The higher the level, the more difficult it became to continue increasing it.
That was why Cain was quite satisfied with that improvement.
Moreover, this method did not produce a one-time effect. Rather, compared with later uses, the first use had the strongest effect.
If it continued to be used in the long term, it could still keep improving!
Steven's Shiny Metagross, as of today, had already reached Light Black color quality. And it had been precisely thanks to this method, improving little by little!
Of course, the resources consumed during the process were not something a single trainer could afford. Not even many small or medium-sized families could bear such an expense.
Only a family like the Stone family, and with Steven as the direct heir, could provide such treatment. If it had been any other ordinary member of the Stone family, they probably would not have enjoyed that level of resources either.
After using that special dose, Aggron's reaction had been very clear, and the first use had given it quite a considerable increase. The most important point was that this was not a one-time-use item: it could continue to be used many times over the long term. And that was where its true value lay.
As long as something was a block of metal, it could not be completely free of impurities. And as long as impurities existed, the steel could continue to be refined without end. The only difference was how many impurities were removed each time.
Of course, that did not mean that any Steel-type Pokémon could increase its quality without limit.
Just as different metals present differences among themselves, steel and iron are also essentially different. So even if both could be purified to the same degree of purity, they would still be very different.
Because of this, from the very beginning, when raising Steel-type Pokémon, one had to give them higher-quality minerals to consume. It was a way of improving the quality of the metal in their own bodies and allowing them to have higher potential.
Then, by removing impurities, that metal would become purer and stronger.
Cain's Aggron had grown up eating diamonds with very few impurities, so the quality of the metal in its body was already extraordinary. And for that same reason, its upper limit was also quite high.
Thinking about it, Cain could not help but begin to feel very curious about the effect this method would have if it were used on Magearna.
However, he suddenly felt that it was still not the right time. He had Magearna temporarily store the dose she was holding and decided to wait until the proper moment to give it to her, when it could play a key role.
...
More than two weeks later, Cain had already been staying in the Azoth Kingdom for fifteen days.
There were only six days left before he would officially assume the position of Champion of Hoenn, which meant that, at most, he could remain in Kalos for only five more days.
Once the time limit arrived, he would have to leave no matter what.
Since the last time Cain had left Alva's mansion, Alva had not appeared again. He had completely shut himself inside his laboratory.
This once again demonstrated that Alva possessed the nature of a true mad scientist: once he set a goal, he would plunge into it headfirst and would not come out until he achieved some result.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to develop something as intangible and elusive as the Mega Wave in such a short period of time.
In short, his talent was quite good.
However, during the time Cain stayed in the Azoth Kingdom, an extremely important event occurred for the people of the kingdom.
The old king of the Azoth Kingdom had finally passed away after reaching the end of his lifespan.
The entire kingdom was shaken by that event.
Fortunately, thanks to Team Flare's deep infiltration into the Azoth Kingdom through Alva, the kingdom did not fall into civil war after the death of the old king. At most, some ambitious members of the royal family attempted to place their hands on the throne of the Azoth Kingdom.
But those people not only failed to stir up any major waves, but by exposing themselves, they gave Team Flare the perfect opportunity to capture them all in one move.
All of those problematic elements of the Azoth Kingdom were detained, and the kingdom became even more stable.
At the same time, the young prince inherited the throne and became the nominal ruler of the entire Azoth Kingdom.
However, in practice, most of the power of the Azoth Kingdom fell into the hands of Alva, the so-called Prime Minister.
Although, in the midst of his busy schedule, Alva had only taken a small amount of time to attend the old king's funeral, under Team Flare's maneuvers all the different levers of power ultimately ended up firmly in his hands.
Moreover, the old king greatly appreciated Alva, who, despite his youth, was far ahead of the entire country in the field of arcane science. In addition, Alva's father had dedicated his entire life to the Azoth Kingdom, so in the eyes of the old king, both Alva and his father were loyal ministers in whom he could fully place his trust.
Because of this, before dying, the old king entrusted the young prince to Alva, tasking him with helping administer the affairs of the kingdom.
From Cain's point of view, Alva had basically become a regent.
If this had happened before he met Cain, before coming into contact with the outside world through Team Flare, Alva would surely have gone mad with joy upon receiving such news. Because that would have meant that, if he wished, he could replace the young prince at any moment and usurp the throne of the Azoth Kingdom.
But after coming to know the outside world, Alva discovered that the Azoth Kingdom, within the entirety of the Pokémon world, was nothing more than a tiny corner.
Not to mention comparing it with the Kalos League: even when facing Team Flare itself, the Azoth Kingdom appeared weak and insignificant.
(End of Chapter)