A singer with such strength?
Not everyone was like him, with a system as powerful as an external aid. Even if a singer's income was higher than that of an ordinary civilian, that was all. Reaching the Elite Four level... unless one was a chosen one of destiny like Ash, it was hard not to doubt it.
The reliability of the League's investigations into a person's identity was, honestly, extremely low. Cain himself was a clear example: with the information protection of Team Rocket, unless the League's internal archives were thoroughly reviewed, it was impossible to find clues about his identity.
The same was true for the commander of the League's Second Legion, the Black Messenger of the Sacred Church.
Those who knew the League well, or had simply left it, could to a certain extent evade investigations. Of course, the price to pay was high, and the personal requirements were high as well.
As far as Cain knew, the deepest infiltration of external forces into the League included the Black Messenger of the Second Legion and Koga, one of the current Johto Elite Four.
"Alright, thank you for sharing this information with us. Take this as compensation; I think it will be useful to you. We still have matters to attend to, so we won't delay your training," Cain said, taking several special healing agents and some special Pokéblocks that accelerated recovery out of his storage space.
When she saw what Cain took out, Karen's face lit up with surprise. Just for a piece of information that didn't hold much importance to her, she had obtained so many things that it felt as if a giant cake had fallen from the sky.
"Thank you very much!" she said repeatedly, with no intention of refusing.
As for Cain's items, those who used them knew their value well. And in that place, they were undoubtedly more valuable than many other resources.
After that, Cain and Steven continued on their way, while Karen prepared to head in another direction—the one they had agreed upon in the Johto region.
"By the way, Karen, if you run into any trouble in the future, you can go to this place and wait for us there. Sooner or later, we should return. But for now, don't tell anyone," Cain said just before Salamence flapped its wings again.
After speaking, he left behind a somewhat confused Karen, staring in astonishment as Cain and Steven disappeared into the distance.
"Since you already told her the meeting point you had in mind, why didn't you invite her to join us directly?" Steven asked curiously once they were truly gone.
Cain narrowed his eyes.
"Because I still can't guarantee her identity. Bringing her with us would be like constantly telling someone our location. It's too dangerous."
After a brief pause, he continued, "But if there's no problem with her identity, it's very likely she'll be attacked. If she manages to escape successfully, then we can bring her with us. Besides, the place I indicated to her will only be used when we return—that is, after the situation becomes clearer."
"That way, the initiative stays on our side, and at least we'll avoid surprise attacks."
Listening to Cain's explanation, Steven nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that Cain kept everyone except those he truly knew well on his list of suspects.
In such a situation, caution was undoubtedly necessary.
At the same time, Steven felt even more convinced that the decision for Cain to be the leader had been the right one.
After meeting Karen, Cain and Steven deliberately increased their pace, and by the afternoon they finally arrived near the third marked point: a special dune that stood in the middle of the desert.
In the desert environment, sand flew uncontrollably and visibility was very low. Moreover, due to the fluidity of the sand, it was difficult to leave marks. Even if Phoebe and Wallace had passed through there, it would have been hard to leave traces.
Originally, that place had not been within the range Cain had marked.
After all, it was a rather hostile environment, especially for a Water-type trainer like Wallace.
But the desert was too vast. If they skipped it, the selected areas would become unbalanced, increasing the difficulty of regrouping.
That was why, in the end, they decided to include it.
"This wind and sand... even I, who like to use Steel-type Pokémon, don't like it," Steven said.
His formal attire was special, with a very high and rigid collar, whose outer layer was coated with a special metal that provided good protection against the impact of the sand.
Beside him, Scizor constantly made "ding ding ding" sounds under the impact of the sand-laden wind.
Compared to Steven's luxurious method of resisting the sand, Cain's was much simpler: he directly used his psychic power to envelop himself.
Of course, Cain did not include Steven within that protection.
According to him, it was "training Steven's ability to withstand hostile environments."
As a result, after entering the desert, the look Steven directed at Cain was filled with resentment—the most resentful kind possible.
Although, deep down, Steven also consoled himself: Cain simply didn't want to expend too much psychic power and needed to maintain vigilance over the surroundings.
And indeed, just as Steven was thinking this, Cain's expression suddenly changed.
Cain fixed his gaze sternly on a stretch of sand ahead of him. Although nothing could be seen with the naked eye, his psychic power could perceive many things invisible to ordinary sight.
"What's wrong?" Steven asked when he noticed the change in expression.
Cain's face did not relax; on the contrary, it grew increasingly grave.
"A very powerful spatial energy fluctuation... being able to invoke such intense spatial energy on this continent where space is sealed... I don't know what kind of thing it could be."
Steven didn't know exactly what was happening, but seeing Cain—always famous for his calm—show such a serious expression transmitted an obvious sense of pressure.
However, in the very next instant, Cain's expression changed drastically again. From gravity it shifted to astonishment, his eyes wide open.
"The space has been torn open! Hurry, Steven!"
Cain didn't have time to explain anything else. He jumped onto Salamence's back and charged toward the direction he sensed with his psychic power.
Steven also turned pale. He recalled his Pokémon and leapt onto Aerodactyl, accelerating at full speed, no longer caring about the sand and wind.
(End of chapter)