speed on Flygon, it was impossible to arrive in a single day. Thus, Cain wasn't in a rush.

He called upon Slowking, who floated beside him. Flygon didn't need to go too fast, and if any Pokémon decided to attack during their flight, Slowking would be ready to fight.

Currently, Slowking had reached level 48, nearing the maximum advanced level. It only needed a slight push to achieve that milestone.

As potentially the first Pokémon on the team to reach that level, Cain was preparing to help Slowking make that leap.

Although the wild Pokémon on Route 113 were not very high-level, beyond this route and before reaching Route 119, there was a dense jungle to cross, home to higher-level Pokémon. Encountering even maximum advanced-level Pokémon wouldn't be surprising.

...

When Cain ordered Flygon to descend from the sky, they had already reached the foothills of a mountain range.

Behind them stretched Route 113, and ahead lay the unknown forest.

According to League maps, the safe route was to continue north along Route 111 after Route 113, which was the path most traveling trainers took.

Recklessly entering an unknown forest could bring unexpected and difficult-to-avoid dangers.

However, with Cain's vast wilderness survival experience, he didn't need to take the long way around.

In fact, if any wild Pokémon tried to attack him, it would be a perfect opportunity for Slowking to grow stronger and reach the maximum advanced level as soon as possible.

After making some adjustments to his team, Cain returned Flygon, which wasn't suited for battling in such a dense forest.

It wasn't long after entering the jungle before Cain's foreign presence attracted the attention of numerous wild Pokémon.

Although Cain was no longer as ruthless as he had been during the Trial Island days, and now wore the League uniform, if the attacking Pokémon didn't enrage him, he allowed Slowking to spare them after the battle. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Afterward, it was up to those Pokémon's abilities to survive in the harsh forest environment.

This forest, located near the sea, was one of the densest in the Hoenn region, partly due to the frequent volcanic ash rains from Mt. Chimney, enriching the soil and allowing lush vegetation to grow.

Cain, alongside Slowking, continued skirting the cliffs overlooking the sea, heading east.

The abundant humidity provided a great deal of water-type energy, which helped Slowking recover quickly after its battles, thus increasing its stamina.

Additionally, Floette, in Cain's pocket, could sense plant-type energy more clearly in this dense forest.

At that moment, Cain had been training Floette to maintain her plant-type form so she could switch between her fairy form and effectively use plant-type moves.

Using the Grassy Terrain move occasionally also served as a way to train its plant-type abilities.

The afternoon passed quickly amidst battles, and after defeating a Beedrill with Psychic, Slowking appeared beside Cain.

For some reason, this part of the forest was plagued by massive swarms of Beedrill, with hundreds in each hive. Although they didn't seem to be direct enemies with each other, they also didn't cooperate, likely due to the presence of different queen Beedrill in each swarm.

For Cain, this was a problem, as his entry into the territory of these swarms was viewed as an invasion.

Fortunately, as poison types, the Beedrill didn't pose a real threat to Slowking, but their numbers were overwhelming.

With steady progress, Cain had already reached the cliffside.

Night fell, and the forest grew more dangerous at dusk. Cain wanted to set up camp, but with so many Beedrill swarms around, this wasn't an ideal spot for pitching a tent.

Unless he decided to summon all his Pokémon and completely wipe out the swarms.

While considering this option, Cain noticed flashes of light on the horizon over the sea.

As the lights drew closer, he realized they came from a ship, with a flag flying atop its mast, adorned with the Pokémon League emblem.

It seemed to be a League ship.

After a brief moment of reflection, Cain ordered Slowking to leave a psychic mark in the area, then called out Flygon and mounted it, flying toward the approaching ship near the coastline.

Since the ship carried the League flag, Cain assumed its occupants must belong to the League. But even if they didn't, with his current abilities, Cain was more than capable of escaping if necessary.

One could say his confidence matched his skills.

Before Cain reached the ship, the sailors on board had already spotted him.

This wasn't a modern vessel like the S.S. Anne cruise ship Cain had previously been on; it resembled an old wooden ship.

However, the ship was considerably large, with enough space on its deck for more than a hundred people.

When Cain arrived, some sailors left their tasks and ran toward the cabins, while the others continued their work, as if they didn't care much about Cain's arrival.

Even Flygon's presence, which would usually draw attention, seemed unremarkable to these sailors.

Without any obstacles, Flygon landed smoothly on the ship's bow.

At that moment, the sailors who had retreated returned, accompanied by a burly man with a large white beard, dressed in a captain's uniform.

Although he wore the signature jacket of a captain, the man had nothing on underneath, exposing his muscular chest and abs, marked with numerous scars.

He held a smoldering cigar as he stepped heavily onto the deck, exuding a fierce and commanding aura.

A name suddenly came to Cain's mind.

Drake?

Could this be Drake, the Dragon-type member of Hoenn's Elite Four?

(End of Chapter)