With the combined efforts of Cain and Slowking, and the support of Floette, the tide of battle began to turn in their favor.
The gem in Slowking's crown shone ever brighter, and its psychic power grew increasingly intense.
One by one, the Houndoom on the field began to fall, starting with the weakest, losing their ability to fight.
By the time the Houndoom realized the severity of their predicament, they were already gravely injured. No matter how much they attacked Slowking, they couldn't cause significant damage.
In contrast, the moves they would normally endure were now hitting with full force, causing real pain.
Additionally, the strange space enveloping them made them feel slow and clumsy. Both their speed and movements were unusually sluggish.
On the other hand, Slowking was completely immersed in the battle, reveling in its position in the upper corners of the Trick Room field. Using Teleport, it constantly moved while launching psychic-type moves at the Houndoom below.
It resembled a pink bomber with unlimited ammunition.
When the leader of the Houndoom finally decided to retreat, it realized there were only two or three companions left by its side.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the last of the Houndoom fell, leaving it as the sole one standing.
"This is too much!" thought the leader.
Psychic-type moves weren't supposed to work on dark types, but here was someone ruthlessly tearing them apart. Now it was the only one left.
If someone were to tell it that dark types didn't need to fear psychic types because they were immune, the Houndoom leader would surely bite them on the spot.
The worst part? Houndoom couldn't fly.
It couldn't fly!
Slowking floated in the air with its psychic power, while the Houndoom could only attack from a distance. Their moves failed to cause any significant damage. With Heal Pulse, Slowking kept recovering and fought with even greater vigor.
Seeing yet another wave of dark energy spheres closing in on it, the Houndoom leader resigned itself. There was no one left to share the damage.
With a howl of despair, the Houndoom leader fell to the ground, defeated like its companions.
The moment the leader fell, the red gem in Slowking's crown glowed intensely.
"Yadon!" Slowking let out a cry to the sky, exuding the presence of a true "King." Its psychic power peaked.
As the Trick Room move dissipated, Slowking slowly descended to the ground.
Cain disconnected his telepathic link with Slowking, feeling a wave of exhaustion. Supporting it so intensely had been draining, especially because Slowking's overwhelming psychic power somewhat resisted him. The effort had been considerable.
After taking a moment to recover, Cain exhaled deeply, now more composed. He observed Slowking, now standing with its eyes closed, its psychic energy dissipated. The gem in its crown continued to flicker with a reddish glow.
Not disturbing Slowking's rest, Cain retrieved the low-quality Poké Balls he had obtained in the hunting zone and threw them at the Houndoom, selecting those of higher level and better potential, particularly the leader.
However, the capture rate of these Poké Balls left much to be desired. After throwing about thirty, he finally managed to capture the eighteen incapacitated Houndoom.
Had he used standard Poké Balls, the success rate would have been much higher once the Houndoom were unable to fight.
Fortunately, he managed to capture them all and still had two low-quality Poké Balls left.
With eighteen Houndoom under his control, even if they weren't useful in battle, they could at least guard his home. Having a pack of dark hounds guarding the entrance would surely intimidate anyone.
In the future, Cain could issue the command: "Shut the door! Release the dogs!"
After gathering the Houndoom, Cain turned his attention back to Slowking as his system scanned the data of his companion.
Five minutes later, the red glow in Slowking's crown gem began to fade, and it finally opened its eyes.
A spark of light briefly flickered in them before its expression returned to its usual lazy demeanor, as if it hadn't just fought a fierce battle.
Cain immediately received the analysis results.
First: Slowking had managed to raise its quality to light Purple, officially entering the league of Pokémon with greater potential, leaving behind its previously uncertain potential state.
With this advancement, Slowking's chances of reaching Champion level were significantly higher.
Second: Slowking's level had reached 50, surpassing the threshold of advanced-level Pokémon and entering the quasi-elite level.
From this moment, Cain finally had a quasi-elite-level Pokémon on his team.
With a combination of one quasi-elite-level Pokémon and five advanced-level ones, Cain couldn't yet call himself a quasi-elite-level trainer, but at least he had one foot in the door.
Reaching this level of power meant Cain would finally have a voice in the League in his role as a gym leader.
Advanced-level trainers were recognized, but until they reached the quasi-elite level, they were seen as promising youth. Only from that level onward were they considered mature enough to carry real weight.
For instance, Lance, when attending the Hoenn region meeting, already had the right to be present and speak. At that time, Lance was a quasi-elite-level trainer.
The League veterans no longer saw him as just a kid.
Thus, Slowking reaching the quasi-elite level was a significant milestone for Cain.
As Cain's first Pokémon to reach this level and improve its potential, Cain was highly satisfied with Slowking's progress.
When Slowking awakened, Cain asked how it felt, and after receiving a positive response, Cain felt relieved.
After hesitating for a moment, he took some tweezers and carefully opened Slowking's crown, where the gem containing the hair soaked in the Blood of Mew was located.
However, although the hair was still there, the blood, which had once been a bright red, had now darkened. Connecting with his psychic power, Cain could no longer sense any special energy.
The energy of the Blood of Mew... had completely fused with Slowking!
(End of Chapter)