Cain was teleported by Sabrina and, in the blink of an eye, disappeared from the psychic gym. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unknown alley.
After leaving the alley and observing his surroundings, he realized he was in a completely unfamiliar place, though he was glad he was still in Saffron City.
He asked a passerby to find out where he was and learned he was in the southwest of Saffron City, while Sabrina's gym was in the northeast of the city.
Remember, this is Saffron City, not a small town like Mahogany Town. Sabrina could teleport him here with a simple gesture, and if she wanted, she could send him to a forest outside the city in the blink of an eye.
In a common forest, it wouldn't be a big problem, but if he appeared in a forest with many species and groups of Pokémon, even if he managed to escape, he'd probably come out quite injured.
He couldn't help but shiver. These psychics with such powerful abilities were truly terrifying.
To withstand their abilities, one would need either a strong enough Dark-type Pokémon, at least capable of resisting the psychic abilities of an elite-level Pokémon, or improve one's own psychic ability.
However, thinking of his own psychic ability, Cain shook his head in resignation. It seemed that training his Pokémon was the more reliable option.
Hopefully, with a Pokémon like Murkrow, Sneasel, or Scorupi, one of them could reach elite level and offer decent resistance.
He took a taxi and headed to the nearest entry point of the black market.
In a secluded corner without people, he changed clothes, put on an identity mask, and a wide black cloak before re-entering Saffron City's black market.
Like a raindrop in a lake, Cain's arrival had no impact on the black market of Saffron City.
First, he went to the Pokémon sales district, where he sold the ten Pokémon he had obtained from League trainers at a low price.
For a while, he had been worried they might attack him if he released them, so he hadn't fed them, which also reduced the price.
The ten Pokémon, which were neither low quality nor low level, were ultimately sold for 1.5 million Pokédollars, a fairly low price.
However, this was Cain's biggest income since he sold the Geocentric Cleansing Milk during his first visit to the black market.
As the saying goes, "killing and stealing are worth it." These kinds of criminal activities are the most profitable.
Although Cain got lucky by taking down two mid-level League trainers in a surprise attack, he still felt pain in the wound on his shoulder.
This opportunity was rare, and if he could choose, he would rather not earn that money and avoid facing two League trainers.
The fact is, in that situation, any mistake on his part would have been fatal.
Fortunately, the outcome was relatively good.
Adding the 3.45 million Pokédollars he already had and the 1.5 million he just earned, and after selling some miscellaneous items to restock survival and combat supplies in the field, Cain now had exactly 5 million Pokédollars.
For an average family, 5 million Pokédollars might be a fortune they'd never see in their lifetime, but for a Pokémon trainer, or for those with big ambitions, it's just a small part of their path to success.
A drop in the ocean!
This money could almost only meet Cain's current needs.
After listening to Umbra's explanation about the trial mission, he felt a certain urgency.
No wonder he hadn't felt anything in his previous life. Back then, his ranking in the trial was only around thirtieth, and his sole goal was survival. Truly feeling the pressure was a sign of trouble.
In this life, he was almost destined to be in the top three on Trial Island. His opponents could be the subordinates of Team Rocket's strongest Officers or the chosen ones of the organization's Executives.
Although the Officers hold a lower status than the Executives, there are still many well-trained subordinates.
Whatever the case, they would always have more advantages than Cain.
What does Cain have now?
Besides being an entry-level member of the Shadow Unit and holding the title of Team Rocket Captain, he has no real benefits.
Although Umbra hinted that he might recruit him, he didn't provide any resources. Apart from occasionally using Umbra's name to his advantage, everything had to depend on himself.
Therefore, every Pokédollar Cain had, if he could, he'd split it in two to make it last.
Thinking about how to use this money, Cain entered the Pokémon food store he had visited before.
Like last time, he didn't look at the medium or high-level Pokéblocks, coveted by others. Instead, he focused on the materials needed to make high-level Pokéblocks.
The formulas for the custom Pokéblocks for Miltank and Sneasel had already been decoded by the system; he only had to purchase the necessary materials according to the formulas.
Although Miltank is a Normal-type Pokémon, the ideal materials for her high-level Pokéblocks aren't the same as those for other Normal-type Pokémon.
According to the system, the best materials for her were leaves and roots rich in Grass-type energy. These, when ground and incorporated into the Pokéblocks, were more suitable.
So Cain bought some roots and leaves of plants with abundant Grass-type energy.
For Sneasel, he bought some "Anti-Ice" blocks decades old. Although they weren't very useful when worn, incorporating them into the Pokéblocks could provide a great amount of Ice-type energy.
Additionally, he bought some Dark-type Pokémon remnants, similar to the materials for Murkrow's Pokéblocks.
According to the system, Sneasel's talent in Ice type exceeded his Dark type, so for Sneasel's Pokéblocks, he would adjust the proportion of Ice-type materials over Dark-type ones, making it higher.
Sometimes, balanced development can make a Pokémon stronger overall, but in most cases, it leads to the Pokémon not excelling in any area, ending up as just another face in the crowd.
Therefore, when Cain trains his Pokémon, he always supports maximizing their strengths.
As long as strengths are maximized, weaknesses are minimized, and with some additional adjustments, they won't be a fatal weak point.
The purchase of these materials cost him 600,000 Pokédollars, covering only the cost of making Pokéblocks for one month.
So yes, training Pokémon is hard!
And making sure they're well-trained is even harder!
(End of chapter)