Half a year of time, for Cain, who was in the period of greatest growth in his life, was truly crucial.
Throughout this time, his growth speed was extremely fast. Even Steven, backed by the Stone family, lagged behind Cain in terms of progress.
But this also gave rise to many hidden problems, latent crises that were difficult to detect in the short term.
However, after this long half-year stabilization process, everything began to change.
For example, Cain's Gengar had grown too fast in a short period of time and needed time to stabilize. If it could avoid participating in battles, that would be best for it.
The same applied to Tyranitar, who had absorbed Groudon's energy crystal; to Gardevoir, which had grown rapidly; and even to Salamence: all of them needed time to settle.
In addition, Cain's other Pokémon had also been properly trained.
Many of those Pokémon, such as Salamence, Gardevoir, or Kingdra, having reached the Quasi–Elite level so quickly, had never used a TM, nor had they properly refined their moves.
This resulted in a high level but without real strength to match that level. It was a hidden danger. Cain could only see a superficially inflated strength.
And not only them: all of Cain's Pokémon had this problem, including Tyranitar and including Slowking.
For them, attempting to cross into the Champion level was an enormous obstacle and a major source of risk.
But thanks to these six months, Cain was able to organize every detail from the beginning: the situation, the development, and the future directions of all his Pokémon, making everything much clearer and more orderly.
It was preparation for his future attempt to reach the Champion level, building a solid foundation.
And, as is known, only Pokémon with Purple-grade quality have greater chances of breaking through the Champion-level barrier.
During this time, Cain helped several Pokémon that originally possessed Dark Blue-grade quality and were just one step away from advancing to Purple-grade quality, successfully completing that qualitative transformation.
He did all of this so that they could break their limits and obtain greater strength.
In addition to those originally strong Pokémon, Cain also devoted a large amount of time to training the weaker ones.
For example, that Shiny Bulbasaur evolved into Venusaur; Riolu successfully evolved into Lucario and, under Blaziken's guidance, gained considerable strength.
Even the two small Swablu had already evolved into Altaria, with potential far surpassing that of their mother.
Seeing their rapid growth, the mother Altaria was finally able to feel at ease.
All of this was the result of the intense training Cain carried out during this period.
As the Pokémon grew, Cain's overall strength also increased enormously.
Whether in the individual strength of each Pokémon or in the solidity of the entire team, there were great changes.
Now Cain could confidently say that he fully lived up to the role of a member of the Elite Four. Even when facing Glacia and Sidney, who had been Elite Four members years before him, he was completely confident in confronting them.
In official battles, his win rate might be around 40%, but in a life-and-death fight, Cain estimated that his true probability reached 70%.
That was a conservative estimate. In reality, Cain believed it could reach 80% or even 90%, because in death battles he could use Mega Evolution.
Since the battle between Kyogre and Groudon, and the subsequent appearance of Rayquaza, the form changes displayed by the three entities during a formal battle led the League to begin investigations. That was the beginning of their research into Mega Evolution.
During this half year, both the League and the underground forces remained unusually quiet, but beneath the surface, the changes were intense.
After six months of silence, it was evident that something was about to erupt, likely an earthquake that would shake the entire Pokémon world.
Cain had also noticed this. That was why he strove to accumulate strength, hoping to be able to defend himself when that great catastrophe arrived and, if possible, gain some benefit from it.
Fortunately, although his Pokémon had been settling their strength, their growth had not stopped.
Currently, Cain's highest-level Pokémon was Gengar.
In the Dragon's Grave, after absorbing the energy of three Gengar, it reached level 77. During this stabilization period, its strength increased considerably.
Now Gengar's level was 79!
A Quasi–Champion, just one step away from the Champion level. But that step was the greatest barrier Gengar would have to overcome in its entire life.
Only a Pokémon that breaks through that barrier can understand its meaning and the changes it brings.
And that was the reason why Cain believed he had an 80% to 90% chance of defeating Glacia or Sidney in a life-and-death battle.
Once Mega Evolved, Gengar could directly break through that threshold and become a Champion-level Pokémon.
Therefore, Gengar was currently the strongest Pokémon in Cain's hands, with or without Mega Evolution.
Like Cain's shadow, the stronger Gengar was, the safer its trainer would be.
That Gengar was the highest-level Pokémon came as no surprise.
But the second strongest would definitely surprise many: Tyranitar!
It suddenly surpassed all the others and became the second highest-level Pokémon on Cain's team.
Currently, Tyranitar was at level 78.
Compared to before arriving on the island, when it was at level 71, it had risen a full 7 levels!
Reaching the Elite Four level and advancing 7 levels in just half a year, especially as a Pokémon that consumed enormous amounts of energy, was astonishing.
All thanks to Groudon's crystal.
If not for that, Cain would have had to expend all his resources to obtain such a massive improvement.
This also allowed Cain to understand why Groudon had been so enraged back then when it learned that Maxie had lost that energy crystal.
If Rayquaza had not appeared that day, Groudon, without that crystal, would have had a high probability of being defeated by Kyogre.
But in the end, Tyranitar was the one who benefited.
Now Tyranitar was much closer to breaking into the Champion level.
However, after absorbing the energy crystal, its level stopped increasing further. This was by Cain's order, who forbade Tyranitar from continuing to advance without his permission.
Such rapid advancement had more advantages than disadvantages, but the negative effects were not small.
Fortunately, after one month of absorbing the crystal, Tyranitar spent the other five months stabilizing itself.
The expansion of the island was mostly carried out by Tyranitar. That work was both training and a way to help it consolidate its energy.
Those five months turned out to be exactly what it needed: now Tyranitar had returned to normal and could continue advancing freely.
(End of chapter)