Everyone nodded in agreement with Lance's proposal. Although progress would be slow, it was undoubtedly safer.
In fact, there was a key point that Lance did not mention.
Among the seven of them, only Cain was a breeder. With him present, and relying on the abundant resources of the continent, training during that period could be considered practically unlimited.
Although the threat of the Sacred Church now existed, the original training still had to continue. More than four months of time were extremely important for them, who were in a stage of rapid growth in power.
If possible, Lance would truly like to tie Cain to his side at all times; that way, in battle there would be no need to worry about injuries at all.
The facts showed that bringing a breeder along during training made an enormous difference. Nowadays, the League was even promoting that when novice trainers began their journeys, the best option was to find a novice breeder to accompany them, as it was a complementary and mutually beneficial improvement for both.
"I have no objections. I actually know a place that's quite suitable; although it's somewhat far away, we can walk there and leave marks along the way. Maybe we'll even run into some people halfway there," Cain said.
Not only did he have no objections; Steven, Phoebe, and Wallace also did not show much disagreement.
The Four of Hoenn had already gathered. Although they would not ignore people from other regions if they encountered them in danger, at least they no longer felt the pressure that Cynthia and Diantha brought.
"But here we have people from Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Kalos. We're missing Unova. If they're unlucky, they could be in real danger. As for Johto... for now, I don't have much confidence in the four from that region," Cain added.
Indeed, since they had not encountered people from Unova, this plan was not favorable to them at all.
"There's no other choice. We can only hope they have better luck or that we run into them on the way back," Lance replied helplessly.
It was like the saying about the clever cook without rice: even if one wanted to help, there was no way to do so.
Thus, the group advanced in the direction Cain had indicated. Since they did not dare to be too conspicuous, everyone chose to proceed on foot.
This meant encountering many wild Pokémon, which, precisely, could serve as part of the training for their own Pokémon.
The Pokémon Cain trained with the highest priority were still the same: Lucario, Venusaur, and Gardevoir. Salamence, having reached level 75, could relax a bit.
Cain's current goal was very simple: first raise several of his weaker Pokémon to the Advanced Elite Four level or higher. Although that level was still below Champion level, in specific tactics or lineups they could play an important role and serve as key counterattack pieces.
Many times, a trainer did not cultivate too many Pokémon because their knowledge about them was limited.
Put simply, their volume of knowledge was finite; therefore, many people preferred to train Pokémon of a single type, as they shared many characteristics in common.
For example, Cain had encountered Maxie and Archie before, and also someone like Jacob here. Although they trained many Pokémon, in reality they always operated within just a few variants.
That was because those were the Pokémon they understood best; they knew how to raise them more smoothly and understood what to do at each stage.
But Cain was different from the others. His greatest advantage lay in the breadth of his knowledge.
From the League's database and that of Team Rocket, the system had compiled an enormous amount of information, including a vast quantity of experiences and methods regarding Pokémon breeding. Added to the fact that Cain already had his own understanding of breeding, he knew exactly what position each Pokémon occupied within his team.
Moreover, he himself was an advanced-level breeder, capable of raising his Pokémon according to his own ideas. Therefore, the number and variety of Pokémon Cain could train were very broad, and his tactical flexibility was even greater.
Of course, all of this was based on the premise of having sufficient resources. Before, Cain had been quite tight on resources for training Pokémon, but as his status and power grew, whether through the League, Team Heaven, or the various resource exchange channels he had consciously built himself, now he truly lacked nothing in terms of resources.
On this continent, moreover, there was an enormous quantity of ownerless resources and materials that could be used for Pokémon breeding.
The twenty-five years of survival of Brad, Jacob, and that middle-aged man dressed in yellow whose name was unknown, had provided Cain with a huge amount of materials, enough to squander for a long time.
At the same time, Cain was also aware that Lance's suggestion had a great deal to do with him.
Cain did not manufacture Pokéblocks or special medicines for others free of charge. If they managed to gather more people, those people would certainly go out to train and collect more materials. If they wanted to use them in the most efficient way, they would come to Cain. At that point, even if he charged a fee, Cain would earn until his pockets were full.
For other advanced-level breeders, customizing Pokéblocks for a Pokémon was a task that consumed a great deal of time and energy, which was why the prices were so high. A customized advanced-level Pokéblock was not something an ordinary person could afford.
Even so, any advanced-level breeder who accepted orders publicly would practically have their door knocked down by the crowd.
Those kinds of breeders mainly focused on making money.
Another group consisted of veteran breeders like Cain's master, Matsuda Takashi; obtaining an opportunity for customization with them was truly difficult.
But someone like old Matsuda either did not accept commissions at all, or when he did, he earned enough to live comfortably for several years.
Cain, on the other hand, was different from all other advanced-level breeders. He was famous for his efficiency: whether it was the manufacture of customized Pokéblocks, special medicines, or other items, his speed was extremely high. Moreover, his fees were much lower, at most seventy or eighty percent of those of other advanced-level breeders.
However, Cain's main occupation was still that of a trainer, so he did not accept orders publicly. Even so, his friends Steven, Lance, and Cynthia could enjoy that treatment.
Precisely thanks to their promotion, Cain's reputation continued to grow.
Now he was not only the youngest advanced-level breeder in the history of the League's Pokémon Breeders' Guild, but also the fastest.
Nicknamed by the people as "Cain the Swift"!
(End of chapter)