"My name is Cain, but under normal circumstances, without my permission, don't say my name," he warned him, since he still couldn't expose his identity; it would be far too dangerous.
"Yes! Lord Cain!" Brad replied respectfully.
Cain looked at him with some surprise; he hadn't expected him to adapt so quickly to his new role.
In fact, Brad saw things very clearly. He knew that his own potential was already almost exhausted; at most, he could advance one more step. In contrast, he couldn't see the limit of Cain's potential at all. Submitting to someone whose strength and potential surpassed his own was not difficult to accept.
He had lived for twenty-five years in this place, like a true savage, completely accustomed to the law of survival of the fittest. Respecting and obeying the strong was not something shameful for wild Pokémon, and it wasn't for him either.
"Bring out all your injured Pokémon. I'll help them recover. Later on, I may have missions for you," Cain said, taking a spare set of new clothes from his storage space, along with razors, soap, and other items, and tossing them to Brad.
"Take advantage of this time to tidy yourself up. If you're going to live well, at least live like a person."
"Yes!" Brad accepted everything with joy, summoned Yanmega and Haxorus, and took Feraligatr to the nearby lake. Time to bathe and change!
Cain, for his part, summoned Florges and Magearna to take care of Yanmega and Haxorus, who were lying on the ground.
...
An hour later, dressed in clean clothes, his beard shaved and his long, disheveled hair gathered and tied back, Brad reappeared before Cain with a completely renewed appearance.
Over forty years old, with tanned skin and rugged features, along with the inevitable shadow of stubble, he looked as solid as an old tree.
Cain nodded in satisfaction. Now he really looked like a person.
"All your Pokémon have already recovered. Also, here are some potions I personally made; they're much better than those so-called 'high-end goods' sold by the League's shop. And this large box contains Pokéblocks I no longer use. Although they might not be the most suitable for your Pokémon, they're at least far better than eating beast meat or Pokémon meat."
Cain took out a large number of items from his storage space again and handed them to Brad.
Toward people he acknowledged as his own, Cain was never stingy. Moreover, these items weren't of great value to him, but here they could quickly earn Brad's loyalty.
Receiving another mountain of things, Brad was stunned.
On this continent, those items were extremely valuable resources, incomparable to ordinary ones—especially those special potions and antidotes, which would allow him to venture into areas inhabited by wild Pokémon without worries.
"This... my lord... perhaps you don't quite understand the value these things have here..." Brad said, holding everything in his arms.
Cain waved his hand.
"To you they may be treasures, but to me they're very ordinary things. As an Advanced-level breeder, as long as I have materials, I can make whatever I want."
Advanced-level breeder!
Brad's heart trembled.
Even after twenty-five years away from the Pokémon world, he knew perfectly well what it meant to be an Advanced-level breeder.
He had never imagined that Cain not only possessed such terrifying strength, but was also an Advanced-level breeder—and so young!
Now he was even more glad that he had accepted becoming Cain's subordinate. Since giving his word, he had received nothing but benefits.
An Advanced-level breeder could provide him with immense help.
"Thank you very much, my lord!" Brad accepted everything happily and stored it in the small storage space Cain had given him.
For him, that size was more than enough for the time being.
Then Cain also distributed many Poké Balls and other essential items to him.
Wild Pokémon resources were abundant in this place; with Poké Balls, Brad could quickly replenish his team. Although in the short term he wouldn't be able to deploy his maximum strength, as support for those four Pokémon there would be no problem.
After completing the handover of all the items, Brad leapt in one step from the primitive age into modern society.
"My lord, follow me!" Brad jumped onto Yanmega's back and gestured for Cain to follow.
Cain didn't hesitate, recalled his Pokémon, and jumped onto Salamence's back to catch up.
Very soon, guided by Brad, they arrived at a small valley and stopped in front of a small cave hidden behind dense vines.
"Inside here are the materials I've collected over these years. Although the consumption has been great, I've still accumulated quite a lot of good things."
"I used them by letting Pokémon eat them directly, which is a waste. But now that you're an Advanced-level breeder, I'm sure that in your hands these materials can realize their maximum value."
As he spoke, Brad casually pushed aside the vines covering the entrance, revealing the interior.
Cain was stunned by the scene inside the cave: piles upon piles of precious materials, many of which he could name without difficulty, heaped carelessly on the ground. There were even some extremely rare ones that even Cain didn't see often and that, if encountered, he would buy regardless of the price.
The cave wasn't large, but the value of everything inside, converted into Pokédollars, would be an astronomical figure.
Without exaggeration, it was no less than the value of the Hydreigon Cain had handed over to Brad. And in Cain's hands, they could be transformed into finished potions and Pokéblocks whose value would multiply several times over.
This was truly getting rich.
No wonder he hadn't found anything of value in Brad's cave at the beginning: everything had been hidden here.
They were all the materials he had gathered over decades. Although he had wasted many, the remaining quantity was still terrifying.
"I won't be polite with you. Don't worry— from now on, I'll fully take charge of the customized Pokéblocks for your Pokémon," Cain said bluntly, storing all the contents of the cave into his pack.
As he packed them away, Cain realized that the value of those materials was even greater than he had imagined, since many extremely rare materials had been buried at the bottom simply because Brad didn't recognize them.
Although Brad lost so many materials, he obtained Cain's promise, which for him made it entirely worthwhile.
After sorting everything out, the two people who originally didn't know each other found themselves with nothing to say, falling into an awkward silence.
But since Cain was now in a position of leadership, if he didn't speak, Brad didn't know what to say either.
After all, what he should do next and what his mission would be depended on Cain's instructions.
(End of chapter)