Night fell.
On the Trial Island, by the same lake as always, Cain and his two companions set up camp for the night.
Their Pokémon were released, all bandaged and showing clear signs of severe injuries.
In particular, Cain's Ursaring and Arbok had taken significant damage. While Arbok was in slightly better shape this time, Ursaring was worse off than before.
Miyamoto's Ursaring had also sustained considerable injuries.
Although both Ursaring had been forcibly captured by Cain, as noble Pokémon, they still obeyed their trainer's orders, even when faced with dangerous situations.
Cain gave one of the Ursaring to Alec.
For Cain, both Ursaring were no longer useful. Their levels and potential had reached their limits, so he decided to give them to his subordinates. What they did with them was no longer his concern.
He then prepared a special Pokéblock for Arbok to absorb on the side.
If Arbok's potential could be restored to dark green, it would still hold some value for training.
After that, Cain let Slowpoke and the other Pokémon rest. They had fought many battles in recent days against strong opponents, leaving them wounded. After this night, they would finally get proper rest.
As for Murkrow, thanks to a supreme-quality Dusk Stone, it had evolved into Honchkrow and raised its potential to blue, becoming the Pokémon with the highest potential among Cain's team.
It had regained its status as the undisputed leader.
Earlier, due to the rush, Cain hadn't had time to examine Vexor's belongings. Now, he took out everything Vexor had left behind.
First, he checked the scoring device. It showed that Vexor had only 213 points.
While not a particularly high score, it was understandable. Only people like Xander could mobilize over twenty individuals to collect scoring cards for them.
Vexor had operated solo most of the time, and accumulating over 200 points was already a considerable achievement.
His strategy was likely similar to Cain's: accumulate points gradually and, just before returning to Team Rocket's base, intercept those with higher scores and rob them. That's when he would truly compete for first place.
Cain transferred the points to his own device, bringing his total to 930 points.
He was now close to the 1,000-point mark, which practically guaranteed first place.
Aside from that, Vexor's storage contained several bags of high-quality Pokéblocks. While they were mass-produced and held considerable value, they couldn't compare to the special Pokéblocks Cain made with energy crystals.
Cain didn't find any of the pills Vexor had been using on his Pokémon, which meant they had been entirely consumed.
If there had been even one or two pills left, Cain could have scanned and analyzed them with his system, identifying the materials and possibly replicating them. Even if he didn't use them himself, he could have kept them for his subordinates or sold them.
He thoroughly examined Vexor's belongings again and found a few valuable materials, but nothing else that caught his interest.
"Seriously, did he have nothing valuable on him?" Cain muttered in dissatisfaction.
What Cain didn't know was that Vexor used to carry many valuable items. However, before the trial, he had exchanged everything for the green pills he used on his Pokémon. Without them, he wouldn't have been in such dire straits.
Vexor had bet everything on this trial. If he didn't secure first place, he would have no further opportunities for advancement.
What Vexor longed for was to become a key member of Team Rocket, an Executive-level position.
Everyone knew that having an Executive willing to invest significant resources in you allowed for meteoric growth, quickly reaching the rank of Captain or even Officer.
But no one wanted their subordinates to surpass them. If a subordinate posed a threat, Executives would eliminate them before they could grow too powerful.
For Vexor, Lucius, while an Executive of Team Rocket, was among the weakest Executives.
With Lucius's abilities, reaching the rank of Executive was his peak. Thinking about advancing further was mere delusion.
Thus, Vexor could never become an Executive under Lucius's command.
In fact, Lucius had already warned him that if he didn't secure first place in this trial, he would be sent to a suicide squad, where extremely dangerous missions were the norm. Survival in that unit would be purely a matter of luck.
That's why Vexor had staked everything on this trial and ended up with nothing valuable in his storage.
Cain casually tossed Vexor's storage belt into the campfire and called Miyamoto and Alec over.
"Are your Pokémon recovered yet?" Cain asked.
The two sat by the fire as Cain directed. Miyamoto was the first to respond. "Thanks to the Pokéblocks you gave us, they've mostly recovered. They'll be ready to fight again tomorrow."
Cain nodded and handed them the high-quality Pokéblocks taken from Vexor's storage. "These are from Vexor. I have no use for them—you can keep them."
"Are these... high-quality Pokéblocks?" Alec asked, a touch of disbelief in his voice.
High-quality Pokéblocks, given away so easily?
Although there were only five or six bags, their value was immense.
Cain was momentarily surprised before smiling. "Yes, they're high-quality Pokéblocks. You've followed me for several days now, and you should know I'm also a breeder. For others, these Pokéblocks are highly valuable, but to me... not so much. While you're with me, you won't have to worry about Pokéblocks."
Pokéblocks? They were nothing to Cain.
Both were delighted to hear this. In Team Rocket, not many could afford to use high-quality Pokéblocks for all their Pokémon. Only high-ranking officers could do so.
"Well then, with Vexor eliminated, my trial is essentially complete. Although I haven't reached my target points, I'm close to securing first place. Now, let's talk about your plans for the future," Cain said, adding a log to the fire.
Miyamoto and Alec exchanged a brief glance before kneeling on one knee and saying respectfully, "We will serve Lord Cain with total loyalty!"
(End of Chapter)
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All set! The auxiliary chapter "Story Cover" has been updated with the necessary information for the images. I'm counting on you, guys.