Of course, it was not that other kind of "speed," but rather the speed at which customized items were produced.
There were even interested individuals who, through Steven and the others, deliberately obtained one or two customized advanced-level Pokéblocks and took them to so-called "experts" to have them analyzed, verifying whether they were truly advanced-level and whether long-term consumption met the requirements for breeding.
The result was that later on, those "experts," upon hearing that something had been made by Cain, would directly choose to shut their doors and refuse to receive visitors.
They had never seen anything so humiliating: being asked to analyze a Pokéblock that was completely beyond their reach.
It might take Cain only three or four hours to develop such a formula, but it took them three or four sleepless days to dismantle and analyze a single Pokéblock. And even then, there were combinations and proportions that, no matter how hard they racked their brains, they simply could not decipher.
From then on, Cain's fame exploded once again.
In reality, Steven and the others had done it on purpose: they were helping create momentum for Cain, since at that time he had just become one of the Four of Hoenn.
But then he disappeared all of a sudden for half a year, so Steven and the others could only use this method to maintain his popularity.
Cain only learned about this later, from Phoebe.
No matter what, the title of "the fastest in the Breeders' Guild," Cain the Swift, could no longer be taken away from him.
With an extremely high production speed, item effects that often exceeded expectations, and low prices, Cain was confident that he could fully squeeze out all the profits that this group obtained during their stay there.
This was equivalent to having a large group of people help a single person collect resources, giving him the feeling that everyone was working for him.
Thinking about it that way was rather gratifying.
He was not afraid that everyone would ask for customized items; what worried him more was that they would not be able to come up with something of equivalent value.
But it did not matter: they were all important people. Cain had no problem accepting IOUs, especially from big shots like Lance or Steven. Even if they wrote hundreds of IOUs, they would not go bankrupt.
If Lance owed too much, he could always take a stroll through Dragon's Den. If Steven owed too much, Cain might be able to get a Metagross to play with; it did not have to be Shiny, those were too expensive. Steven probably would not owe that much, but a normal pseudo-legendary would surely be possible.
As for people like Cynthia or Diantha, who had some capital but not at the level of Lance or Steven, Cain was also not opposed to "compensation in flesh."
Of course, that "compensation in flesh" was literal: he just happened to be lacking a couple of good combatants under his command. Having a regional Champion as a bodyguard was undoubtedly something that carried a lot of prestige. (Translator: Cain... you lack vision.)
That said, Cain believed that the Leagues of both regions, in order not to lose face, would probably settle the debt on their behalf.
Although it did not completely align with his original plans, he could accept it.
Thus, each with their own little calculations in mind, the group advanced without too many obstacles—aside from some very powerful wild Pokémon—until they reached the place Cain had mentioned.
They walked for five days, leaving marks along the way in the hope that someone would see them.
But this time they were not very lucky; they did not encounter anyone.
Standing in front of that small valley that felt somewhat familiar, Cain sighed with a hint of nostalgia. He had not expected to return there.
It was the Aura Valley, where not long ago he had "tricked" the entire Togekiss clan and the Clawitzer clan.
The place had mountains and water, and because of the intimidation left behind by Togekiss, there was no abundance of highly powerful wild Pokémon. It was an ideal site to establish a base.
Most importantly, thanks to the constant influence of the aura power of the Togekiss clan and the Clawitzer clan, the place could, to a certain extent, avoid psychic scans.
Unless it was a psychic probe specifically directed at this location, it would hardly draw any attention. Cain had tested this before.
Although he did not know the exact principle, he assumed it had a lot to do with aura power.
Perhaps the prolonged presence of aura power had generated a special magnetic field in the area.
When it came to camping and settling in the wild, Cain was, of course, the most experienced.
With him present, Steven and the others not only did not have to worry about injuries after Pokémon battles, but also about their daily food. In the end, it was not so easy to say who was actually gaining more.
The seven of them summoned their Pokémon, and the valley, which had previously been somewhat quiet, was immediately filled with life.
The Pokémon Cain released, moreover, attracted everyone's attention.
The most eye-catching one was undoubtedly the imposing and self-assured God of Nightmares, Darkrai.
Phoebe had seen Darkrai before, but then the impact of Mega Evolution had made her forget about it, until now, upon seeing it again, she remembered.
Steven and Lance, on the other hand, were more surprised by the strength of that Darkrai.
As a Legendary Pokémon, Darkrai usually gave ordinary people a bad impression, but when one's strength reached their level, it was understood that it was all nothing more than exaggeration and rumors. Darkrai's nature was not evil; it was simply not good at communicating, and thus was misunderstood.
Cain's Darkrai, under the gazes of Steven and the others, simply ignored them. It floated silently above the surface of the lake, as if distracted. In reality, this was one of its usual forms of training: testing whether it could flexibly mobilize its abilities under the interference of the Ghost-type energy within its body.
Whether because of its Legendary status or because it had surpassed the first threshold of the Champion level, Darkrai's presence forced Steven and Lance to look at it with different eyes.
It was the first time they realized that Cain had such a powerful hidden card. Most likely, this was his strongest card.
Everyone thought the same thing inwardly.
However, there was one person whose expression was different: Phoebe.
She frowned, staring intently at Darkrai, as if she wanted to say something but did not know how to begin.
Cain knew that Darkrai's appearance would draw a lot of attention, but he never intended to hide it. In that environment, any powerful Pokémon was an additional force, and that force could prove decisive, especially in the case of someone like Darkrai, with a level of 85.
Added to its combat experience, tactical awareness, and special methods and abilities, it was undoubtedly far stronger than an ordinary level 85 Pokémon.
Cain also noticed the change in Phoebe's expression. Seeing that she seemed to want to speak but did not know how, he smiled and asked, "Phoebe, what's wrong? Hadn't you seen Darkrai once before?"
Hearing the question, Phoebe reacted, pointed at Darkrai in the center of the lake, and said, "Before, when I was with Gengar, I thought it was just my imagination... but now I realize that inside Darkrai's body... isn't there an extremely, extremely powerful Ghost-type energy?"
"!"
(End of chapter)