After Haunter's evolution, his overall strength increased significantly, and along with the improvement in his potential, he was no longer behind any of Cain's other Pokémon.
Moreover, after evolving, Haunter had already developed his Poison-type talent. It was just a matter of teaching him a few Poison-type moves for this talent to fully manifest.
Gastly's evolution into Haunter not only meant an improvement in his physical condition but also in his form. For instance, with the two hands he now possessed, Haunter could learn more physical moves, like Poison Jab.
This move, which is both Poison-type and physical, would allow Haunter to have a better balance in his attacks.
The moves Cain had bought on the black market had not yet been used, as the timing hadn't been right.
For a Pokémon to learn moves using TMs, a learning device is needed. There are many learning devices at Pokémon Centers, but if Cain were to use them with all the TMs he owns, it would undoubtedly attract attention.
Also, although the Pokémon Center learning devices require a League ID card to be swiped to use them, and it is not explicitly stated that they register data, only a fool would trust that the League doesn't keep that information in its central database.
Although Cain's system can block data registration on the learning devices, using them in front of the Pokémon Center staff without displaying data would be too suspicious.
For this reason, Cain decided not to use the TMs at the Pokémon Center. Instead, he preferred to pay on the black market for his Pokémon to learn the moves.
However, some of his Pokémon, like Slowpoke and Miltank, could use the learning devices at the Pokémon Center, but Cain thought it wasn't urgent and preferred for all his Pokémon to learn together in the future.
All of Cain's Pokémon returned to normal after Haunter's evolution, and Haunter began getting used to his new body. Apart from having two hands and a larger size, there weren't many other changes.
Regarding Haunter's new quality, the system informed Cain that if Haunter absorbed the remaining 40% of the poisonous gas, his potential would stabilize at Light Blue. However, if he stopped absorbing it for a while, it could drop back to his previous quality.
After chatting with his Pokémon for a while, someone knocked on Cain's room door.
After returning all his Pokémon to their Pokéballs, Cain opened the door and saw Officer Jenny, who had fought the Gyarados on the beach.
Cain kindly invited her in.
Once inside, Officer Jenny looked around for a moment, checking the environment, but found nothing unusual, just a standard Pokémon Center room.
Noticing Cain watching her, Officer Jenny smiled apologetically. "Sorry, it's a professional habit, don't take it the wrong way."
Cain invited her to sit and offered her a glass of water, smiling as he said, "No worries, I completely understand."
Officer Jenny, being a direct and efficient person, took a bank card out of her pocket and placed it on the table.
"This is the reward for your participation in the Level 2 emergency mission. It's 200,000 in cash; I hope you don't find it too little."
She knew that for a trainer of Cain's level, 200,000 wasn't a significant amount, but it was the most she had been able to gather, considering the number of trainers who participated in the battle.
Although Cain had done most of the work, everyone had seen it, and she couldn't simply give all the money to Cain without distributing some to the others.
In fact, part of those 200,000 came from Officer Jenny's own reward, which she decided to give to Cain.
Cain was surprised; he hadn't expected to receive so much. Knowing the League, he thought they'd give him 100,000 at most. It was clear that Officer Jenny had added something from her own pocket.
However, Cain didn't mention it. After all, money is money, regardless of where it comes from, and he pocketed it without hesitation.
"It's more than enough, thank you very much," Cain said, though his actions showed that he had no reservations about it.
Officer Jenny, seeing how Cain pocketed the card without hesitation, couldn't help but smile with slight irony but quickly regained her composure.
"Well, my task here is done. I won't take up any more of your time. I'll be off."
Now that Cain had accepted the card, Officer Jenny no longer felt indebted and considered everything settled.
As she left, Officer Jenny said, "I believe your name is Cain, right? Thank you for your help. I hope we meet again in the future."
With that, she closed the door and left.
Cain, looking at the closed door, smiled with a peculiar expression and murmured, "Meet again? I'm sure we will."
Officer Jenny didn't ask what Cain would do with the Gyarados, and Cain didn't reveal his plans. They seemed to have a tacit understanding.
Some League trainers sell captured Pokémon to make money. Not all have the support of large families, so selling Pokémon from time to time is a way to obtain resources. As long as it isn't done openly, the League usually turns a blind eye.
After all, blocking all development paths would make it hard for the League to maintain control over organizations like Team Rocket.
So, as long as the number of Pokémon sold isn't large, the League won't interfere in these matters.
Additionally, the Gyarados Cain captured are under his control, and what he does with them is his decision. Even Officer Jenny couldn't do anything without concrete evidence.
In fact, even if Officer Jenny knew that Cain sold the Gyarados, as long as he didn't do it in front of her, she probably wouldn't act against him.
To become a high-ranking officer in the city, backed by the Jenny family, one has to have a certain level of cunning.
In this world, what powerful trainer doesn't have some secrets? Even the Jenny family is no exception.
After that, Cain decided not to go out with his Pokémon anymore. Now, the beaches of Vermilion City were full of people working on debris and wreckage cleanup.
(End of chapter)