🎄 Christmas Special Discount 🎄From December 23 to December 25, there will be a public 50% discount on the following tiers:Intermediate Trainers, Advanced Trainers, Elite Trainers, Elite Four Trainers, Champion Trainers, and Legendary Trainers.
🎆 New Year Discount 🎆There will also be a 50% discount, but it won't be public. On December 31, the discount code will be published inside the chapters, so stay tuned 👀✨
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Since Gengar had finished absorbing the energy, Cain had no intention of continuing to send his Pokémon out to battle.
He had been away for far too long.
A month and a half.
Although he had originally planned for a three-month period, that was more of a precaution to account for unforeseen events.
But now, after a month and a half, Cain already felt it had been too long.
And, moreover, there was no sign of Mew in that place.
With Ho-Oh present, not even Team Rocket could do anything against him.
The transport device Cain carried had already been fully recharged for quite some time.
He stored all his belongings and Pokémon, and pressed the switch.
Unlike the first time, when he was still a mid-level psychic and his spatial perception was somewhat vague, now that he had advanced to a higher level, his spatial sensitivity was much more precise.
He shouldn't have any issues on the way back.
...
Viridian City, Kanto Region.
Team Rocket Base.
Mew Research Laboratory.
It had been a month and a half, and Blaine had nearly forgotten about Cain.
According to his own calculations, one month was the absolute limit.
But with no news of Cain past that time, the monitoring systems rendered useless, and no trace of the emergency device, Blaine had already considered two possibilities:
Either Cain had died in the middle of the dimensional passage, or he had died inside that space.
Either way, he was dead.
Besides, recently the genetic fusion project with Mew had overcome a major bottleneck, and Blaine's attention was entirely focused on that.
Until today...
"Dr. Blaine! We detected a spatial fluctuation from the transport device!" The team leader, specifically assigned to monitor the transport, came running to find him.
Blaine, still busy, looked up lazily.
"Eh? What transport device?"
"Uh... sir, the one from a month and a half ago..."
Before the assistant could finish speaking, Blaine immediately reacted.
"Let's go check it out!" he ordered, rushing out.
He had nearly forgotten. And surprisingly, it turned out Cain had returned alive.
Was it just dumb luck?
In truth, Blaine didn't believe Cain had made it back through his own skill.
The transport device was an incomplete prototype. In previous tests, it had only been used over short distances, so the spatial impact wasn't as severe.
But to send someone to such a distant dimension... without a strong psychic ability and spatial control, there was an 80% chance of dying in transit.
That detail, Blaine had never mentioned. Not to Cain, and not to Giovanni.
To him, Cain was just a newly promoted Elite Officer from Trial Island, with no backing whatsoever. Besides, no one would be able to trace anything back to him.
If Cain died, he could claim the reward offered by the Nishikawa family. And if he didn't, he lost nothing.
Look for Mew?
Team Rocket had been searching for years without success.
Blaine was convinced he could create a Pokémon even more powerful than Mew.
So if it didn't show up, better not to waste time searching.
Upon arriving at the transport room, he saw Cain stepping calmly out of the portal.
With a smile on his face, clean clothes, and perfectly dressed. He looked more energetic than ever, showing no signs of having survived in a wild, hostile environment.
"Dr. Blaine, I'm back," Cain greeted with a slight smile. But deep in his eyes, a cold glint flashed, though outwardly he appeared as gentle and harmless as ever.
Cain wasn't stupid.
During his time in Ho-Oh's space, he had thought many times about how unstable the dimensional passage was, clearly requiring the support of spatial psychic abilities to stabilize.
That was true.
But the fact that Blaine had installed a listening device on the transporter and hadn't told him raised many suspicions.
If it weren't for the energy of Lugia's orb in his mind, he might not have even made it back.
So what was Blaine's true intention?
"Hahaha! I knew Mr. Cain would return safely. I've already sent word to the Leader, I'm sure you'll receive a notification soon," Blaine said with a forced laugh.
How sincere their smiles were, only they knew.
Cain glanced around. The lab equipment was lightly covered in dust.
His smile became even more peculiar.
Blaine, noticing his gaze, couldn't help but show slight unease. But at that moment, a sound from the communicator interrupted the moment.
Cain pulled it out. It was a call from Giovanni himself.
"See? The Leader still values you highly," commented Blaine.
Cain nodded silently and, without another word, left the laboratory.
Blaine watched his back as he walked away. His smile slowly faded.
Interesting.
...
Cain arrived without issue at Giovanni's office.
The door was open.
Giovanni, head lowered, was reviewing a document. When he noticed Cain's presence: "Close the door. Sit and rest a bit while I finish this," he said without looking up.
Cain sat down without hesitation.
After getting to know Giovanni well, one understood that he wasn't someone who cared about formalities or appearances.
If you had value, you could afford certain liberties. If you didn't and acted too confident, then you were mistaken—and Giovanni would crush you without mercy.
Cain sat on the couch and took some fruit from the table to eat.
Although Ho-Oh's space had many valuable things, edible human food was not abundant—especially common fruits.
A flavor he had missed.
"Well? What conclusions did you come to?" Giovanni asked, putting down his pen and smiling at Cain.
Cain immediately let go of the fruit.
"There's no sign of Mew. That place isn't his domain. There's absolutely nothing related to him," he answered frankly.
Giovanni didn't doubt him.
Giovanni nodded and said, "Seems like it's really time to let go of this obsession with Mew. Maybe it's better to focus on developing a Pokémon stronger than him."
Since the time when Giovanni's mother led Team Rocket, the search for Mew had already begun. Now, under his leadership, it seemed time to move on.
Cain had no opinion. That was an internal decision of the team, and he had no right to interfere.
"Looks like this month and a half has paid off for you," commented Giovanni with a smile.
Even Blaine had noticed the change in Cain's energy—Giovanni even more so.
Cain had gained the support of Kommo-o, and with it, the insecurity and timidity of the past had disappeared.
It wasn't that he now felt invincible, but when power and hidden cards change, so does one's mindset.
Even without realizing it.
"That's right," Cain replied, trying to keep himself in check.
Giovanni, however, waved his hand: "It's alright. As long as you have power, you can have confidence. But be careful, the League isn't calm these days. Ensure your own safety before thinking of anything else."
Giovanni's words made Cain internally tense up a little.
He nodded again seriously.
After talking a bit more about his situation, the meeting came to an end.
It was clear that Giovanni's attitude toward Cain was beginning to shift, little by little.
(End of Chapter)