Chapter 350: Little Brother
All of Xander's Pokémon were eliminated. After spending so much time together and given Xander's personality, he had undoubtedly instilled in them the belief that no one else could be trusted.
Because of this, Cain had no intention of capturing them. Even if he handed them over to his subordinates, he feared they might turn against him at a critical moment. It was better to eliminate them all at once and avoid future problems.
Surrounded by his Pokémon, Cain slowly approached Xander's body, observing how his lifeless corpse still showed signs of resisting his fate, his face locked in a defiant expression.
Cain exuded a melancholic air. This life was truly changing significantly because of his actions. Xander, who had such a promising future, now lay on the ground, his body gradually losing warmth.
"If you want to blame someone, blame your own arrogance. If you hadn't provoked me, I probably wouldn't have bothered seeking trouble with you."
"After all, your brother is no pushover. But to prevent the two of you from teaming up against me in the future, it's better to end things now." Cain crouched down, taking Xander's storage gear and other belongings he carried.
"Grimer, clean this up!" Cain commanded, releasing Grimer's Poké Ball to handle the remains.
This Grimer, originally of green-tier quality, would undoubtedly improve to dark green-tier quality after devouring the remains of such high-level Pokémon, as it only needed a slight push.
Grimer obediently and eagerly devoured the Pokémon corpses on the ground, including Xander's remains.
With its corrosive effect, Grimer even dissolved the dried leaves and soil around the area, lowering the ground level by about two centimeters, erasing all traces.
Cain inspected Xander's Team Rocket belt, extracting a points device and some unused point cards.
In Xander's clothing pockets, Cain also found fragments of maps. However, the red markers on the maps were already dimmed, indicating they had been claimed by someone else.
Cain quickly calculated Xander's total points.
Through the combined efforts of over twenty individuals, they had accumulated points at an incredible rate. Xander alone had nearly 500 points.
After doing the math, Cain concluded that Xander had exactly 497 points.
"Hey, could you hand over those things you're holding?" said a playful, adorable voice suddenly.
Cain snapped to attention, looking in the direction of the voice. Atop a nearby tree stood a young woman, around seventeen or eighteen years old.
She had orange hair and wore casual clothes. Despite her youth, her figure was striking. She wore jeans more suited for a vacation than the Island of Trials.
However, her shoulder bore a red "R" tattoo, marking her as a Team Rocket member.
Cain hadn't seen her among the trial participants, but her ability to approach unnoticed by his Pokémon indicated she wasn't lacking in skill.
What surprised Cain even more was the Jynx beside her, holding a completely frozen person. The frozen figure was faintly recognizable as one of Xander's followers, Rock, ranked ninth, who had fled before Cain arrived.
The corpse in Jynx's grasp starkly contrasted the young woman's sweet smile.
She didn't seem as innocent and charming as her appearance suggested.
"Aurelia?" Cain murmured, calmly stating the young woman's name. With skills like hers, she had to be Aurelia, one of Ariana's trusted subordinates.
"Oh my! So you know me!" Aurelia exclaimed, her big eyes widening in surprise before she smiled and said, "It must've been those fools who told you, huh? Well, yes, I'm Aurelia. So, you must be Cain, right? What a strong and promising little brother!"
Little brother...
It was the first time Cain had been called that.
"Oh, here's another corpse. Jynx, get rid of it; it's so unpleasant," Aurelia said dramatically, pointing to the body Jynx held as she theatrically tossed her hair back.
But the smile on her face didn't match her words at all.
"What do you want?" Cain asked.
"I already told you. I want that points device and those point cards. And if you could, it'd be great if you gave me your points device too. Otherwise, I might get really mad," she said, her sly smile making her seem like a mischievous spirit.
"This is my war loot. If you want it, come take it yourself," Cain replied with a grin as he stored the points device in his gear.
Seeing him stash the device without hesitation, Aurelia's eyes narrowed, and her smile began to fade.
"You should know this was a fat sheep I've been raising for quite some time. And you dared to kill it while I was out having fun! I'm a little upset about that, you know?"
Cain frowned. A fat sheep?
So Xander had been under Aurelia's watch all along?
Everything he did was part of a plan; even his survival until now was because she wanted him to grow fat before slaughtering him. And now Cain had harvested the fruits prematurely.
If Xander had known he was just a sheep being fattened up, he would have lost his mind.
"And you say it was yours? Do you have proof of that?" Cain retorted with a wry smile.
Did she really think she could fool him like a three-year-old?
"You!" Aurelia puffed her cheeks, looking adorable even when upset.
"What's the matter? Want to fight? I'm ready whenever you are. Aurelia, Ariana's lieutenant, a specialist in Grass-type Pokémon," Cain continued, revealing the information he had.
Although Aurelia had a Jynx at the moment, her specialty was training Grass-type Pokémon.
Cain released a Poké Ball, sending out his Tropius.
"Roar!"
Tropius let out a powerful roar as it emerged, displaying its imposing presence.
"If you want a fight, go ahead, try me," Cain said.
When Aurelia saw Tropius, her initial reaction was surprise. As a Grass-type specialist, she was undoubtedly familiar with Tropius. But when she noted its strength, her brows furrowed.
This Tropius was no weakling.
Cain truly had the qualifications to face her.
The air grew tense, and both Cain and Aurelia became more serious. A single wrong move could spark a battle between them.
"Ugh, how boring. Never mind then. Keep those points for now. I won't bother you anymore. Jynx, let's go!" Aurelia suddenly exclaimed, her smile returning.
The tense atmosphere dissipated entirely. She gave Cain a lingering look, as if trying to memorize him, before leaping from the tree.
With the help of Jynx's psychic powers, she floated away instead of falling, eventually disappearing into the trees.
Cain watched her leave until she was out of sight.
(End of Chapter)