The Heart Diamond was born.
The Carbink Kingdom welcomed its founding year, and its first supreme ruler was Cain's Diancie.
As long as the Heart Diamond was given enough time, the entire Carbink Kingdom could take shape — and by then, Cain would have an endless flow of diamonds at his disposal.
If enough time passed, it might even be possible to form an entire army of Carbink under Cain's command.
Cain knew that currently, the Ghost-type Elite Four member of the Kanto region, Agatha, was most famous for her army of ghosts!
In one-on-one battles, or even in full six-on-six matches, Agatha didn't have much of an advantage against the other Elite Four members. But in a true life-or-death battle, her advantage was overwhelming.
Her ghost army was undoubtedly one of the strongest deterrents the Pokémon League had against Team Rocket.
That was precisely why, even though other members of Kanto's Elite Four had retired or been replaced, Agatha remained firmly in her position.
If Cain could control that many Carbink and, together with his fully-grown Tyranitar, form a vast sandstorm army, he too would become a formidable deterrent in the Hoenn region.
However, this would require an enormous investment of resources, as it would be necessary to ensure that each Carbink possessed a certain level of strength.
In the short term, it wasn't something feasible.
In Cain's new plan, he intended to relocate the entire Carbink Kingdom to his private island.
However, for now, the island was far too small, and Cain planned to look for an opportunity to expand it.
In the past, he hadn't had the strength or the ability to do so — but now he had both the time and the power to make it happen.
Under the "reluctant" gaze of the Minister of Diamonds, Cain took the somewhat weakened Diancie back to the rear courtyard.
After entrusting Magearna with Diancie's care, Cain returned to his room once more.
With the founding of the Carbink Kingdom, he no longer had to worry about resources.
Once inside his room, Cain pulled a hidden communicator from inside his clothes.
After setting up a psychic barrier, he dialed the only number stored in it.
A few seconds later, the connection was established.
"Boss," Cain said respectfully.
No matter what identity he assumed now, Cain still held unshakable respect toward Giovanni — the charismatic and immensely powerful leader of Team Rocket.
It wasn't merely out of fear for Giovanni's power or influence, but also genuine respect for his capability.
Among all the powerful underground organizations in the Pokémon world, the only person Cain truly admired was Giovanni, the man who had raised Team Rocket to such incredible heights.
"Cain, what is it? Things in Hoenn have been rather unstable lately," said Giovanni.
Although Team Rocket hadn't been able to infiltrate Hoenn, its intelligence network was still operating smoothly.
"That's right, it's been uneasy... but after yesterday, everything's basically settled," replied Cain.
"Oh? Then, are you contacting me because you need help?" Giovanni smiled.
He had watched Cain's growth step by step.
Giovanni was well aware that Cain had become the youngest Advanced Breeder in League history. He valued Cain greatly — for his talent, his caution, and his ambition. In truth, he regarded him even more highly than many of his own subordinates.
Within Team Rocket, not many people could communicate directly with Giovanni; now, Cain was one of them.
Given Cain's current strength, he was among the most outstanding of all Team Rocket's members.
Even the famous Umbra and Tenebris wouldn't necessarily have the upper hand against him.
"Yes, there's something I need the boss's help with," Cain admitted.
"Speak," Giovanni said with interest.
"In one month, Hoenn will select its fourth Elite Four member. The final decision will be between Steven Stone and me. I wish to have Team Rocket's support," explained Cain.
Tensh!
The usually calm Giovanni suddenly shot up from his seat.
The Elite Four!
Up until now, no one in Team Rocket had ever reached that level.
Within the Kanto League, the highest-ranking members affiliated with Team Rocket were Koga, Sabrina, and Lt. Surge — and though they weren't weak, they only held the positions of Gym Leaders.
Even so, those positions had already brought tremendous benefits to Team Rocket: Fuchsia City, Saffron City, and Vermilion City could all be considered strongholds of the organization.
Together with Viridian City, where Giovanni himself resided, nearly half of Kanto was under Team Rocket's influence.
The one closest to becoming an Elite Four member was Koga, but in Kanto, competition was fierce — reaching that position was far from easy.
Hoenn, however, presented a much greater opportunity.
If Koga and Cain were to face off, Cain wouldn't have a guaranteed victory.
In a standard match, it might be fifty-fifty, but in a life-or-death battle in the wild, the odds would be seventy-thirty — in Koga's favor.
If this had happened earlier, Cain's becoming one of Hoenn's Elite Four would have meant that Team Rocket could enter the region without obstruction.
But now, things were different.
First, Team Rocket had gone through a period of contraction, and expanding again would consume an astronomical amount of resources.
Second, the Hoenn League was extremely xenophobic. Even the Hunter Guild had been driven out twice like beaten dogs — one of its top leaders, Old Cassius, had even been captured by the League. If Team Rocket tried to enter, they would face fierce resistance.
Even so, there was no denying it: the birth of Team Rocket's first Elite Four member would be an event of immense significance!
Now calmer, Giovanni sat back down. The fact that even his unwavering composure had been shaken showed how monumental this matter was for both him and the organization.
"Excellent!" he said in a deep voice. "What do you need from Team Rocket? Aside from assassinating your rival Steven Stone, we can support you unconditionally with anything else."
At such a decisive moment, Giovanni understood the importance of that crucial month.
He was willing to open every door necessary — the goal was for Cain to win and claim the Elite Four seat.
As for assassinating Steven, Cain hadn't even considered it. The two were competing fairly, and neither he nor Team Rocket would go that far.
Even if Cain didn't manage to become an Elite Four this time, sooner or later, both he and Steven would. That was why neither of them felt desperate.
What Cain truly sought was to gain advantages from the situation — and to further solidify Team Rocket's regard for him.
Given the organization's current downsizing, Cain knew that even if he became an Elite Four, Team Rocket wouldn't immediately expand its reach. That was why he spoke openly with Giovanni.
"What I need is..." Cain listed a long series of special resources.
He also mentioned certain data, as well as several specially crafted human-skin masks.
"In exchange, I can offer several Elite Four–level Pokémon. While the values may not match exactly, the difference shouldn't be too great."
Acquiring those resources on his own would be very troublesome for Cain.
For the vast Team Rocket, though difficult, it was far more achievable than for Cain or even for Team Heaven.
"Perfect! I'll have everything gathered by this afternoon," Giovanni agreed immediately with a firm gesture.
That was the essence of his leadership — never doubting his own.
The resources that could be traded for several Elite Four–level Pokémon were immense. Moreover, none of the items Cain mentioned were easy to obtain.
The simpler ones had already been gathered by Team Heaven — the truly difficult ones would now be in Team Rocket's hands.
(End of chapter)