Cain continued venturing deeper into the forest with his Pokémon.
The primary purpose of this expedition was to train his Pokémon. Secondly, it was to earn money, and finally, to select suitable Pokémon to strengthen his subordinates.
During a recent call with Karen, Cain learned that she had already taken the entire team into the Petalburg Woods to complete the hunters' team mission.
According to Karen's estimates, if the mission were successfully completed, the hunters' team would be promoted to a one-star team, enabling them to take on missions with higher rewards.
Karen told Cain that his subordinates demonstrated good coordination and basic combat capabilities, as well as being quite obedient. However, they still lacked high-level power.
Only Alec, Miyamoto, and Skye had an acceptable level, but if they wanted to take on more difficult missions in the future, they would need to improve significantly. The new recruits also needed to grow stronger.
Nevertheless, Karen assured Cain that after completing this group mission, his subordinates would grow quickly. Additionally, capturing some wild Pokémon unrelated to the mission would also increase their combat power.
In short, this was more than just a mission—it was a training journey that would also allow them to earn money, and Karen, being an experienced leader, was in charge.
Cain was pleased with the decision to integrate Karen into the hunters' team.
Later, Cain checked his exclusive communication device with Umbra. Since Giovanni had instructed him to respond only to Umbra, his communication with him had become much more frequent.
Recently, Umbra had sent a message informing him that Team Rocket had begun organizing the delivery of the rewards Cain had earned from his victory in the final trial.
Additionally, he mentioned that he had already claimed half of the resources, exchanging them for three evolution elixirs that Cain needed.
As for the other half, Cain had to decide whether to exchange them for useful items, money, or simply collect the resources as they were.
However, since Cain was in the field, he would have to wait until he reached Littleroot Town or returned to Leafy Town to receive the elixirs, as these could not be teleported.
Currently, his primary goal was to continue improving his Pokémon's strength, and he was in no rush to claim the rewards. For now, he could afford to maintain Larvitar once it hatched, but when it entered its growth stage, the cost would be much higher.
Especially because he already had another big eater, Aron, who also required training.
After walking and battling all morning, Cain and his Pokémon sat under a tree to rest.
He took out some canned meat prepared in advance from his storage space and opened them for the Pokémon to eat directly. Although the taste wasn't particularly good, it was much more convenient than lighting a fire to cook food in the forest for every meal.
Moreover, with so many Pokémon under his care and the amount of food they required, opening cans was a quick solution. Those who weren't satisfied could supplement their meals with Pokéblocks.
Although Pokéblocks were small, they contained a large amount of energy, as they were made from fragments of energy crystals.
Avoiding making fire also had the advantage of not leaving traces of smoke, making it harder for others to track him.
After the meal, Cain summoned Honchkrow and the others and continued deeper into the forest with Skorupi and Sneasel.
They were still far from their destination.
In the afternoon, while walking through the forest, Cain received another message from Karen, who was busy with the hunters' team mission.
Since the hunters' team was founded, they had gained many more members, giving them greater flexibility. Karen had left one of the members of the Celestial Hunting Group monitoring the hunters' guild headquarters, constantly checking for available missions.
Any task with good rewards was immediately reported to Karen to decide whether to take it.
One of the advantages of hunters' teams is that, once authorized by the leader, members could accept missions on their behalf, as long as they had the appropriate rank. This was how many hunters' teams operated.
On this occasion, the team member spotted an interesting four-star mission: a request to capture a green-quality Scolipede. The higher the quality, the greater the reward, with no upper limit.
Although Scolipede was initially discovered in Unova, it could also be found in deep mountainous regions of other areas, including Hoenn.
The fact that a Pokémon was registered in one region didn't mean it couldn't appear in others. For example, Slowpoke was registered in Kanto, but Slowking was registered in Johto. That didn't mean there were no Slowking in Kanto.
The Pokémon world was interconnected, and the movement of Pokémon between regions was common.
Karen immediately accepted the mission and informed Cain. It didn't matter whether she found the Scolipede first or Cain did; as long as they captured and delivered it before the deadline, the mission would be completed.
Cain wasn't surprised by the news. After all, he was heading toward the deeper parts of the forest, and with some luck, he might encounter a Scolipede and earn a nice reward.
After sending a confirmation message to Karen, Cain continued on his way.
While advancing, he unexpectedly encountered some people he hadn't expected to find.
He had been walking for most of the day, and at that depth of the forest, the Pokémon already had a considerable level. The people who could be there likely had a certain level of skill.
Curious, Cain decided to approach cautiously.
Accompanied by Haunter, Cain managed to quietly get about ten meters from where they were.
He saw three people dressed in dark blue robes resting under a tree.
With Haunter's help, Cain watched silently from the top of a nearby tree, listening intently to what they were saying.
(End of Chapter)