When he returned to the League headquarters at Mt. Silver, the council elder and important figures from the various regions were gathered there, some present in person and others connected through image communication.
Among them was Drake, Cain's teacher, representing the Hoenn region.
In the corridor, however, he encountered quite a few acquaintances. Among them were his good friend Steven, whom Cain had called earlier for help, as well as Lance and Lorelei from Kanto, and Cynthia from Sinnoh.
When they saw him appear, everyone approached, because in that place only Cain knew precisely everything that had happened.
Just by looking at the platform of Mt. Silver and the desolate battlefield, one could understand how fierce that battle had been.
And they did not even know what the current situation of the Sacred Church was.
All of them were filled with curiosity.
Cain looked at them, hesitated a little, and in the end began recounting one by one all the experiences of that day, not omitting even the moment when he forcibly captured the legendary Moltres, although he did not dwell on many details about it.
Because seeing the looks on their faces, Cain did not even know how to explain the strength he now possessed.
Compared to him, they were indeed no longer exactly on the same level.
In fact, Cain had already reached and even surpassed quite a few veteran trainers of the League, including his own teacher.
In the Space-Time Continent, Cain's strength had already far surpassed theirs, which was why he had been able to act alone, infiltrate the Sacred Church, and dismantle it step by step with his own plan.
But due to special circumstances, he had remained in the Space-Time Continent for almost six more months.
And that additional time had been precisely the best possible period for Cain to grow and develop.
He was able to focus entirely on improving his own strength, training his Pokémon, and digesting everything he had obtained within the barrier of the Space-Time Continent, without any external pressure.
And after returning to the Pokémon world, the gap between him and Steven, Lance, and the others had suddenly widened.
That was even considering that everyone present could be regarded as among the most talented trainers in the entire Pokémon world.
But unfortunately, Cain had exploited the "time bug."
When Cain finished recounting everything that had happened in an apparently calm tone, everyone present wore expressions of complete astonishment.
Both the dragon of the underworld, Giratina, and the creator god, Arceus, were Pokémon that only appeared in legends.
And yet, that day they had truly appeared before Cain and the others.
But once everyone had finished being astonished, without needing to agree beforehand, all gazes fell upon a single person: Lance, Lance Drako.
Lance's eyes widened. When he learned that the bishop of the Sacred Church was actually his eldest uncle, his father's brother and the legitimate eldest son of the previous head of the Drako family, both his gaze and his face were filled with disbelief.
In the end, the origin of everything was within his own family.
Everyone looked at Lance, unsure what to say.
Given their experience and understanding, they naturally would not transfer their prejudice or hatred toward the Sacred Church onto Lance.
They would not even focus too much attention on the Drako family itself.
But they could not represent the majority of people.
The Sacred Church had existed for quite some time. Although it had only recently come into the public eye, ever since its exposure it had done nothing but destroy the lives of the inhabitants of each region and bring undeserved suffering upon countless people.
The public resentment it had provoked could not be small.
If it became known that the origin of all of this lay within the Drako family, people might not directly rush to destroy such a powerful household, but it would inevitably bring enormous negative consequences upon them.
The Drako family's businesses in various regions would be affected.
The strength of the Drako family would undoubtedly decline greatly because of this matter, and there was even the possibility that they would no longer be regarded as a great family.
So for a moment, no one knew what to say to Lance.
Because comforting him did not quite fit.
But neither could they, like ordinary people, simply look only at the surface and place all the blame upon the Drako family without further thought.
Although, to be honest, after this incident, everyone would inevitably feel some degree of discomfort when thinking about that family.
Cain patted Lance on the shoulder without saying anything.
After all, this matter did not have much to do with Lance, and it was not something he should have to bear.
That gesture brought Lance out of his daze.
He regained his composure and immediately showed a bitter smile.
The things others could imagine, how could he not imagine them? Only, he was thinking further ahead than anyone else.
He leaned against a nearby chair and slowly sank into it, letting out a long sigh.
"It seems that... there is no other choice but to return to Johto..."
"Return to Johto? But don't you go back from time to time anyway?" Lorelei asked calmly.
The relationship between Lance and Lorelei had improved greatly compared to the past, although they still competed and clashed frequently.
All of that dated back to when, in the Space-Time Continent, Lorelei had appeared severely injured in the Aura Valley and was rescued by Cain...
In short, a reconciliation had taken place between Lance and Lorelei, or rather, Lorelei had internally made peace and gradually come to accept Lance's presence, although her desire to challenge him had never disappeared.
Upon hearing Lance's words, Cain understood what he meant.
It seemed that this incident would truly have a great impact on the Drako family, and that Lance would have to return to the Johto region to compete for the position of Champion.
With the prestige of the Champion's title and the convenience of action it brought, he could provide many advantages to the Drako family.
Moreover, Lance's reputation was quite great within the Kanto Region, and even within the entire League he had an important name.
Although he did not reach Cain's level of fame, he was still an extremely prominent figure.
As long as his strength was sufficient, becoming Champion would not be difficult for Lance.
The question had never been whether he wanted to do it.
But now it was no longer about what he wanted or did not want.
Now it was something he had to do.
That was the kind of restriction that came with being a member of a great family. If one had accepted the help of one's family, then when the family needed it, one was obligated to step forward.
And if Lance truly wished to return to Johto, the current president of the Johto region would surely welcome him with open arms.
After all, Lance could be considered the most talented trainer in the entire Kanto Region in the past twenty years.
(End of chapter)