Cain held Gloom's Pokéball, looking down from his high seat at the people who remained standing with respect.
In the center of the hall, several bodies still lay, blood slowly flowing from them, but no one paid them any mind.
Matsuki's head had been casually tossed to the floor by Cain's Murkrow, which was now perched on the back of Cain's chair, meticulously preening its feathers, cleaning off the blood stains left from the confrontation.
"Skye, tell me the current situation on the Island," Cain said slowly.
Upon hearing this, Skye organized his thoughts before replying: "Currently, there are ninety-eight people left on the Trial Island... well, Leader Cain just killed eight, so counting you, there are now ninety-one participants."
"There are still four main factions. Our group is one of the smallest, with only fourteen people, and also the weakest in terms of power."
"We have one person in the top 10, two in the 10 to 20 range, seven in the 20 to 50 range, and three in the 50 or below, not counting you, Leader Cain."
"The strongest faction is still Xander's, with twenty-eight people. After you killed one, they're down to twenty-seven. They have four people in the top 10: Xander in first place, followed by one in seventh, one in ninth, and another in tenth."
"The largest group is made up of solo participants who've temporarily joined forces, totaling thirty-eight people. Their provisional leader is Alec, who took third place in the last trial. Of them, two are in the top 10, including one in eighth place."
"The smallest group is the girls' group, with only twelve people, but they have three in the top 10: Jasmine, who ranked second in the last trial, one in fifth place, and another in sixth."
After listening to Skye's summary of the island's situation, Cain wasn't surprised by the development of other factions. What did surprise him was that Skye had managed to keep his small group intact under such circumstances.
Noticing Cain's gaze, Skye gave a bitter smile and continued, "We've temporarily joined forces with two other groups to be able to resist Xander's faction. However, even with that, we only have two more people in the top 10 compared to them."
"However, these alliances are only for convenience; there's no true trust between us. Also, the solo group is full of discord."
"Alec can only maintain control due to his strength, but it's said he has conflicts with the person in eighth place. I wouldn't be surprised if Xander's numbers grow soon, as he's surely sent people to infiltrate that group."
Cain understood the situation. Although Xander's Ekans had been seriously injured by him previously, with his brother's help, it likely recovered quickly.
The person Umbra mentioned, the only Officer with quasi-elite-level strength who had entered the island, must be Xander's brother. Meanwhile, Jasmine and Alec were probably backed by relatively ordinary Officers.
Playing with fire by messing with the Officers was risky, and they didn't know how it would end.
However, Cain was impressed by Skye's ability to hold the fourth position. Before leaving, Skye had managed to enter the top 10 thanks to the Koffing that had originally belonged to Soros.
Remaining in the top 10 all this time indicated that the resources gathered by this small group had been considerable.
Cain decided not to delve further into the matter. In such tense circumstances, Skye hadn't betrayed him, meaning he was someone trustworthy. Cain was willing to invest in him.
It could be said that only now had Skye earned Cain's recognition.
"Who are the two people in the top 20?" Cain asked.
Originally, there were three people in the top 20, but Matsuki, one of them, had been eliminated by Cain.
Upon Cain's question, two people stepped forward immediately.
"Leader Cain, it's me, Fox! I'm currently in fourteenth place," said the first to advance. Surprisingly, he was one of the two Cain had recruited initially. Once fearful, he had now reached the top 20, something that took Cain by surprise.
"Leader Cain, my name is Kai, currently in sixteenth place," said the other, whom Cain didn't remember much.
However, Cain had clearly observed that Kai was one of his loyal followers, as when Cain had killed the traitors, Kai's expression only showed satisfaction and excitement, with no trace of other emotions.
Additionally, his sturdy appearance suggested he was straightforward and honest.
After understanding the situation, Cain continued, "Have you already begun training your second Pokémon?"
Those in the lower ranks showed disappointment upon seeing that Cain wasn't interested in them, but they didn't dare show it openly.
What they didn't know was that Cain had already logged into his system those with ill intentions who hadn't dared to act.
Regardless of their strength, if they weren't loyal, they weren't worth keeping.
Skye was the one to respond: "Yes, we began training our second Pokémon. About half a month after you left, Instructor Viper gave us permission, saying it would be necessary for the final trial."
"As for the quality of the Pokémon, each of us had to capture our own."
Saying this, Skye released a Pokéball, and a Golbat appeared in the hall.
Cain's eyes gleamed as the system scanned Golbat's data.
It was a level 28 Golbat with a light green quality. No wonder Skye had stayed in the top 10; he had trained this Golbat well, and its quality was above the island average.
Following Cain's instructions, both Fox and Kai released their Pokémon.
Some were dark yellow in quality, and others light green, with decent levels as well.
It seemed these trainers had chosen their Pokémon carefully; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many of high quality on the island.
"So the others are more or less like this?"
"Yes, more or less. Those in the top 10 have two Pokémon of similar quality, while those in the top 20 have focused their training on a single Pokémon. Those ranked below 20 generally focus on training only one Pokémon, as resources are limited," Skye replied.
Cain nodded, now having a general idea of the other islanders' capabilities.
Those in the top 10 had more or less the power of a Team Rocket Captain, though they lacked the number of Pokémon.
The higher-ranked ones had relatively greater strength, and within the Captains, they could be considered competent.
Skye, for instance, only needed two decent-quality Pokémon to become a full-fledged Captain.
However, Cain was unsure of Xander's strength. With full support from his brother, Cain doubted Xander had only two Pokémon.
"Oh, by the way, Leader Cain, Xander already has four Pokémon, each as strong as his Ekans, which has now evolved into a giant Arbok."
As expected, Skye revealed some of Xander's strength.
(End of Chapter)