"This is roughly what I've been able to perceive. Over the next few days, if nothing special happens, I recommend that none of you go out for now. And if it's truly necessary to go out, it would be best to conceal your presence well, avoid causing too much disturbance, and leave as few traces as possible," Cain said in a grave voice.
Cain's suggestion made a lot of sense, but not everyone could accept it without objections.
Lance spoke with a serious expression: "If the only ones who had entered were just us, there wouldn't be any problem. But there are still many people outside. We can't completely sacrifice the others just for our own safety. After all, even if we survived, if something happened to the rest, the blow to the League would be enormous."
At the side, Cynthia and Diantha nodded at the same time.
Their relationship with Cain was very good, that was true, and they were also grateful that he had brought them together so they could protect one another to some extent and ensure everyone's safety.
However, they also had excellent relationships with the other companions from their respective regions, and it was impossible to simply abandon them.
Put more directly, both Cynthia and Diantha were the strongest among the participants from their regions this time, and to a certain extent they bore responsibility for everyone's safety.
Moreover, there was a rather strange phenomenon. Whether intentional or not, among these seven people, everyone had begun to silently regard Cain as the leader.
Steven, Phoebe, and Wallace had no doubts about this. After knowing each other for so long, and thanks to mutual trust and prolonged cooperation, they had naturally reached that consensus.
Cynthia and Diantha could also understand it to a certain degree. After all, they were now acting in a personal capacity, and among everyone present, they were the ones with the closest relationship to Cain, so accepting him as the head of the group was not unacceptable.
The strangest of all was still Lance.
With his personality and way of doing things, regardless of the place or situation, he would normally be the one to naturally assume leadership.
But he never would have imagined that, as the famous "king of connections" of the League, he would run into someone who had even more friends and even closer relationships than he did: Cain.
So it wasn't that Lance didn't want to be the leader, but rather that Steven, Wallace, Phoebe, Cynthia, and Diantha trusted Cain's abilities more.
The facts also proved that Cain would not let them down.
Riding alone! Supersonic Salamence rushed to the rescue and successfully saved Phoebe intact from the hands of the Sacred Church. And it was an absolutely clean rescue: aside from the loss of some materials, not a single Pokémon was lost.
That was direct proof of power and capability. Just by revealing his Mega Salamence, Cain had already won everyone over... including Lance.
So who was truly the king of connections of the entire League, Cain or Lance? That question already involved far too many things.
But regardless, even Lance naturally accepted that Cain would temporarily become the leader of the group. At this moment, the only one capable of detecting and avoiding the psychics of the Sacred Church was Cain.
After hearing Lance's words and seeing the looks from Cynthia and Diantha, Cain understood that they would not abandon the others—just as he would never abandon Phoebe. Precisely because they possessed that ability and that resolve, they were people destined to become regional Champions in the future.
"Of course we won't abandon them. But at this critical moment, anyone who goes wandering alone will have only one possible outcome: becoming an emotional outlet for those people from the Sacred Church."
"Their mental state is unstable; perhaps because their psychic power is too strong and has driven them mad. Or perhaps because their desire to obtain even stronger psychic abilities has distorted their behavior."
"Whatever the reason, going out now carries a high risk of being surrounded and attacked. My suggestion is to rest here for a few days. When that group gradually calms down, then we'll go out together to look for the others. I'm sure that before entering, they must have left signals that only you can recognize, right?"
"Then it won't be too late to go look for them," Cain concluded.
"Also, there's another crucial point," he added. "We don't know how many people have already joined the Sacred Church. For now, the only ones confirmed are Irene and Will from the Johto region. If you run into someone who, under unknown circumstances, has already joined them, that would be a total catastrophe for us."
Upon hearing this, everyone's mood grew heavier. However, they couldn't deny that this was one of the main reasons they didn't dare to go out rashly.
"That's why my proposal is to wait for a while, at least a week. When all this settles down, we'll set out. During this time, we'll adjust our condition and that of our Pokémon to deal with the complex situations that may arise afterward."
This time, no one objected. What Cain said was undoubtedly the most appropriate option at that moment.
Although the cave was somewhat small, with their level of power, it would be no problem for them to expand it.
"Since we're in agreement... why don't you first tell us about that special evolution of your Salamence? The one you call... Mega Evolution!" Lance said after a brief silence.
Aside from Steven, everyone present felt enormous curiosity and confusion about it.
The change in Salamence and the increase in power after Mega Evolution had truly left a deep impression on them.
Cain had already explained the matter once to Steven, but in reality, no explanation was as clear as a practical demonstration.
"Steven, why don't you show them? My Salamence just pushed itself too hard and is exhausted right now," Cain said.
(End of chapter)