⚠️ Spoiler Status (Chapter 201 - 400): Find more details on my Patreon here:
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It's not that she had never lost before, but she had never been defeated so quickly.
In other battles, it usually took dozens of commands, going back and forth to determine the winner. Even if the power difference was significant, she had never been treated so ruthlessly.
When facing a girl, most trainers tend to be a bit more lenient. Unfortunately, her opponent was Cain.
Kyoko, the girl, began to cry, and the people around her became a bit agitated, murmuring amongst themselves.
Cain felt a bit uncomfortable, but he showed no reaction, simply indicating that he was patiently waiting for Kyoko to send out her next Pokémon.
But after a while, Kyoko made no further move and just stood there, crying.
The referee, feeling somewhat awkward, frowned and asked, "Kyoko, please send out your third Pokémon."
Kyoko looked up at the referee, then glanced at Cain with her red eyes, biting her lips to hold back her tears. Her whole body trembled as if she were receiving an electric shock.
Finally, she couldn't hold it in and began to wipe her tears with her hands.
In a choked voice, she said, "I forfeit." And without looking back, she ran off.
Upon hearing that Kyoko was surrendering, Cain, along with his Slowpoke, immediately left, leaving behind a crowd in heated discussion.
The conversation centered around how Cain had made a girl cry, but eventually, it shifted to commenting on the significant age difference between Kyoko and Cain. In the end, everyone was impressed by Cain's strength.
As Cain left, he caught a glimpse of the prizes on the referee's table out of the corner of his eye.
Although they were in plain sight, Cain noticed that some people were secretly watching over them.
Yamamoto had likely assigned his men to prevent anyone from attempting to steal the prizes.
Surely, there were many who would be willing to take the risk.
Before returning to his room, Cain looked for the old man Matsuda.
To his surprise, he found him in the dining area, reading the newspaper. Cain approached, determined to start a conversation.
Matsuda, upon seeing him, was a bit surprised. He thought Cain had already left the ship, but now he realized that Cain had returned after that night.
However, Matsuda had spent the whole night on the ship's deck and hadn't seen Cain return with his Gyarados.
So, seeing the Slowpoke beside Cain, he understood a little of the situation.
"Why aren't you in the competition and instead come to chat with this old man?" Matsuda said, taking a sip of tea.
Cain smiled and sat beside him. "I came to learn from you. I'm still not very skilled at raising Slowpoke."
Matsuda glanced at Cain's Slowpoke. "Your Slowpoke is very well trained; it doesn't seem like the work of a beginner."
His words carried an implied meaning.
"Hehe, I just spent quite a bit of money on high-quality Pokéblocks," Cain replied, pretending not to understand the implication and taking a seat next to him.
"I heard you have a lot of experience with Slowpoke. I wanted to know if there's anything particular in their Pokéblock diet, or how I could use Pokéblocks to enhance growth efficiency."
Thus, the conversation turned to different methods of making and using Pokéblocks.
The old man Matsuda set his newspaper aside and observed Cain for a moment before taking a sip of tea and beginning to share his knowledge about Slowpoke feeding and care.
He had spent considerable time researching Slowpoke and its evolution, Slowbro, so he knew a lot about their habits and daily routines.
Cain also shared some of his own experiences in raising Slowpoke, which pleasantly surprised Matsuda.
Cain even hinted that he knew how to make Pokéblocks.
When it came to Pokéblock crafting, the old man Matsuda showed much more interest, dropping his indifferent attitude.
But the more they talked, the more surprised the old man Matsuda became.
Observing Cain's height and hearing his voice, he was clearly in early adolescence.
At such a young age, without being a League-backed trainer, having that level of skill was already impressive. But he hadn't expected that he would also have a remarkable talent for Pokémon breeding.
The old man Matsuda was a high-level breeder, and his status was above most breeders in his class.
Just by listening to Cain, he could deduce that the young man already had the skills of an intermediate-level breeder, which surprised him even more.
It's worth remembering that he himself became an intermediate breeder in his twenties and was considered a prodigy at the time.
But seeing Cain, who was probably only fifteen or sixteen years old, he couldn't help but be amazed. Even if he had started studying from a very young age, he shouldn't have reached the intermediate level so quickly.
A prodigy!
An exceptional talent!
Beyond those words, Matsuda couldn't find another way to explain how Cain could master so much knowledge at such a young age.
"Cain, who taught you all of this?" He couldn't help but ask in the end.
"Oh, well... In my family, there are some elders who left many books. When I have nothing to do, I read. And when I read, I get curious to try putting things into practice. Though, I'm not sure if I'm doing it correctly," Cain replied, scratching his head with some embarrassment.
Hearing Cain's answer, Matsuda's eyes lit up, and with a certain urgency, he asked, "So, you haven't had a mentor to teach you directly?"
Cain pretended to think for a bit. "It's not that no one ever taught me. The elders in the family always told me to read more, and from time to time, they'd ask me questions. If I couldn't answer, they'd make me keep reading."
"They wouldn't let me go on my journey until I could answer all their questions correctly. I had to study a lot before I could start my journey."
A family heir?
But it didn't seem that way. Perhaps from an ancient family?
"Could you tell me the names of those elders in your family?"
"I don't know. I always called them grandpa and grandma; I don't even know their last names. I'm an orphan, and they always treated me very well. I saw them as my own grandparents," Cain replied.
Cain was very aware of the importance of his identity within the League. It was best to present himself as an orphan, and fortunately, the identity Umbra provided for him was also that of an orphan, with no specific details.
Cain's League ID card began recording his information from the moment he passed the test to become a League trainer. What came before was deliberately left vague.
This kind of situation was quite common in the League, so it wasn't unusual.
Many people lived in remote areas, and someone with an unknown background often appeared. As long as they passed the League's tests and exams, they could obtain a League ID card.
Or if they gained the support of certain League members, they could also receive an official identity.
Not being part of the core members meant the evaluation process wasn't as strict.
Additionally, many ancient families were hidden in various places, like those who guarded ruins or the last heir of a declining family. Too many cases like those, and the League couldn't investigate them all.
As long as a person had a good character and decent conduct, getting a League ID card wasn't difficult.
The challenge was getting a League ID card with a high confidentiality level like Cain's.
(End of chapter)