Mauville City.
Cain and Steven parted ways on the outskirts of Mauville City.
Steven would return to Rustboro City to continue with pending matters, while Cain would stay in Mauville City to help his Pokémon get used to the new bodies they had acquired after quickly leveling up.
Mauville City has a prime location in the Hoenn region; it's practically in the center. For this reason, its transportation is very advanced.
Although it's not the most developed city in Hoenn, it's one of the largest.
Additionally, due to the popularity of Pokémon battles in this area, many trainers from different places gather here, and in the battle areas around the city, you can always see trainers engaging in battles.
Mauville City is known as the "City of Radiant Joy" because colorful and spectacular moves are often seen. Furthermore, battles are conducted in a friendly manner, where victory or defeat isn't the most important thing; the main point is that Pokémon and humans enjoy their time together.
Upon arriving in Mauville City, Cain didn't head straight to the Pokémon Center in the city center or to the famous battle arena. Instead, he looked for a trustworthy real estate agency to rent a mansion on the city's outskirts.
Cain had come to Mauville City primarily for battles, but not only for that. His original plan included survival in the wild and Pokémon battles as ways to level up his Pokémon.
However, due to his Pokémon's rapid level increases, it wasn't advisable to engage in battles immediately. What he needed was to help them stabilize first.
Once his Pokémon fully mastered their bodies and moves, he would be ready to start battling.
Thanks to a significant investment, the agency quickly found him a mansion with a small house but a large plot of land, costing Cain 100,000 Pokédollars to rent for one month.
In less than a month, Cain would have to participate in Team Rocket's final test. Would he be able to advance quickly? Everything depended on this time.
With the eager-to-please real estate agent, Cain arrived at the mansion where he would probably stay for about fifteen days.
The house wasn't large; it was a small, two-story chalet with all the necessary comforts. On the second floor, there was a spacious bedroom and a living room; those were the only two rooms on the entire floor, so it was quite roomy.
On the ground floor, there was a large dining room, a well-equipped kitchen, a guest room, and a smaller living room.
The property outside the house was nearly fifty thousand square meters, surrounded by a fence and dense forest. If it weren't for the path leading to the main entrance, no one would think there was a mansion here.
Due to its remote location and the lack of people nearby, some wild Pokémon often snuck in, prompting the owner to decide to rent it out.
It obviously wasn't easy to find a buyer; however, thanks to the agency's negotiations, a one-month lease agreement was accepted.
On the property, there were fruit trees and a lawn covered in grass that hadn't been mowed in a long time, so it had grown wild, with many weeds.
But for Cain, who was used to living in nature, this wasn't a problem.
What surprised him most was finding a large pool at the mansion. Although the water seemed unchanged for a while, the real estate agent assured him the pool's water system worked perfectly and only needed a change of water to be usable.
Cain was very satisfied with the property. If he were staying longer than a month, he would even consider buying it as a permanent residence.
A place so isolated and peaceful, surrounded by nature, was the ideal setting for Cain, as he wouldn't have to worry about keeping any secrets.
Without hesitation, he paid the 100,000 Pokédollars immediately and asked the agent to leave.
It was time to start the final push for the ultimate test.
Cain released Slowpoke, Haunter, and Miltank. As for the other Pokémon, he would let them out once he was sure there was no danger.
First, as usual, Haunter inspected the entire house to ensure there were no surveillance cameras or similar devices. Slowpoke inspected the lawn and pool to check for any issues.
Meanwhile, Cain took Miltank inside the house to start preparing dinner for the Pokémon.
Currently, under Cain's influence, Miltank had become a master of cooking. She knew all the ingredients and preparation methods well, and with just a glance from Cain, she knew exactly what he wanted.
It could be said that she was now his personal assistant.
When Haunter and Slowpoke confirmed that the mansion was in perfect condition and the environment was safe, Cain released all his Pokémon except for Muk. He even let out Fearow, who had been in his Pokéball for a long time.
With such a large mansion, it would be ideal to have more Pokémon helping to maintain it.
The interior of the house didn't have much dust, suggesting that someone regularly cleaned it, but the outside was a mess.
Murkrow was equipped with a new training device and, along with Sneasel, took on the task of clearing all the grass in the yard, ensuring it was at the same height. This task would also serve as part of their training.
Slowpoke and Gyarados were assigned to clean the pool, a job that required quick water draining and cleaning of algae and debris. Initially, Gyarados was a bit reluctant, but one look from Cain made it instantly obedient.
Haunter used its poisonous energy to break down any unwanted materials, like plastic containers and trash bags, without damaging the grass or soil.
Skorupi was equipped with the training device that Murkrow previously had, and it was tasked with climbing trees and trimming branches, ensuring all the trees looked uniform. It had to control its strength to avoid breaking branches or damaging trees.
Cain released Fearow to keep watch around the mansion and alert him of any dangerous Pokémon or suspicious people. For the next few days, Fearow would act as the mansion's guardian, patrolling from the sky.
Tropius, once released, lay lazily on the mansion's lawn to rest. It had flown for three days straight and nearly a full day without rest and was tired.
It had gone out looking for something tasty to eat, but barely had a bite and instead ended up flying endlessly.
(End of chapter)