When facing Alder's Pokémon, most of Cain's Pokémon were at a level disadvantage. However, today they had displayed victory of the weak over the strong several times.
Whether it was Blaziken, Gengar, or Salamence, all of them had received the help of Mega Evolution. This was one of the major reasons.
But another reason was the boosts they had received.
Aptitude was only part of the reason. Aptitude merely allowed these Pokémon, whom Cain had only cultivated for a few years, not to be at a disadvantage in terms of moves and combat techniques against the Pokémon Alder had cultivated for decades.
After all, if one spoke solely of years of training, the cultivation time Alder's Pokémon had received was not something Cain's Pokémon could compare with.
And the fact that they had not fallen into a disadvantage in this aspect was because their aptitude was outstanding. Their learning speed was much faster than that of Alder's Pokémon, and their comprehension ability in combat was also not comparable to that of ordinary Pokémon. Added to Cain's special training method, only then were they able to polish in just a few years what had taken other Pokémon decades to perfect.
Aptitude had evened out the difference in mastery of moves, techniques, and combat experience, but it had not managed to even out the difference in strength.
What truly evened out the difference in strength were the special traits of several of Cain's Pokémon: Mega Blaziken's Sacred Fire, Gengar's Ghost-type energy, so dense that it was second only to Giratina's, as well as Salamence's intense Dragon-type bloodline and the fragments of the Sky Plate he carried with him.
And there was another point: Cain, through the system, held an advantage in data. By knowing both the enemy and himself, it was easier for him to take countermeasures.
As for the telepathic command ability of a psychic, at a level like theirs, the advantage it represented was almost negligible. It could even be said that it provided no advantage at all.
Because during most of the battle, Alder and Cain were not giving orders at every moment.
Trainers and Pokémon at their level could already truly achieve a connection of thought. Or rather, the tacit understanding accumulated in ordinary times was already enough. The combat decisions the Pokémon made in the face of various situations coincided with their Trainers' thoughts.
Only at some key moments, or at turning points in the battle, would the two of them give orders for their Pokémon to respond.
And just by hearing their orders, the Pokémon could instantly understand their combat methods.
This had practically already reached the highest level a Trainer could reach when directing a battle: not directing!
But there were extremely few people capable of reaching this state.
Alder felt quite surprised that Cain could reach this level at such an age. After all, this not only required the bond between Pokémon and Trainer to be sufficient, but also a large amount of real combat accumulated over a long time. Moreover, ordinary people would not even come to imagine that the future path was like this.
Among those present, only a portion of the people could understand it.
After Mega Salamence fell defeated, Cain still had two Pokémon capable of fighting. One of them was Tyranitar, who had participated in the first battle.
And Alder also had only two Pokémon left in total: one was the Braviary that was outside, and the other was still unknown.
Both of them had almost returned once again to the same position.
However, Braviary had tangled with Mega Salamence for quite some time and had received considerable injuries, so Cain still had a certain advantage.
Finally, facing Braviary, Cain thought for a moment and then summoned Aggron.
Afterward, he used Mega Evolution without the slightest hesitation. With Mega Aggron's defense, it would be difficult for Braviary to break through it.
As Cain's Pokémon most skilled in physical defense, Mega Aggron was facing a Normal- and Flying-type Braviary that did not possess powerful special moves, so before that defense which could be called terrifying, Braviary could only feel a great headache.
Moreover, although Mega Aggron only retained the Steel type, his Rock-type moves were not weak either.
The opponent's attacks were restrained, while his own could pose a considerable threat to the enemy. Cain's choice on this occasion was truly precise.
Mega Aggron's defense caused Alder an enormous headache, even if Braviary's level was quite a bit higher than Mega Aggron's.
But Mega Aggron's defense could no longer be measured by levels. He was an existence capable of directly receiving the move Oblivion Wing from Yveltal, a first-level Legendary Pokémon.
Although it had been with the help of other Pokémon, and after resisting that attack, Mega Aggron's own defense had been almost completely dismantled.
But the difference between Braviary and Yveltal was still enormous.
In the end, after directly receiving multiple attacks from Braviary, Mega Aggron seized an opportunity and used the move Stone Edge to defeat Braviary.
With this, Alder only had his last Pokémon left, while Cain still had two Pokémon, and among them was still Mega Aggron, the one with the greatest defense!
Seeing another Pokémon from the Hoenn region obtain victory, for the spectators of Hoenn, this was something extremely exciting.
What excited them the most was that Cain now already occupied a great advantage.
No one would doubt Alder's strength. This was someone who had remained in the Champion position for more than ten years, and his strength was undoubtedly above that of an ordinary Champion. But now Cain was able to occupy a slight advantage. What that represented was evident without needing to say it.
The future of the Hoenn region was bright!
Upon reaching the most crucial moment, naturally everyone paid special attention.
Alder's face finally showed a trace of seriousness, but very soon a smile appeared on his face again.
"Hahaha... Cain, lad, you truly have extraordinary strength. I have also seen with my own eyes the bond between you and your Pokémon. Since that is the case, in the final battle, I will let my old partner fight once!"
It could be seen that Alder was truly quite happy.
He threw a fiery-red Poké Ball, and a Pokémon appeared, carrying with it multicolored, shining powder scales. Its appearance was extremely mysterious!
(End of chapter)