When Cain began raising Larvitar until it became Pupitar, he already had a solid foundation.
Moreover, due to the extended time Larvitar spent inside the Pokémon egg, along with the energy from the Geocentric Purifying Milk and the residual effects of the Evolution Elixir, its growth rate had been remarkably fast compared to other pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
However, after evolving into Pupitar, all the accumulated energy and the foundation that had been built were nearly completely depleted.
And since Pupitar's stage is precisely a period of accumulation, the time required to progress became even longer.
According to Cain's original calculations, by the time Pupitar reached its full potential, his Blaziken and the others would probably already have long been settled at the Elite level.
Even so, Cain still considered it a fairly ideal development.
Once it evolved into Tyranitar, it would still have a chance to catch up. Moreover, after evolution, it could also use Mega Evolution, and with all that accumulated time, it would undergo an explosive growth phase.
But today, with the discovery of this energy lake, Cain began to reconsider his plans.
Both from the information revealed by the Unown and the system's analysis, it was confirmed that the energy contained in this lake posed no danger to Pokémon and could even accelerate their development.
Of course, overly accelerated growth isn't always a good thing.
But in Pupitar's case, what it needs right now is to accumulate energy. This place is perfect for that.
"Pupitar, how's your accumulation going?" Cain asked, not rushing to submerge him in the lake—first wanting to know his current condition.
"Puppp~" Pupitar responded softly, with a calm voice and no sign of unease.
He was in an excellent mental state.
Cain nodded in satisfaction.
"This energy lake can accelerate your accumulation and has no negative effects. But you may have to stay here for quite a while," he explained.
Pupitar showed no impatience. He looked at the green, glowing lake and perceived the intense flow of non-elemental energy within it.
Cain looked at Slowking.
He understood immediately and, using his psychic powers, lifted Pupitar and floated him to the center of the energy lake.
Then he asked if he was ready.
In his eyes, Cain saw calmness and determination.
Only then did he allow him to be fully submerged in the lake.
The water was crystal clear, and with the luminescence at the bottom, Pupitar could be seen clearly in the center.
Pupitar had closed his eyes.
If one looked closely, small whirlpools could be seen forming around him. Fine streams of energy flowed into his body.
The system detected this data, showing that his accumulated energy bar was beginning to increase rapidly.
Cain and Slowking waited in silence for half an hour. After confirming there were no adverse effects, they finally relaxed.
The energy lake was so vast that Pupitar couldn't consume it all even if he tried.
Cain then released all his other Pokémon.
Since the energy was non-elemental, any Pokémon could absorb it.
But uncontrolled absorption couldn't be allowed. Too rapid a development could ruin the solid foundation Cain had established for them.
That's why, except for Pupitar, the others could only absorb energy up to their current limit—that is, to the point where they couldn't absorb more without leveling up.
This way, they wouldn't be negatively affected.
From Pupitar's expression, it seemed he would be staying there for quite a while.
This gave Cain the opportunity to explore the surroundings and search for rare items. He could also let the Pokémon who had absorbed enough energy go out and battle wild Pokémon.
Once that energy was converted into personal power, they could level up without side effects.
As for going to the Tree of Life to inform Drake, Cain decided to postpone that.
After all, Drake is the strongest among the Hoenn region's Elite Four, and at his age, he's seen it all.
A man who sails freely across the seas is no ordinary person.
"Men of the sea... too bad we were born in the wrong world," Cain thought.
Though Steven and Phoebe worried him a little...
Both were geniuses in their own right. Cain, at best, was their equal. Worrying about them was more a matter of empathy than necessity. This spatial dimension was likely an opportunity for them as well.
...
Thus, Cain became a trainer completely detached from the outside world. For every day Pupitar spent in the energy lake, Cain spent another in that jungle.
When he had time, he would take his energy-filled Pokémon out to battle wild ones.
And for training, he simply opened a subspace in the cave wall so his Pokémon could train inside.
And it was no exaggeration: with the help of this energy lake, the growth speed of his Pokémon was like riding a rocket!
Especially for Pupitar, who had no restrictions when it came to absorbing energy.
After just three hours in the lake, Pupitar reached level 50!
Four more days passed.
In those four days, Pupitar rose to level 54.
In just four days, he gained five levels.
And all that without moving—just passively absorbing energy.
Cain had even estimated that Pupitar would need at least half a year of continuous meditation.
Even with special resources and custom pokéblocks, he had calculated a minimum of three months.
But those three months were compressed into four days.
At the end of the fourth day, Pupitar not only reached level 54 but arrived at the peak of level 54.
He only needed one more breakthrough to reach level 55 and evolve into Tyranitar.
However, that breakthrough couldn't be achieved through energy absorption alone.
Pupitar also needed to have personal understanding and self-awareness; only then could he make the required leap.
Evolution isn't a simple process of energy accumulation and leveling up. There's a consciousness jump.
While Pupitar progressed in his accumulation, the other Pokémon also showed advances.
One in particular stood out even more than Pupitar: Slowking.
In those four days, even though he only gained one level, that level had been a long-standing barrier.
Thanks to the energy lake—virtually limitless in energy—he managed to force that breakthrough.
He reached level 65.
Only one level more, but with a completely different meaning.
The higher the Pokémon's level, the greater the difference between one level and the next.
The difference between level 64 and 65 isn't just "one more level."
It's the difference between barely crossing the threshold of Intermediate Elite level and being one step away from mastering it completely.
Cain now officially had a Complete Elite-level Pokémon.
Put more informally, it was still a Pokémon of Intermediate Elite level.
Although that way of calling it was a convention between Cain and his system, in the Pokémon world it's more commonly called: Complete Elite level.
In other words, a true Elite-level Leader.
Moreover, this breakthrough also further activated Slowking's Shiny Pokémon trait.
(End of chapter)