Hearing this, Alva wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and slowly stood up.
"Yes! Yes!"
At the same time, the Team Flare members who were in the backyard also approached Cain, placing their right hands over their left chests and saying in unison: "Deputy Leader!"
Cain nodded and gestured with his hand for them to return to their duties.
Although Team Flare had now completely fallen into his hands, Cain had not assumed the position of leader of the organization.
Compared to the position of leader, which was too exposed, Cain preferred much more to be the deputy leader, able to act as a shadow boss and disengage from everything whenever he wished.
The identity itself was not important; what truly mattered was how much authority and how much power one held.
Even within Team Heaven in Hoenn, although Cain was the leader, very few people actually knew that identity. Most did not know who the leader of Team Heaven was, only that the organization was controlled by the deputy leader Rose, a group of veteran Executives, and two deputy leaders who had arrived from outside.
That was why Cain had been able to protect his true identity so well all this time.
Once on his feet, Alva followed Cain and guided him into his laboratory, which was now twice as large. He kept his body slightly inclined in respect and walked half a step behind, not daring to surpass him at any moment.
As the Prime Minister of a kingdom, Alva had learned very well all the etiquette that Cain could not care less about.
Cain glanced sideways at Alva, who showed absolute respect, as well as at the special metal cane he held in his hand.
He raised his hand, and the cane automatically left Alva's hand and fell into Cain's grasp.
At the top of the cane was a dark red gem the size of a thumb, positioned at the center of a structure resembling the emblem of Mega Evolution. From that gem, Cain could sensitively perceive a faint yet real Mega Evolution energy.
The cane leaving his hands without control left Alva momentarily stunned. But when he saw Cain thoughtfully observing the red gem on the cane, a slight tremor passed through his heart and his reverence deepened even further.
He said respectfully: "My lord has exceptional insight. Although this subordinate did not fully complete the idea you proposed, I have succeeded in developing most of it. And this gem is precisely the result and crystallization of my research over these years. If you grant me a little more time, the Mega Wave will finally be completed!"
The so-called Mega Wave was Alva's main line of research, and it had already produced certain results.
As long as a Pokémon was struck by that Mega Wave, it could Mega Evolve under its influence.
Just like the divine stones of the Sacred Church, it was not necessary for the trainer and the Pokémon to share an especially deep bond, nor was the Pokémon's consent required to trigger Mega Evolution.
The difference from the Sacred Church's divine stones was that the side effects on the Pokémon were significantly smaller, but in exchange, the suffering it had to endure during the process was much greater, and the increase in power after Mega Evolution was not as ideal as one might expect.
Even so, it was still a remarkable ability.
Cain had never truly expected Alva to completely replicate Mega Evolution. If something like that could truly be achieved, then why would people pay enormous sums to obtain Mega Stones?
Listening to Alva's explanation and his theory regarding the principle by which the gem in the cane emitted that Mega Wave, Cain obtained a preliminary understanding of the matter.
"Hehe, in reality, being able to develop this is also largely thanks to the fact that, from time to time, Team Flare provided me with those... those divine stones they recovered from members of the Sacred Church."
"The gem in the cane was created by extracting, through arcane science, the most important component of those divine stones, the part that allows Pokémon to Mega Evolve, and fusing everything into a single gem," Alva explained as he accompanied Cain.
"From this subordinate's point of view, Mega Evolution is actually a kind of special light wave that stimulates and activates certain hidden genetic fragments within some Pokémon, allowing them to temporarily convert those recessive genes into dominant genes. And naturally, those dominant genes bring with them a considerable increase in their capabilities."
Alva was already using the simplest explanation he knew to describe to Cain what he understood about Mega Evolution.
Because Cain did not understand arcane science at all. If Alva were to use more professional terminology, the explanation would likely be even more precise.
Cain raised his hand, stopping Alva, who seemed to be growing increasingly excited with his own explanation.
This kind of thing did not require him to understand in such detail. It was enough that the people below knew how to do it.
Alva wisely did not continue speaking.
The two entered the laboratory together, and there Cain looked at Alva, who still showed an expression of absolute respect, and asked: "During this time, have you continued researching the arcane science documents left by Master Nikola?"
Hearing this, Alva froze for a moment, but quickly nodded enthusiastically.
"During this time, this subordinate has mainly focused on two things. The first was the matter of Mega Evolution that you entrusted to me. And the other was studying the materials left behind by Master Nikola."
"Before, I found part of Master Nikola's research among the belongings left by my father, but not long ago, in the kingdom's most secret royal library, I discovered another portion of the documents. And within them was hidden a shocking secret about the Azoth Kingdom!"
"My lord, let me tell you that secret is the greatest achievement of Nikola's arcane science. If it could be mastered, it might even be possible to..."
Alva's face was full of excitement. No matter what, he was still a mad scientist in the best sense of the word. And, of course, he also possessed great ability, otherwise Cain would never have taken notice of him.
(End of chapter)