Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

Tropius is a Flying and Grass-type Pokémon. Although the Flying type may be effective against Venomoth, Venomoth's Bug type is also effective against Tropius's Grass type, and Venomoth's Poison type even more so. Thus, Tropius was at a clear disadvantage.

The shadow of death drove it to keep fleeing.

"Just hold on a bit longer. Once we're out of Venomoth's territory, we'll be safe," Cain said, giving Tropius some Pokéblocks to calm its nerves.

In its mind, Tropius reflected on how it used to be the king of a small island—though life was a bit boring, with a small territory and little food...

But when it thought about food, it put aside its regrets. Food is the most important thing, after all!

Chewing on the delicious Pokéblocks, it seemed to be letting off steam.

After finishing, it still wanted more, and every time it opened its mouth, Cain gave it another Pokéblock.

Tired but happy—that's how Tropius felt at that moment.

Gradually, it started to see flashes of light ahead. After flying a bit more, the light grew brighter.

"Tropius, full speed ahead! Just ahead is the edge of the forest. Once we're out, Venomoth should stop chasing us," Cain said, giving Tropius another Pokéblock.

Hearing this, Tropius felt like a ray of hope was approaching.

Without sunlight and flying at full speed, its body was already somewhat fatigued. Although the Pokéblocks helped it recover, the demand exceeded its recovery capacity.

It was like a runner who could complete a 3000-meter race without issues, but if running 200 meters at full sprint, they might collapse.

Pushing beyond its body's limits, Tropius felt extremely exhausted.

The light seemed close, but time passed so slowly.

Finally, after three minutes, Tropius emerged from the forest, startling a crowd of birds and insect Pokémon feeding nearby.

Once outside, unsure if Venomoth had stopped pursuing it, Tropius kept flying a bit longer. Seeing no more enemies behind, it finally landed on the grass.

Tropius collapsed onto the grass, gasping for breath.

Looking back at the forest, it saw the Venomoth, glowing faintly with a phosphorescent light, stop at the forest's edge. After observing Cain and Tropius for a moment, the Venomoth returned to the forest, clearly frustrated.

Venomoth is a nocturnal Pokémon that prefers to act at night, and the dark forest was its ideal habitat.

That forest was its territory, but the wide meadow outside probably belonged to other Pokémon.

Cain jumped off Tropius's back. Not only was Tropius exhausted after this escape, but Slowpoke, who had been creating barriers to delay the Venomoth, was also worn out.

Slowpoke, using the last bit of its psychic energy, floated down from Tropius's back, but as it ran out of energy just before touching the ground, it stumbled upon landing.

Murkrow, who had been clearing the path for Tropius, was also somewhat fatigued.

This time, all three of Cain's Pokémon had given it their all.

Cain approached Slowpoke, gave it some special Pokéblocks to meditate, and then returned it to its Pokéball.

After giving Tropius more Pokéblocks and patting its head in encouragement, he also returned it to its Pokéball.

When Cain tried to return Murkrow to its Pokéball after giving it its Pokéblocks, Murkrow stopped him.

With Slowpoke resting, Cain's protection had significantly decreased. Although Haunter was present, it wasn't enough, so Murkrow insisted on staying outside. Even though it would recover more slowly, it wanted to ensure Cain's safety.

Finally, Cain relented and allowed Murkrow to rest on his shoulder.

In just half a day, four of Cain's Pokémon were injured or exhausted to varying degrees.

Miltank, Slowpoke, Tropius, and Murkrow all needed time to rest.

This showed that the final trial was much more challenging than the daily exploration of the Trial Island.

During the first three months on the island, Cain could explore areas at his own pace, ensuring the area behind him was safe.

But in the final trial, with random teleportation to any location on the island, anything could happen.

This is why the first day was probably the most dangerous, with the highest mortality rate on the island. Those who were unlucky could be teleported directly into the nest of a wild Pokémon, and if they couldn't react in time, they might be devoured.

Only those who survived the first day could start thinking about how to earn more points and even capture more potential Pokémon.

The principle of the "snowball effect" only applies if you manage to survive.

Cain sat down on the grass to rest for a bit. He took out water and food stored in his storage space and began eating silently.

While eating, he reflected on his next steps.

The Trial Island was large, and although there were few participants in the trial—a total of 91 trainers—even if more participants were added later, they wouldn't exceed 150 in total. So the greatest threat was still the island's wild Pokémon.

The fact that Cain had encountered someone teleported nearby, after just one hour, was an extremely low probability, almost like winning the lottery.

Thinking about it, perhaps he shouldn't have let them go. Previously, Cain was concerned that the other person might have had the ability to choose their teleportation point, which would explain the coincidence.

So his worry wasn't unfounded. If that group wanted to trap him, they could have sent someone to lure him in, while others ambushed him in the escape direction. It wasn't impossible.

Looking back, there was only a bit of regret.

Cain stood up, brushing off the dust and leaves from the trees.

Venomoth, due to its innate limitations, isn't the best Pokémon for primary combat, but as a support Pokémon, it's quite excellent.

With its three types of powder and various psychic abilities, it can exert some control.

It naturally learns the move Quiver Dance, which boosts its special attack, special defense, and speed. If combined with moves like Toxic Spikes, Baton Pass, and Heart Swap, along with the Tinted Lens ability, it becomes an almost perfect support.

It can use the move Toxic Spikes and the Quiver Dance move, then pass its benefits to another Pokémon using Baton Pass, and then switch abilities with Heart Swap.

The Tinted Lens ability allows normally less effective moves to become effective.

For instance, a Fire-type move against a Water-type Pokémon would normally have half or even a quarter of the power. But with Tinted Lens, resistance would be ignored, returning the move to its normal power, which greatly neutralizes defensive Pokémon.

Therefore, if the opportunity arises, capturing a Venomoth as a support Pokémon wouldn't be a bad idea.

(End of chapter)

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