Since the birth of the League until the present, almost all rulers had come from large or small families, and most of those who possessed real power within the League also belonged to those same families.
These people controlled the League, and in their eyes, family always came first; the League only afterward.
Because of this, they did not hesitate to block the path of the majority, merely to make their own path, and that of their families, easier and broader.
To say that the current League was corrupt was not without foundation. In fact, most people could see it clearly, but very few were truly capable of doing anything to change it.
Or, in other words, some could see it, but did not know how to correct it.
Like the council elder himself.
Both showed tacit understanding and did not directly bring up Cain's true identity. That left a buffer of space between them, preventing the situation from immediately becoming tense or hostile.
But this was the first time the council elder had heard someone express something like this, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
Because Cain could be said to be the first, or even the only one, who had been born as a commoner and had risen step by step from the very bottom of society, eventually standing before the true ruler of the League.
If the League could truly govern wisely and effectively, how many people would be willing to risk their lives joining Team Rocket?
But saying it is easy. Doing it is another matter entirely!
"Then tell me, with the League in its current condition, what should be done? Cut off an arm to save the body? I'm afraid that before reaching the point of cutting off that arm, it would already have bled to death."
"And besides, the current League cannot even be considered a strong man. Rather, it resembles an old man in the twilight of his life," the elder posed his question again.
With the League's present situation, let alone accomplishing everything Cain had just said, it would probably be completely destroyed by Team Rocket and other underground organizations long before reaching even halfway.
And at that time, the entire Pokémon world would once again fall into chaos.
After Giovanni returned today, the council elder had a premonition that a true war, one that would sweep across the entire Pokémon world, was about to begin.
Hearing the elder's new question, Cain also understood that this was the true core of the problem, but his answer was reduced to the following words:
"Without destruction, there is no reconstruction."
"Without destruction... there is no reconstruction..."
The elder repeated those words softly, and suddenly felt that they contained very profound meaning.
The way he looked at Cain was no longer as calm as before. It was as if he wanted to get to know him again from the very beginning.
The two continued exchanging ideas on this topic.
From Cain's words, the council elder heard many methods he had never heard before, and several of them genuinely amazed him.
It could not be helped. After all, Cain was not originally a person from this Pokémon world. Simply by transferring certain management methods from his former planet, Earth, he could produce in the elder a completely novel sensation.
Even if one had never eaten pork, at least one had seen pigs run. Cain spoke of all these matters with complete fluency and logic, leaving the elder listening again and again in genuine astonishment.
Besides that, the two also discussed other topics.
Only after conversing for a long time did the reinforcements finally arrive belatedly, and the conversation between Cain and the council elder came to an end.
But that conversation was enough for the council elder to once again recognize who Cain truly was as a person.
Seeing the reinforcements arrive, the elder then remembered that he had forgotten to notify them that the crisis there had already been resolved and that there was no need for them to keep rushing to Mt. Silver.
But since they had already arrived, even better: it was a good opportunity to thoroughly discuss the League's next steps, how to deal with Kael of the Sacred Church, and how to prepare for a possible attack from Team Rocket in the near future.
Cain accompanied the council elder to receive the great figures of the League who had arrived from all regions, including several regional presidents and Champions.
"By the way, it would be best for you to return that Moltres to the interior of Mt. Silver. After all, its existence... is rather special. If it is not there, the interior of Mt. Silver will not remain safe."
"And besides, capturing it is not good for either it or for you. Its divinity will gradually dissipate. You should have seen it as well: in reality, it does not possess the qualifications necessary to become the true Moltres...," the elder added at the end.
"The divinity of that Moltres was... obtained with the help of the League?" Cain asked after hesitating for a moment.
In truth, Cain had never intended to use that Moltres as a battle Pokémon. His original idea was to leave it on his breeding island as a guardian. But now that the elder had said Moltres' situation was special, returning it to the interior of Mt. Silver was not impossible.
Hearing the question, the elder smiled bitterly.
"Yes. Rather than saying the League helped it obtain it... it could be said that it was directly given to it. The original Moltres... was mine."
For Cain, a Moltres without divinity did not hold such high value. Since the elder had said that capturing it would cause that divinity to dissipate, that was equivalent to raising something useless. Instead of wasting time and resources on something like that, it would be better to devote everything to training his other Pokémon.
Darkrai, Diancie, and Magearna, for example, all possessed the potential to become true legendary Pokémon.
Moreover, that Moltres clearly did not get along with him. Trying to build understanding and compatibility with it would likely consume an absurd amount of time.
Cain preferred to use that time to train his own Pokémon; that was far more promising.
Besides, if they were asking him to give up such a Pokémon, they could not expect him to come out of it at a loss, right?
Watching as the council elder entered the League's main building together with a group of great figures, heading toward the conference room, Cain went into the interior of Mt. Silver to release Moltres.
But well, release it... though Moltres' entire body was full of treasures, and it was not the first time Cain had obtained benefits from a Pokémon like this.
"Krashiar!"
When Cain released it and Moltres discovered it was once again inside Mt. Silver, it seemed to be in quite good condition.
Arceus had restored its strength, and now its appearance was once again as imposing and majestic as at the beginning.
Cain smiled from ear to ear and gestured with his hand. Seeing that smile, Moltres' little heart skipped a beat, and a very bad feeling arose within it.
(End of chapter)