At present, his Champion-level Pokémon included Darkrai, who had already broken through the first barrier of the Champion level, as well as Gengar, Tyranitar, Blaziken, and Slowking, who had just entered that level.
At the Advanced Elite Four level were Honchkrow, Drapion, Weavile, Florges, Swampert, Aggron, Politoed, Mismagius, Slaking, and Magearna.
At the Initial Elite Four level were Salamence, Kingdra, Gardevoir, and Diancie.
At the Advanced Elite level, for now, were Lucario, Venusaur, and two Altaria.
Of course, in addition to these, there were also Kommo-o, as well as Togekiss and Clawitzer, recruited not long ago, and the hardworking and diligent Ursaring.
Overall, the strength of Cain's Pokémon had already reached an extremely high level. Although there were inevitably differences among them, with their current levels and strength, Cain could formulate strategies and select Pokémon according to the opponent's lineup.
Even so, there was still room for improvement, so during this time Cain had mainly focused on Lucario, Venusaur, Salamence, and Gardevoir as training priorities.
Their existence was crucial to Cain's entire system. As long as they reached a certain level of strength, Cain's combat style would become far more diverse.
For Champion-level Pokémon like Gengar or Tyranitar, it was quite difficult to achieve significant improvements in the short term.
Without special opportunities, the subsequent path consisted of consolidation and steady growth. However, the growth potential and improvement speed of Salamence and the others at this stage were still quite considerable.
In fact, it wasn't only Cain who was in this situation; Steven was more or less the same.
Steven's Metagross had also successfully reached the Champion level, so he rarely summoned it during their travels, because without suitable opponents, its progress would be slow. It was better to give more opportunities to those Pokémon that were about to advance or that grew faster.
Of course, in this place, it wasn't impossible for a Champion-level wild Pokémon to occasionally appear. In fact, both Cain and Steven had already encountered a few.
That was why, when facing such Pokémon, both of them gave their strongest Pokémon the chance to fight.
Essentially, everything boiled down to one sentence: send out the most suitable Pokémon according to the opponent's strength, without wasting any battle.
Cain had always fought this way. Even if the Pokémon were injured, as long as it wasn't serious, he could restore them quickly. That was why, even in occasional higher-level challenges, his Pokémon felt no fear.
But Steven had never experienced this kind of training.
Before entering this place, everyone had warned him not to participate in unnecessary battles; if he could win easily, he shouldn't get entangled in prolonged fights. The main objective was to preserve one's own strength to prevent accidents.
However, after reuniting with Cain, he discovered that this was how an advanced-level breeder should be properly used.
Intense battles and injured Pokémon?
No problem—we have an advanced-level breeder!
Unclear training goals, many combat methods but none refined?
No problem—we have an advanced-level breeder!
Physical or growth defects in Pokémon?
No problem—we have an advanced-level breeder!
In short, no matter what problem the Pokémon encountered, as long as Cain was there, Steven didn't have to worry about anything. Cain could resolve almost all difficulties.
For Steven, this was a completely new experience.
He finally understood why breeders who liked to travel were so popular among trainers: they were practically walking treasure chests.
And the greater the breeder's ability, the greater the help they provided to the trainer.
Steven also understood something else: why Cain was so adept at surviving in the wild.
Because he discovered that what was a dangerous wilderness to him was, to Cain, like strolling through his own backyard. As long as sufficient vigilance was maintained and he wasn't eliminated in a single blow, no Pokémon could escape the fate of becoming a combat opponent.
In short, Steven arrived at a single conclusion: Cain is fucking useful!
Cain and Steven set off to find Phoebe and Wallace. If, along the way, they encountered people worthy of trust, they wouldn't mind drawing them to their own side either.
As for what counted as a trustworthy person, that depended on Cain's judgment. In that regard, Steven trusted his ability to judge people completely.
For example, on the third day after setting out, they finally encountered someone they knew.
And moreover, someone they had known for a very long time.
Just as Cain was directing Salamence and Steven was commanding the Scizor he had recently begun training following Cain's recommendations.
The reason Steven trusted Cain so much was that all the advice and warnings Cain had given him had proven truly useful once put into practice.
Both the previous Steelix and the current Scizor were Pokémon Cain had recommended to him back then, and now he had already captured them all. Two words summed up his feelings: totally worth it!
However, while the two of them were fighting in an orderly manner, a person not far away heard the noise of the battle and silently approached.
But even before she came close to Cain and Steven, without yet knowing who was fighting, Cain had already detected her approach.
And fortunately, it was Cain who noticed her presence and confirmed her identity, so he didn't launch an attack immediately.
The new Johto Elite Four, the Dark-type Elite Four: Karen!
When Cain and Steven quickly finished the battle and suddenly appeared in front of Karen, she was startled.
To be honest, although Karen had become the Dark-type Elite Four of Johto, among the people who had entered this time her strength was only at a mid-level, even slightly below average. In contrast, Cain and Steven belonged to the strongest group of all.
"Cain! Steven!" Seeing that the people appearing before her were acquaintances, Karen finally let out a sigh of relief.
Just as Cain had guessed, she had been here for less than two weeks, and the experience had been far from easy.
(End of chapter)