In reality, it was not any special technique. All Cain did was plant a psychic seed in Malva's mind.
This could not be considered a new ability obtained thanks to the enhancement of the Unown this time; rather, it was an improvement of a capability he already possessed.
As his sensitivity for perceiving and controlling space had become sharper, his mastery over psychic power had strengthened, and his psychic power itself had also improved, the release of psychic seeds had been further enhanced.
He no longer needed to touch the target's head. Within a certain range, as long as the distance was not too great, he could successfully implant them. Moreover, the target no longer needed to be completely incapacitated as before; now, as long as the target's will was not particularly firm and their intention to resist was not especially clear, the psychic seed could take root.
After being struck in the head by psychic power before she could even react, Malva slowly closed her eyes.
Seeing this, Xerosic and the others' eyes widened instantly. Instinctively, they wanted to open the Poké Balls in their hands, but very soon Malva opened her eyes again.
When she opened them for the first time, there was a trace of confusion in her gaze. But when she saw Cain smiling at her, her heart tightened again and, instinctively, she spoke respectfully: "My lord."
Unlike before, when she had called him that only out of fear of his strength, now that "my lord" came from the depths of her heart, completely sincere.
Cain nodded with satisfaction. It seemed that in the future he could indeed use psychic seeds more often. If the element of surprise was used against people without preparation, the effect was still quite good.
Then he turned his head toward Xerosic and the others. The smile on his face made them feel even more frightened.
"Do not worry, I am not going to do anything to you. After all... Team Flare still needs your scientific research capabilities."
Cain raised his right hand and launched several more psychic seeds toward them.
If even Malva had not been able to resist, they had even less chance.
"My lord," Xerosic and the others said respectfully.
The feeling was strange.
Just moments ago, they had been terrified that Cain might act against them, and the reverence they felt toward him had come solely from his strength. But now they could say that "my lord" with genuine devotion.
Even, at that moment, the position Lysandre had previously held as the person they respected the most was gradually being replaced by Cain within their hearts.
It was a difficult sensation to describe, as if their thoughts and way of thinking had suddenly changed, and yet everything felt natural.
After using so many psychic seeds consecutively, even with Cain's enormous current amount of psychic power and his level of control, it began to strain him. Tiny beads of sweat appeared from the pores on his forehead.
But a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
From that moment onward, the entire Team Flare of the Kalos region had completely fallen into his hands.
However, even Cain himself felt a certain fear toward something like psychic seeds. If someone else also possessed such an ability, it would be terrifying.
And if it were ever discovered that Cain possessed such a skill, the entire Pokémon world would likely turn against him.
After all, no one would want to be controlled by another person without any possibility of preparation.
And most importantly, once controlled, the target had practically no ability to react or resist.
This could be considered a taboo ability. Even if Cain's identity were discovered, the matter of psychic seeds must never come to light. Otherwise, he would undoubtedly become the target of all arrows, an existence the entire Pokémon world would want to destroy.
From that point on, the rest of the matter became simple.
Cain explained Team Rocket's alliance plan and, at the same time, did not conceal too much of Giovanni's future plans, making the people of Team Flare prepare for it.
In Cain's opinion, cooperation between Team Flare and Team Rocket did not present too many disadvantages. The problem was that this would expose Team Flare too early, placing them directly in opposition to the Kalos League, so preparations had to be made in advance.
Lysandre's capabilities were still beyond doubt. Being able to develop Team Flare to this level in such a short time demonstrated that he was an exceptional talent.
It was only that, before his ambition could fully manifest, Cain had taken advantage of the situation and controlled him beforehand. Otherwise, today's matter would not have been so simple.
Although it seemed as if Cain had taken control of the entire Team Flare in a single day, the main reason was that he already possessed the identity of Team Flare's deputy leader, allowing him to approach that place without raising suspicion, combined with the fact that Lysandre held no guard against him.
If a technology-focused organization like Team Flare did not truly deploy its technological advantages, then naturally it could not pose a great threat to Cain.
If he had had to face Team Galactic in Sinnoh or Team Plasma in Unova, merely approaching their main base and meeting their leaders would already have been an enormous problem.
And after meeting their leaders, there would still be the issue of guaranteeing his own safety, and then an even greater problem: persuading them.
Therefore, Cain was very glad that the task he had received was to come to Kalos to persuade Team Flare.
After explaining everything, Cain once again disappeared from the office using Teleport, leaving behind a Gyarados Mega Stone for Lysandre, one of the Mega Stones he could use.
No matter what, the combat strength of Team Flare's high-ranking members was still relatively weak. That was not something that could be easily changed.
After all, most of them were researchers, and combat was not exactly what they excelled at.
Only after Malva later joined did the situation improve somewhat; otherwise, they would truly have lacked sufficient presence.
(End of chapter)