Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

The moment Sneasel, charged with Ice-type energy, received the command, three massive ice pillars fell between the pond and the river, blocking the Shellder from easily returning.

"Murkrow, Haunter! Use Hidden Power on the pond with all your strength. The rest of the Pokémon, cover every direction—don't let any Shellder escape. Let's try to capture them all at once!" Cain ordered.

Murkrow quickly formed a bright yellow sphere brimming with Electric-type energy.

Meanwhile, Haunter condensed a dark green sphere between its hands, representing the Plant-type power, equally capable of inflicting significant damage to the Shellder.

The Shellder, realizing they'd been trapped, desperately tried to leave the pond.

However, around the pond, Slowpoke, Sneasel, Skorupi, and Arbok were on guard. Each time a Shellder attempted to jump, it was knocked back into the water.

The levels of the Shellder varied. Some were stronger, around level thirty, while others were only in their teens. But without exception, they were all trapped in the small pond, unable to escape.

The Hidden Power energy soon materialized, and Murkrow and Haunter unleashed their attacks into the water.

In an instant, the yellow sphere exploded as it hit the water, and streams of blue and yellow electricity spread everywhere.

Since the Shellder were vulnerable to Electric-type attacks, and with the conductivity of the water, the impact they suffered was doubled.

Soon, some of the weaker Shellder floated to the surface, clearly unable to continue fighting.

Cain instructed Slowpoke to use its psychic powers to pull all the Shellder ashore, then used his system to scan them one by one.

He only wanted to capture a high-quality Shellder, not destroy the entire colony, so once Slowpoke had brought them out of the water, he allowed Haunter to use its Plant-type power.

Unlike Murkrow's Electric-type Hidden Power, the Plant-type one burst on contact with the water like a dragon entering the sea. Instead of dispersing, all the Plant-type energy submerged into the water, causing great damage to the Shellder at the bottom.

After two Hidden Power attacks, the remaining Shellder also floated to the surface.

Slowpoke, ever vigilant, pulled them out of the water. Anyway, they wouldn't be able to move for a while, so there was no danger in leaving them on the shore.

Cain gave them a quick look, pulled out a Poké Ball, and captured a green-quality Shellder.

Although it wasn't the blue-quality Shellder he desired, a green-quality Pokémon was still quite valuable. After leaving Challenge Island, he could sell it at the Hunter's Guild.

The mass hunting of large Pokémon groups is the fastest way to earn rewards.

Although the number of Shellder here didn't constitute a large group, the Pokémon on Challenge Island generally had higher quality. So while green-quality Pokémon are rare, they aren't extremely uncommon.

After dealing with the Shellder in this pond, Cain hadn't yet obtained the high-quality Pokémon he desired.

The whole operation took less than a minute, starting from when Gyarados emerged from the water, but even so, it was incredibly fast.

With twenty Shellder captured each time, if everything went smoothly, after seven or eight attempts, Cain could clear out nearly all the Shellder in the area.

"Gyarados, go again! Sneasel, melt those ice blocks," Cain ordered.

Gyarados, with a look of resignation, dared not show any resistance and dove back into the water.

It knew very well what it was about to face. The Shellder below would probably be even angrier, as their companions who chased after them hadn't returned.

Ignoring Gyarados, Sneasel approached the ice pillars, extended its claw, and touched them.

Soon, the Ice-type energy it shared began to be absorbed, and without that energy to sustain them, the ice blocks quickly melted into water.

This ability to absorb and release Ice-type energy was something Sneasel had recently learned, inspired by Haunter.

Although the types were different, Haunter could recover the Poison-type energy it released, so Cain wondered if other Pokémon could also recover the energy they released. Thus, Sneasel became Cain's first test subject.

At first, although it was a challenge, Sneasel, with its strong talent for the Ice type, soon grasped the trick and learned to reclaim the Ice-type energy it had released.

This not only reduced energy loss but also helped Pokémon train their energy control.

After Sneasel mastered this ability, Cain began attempting to teach it to his other Pokémon.

Once everyone learns, their endurance for long battles will improve significantly, and their energy control will also increase greatly.

The water's surface calmed, and the Pokémon stood silently on the shore, waiting.

Sneasel had accumulated its Ice-type energy to a critical point. As soon as Gyarados drew the Shellder to the pond, it could quickly seal off their escape route.

Murkrow and Haunter had also accumulated Hidden Power, ready to release it at any moment. This wait allowed them to compress the energy further, improving their control and mastery over it.

A little while later, Gyarados emerged from the water even faster than before, not even having time to activate its Flying-type ability before it fell onto the shore, ice chunks clinging to its body, clearly having been attacked and wounded.

However, the effect was clear. This time, almost thirty Shellder emerged from the water to chase it and fell into the pond by the shore. Cain even noticed a Cloyster among them.

Perhaps as an instinctive reaction, upon seeing water below, they all jumped into the pond.

And so, they were trapped.

As soon as the last Shellder fell into the water, Sneasel launched its ice pillars. This time, it formed four pillars, lined up to seal the pond.

Having worked together before, the Pokémon executed their roles precisely.

Murkrow dropped its electric energy ball, which it had been condensing for a long time. After an explosion louder than before, several Shellder floated to the surface.

After Slowpoke pulled out those Shellder, Haunter also launched its Plant-type energy ball.

However, this time, the Shellder were stronger and of a higher level, so Haunter's Hidden Power couldn't defeat them all.

But Murkrow, who was already prepared, threw another electric energy ball into the water.

Finally, all the Shellder, except for the Cloyster, were defeated.

(End of Chapter)