Boom!
When Jacob was still dazed, Cain's Pokémon had already surrounded him. Having lost their trainer's guidance, Leafeon and Meganium could barely unleash sixty to seventy percent of their strength, making them unable to withstand the combined assault of Cain's Pokémon.
In the end, Leafeon fell beneath the enormous fist of Mega Tyranitar, like a sandbag.
Looking at Jacob, who had completely lost his ability to resist and lay collapsed on the ground with his spirit shattered, Cain slowly walked forward until he stood before him, looking down at him from above.
He felt that all of this was an absurd waste.
A young man of barely twenty years old had spent twenty-five years living in such a desolate place, squandering the most prosperous and fastest-growing period of his life. That time could never be recovered. A person like this had, in essence, become someone with no room for future growth at all.
Noticing Cain's approach, the emptiness in Jacob's eyes regained a bit of light, and an absolute hatred suddenly appeared in his gaze, without the slightest attempt to conceal it.
Who could not hate?
For twenty-five years he had persisted, twenty-five years of dreaming, taking today as his final spiritual solace and mental support.
But now, all of that had been destroyed by Cain. Not only was it now impossible for him to leave this place and travel the Pokémon world; he would probably never be able to leave for the rest of his life. Such hatred was even deeper than that of an enemy who had killed one's father or taken one's wife.
The hatred in his eyes sent a chill down Cain's spine.
Originally, Cain had considered whether there was any possibility of subduing him, but upon seeing that gaze, he completely abandoned the idea.
Even if Jacob were stronger than Brad, if he could not be controlled and there was a chance he might turn against him, then it was better not to have him at all.
Even so, there were questions and doubts Cain wanted to resolve through him.
"What exactly is the Sacred Church's objective? And what is that spatial rift in the air for?" Cain asked in a low voice.
Upon hearing the question, Jacob snorted and pointed to his own head, without saying a single word.
Cain frowned.
He immediately understood. For someone like Jacob, in whom the Sacred Church had invested so many resources, it was impossible that he did not have some kind of restriction implanted. Even Cain, with subordinates he did not fully trust, implanted psychic seeds to prevent betrayal; how could the Sacred Church, with its even greater mastery of psychic powers, not leave a safeguard?
Jacob's gesture clearly indicated that there was something special implanted in his mind.
Jacob probably already knew that he had no chance of surviving, and that was why he looked at Cain with such undisguised hatred.
Because he knew Cain would not let him live.
Seeing that he could not extract any useful information from him, Cain did not hesitate any longer. When decisive action was required, he acted without wavering. At the very least, Jacob's Pokémon represented an immense fortune.
However, just as Cain was about to order Tyranitar to bury him beneath the sand, his expression suddenly changed and became extremely grim.
"You're courting death!"
Cain discovered that while he was talking to him, Jacob was secretly severing the bindings of his Poké Balls. Such a thing was completely unacceptable.
Reacting immediately, Cain ordered Gengar to attack, piercing him straight through. By that time, however, only two Poké Balls remained bound.
With blood at the corner of his lips and a smile full of resentment, Jacob had used that repulsive method as revenge: making Cain gain much less, even if it was only a small reprisal.
Cain took the last two Poké Balls from Jacob's belt. Because the unbinding process had been rushed, not even Jacob himself knew which Pokémon had been released.
But Cain could try them one by one.
This time, the goddess of luck was on his side: when he used the first Poké Ball, he managed to subdue Leafeon on the first attempt.
For Cain, as long as Leafeon was secured, at least one-third of the wealth was guaranteed. As for the Pokémon contained in the other Poké Ball, it was no longer that important.
But the luck was extraordinary: the second Poké Ball contained Meganium, the Pokémon that had always protected him, and which had already surpassed the first barrier of the Champion level.
Just these two Pokémon alone represented at least half of the gains. As for the others, Cacturne and Torterra, which had been defeated first, were deeply buried beneath the sand; when Mega Tyranitar manipulated the red sand and summoned magma, no one knew whether they had already been literally roasted.
The other Pokémon—the ones Jacob had released afterward—were still on the surface of the sand, but Cain no longer had many options with them.
Abandoned Pokémon, unbound from their Poké Balls, can be subdued again, but that requires a cooldown period. It is not enough for the bond to be broken to capture them immediately.
Poké Balls are, in essence, a kind of spatial tool. When a Pokémon is captured, it establishes a connection with that space. Even if the bond is broken, that residual connection remains, and to capture it again one must wait a long time.
That was why Jacob chose this method of revenge: allowing Cain to see his Pokémon but not capture them, unless he imprisoned them for a long period of time. But Cain could not afford that; they still had to search for Phoebe and Wallace, and it was impossible to travel while carrying a large group of Pokémon.
Whether intentional or unconscious, Jacob did not want to part with Leafeon, in whom he had placed so many hopes, and left its Poké Ball for last. If Cain had not noticed in time, it probably would have been released as well.
After all, some people always leave the best for last; perhaps Jacob acted that way purely out of instinct.
(End of chapter)