After leaving the ship's cabin, Cain finally had the chance to see the outside environment for the first time.
The Team Rocket vessel was stranded in a location resembling a portal-like entryway. The ship's deck offered two very different views.
When Cain stepped outside, the first thing he saw was a vast and endless ocean. Apart from a cave large enough to hold the ship's bow, the rest of the area was calm and open.
However, as he moved toward the bow of the ship, Cain spotted a massive island in the distance.
Although the ship was still several dozen kilometers away from the island, it was no longer moving forward.
At the bow, a group of Team Rocket members with psychic powers, all concealed under long black robes, stood gathered in a circle.
Just as Cain had experienced before on the Trial Island, these psychics were creating a temporary teleportation circle with the goal of sending people randomly onto the island.
Did this mean that the exploration of this mysterious island would also be done separately?
After thinking for a moment, Cain understood the situation.
Would it be more efficient for everyone to split up? If they stayed together, they would likely end up fighting long before completing the exploration.
Moreover, dispersing the participants could increase the area each person could explore on the island.
Following the group's instructions, Cain walked slowly toward the teleportation circle.
The psychics controlling the circle immediately sensed the psychic waves emanating from Cain.
A fellow psychic?
Together with their psychic Pokémon, the psychics regarded Cain with surprise.
The leader of the group wasn't someone Cain recognized; it wasn't the same person he had encountered on the Trial Island.
However, despite noticing that Cain was also a psychic, their surprise lasted only a moment.
Soon, the teleportation circle activated, and under the combined power of the psychics and their Pokémon, Cain was sent to the island.
Once Cain felt the teleportation had ended, he immediately released a Pokéball, summoning Honchkrow to accompany him.
Fortunately, the teleportation had been favorable, and Cain didn't appear in the middle of a group of wild Pokémon. Honchkrow, alert, scanned the surroundings but detected no enemies.
Only then did Cain take a moment to observe his environment.
Whether it was due to the psychics sensing a connection with Cain or pure luck, the location where he landed was quite advantageous.
Just two meters behind Cain was a cliff that dropped directly into the ocean, while in front of him stretched a dense forest of ancient, gigantic trees.
The trees on this island seemed much older and sturdier than those on the Trial Island.
This was a primeval island, untouched by development, with thick vegetation and massive trees hinting at boundless resources but also unknown dangers.
After taking a moment to analyze the situation, Cain summoned Slowking from a Pokéball, instructing it to leave a psychic mark at the location. This would serve as a reference point to return to in case of danger.
The specific objective of this expedition wasn't explained by Team Rocket. It was only through Regis that Cain had obtained some information, and according to what he knew, there were ancient ruins and a gigantic tree at the center of the island.
Although he was still on the island's edge, Cain could see, through gaps in the tree leaves, the silhouette of the immense tree at its center.
He decided to call it the Great Tree of Life.
With this confirmation, Cain was now 99% sure of where he was.
This was the Mythical Island!
A place where Mew, the legendary Pokémon, had lived in ancient times. That enormous tree was likely the Tree of Life that had grown alongside Mew, and the ruins at the island's center could have been Mew's home.
Team Rocket had likely gathered information about Mew here, using its DNA to conduct years of research, spending enormous resources. This eventually led to the creation of one of the most powerful Pokémon ever seen.
Mewtwo!
The pinnacle of scientific achievement in the Pokémon world—a legendary being created by humans.
And it was precisely this enormous investment in Mewtwo's development that had caused Team Rocket to fall into a sort of dormancy in recent years, allowing the Pokémon League to expand into other regions.
Of course, if Mewtwo were ultimately brought under control, all this effort would have been worth it.
But the problem was that as a Pokémon born with divine power, control over it was only possible due to its emotional immaturity in its initial stages.
Would it be possible to maintain control over Mewtwo as it matured?
Cain didn't know.
In the television series back on Earth, Mewtwo eventually broke free from control.
But this was a real world, and having lived an entire life already, Cain knew he couldn't rely entirely on events from animated shows or manga to predict what might happen here.
For now, all of this was beyond Cain's reach. Major decisions within Team Rocket weren't something he could influence in his current position.
What he could do was familiarize himself with the environment and train his Pokémon. That was within his control for now.
However, Cain had a plan in mind.
If events unfolded as in the original plot and Mewtwo escaped Giovanni's control, it would likely return to this island.
Both the League and Team Rocket would shift their focus here once again. Cain, seizing the opportunity, could explore the island while no one was paying too much attention and extract valuable resources.
If he managed to obtain a sample of Mew's DNA from the ruins, Giovanni would surely reward him handsomely. The rewards for such a feat would far exceed any other trial he had faced so far.
This would not only increase Giovanni's interest in Cain but also improve his standing within both Team Rocket and the Pokémon League.
With Team Rocket's secret backing and the connections Cain had established within the League, perhaps one day he could hold a high-ranking position, such as one of the Elite Four.
After all, Koga had managed to become a Poison-type Elite Four member this way.
With Slowking leaving its psychic mark, Cain, accompanied by Honchkrow and Slowking, began to venture deeper into the island.
The lack of signs of development on the island meant that the wild Pokémon there had never seen humans before. As a result, Pokémon with more aggressive instincts would likely see humans as their first targets for attack.
This required Cain to be extremely cautious.
After advancing a short distance into the forest, he didn't encounter any immediate aggression.
Everything seemed calm.
However, Cain didn't let his guard down.
The fact that he hadn't encountered any wild Pokémon likely meant he was in the territory of either an extremely powerful Pokémon or a very strong group.
And without data on the island's Pokémon, Cain couldn't assess just how dangerous the place was.
It was after crossing a small part of the forest that Cain and his team finally faced their first attack.
They had entered a bamboo forest.
(End of Chapter)