Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

In less than a minute, under Regice's full-scale attack, Xenon had no chance to resist and was completely eliminated.

After finishing Xenon off, Regice acted as if it had merely swatted a few flies, showing no emotion as it walked toward Cain.

With a slight nod, it ascended back into the sky and returned to its cave, leaving behind a scene of chaos: debris scattered across the ground and multiple bodies, including those of some Pokémon and one human.

Regice had shown no mercy; each of its attacks had been at full power. As a result, both Xenon and his Pokémon had lost their lives entirely.

Xenon and his Pidgeot lay lifeless on the ground, their eyes wide open, frozen in an expression of disbelief. Cain coldly remarked:

"If you had stayed in Team Rocket, you would have been a constant nuisance. There would always be someone trying to stab me in the back. But in the end, your impatience led you to act. Otherwise, maybe you could have lived a little longer."

To Cain, his rival's death was inevitable—it was only a matter of time.

Cain collected the only storage device Xenon carried, along with several Poké Balls from his belt.

Inside those Poké Balls were some Pokémon, though of lesser strength. Perhaps they were part of Xenon's secondary team or simply random captures intended for sale to organizations like the Hunter Guild or Pokémon merchants, which could yield good profits.

Like Cain, Xenon had built up his strength through effort, facing danger and adversity.

After inspecting the Pokémon in the Poké Balls, Cain found a few with decent potential. However, at the moment, he lacked the resources to train them. Thus, he decided to either keep them for Skye and the others or sell them directly.

Storing the Poké Balls, Cain ordered his Flygon to clean up the area. Flygon obeyed diligently, digging a large pit in the ground and pushing all the bodies inside. Then, it used its Ground-type energy to fill the hole back up.

Flygon demonstrated just how useful Ground-type Pokémon could be for such tasks.

On his way back, Cain passed by Altaria, who seemed dazed. She lifted her head and, without paying attention to Cain, simply walked forward.

When she reached Cain, she obediently lay down on the ground, awaiting instructions.

However, Cain ignored Altaria. Instead, he emptied the contents of Xenon's storage device to inspect them.

Although there wasn't much inside, everything was well-organized. Cain found several boxes that caught his attention.

Inside these boxes were valuable items, which made sense, considering that Xenon had been a mid-to-high-ranking member of Team Rocket.

Like Cain, Xenon preferred to keep all his belongings with him. It was safer to have them while alive. After all, if one died, what did possessions matter?

Cain opened each box, feeling a certain thrill from the uncertainty of what he might find.

There were more than ten boxes, and what he discovered inside surprised him.

He hadn't expected Xenon to have accumulated so many valuable things in secret. Among the items were rare materials needed to craft Pokéblocks, whose high value came from their scarcity.

Cain realized that looting Xenon's belongings was far more profitable than raiding some of the Void Organization's bases.

When only two boxes remained unopened, Cain noticed that their material was more refined, indicating that their contents were likely even more valuable.

Opening the first box, he found a silver stone emitting a soft glow.

"A(n) Evolution Stone?" Cain thought, his heart racing.

It was a supreme-quality Moon Stone.

Cain was surprised that Xenon had such a valuable stone. But then, why had his Nidoking never shown great potential?

Perhaps Xenon had obtained the stone after Nidoking had already evolved, or maybe he had been saving it for a Nidorino with better traits.

Whatever the reason, this Moon Stone was an incredible find. Its value surpassed that of all the other items in the previous boxes combined.

Cain recalled how he had needed a superior or supreme-quality Dusk Stone for his Murkrow's evolution. Finding this Moon Stone reminded him of how difficult it had been to obtain Mismagius's help, who possessed a supreme-quality Dusk Stone.

Finally, Cain opened the last box. This time, the light shining from inside was dazzling.

Inside was another Evolution Stone—a supreme-quality Shiny Stone.

"Is this... a Shiny Stone?" Cain asked in disbelief as he held the warm, golden stone in his hands.

Name: Shiny Stone

Quality: Supreme

Function: Can induce evolution in certain Pokémon and significantly enhance their abilities.

Description: A mysterious stone that enables specific Pokémon to evolve, shining as brightly as the light itself.

Thanks to the system's scan, Cain confirmed that it was indeed a Shiny Stone. This item was exactly what he needed for his Floette to evolve into Florges.

It seemed that Xenon had left behind exactly what Cain needed, as if fate had orchestrated it.

Looking at Xenon's possessions, Cain couldn't help but feel a bit grateful.

"I should erect a monument for you," Cain said with an ironic smile. "Something that says: 'Xenon, the Generous. Traveled great distances to deliver his treasures. A small gesture, yet full of meaning.'"

(End of Chapter)