Kadabra teleported again. A single, accurate hit meant nothing; maybe it was just a matter of luck.
"Sneasel, use Ice Shard again, then Bite!"
The previous scene repeated once more between Sneasel and Kadabra. Although Kadabra responded quickly this time, launching an attack as Sneasel approached, it was useless.
However, Sneasel's Dark-type moves deal double damage to Kadabra, while Kadabra's moves barely cause basic damage to Sneasel.
Therefore, the final outcome of the battle was evident.
Even though Kadabra had two more levels than Sneasel, Sneasel's quality was two levels higher than Kadabra's.
While a psychic with a Psychic-type Pokémon greatly amplifies their power, and their cooperation is much smoother, the synchronization between Sneasel and Cain was clearly better.
But it wasn't enough. The crucial mistake was allowing Sneasel to gain so many skill enhancements; otherwise, the battle's outcome might have been different.
Because the combination of a psychic and a Psychic-type Pokémon is not simply a sum of parts.
By the time the battle ended, Azure was still stunned, but the fallen Kadabra in front of him indicated that he wasn't dreaming.
Cain didn't withdraw Sneasel but instead headed directly toward the door with him, completely ignoring the astonished, surprised, curious, and scrutinizing looks of those around him.
As he passed by Azure, he was still in shock.
"Move aside," Cain said calmly.
Hearing Cain, Azure reacted, lowering his head and stepping aside, leaving the door clear.
However, his expression showed that he wasn't entirely satisfied.
Still, he had been defeated, and the result was that Cain could go through that door while he remained as the loser.
Cain noticed his expression and slightly raised his eyebrows but had no intention of explaining why the battle ended the way it did.
It must be understood that, as Cain always said, in the world of Pokémon, the most valuable things aren't those rare Pokémon, or rare items, or even pseudo-legendary or legendary Pokémon.
The most valuable thing is... knowledge!
Knowledge changes power; it's not just a saying.
This battle was the best example of that.
Cain gently pushed the door and entered under everyone's watchful gaze.
The Psychic-type gym was large; the lobby occupied less than a tenth of the total area. Cain walked down the hallway behind the door for a long time before finally emerging.
After crossing the hallway, he entered an equally enormous room filled with all sorts of dolls, some shaped like Pokémon, others like humans, and even some like furniture.
Directly across the room was a large raised platform with a giant chair made of dolls, although it was empty at the time.
In the center of the room, a man and a woman sat, staring intently at Cain as if they had been waiting for him for a long time.
These two were Sabrina and Umbra, who had previously watched the battle between Cain and Azure in the lobby. Now, they sipped their tea calmly and chatted leisurely.
When Sabrina saw Cain enter, she casually gestured for him to approach.
Cain gave a wry smile. He couldn't ignore Sabrina's order, so he quickly approached their table and respectfully greeted them: "Mr. Umbra, Miss Sabrina."
At this, Sabrina's expression changed, while Umbra smiled.
"Hey! Who gave you permission to address him first?" Sabrina said, frowning as she looked at Cain.
Cain was taken aback for a moment.
"Hehehe, you lost again. Remember to pay me later," Umbra said, chuckling after taking a sip of tea.
Are they so idle that they're betting on who I'd greet first?
Umbra's words made Cain understand the situation: Sabrina and Umbra had bet on who he'd address first.
That's why, when Cain had just entered, Sabrina had gestured for him to approach, intending for him to greet her first.
Cain was speechless to see these two powerful figures entertaining themselves with something so trivial. And they actually enjoyed it?
Cain couldn't interfere in the bet between Sabrina and Umbra. When these high-level figures spoke, anything he said would be wrong.
"Your name is Cain, right? You just made me lose two hundred thousand Pokédollars. Later, you'll have to pay him," Sabrina said angrily, pointing at Cain.
Cain gave a wry smile and nodded.
This was an unexpected disaster; losing two hundred thousand Pokédollars for nothing.
Cain didn't understand why Sabrina was against him, but Umbra did. It wasn't just because Cain made her lose the bet, but also because Cain had easily defeated Azure.
This made Sabrina look bad in front of Umbra. Although Azure wasn't Sabrina's disciple or relative, he was still someone from Sabrina's gym, and losing so disastrously without even understanding why left her looking bad.
That's why Sabrina wanted Cain to pay that two hundred thousand.
If Cain knew this, he'd probably feel even more aggrieved.
Umbra gestured to indicate there was no problem.
Then, his expression turned serious, and he asked, "Did you bring what I asked for?"
Seeing Umbra's serious expression, Sabrina also stopped joking. She liked to have fun, but that didn't mean she didn't know when it was time to be serious. Otherwise, she wouldn't have become one of the three main leaders of Team Rocket.
When Umbra finally brought up the matter, Cain sighed in relief. He really didn't want to face Sabrina, someone so unpredictable that she might get angry at any moment without reason.
"I brought it."
Cain took out the black box that the middle-aged man with a mustache had given him at the research base by the Lake of Rage.
He had his system scan it but only obtained information about the materials of the box without being able to figure out what it contained.
He carefully placed the black box on the table.
Upon seeing the box, Sabrina immediately stood up and stared at it intently for a moment. Then, Cain felt a powerful psychic energy emanate from her; Sabrina must have been using her powers to check that the box had no issues.
After her confirmation, Umbra extended his hand, which only had two fingers, and slowly dragged the box toward him.
In front of the box's numeric keypad, he entered a password, and it automatically opened.
A "click" was heard as the box opened, and the outer casing, made of a sturdy material, crumbled into dust, revealing its contents.
Seeing the transformation of the box, Cain felt truly relieved.
Initially, when he saw the numeric keypad, he had considered using his system to try to crack the code and see what was inside, but he feared some kind of trap, so he decided against it.
Fortunately, he hadn't given in to curiosity at the time; otherwise, he might have lost his place in Team Rocket.
(End of chapter)