A moment later.
Giovanni's image appeared before the three of them.
"Boss," said Cain, Tenebris, and Umbra in unison.
Now that Cain was already an Elite Officer, with Giovanni's permission, he no longer needed to kneel in reverence as before.
Giovanni observed them in silence while stroking the soft fur of his Persian. He didn't speak right away.
In front of the three of them were three test tubes. Giovanni saw them immediately and knew they had obtained the genetic material of the three legendary birds.
The reason for his silence was something else: in front of him, there were only three people.
"Very well." Giovanni nodded slightly.
Hearing his words, the three felt a slight sense of relief.
"And Rox?" Giovanni asked.
Cain, Tenebris, and Umbra exchanged glances. Finally, Cain stepped forward to explain.
He repeated the same version he had given earlier to Tenebris and Umbra.
Brannis and Rox's intentions, Lugia's appearance, their deaths... Cain recounted everything he had witnessed.
Giovanni nodded as he listened. He gave Cain a meaningful look, but just like Tenebris and Umbra, he didn't delve any deeper into the matter.
"I see. Then return with the material. Don't reveal any information about Brannis for now," Giovanni ordered.
"Yes!" they responded.
"Boss, I have a request," Cain added, stepping forward.
"Speak."
"I wish to stay in this archipelago for some time to train. Some of my Pokémon benefit especially from this environment. I'd like to train here a while longer before reporting back," Cain said respectfully.
Giovanni looked at him and gave a slight nod.
"Minor matters like this, you can decide on your own. You don't need to report everything."
And with that, the communication was cut.
Cain turned to Tenebris and Umbra, smiling.
"Then I'll leave the genetic material to you. I'll be staying in the archipelago a while longer."
Umbra smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more.
Giovanni's attitude had made everything clear.
The mission was a success, but Cain's hidden objective had been achieved with even greater brilliance.
With the direct loss of the two main forces of the Nishikawa family, their influence within Team Rocket would plummet considerably.
The faction allied with the Nishikawa family would also suffer a severe blow. Tenebris and Umbra were already preparing to coordinate a counteroffensive.
Now it remained to be seen whether the old man from the Nishikawa family dared to make a move.
If those close to the Nishikawa family within Team Rocket showed anything at this critical moment, Giovanni's methods would be enough to eradicate them from the root.
At this stage, the wisest move was to keep a low profile and show their own value. Otherwise, Giovanni would have no reason to hold back.
After all, the leader of Team Rocket was not a soft man.
That said, Cain turned around without hesitation and left the control room, returning to the archipelago of the Legendary Birds.
Although the wild Pokémon on the islands were still in a frenzy, even if Cain didn't have a single Pokémon by his side, they wouldn't actively attack him.
"It really works... Lugia's orders are impressive," Cain thought silently.
He tossed several Pokéballs, summoning Pupitar, Aggron, Blaziken, and Politoed.
The levels of the wild Pokémon were fairly decent—ideal for his team.
Cain discovered that if he initiated the battle, the wild Pokémon would indeed react. After all, if you attack first, how wouldn't they defend themselves?
Three islands capable of housing three legendary birds—and Lugia—clearly weren't just any place.
Cain didn't stay just to train his Pokémon. He also wanted to explore this place more deeply, as his knowledge of it was still very superficial.
That same day, he saw more people rise from the surface to the airborne fortress. He also observed small aircraft descending from it to collect the surviving Team Rocket members.
The archipelago remained in a state of turmoil throughout the day.
Until midnight, when the wild Pokémon finally calmed down.
It wasn't known whether it was because all the Team Rocket members had escaped or because they had been eliminated. Either way, the archipelago fell silent.
The airborne fortress also quietly moved away.
Only Cain remained on the island.
...
Two weeks later
Cain returned to Team Rocket's base in Viridian City.
A full two weeks.
He had spent all that time exploring the archipelago of the Legendary Birds, though he didn't obtain everything he had hoped for.
Even so, his Pokémon received intense training.
And not just Pupitar and the others.
After some time training with them, Cain also summoned his Bagon, Ralts, Horsea, and Carbink.
He gave them an intensive training phase.
The four little ones made considerable progress.
Bagon and Horsea reached level 24, Ralts reached level 19, and Carbink reached level 32.
They weren't impressive level increases, but they marked the start of a planned and systematic training routine.
Beyond occasional battles, the ones who benefited the most were Pupitar and the others.
Now, Pupitar and Aggron were at level 49, right at the edge of the Advanced tier. Blaziken and Politoed had surpassed that barrier, reaching level 52.
Later, Swampert also joined the battles.
With three Pokémon at the Quasi-Elite level and two on the verge of it, Cain already considered himself a supreme force within the island.
When Pupitar reached level 49, Cain decided it was time to leave.
Only six more levels were needed for its evolution.
And since it was his first pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Cain was paying it special attention. He needed to fully prepare for its evolution; the time had not yet come.
He still had things to prepare for it.
Once Pupitar completed its evolution, with its Mega Stone in hand, it could become the most powerful Pokémon on his team.
The closer that key moment came, the more important it was not to rush it.
Pupitar's current form was that of a cocoon. It wasn't meant for combat, but for accumulating energy.
In the wild, Pupitars bury themselves deep underground to absorb the earth's energy, adjusting their state to the maximum for an optimal evolution.
Cain's Pupitar, thanks to constant training, had reduced the time required for that accumulation.
But that didn't mean it no longer needed to accumulate energy.
The more it accumulated, the more terrifying its final form would be.
Cain had high hopes for it and wouldn't allow its evolution to be rushed.
That's why, two weeks later, Cain returned.
He still had 100 million in Team Rocket. He planned to convert the entire 100 million into materials to help Pupitar accumulate energy under the best possible conditions.
But before that, the first thing he had to do after returning to Team Rocket... was to see Giovanni.
(End of chapter)
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My bros, sorry for the delay. These past few days have been crazy (it was the last days of my university's cultural week, and early this morning my mom got sick; she spent the whole day in the hospital—don't worry, she's fine now). I haven't had time to upload chapters.