Originally, he had promised Steven that after returning to Hoenn, he would seek him out for a battle.
Now it seemed that not only had he left the city, but he had also taken Phoebe with him.
Who knows where they had gone to train.
But well, in truth, Cain still had several important matters to resolve.
Thanks to Rose, he had obtained detailed information about Logan.
The reason Logan was a direct-line member of the Hunter Guild was that his grandfather was one of the guild's founders and is currently one of the six most influential elders.
The reason he was transferred to the Hoenn region was to groom him as the future top leader of the Hunter Guild in that region.
The guild does not participate directly in battles, but it maintains relations with all organizations.
Mainly with Team Rocket, of course.
However, Team Rocket's influence in other regions is limited, so in Hoenn, the Hunter Guild also sought to ally with other powerful organizations.
Team Magma was one of them.
And Logan, at this moment, is the liaison between the guild and Team Magma, maintaining an extremely close relationship.
All of this information was obtained by Cain thanks to Rose.
He also received a not-yet-confirmed report: that Logan may have already reached the rank of an Elite-level trainer.
With the backing of a powerful elder and the support of a local organization, even if he hasn't reached it yet, he's probably not far from it.
After leaving the airport, Cain took a taxi.
This trip to Kanto had brought him great benefits: obtaining the genetic material of the three Legendary Birds, eliminating the threat posed by Regi, as well as taking out two Elite-level trainers — Rox and Brannis — and a large portion of the regular members who participated in the mission.
Although he had not yet received direct rewards from Giovanni, Cain was sure that those would come little by little.
However, not gaining access to the team researching the Mew gene was something he regretted.
Even so, having been promoted to Elite Officer of Team Rocket and having closely touched part of the Mew gene research project was already a big step.
That project is of utmost importance both to Giovanni and to Team Rocket.
What Cain needed was a huge amount of related data.
All of this is what he achieved during his mission in the Kanto region.
Now let's move on to the tangible gains.
The simplest: the materials obtained.
The four hundred million from Team Rocket's exchange quota were entirely traded for physical items.
Among them, a large number of materials and many TM moves.
This secured the materials for the quality-enhancing potion for Ralts after evolving into Kirlia, the materials to repair Riolu's egg and its aura energy, and the rare ingredients for Pupitar's evolution.
As for the moves, there's no need to go into detail: they were extremely rare and difficult to obtain.
And the most valuable: the seven Elite-level Pokémon that had belonged to Rox.
The weakest, Houndoom, was given to Rose as a trump card and reward for her loyalty.
As for the remaining six, Cain had no intention of using them himself. Whether to sell them or give them to trusted subordinates, both were good options.
He even considered sending them to Lysandre in Kalos to accelerate the development of Team Flare.
After all, half the credit for Lysandre's growth belonged to Cain.
Beyond the material, there was also the improvement in the strength of his own Pokémon.
Cain remained in the Legendary Birds Archipelago for two more weeks.
Although he had originally hoped to find hidden secrets on the islands, after two weeks of searching, he found nothing.
However, the strength of his Pokémon did improve.
Now all his Pokémon were following an extremely positive growth cycle. Whether it was the first, second, or third training group, they were all advancing steadily and in good order.
Elite and Quasi-Elite levels were no longer out of reach for him.
Once the team reached its optimal point, both his Rain team and Sandstorm team would be fully formed.
Another thing that caught Cain's attention was the mutation that Carbink was undergoing.
The diamonds that the Carbink were eating were almost depleted, at most they would last another two weeks.
Increasing diamond production in such a short time was unrealistic.
But the mutation process of Carbink was still something he watched closely, especially because both the future Tyranitar and the already evolved Aggron relied heavily on those diamonds.
With just a small group of Carbink, it was impossible to supply them completely.
Even so, the mutated Carbink was carrying Xerneas's Horn, and its appearance was changing day by day.
Although it still had Carbink's form, the gem on its forehead had already turned completely pink, and its eyes, once blue, were now red.
The diamonds on its body were also shifting to a pink hue.
The system calculated a new estimated time for full mutation each day.
And the more traits it acquired from Diancie, the faster the process progressed.
If it was previously believed it would take at least a year, now the projection was under a year.
This was something that pleased Cain.
The taxi moved northward from Rustboro City.
According to Rose's information, Logan had no fixed location.
Cain deduced that, since he had to maintain contact with Team Magma, the most likely location was in a northern city.
And the most likely candidate was Lavaridge Town, at the foot of Mt. Chimney.
Few knew where Team Magma's secret base was, but Cain had a pretty good idea.
So Lavaridge Town was the most logical destination.
As for what he would do upon encountering Logan, he would decide in the moment.
And not just because of him, but due to the relationship between the Hunter Guild and Team Magma, Cain was also curious.
Whether in his role as a Team Rocket member or as part of the League, Cain and Team Magma would always be on opposing sides.
...
After leaving Rustboro City, Cain summoned Aggron and Blaziken and headed directly toward Mt. Chimney.
His goal was to cross the mountain and reach Lavaridge Town. There was even a chance of encountering Team Magma members along the way.
Lately, Team Magma had been acting more and more suspiciously. Although they hadn't revealed themselves openly, it seemed they were leaving traces everywhere.
Cain felt he was destined to clash with them.
On the mountain, the levels of the wild Pokémon were relatively low, ideal for Ralts and other younger ones to train.
As soon as he summoned it, Ralts leapt straight into Cain's arms.
If it weren't for the fact that through telepathy it constantly called him "dad," Cain wouldn't have gotten used to it.
There were also Bagon and Horsea.
Bagon's competitive personality made it stand out from the rest. While other Pokémon stopped when they reached their limit, Bagon insisted on pushing forward.
That's why, if Cain wasn't present during its training or battles, he would never allow it to train alone.
(End of chapter)