BOOOOM!!!!
The sky over the entire area was practically dyed red. A gigantic explosion erupted, centered on the fireball launched by Blaziken.
The entire poisonous cloud vanished in an instant. All that remained was a sea of raging flames and a vast expanse of toppled trees and rocks hurled about by the shockwave.
Blaziken stood in front of Cain, blocking the full impact and allowing him to calmly behold that spectacle.
If even the shockwave alone required such effort from Blaziken to contain it, what would have become of the two who were at the center of the explosion?
Number Two's Pokémon had long since lost most of their combat capability. They had only been holding on thanks to Delphox's strength, which finally abandoned all defense to unleash its last move: Blast Burn, giving rise to that explosive feast.
Of course, without Cain's intervention, the explosion would not have been so violent. Number Four, prepared for a final desperate counterattack, had already been consciously reducing the gas concentration with Weezing.
Had things followed the normal course, Delphox's final attack at most would have left the Pokémon itself gravely injured and killed its trainer.
Number Four would never have employed such a tactic without absolute confidence in his ability to control Weezing's gas.
But an unexpected variable appeared: Cain. He helped Number Two fulfill his final wish. Moreover, Number Four, completely focused on controlling the gas, did not even notice who had truly caused the explosion; he only remembered the chaos of the tongues of flame.
That was why he never knew of Blaziken's existence, nor of the role Cain had played.
Cain recalled Blaziken and observed the enormous crater left by the explosion. There was not a trace of vegetation left; everything seemed to have evaporated or been corroded from the outset by the poisonous cloud.
With no combustible materials remaining, after the explosion there was not a single spark left—only that gigantic pit. Even so, the heat emanating from within was enough to sense just how immense the explosion had been.
Cain stepped onto the still-scorching ground and could not help but wrap his feet in psychic power.
As if strolling through his own backyard, he calmly advanced toward Number Four's position. A shadow appeared beside him: Gengar, who had perfectly evaded the explosion, unscathed, positioning itself next to Cain.
Gazing upon his "work," Cain sighed with emotion. "Honestly... I'm a good person."
Helping Number Two—who would not have been able to die peacefully—fulfill his final wish and, in the process, grievously injure Number Four... wasn't that a good thing?
"Although of course... I don't know which great master taught me this, but doing good deeds without leaving a name behind is the true essence. I think I've finally understood the meaning of his words," Cain murmured as he walked.
If not for the fact that Gengar had witnessed everything, anyone would have thought that Cain had just performed a great act of kindness.
Upon approaching Number Four, his figure could barely be made out amid the earth churned up by the explosion.
"Pff! Damn it! Damn it! This really is damned!" as the saying goes, when you think of someone, they appear.
Number Four spat the dirt from his mouth and brushed the dust from his body. His psychic power fluctuations had almost completely disappeared, and even the thin psychic layer on his face had dissipated. It was the first time Cain had seen his appearance: a middle-aged man, fairly decent-looking, though now disheveled and wearing a gloomy expression.
The curses had not yet ceased when, sitting on the ground, Number Four saw Cain—completely unscathed—alongside Gengar and Weavile.
His expression immediately became wary. He had not expected to truly be harmed by Number Two at the last moment, though he had to admit that Delphox was indeed powerful.
His situation, however, was far from good. All of his psychic power had been exhausted protecting himself; he could not even maintain the most basic barrier. In the explosion, his Pokémon had also suffered damage—especially Weezing, the source of the gas, which had been rendered nearly incapable of fighting.
The other Pokémon were injured as well. Ariados, a Bug/Poison type, had suffered a far greater impact than Number Four had anticipated.
The only good news was that the sturdy Nidoking and the swift Crobat, which had managed to dodge in time, had not lost too much combat capability. Although injured, they still retained some strength, and his signature Pokémon had not been rendered useless either.
That was why, although Number Four was cautious of Cain, he was not completely without means to counterattack.
Cain observed his alert expression without saying anything. Instead, he headed toward where Number Two lay.
With the exception of Delphox, which still retained a bit of mobility, all of Number Two's other Pokémon had lost the ability to fight.
Delphox was also unable to stop Cain's advance as he approached the unrecognizable body of Number Two.
Although a faint smell of roasted meat reached his nose, Cain did not feel the slightest appetite.
Roughly, he removed Number Two's spatial equipment and all of his Poké Balls. He did not put them away, since behind him there were eyes watching with greed.
He then walked until he stood in front of Number Four, who was sitting on the ground with a serious expression.
"I, Bartram, am a man who keeps his word. The greatest value lies in these Poké Balls, especially that Delphox. I only want this storage device."
"As you can see, I haven't looked at what's inside, so consider it my thirty percent. All these Pokémon are yours!" Cain tossed all the Poké Balls in front of Number Four.
Upon seeing them, Number Four's expression filled with surprise.
Just as Cain had said, the value of those Pokémon was the highest, far exceeding that of the storage space itself.
According to his calculations, even adding up all of his own possessions, including the divine stones, they might not even reach thirty percent of the total.
He never imagined that Cain would be so faithful to his word. Even with many of his Pokémon out of combat, the other had not taken advantage of the situation.
In fact, Number Four had already prepared himself mentally: if Cain tried to take everything, he would counterattack without hesitation. Even a fifty–fifty split would have been accepted only with difficulty, since he could not allow his Pokémon to suffer further damage.
And yet, this was the result.
Everyone satisfied!
After all, those Pokémon had never been Cain's objective. Obtaining all of the enemy's resources was more than enough, and Number Four could still be useful to him. It was not the time to eliminate him.
Finally, Cain and Number Four checked the area to make sure they left no trace behind, and then hurriedly departed.
After their departure, two figures appeared at the scene: a man and a woman.
"Is this the place the Boss mentioned?" the man asked.
"This is it. Hurry up and complete what the Boss ordered. Leave no trace," the woman replied.
Cain's plan had begun!
