The four of them spent their last night in the mansion.
Before dawn, Cain was the first to leave.
It was expected that, with the sunrise, the others would also depart.
However, Cain didn't plan to return to the Hoenn region just yet, so he decided to leave earlier.
The mysterious island in the alternate space above Lake Verity still awaited deeper exploration.
Cain held a special device in his hands. Together with Slowking, and thanks to the move Teleport, he left that place.
After several consecutive teleports, Cain and Slowking arrived at the shore of Lake Verity.
In his left hand, Cain held the device containing a Pokémon egg.
It was the same Ralts egg he had obtained during the Sinnoh Tournament.
He felt that this island, filled with Psychic-type Pokémon, might provide some advantage for Ralts's development.
In his right hand, the four characters glowed faintly. Cain extended his arm, and with a motion from top to bottom, as if unzipping something, the alternate space revealed itself once again.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
He was already experienced with this.
He passed easily through the chaotic alternate space and arrived at the mysterious island.
Some time ago, Cain had explored part of this island with his Pokémon.
He estimated he had covered roughly a quarter of the island, focusing on the area around the Lake Verity entrance. Back then, the main objective had been to train and strengthen his Pokémon.
This time, he planned to head toward the center of the island to discover what secrets it held.
Interestingly, although Pokémon eggs technically don't count as active Pokémon, Cain could still carry three of them.
He released three Poké Balls, calling out Slowking, Honchkrow, and Weavile, who had not appeared in a while.
Due to the Sinnoh Tournament, Cain had paused the training of these last two. Also, the short time between battles hadn't allowed him to bring them out. They were eager to act.
Honchkrow and Weavile had reached the quasi-elite level.
However, after being surpassed by Drapion and Florges, both Pokémon harbored a strong determination to prove their full potential.
Falling behind Drapion and Florges was acceptable to them, but if Swampert and Politoed also overtook them, they would certainly feel very frustrated.
That's why, after the tournament ended, Cain immediately summoned them for training.
This mysterious island was unbalanced in favor of Psychic-type Pokémon, so Honchkrow and Weavile, being Dark-types, were perfect for battles here.
Previously, Drapion had been the main focus due to the tournament, but now Cain could balance his training.
With these three Pokémon, he advanced toward the island's interior.
Slowking had reached level 58, just two steps away from elite level. That breakthrough would represent a huge leap for Cain.
All of Cain's frontline Pokémon were already at the quasi-elite level, surpassing even what he had achieved in his previous life.
In the past, his strongest Pokémon had been a Salamence. However, the rest of his team had been fairly average compared to his current standard.
It had taken him years to reach that level in his previous life, but in this one, since his rebirth, not even a year had passed and he had already reached the rank of a quasi-elite trainer. This progress was a major achievement for Cain.
Still, the next steps would be more challenging.
In his past life, none of his Pokémon had reached elite level, so he didn't know how to surpass that threshold.
Was there some special barrier?
Cain was convinced that, by following this path, he would eventually obtain the power needed to have a voice in this world—enough to handle any situation at will.
That was his ultimate goal.
However, it all depended on having enough strength.
Whether it was the League, Team Rocket, Team Magma, Team Aqua, Team Galactic, or Team Flare—none of these organizations or forces matter in the face of absolute power.
Why did Giovanni found Team Rocket?
Because he knew that, even with Champion-level or higher strength, ruling the world alone was extremely difficult.
Even though Team Rocket was powerful, it couldn't expand beyond the Kanto region. When an absolute power appears, others will unite to oppose it.
That's why Giovanni was willing to sacrifice resources and efforts in other regions to start the Mewtwo Project.
He saw in Mew's DNA an opportunity to control the world through strength.
Cain didn't aspire to that.
He didn't need to dominate the world; his goal was to reach the Elite Four level.
With that power, no one would dare underestimate him. Even a Champion would hesitate to face him, knowing the cost might be too high.
It wasn't about having invincible strength, but about having the power to instill fear in others.
Cain was working toward that goal.
In short: first, attain a power that others fear.
As for the rumors about his connection to Team Rocket, as long as Giovanni didn't confirm those accusations, no one would believe them.
The League isn't stupid. If it eliminated every prodigy based on suspicion, it would never grow.
As he advanced toward the center of the island, Cain reflected on his plans.
Any wild Pokémon that got in the way was quickly defeated by Slowking and the two Dark-types.
Luckily, there weren't large packs on the island, so they didn't fear being surrounded.
In a single day, Cain covered most of the way to the island's center.
However, something at the heart of the island had begun to awaken, noticing Cain's presence.
(End of Chapter)