After hearing the explanation from the young Lugia, Lugia's opinion of Cain changed.
He also recalled how that Regice followed Cain's orders and helped him defeat Ampharos.
Lugia hesitated a bit, but then condensed a sphere of energy in front of him and launched it toward Moltres' body.
Instantly, the energy fused with his body.
His eyes, which had been closed due to unconsciousness, trembled slightly and slowly opened.
Moltres, who was still unconscious—woke up immediately!
"Accelerated cell regeneration? What an incredible ability." Seeing Moltres awaken, Cain assumed it was one of Lugia's powers.
Ho-Oh has the power to resurrect even dead Pokémon and grant them divine roles as sacred beasts. So how could Lugia, who shares a godlike status, not have some kind of special ability?
Moltres shook his head and slowly began to rise.
Upon seeing Lugia there, he at least understood what had happened.
He lowered his head and flew over to his side, dejected.
Compared to Lugia, Moltres was considerably smaller.
Lugia, in a bad mood, slapped him on the back, making him stagger.
The young Lugia immediately shouted at him, as if saying, "Moltres is a patient!"
Moltres didn't dare say another word and obediently returned to Lugia's side.
The three Pokémon began talking among themselves.
Since they weren't using telepathy, Cain couldn't understand them.
But that didn't matter, since Slowking was able to pick up parts of the exchange and gradually translated what they were saying to Cain.
With what he managed to understand, Cain was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Although Moltres didn't know exactly what had happened while he was unconscious or why he felt so weak, he did know that Cain and his Pokémon had helped him survive.
And that they had done everything they could to protect him and help him recover.
Moltres understood that clearly.
Discreetly, Cain handed the Pokéball in his hand to Mismagius, and she tossed it into Cain's shadow.
All done very naturally.
Fortunately, the three Pokémon in front were distracted. Otherwise, that action would have been far too obvious.
With that awkward detail finally hidden, Cain felt more secure again.
Noticing that the conversation was wrapping up, Cain approached Moltres with some sprays and medicine, indicating he wanted to treat the remaining wounds.
He took the opportunity to make a good impression in front of Lugia.
Lugia showed a somewhat awkward expression.
But would a god admit his mistake?
Obviously not!
Still, his attitude toward Cain improved significantly.
Then he flapped his wings once more and launched another energy sphere toward Moltres' body.
Moltres' wounds visibly began to heal rapidly.
Cain, a little embarrassed, stored his healing items back into his storage space.
"Fwooh!"
Suddenly, Lugia let out a cry to the other two Pokémon.
Zapdos and Articuno, injured, flew toward him at once. Gritting their teeth and grimacing, they looked a bit comical.
The once majestic Three Legendary Birds, upon seeing Lugia, immediately behaved like excited little fans and began to pour out all their complaints and woes.
When Lugia listened to them, his expression turned grim once again.
"FWOOOOOOSH!"
This time, his call echoed across all three islands.
Every Pokémon that heard his voice went wild.
They ferociously attacked all the humans on the island.
Surely, aside from Tenebris and Umbra who had enough power to resist, the rest of the people were in serious danger.
Cain said nothing. In moments like this, the best thing was to protect oneself.
After giving the order, Lugia looked at Cain again.
But he seemed to hesitate.
After all, he had said that all the humans on the island would be attacked, and Cain was included in that.
But Cain had helped Moltres, and Lugia himself had misjudged him. On top of that, the young Lugia had a good impression of him.
As if having made a decision...
Lugia opened his mouth and condensed within it a small sphere of entwined blue and red energy.
He furrowed his brow, and once it was fully formed, he launched it straight at Cain.
That two-colored energy sphere instantly fused with his mind.
"Human, consider this a reward for what you did. The blue energy carries my essence: as long as you don't provoke them, the Pokémon on this island — and even many others — will not attack you."
"The red energy is psychic. You're a rare psychic, though with little talent. Those six little ones aren't enough. Let me help you a bit."
After saying that, Lugia spread his wings and, together with the young Lugia and the Three Legendary Birds, flew off into the distance.
When Lugia left, the sea calmed, the rain stopped, and the dark clouds in the sky began to dissipate.
Sunbeams filtered through the clouds and lit up the island.
Multiple rainbows of various shapes and sizes appeared in the sky above the island. It was a spectacular sight.
Cain watched the Pokémon become tiny dots in the distance, with a lump in his throat.
If Lugia hadn't appeared, he would've struck a perfect deal this time.
But with Lugia's arrival, not only were Brannis' seven Elite-level Pokémon annihilated, Moltres was taken away as well.
He looked at the empty Pokéball in his hand, unable to say a word.
That Pokéball had bonded with Moltres.
"When I have enough power, I will get that Moltres back!"
That was the only thought Cain could use to console himself.
Beyond that, there was no other way to vent his frustration.
Thankfully... at least he had extracted a whole container of Moltres' blood.
Who knows what effects Lugia's blood might have...
Cain's thoughts began to drift...
"Well, at least I have the seven Elite-level Pokémon from Rox. That's still a huge fortune, though managing them will be complicated," Cain murmured.
Aside from Team Rocket, only the Hunter's Guild seemed trustworthy enough to handle them.
As for the energy sphere Lugia gave him...
Cain closed his eyes and used his psychic powers to sense it within his mind. Sure enough, the sphere was still there.
The blue energy remained stable, but the red one kept releasing power.
No impurities, no need for processing — it integrated directly into his psychic ability.
Cain could feel his mental power steadily growing.
Even though the increase wasn't drastic, the rate at which it filtered in and the size of the sphere told him that once it was fully absorbed, even if he didn't reach the advanced level, his power would still rise several levels.
And that gradual growth would also allow him to adapt more smoothly.
(End of chapter)