Cain and Lance headed straight to the second floor of the Battle Chateau.
The atmosphere there was quite lively.
There were many battlefields, each hall functioning as a combat arena.
For a while, Cain would remain in Hall Number Three until he either chose to stop his consecutive battles or managed to rank up.
Without unnecessary words, once you stepped onto the field, the battle began immediately.
That was the custom at the Battle Chateau.
No chit-chat; truth was proven through battle.
As a newly appointed baron, Cain's opponent wasn't particularly strong.
Two Pokémon around level thirty-four or thirty-five couldn't do much against his Lairon.
With Cain's strength, fighting at this power range was honestly almost abuse.
Even Lance, watching from the sidelines, regretted coming along: there was no excitement in the matches, just a one-sided massacre.
After several rounds, Cain didn't even need to use his second Pokémon.
Lairon's defense was so powerful that it emerged from each battle practically unscathed, and its offensive strength was something the opponents couldn't withstand.
A long-term diamond diet had elevated its already impressive defense to astonishing levels.
Lance knew that this Lairon was part of Cain's second team. The boy who once barely reached the Advanced level now had Pokémon in his secondary lineup stronger than Lance himself had been at one point.
And how much time had passed since then?
Lance was curious about Cain's true strength.
When he invited him to investigate the Lysandre Labs, his intention had been for Cain to handle the lower-ranked grunts, allowing Lance to face the top brass without distractions.
Back then, he already held Cain in high regard, but now he realized he had still underestimated him.
Cain advanced like an avalanche. He won each battle cleanly.
Moreover, with the Battle Chateau's special attention, his rank ascension was even faster. In just one day, he went from baron to viscount.
During that same period, Lance hadn't even managed to get a single battle.
This demonstrated that the higher the rank, the harder it was to advance. Not only because of the opponents' strength, but also due to the time it could take to find one.
That night, Cain and Lance stayed at the Battle Chateau's hotel.
Lance, as expected, rented the most luxurious suite.
Being a League Researcher wasn't a necessity for him—it was a form of training. His family and the League were paving the way. Becoming Champion was just a matter of time.
However, they didn't dedicate themselves exclusively to battling. In their free time, they chatted about Lysandre, Kanto's Team Rocket, Hoenn's Team Magma and Team Aqua, and various League policies.
They could talk about anything.
Later, Diantha and Drasna also joined them.
The four of them formed a small temporary group at the Battle Chateau.
Lance and Diantha were future Champions; Drasna would become one of Kalos's future Elite Four. Also, both she and Lance specialized in Dragon-type Pokémon, which made exchanging ideas easier.
And Cain, far from being out of place, fit right in.
By knowing Lance, Diantha, and Drasna, he served as a bridge between everyone.
Over time, each got to know the others' strength levels.
...
Seven full days passed.
Cain stayed in the castle for those seven days.
In that time, he rose from baron to count.
He already had 92 rank points; with one more victory, he could challenge for a rank-up battle.
But it wasn't just him making progress. Lance, Diantha, and Drasna also rose to the rank of marquis.
Lance was already at Elite level. Diantha and Drasna weren't far behind—after all, battles at the count rank only allowed the use of three Pokémon.
Cain started battling with Lairon, then Pupitar, Blaziken, Politoed, and Swampert, and later Florges, Drapion, Gengar, etc.
Little by little, he gained a good reputation within the Battle Chateau.
Cain hadn't lost a single battle yet. Many believed he already had the strength to aim for the marquis rank.
Though others didn't know it, his three companions knew it well: his Slowking was already at Elite level, and so was his Mismagius.
Diantha had a level 61 Gardevoir and a level 60 Goodra.
Drasna had a level 60 Altaria.
And Lance—all six of his main Pokémon were Elite level.
That showed that not only was Cain progressing rapidly, but all of them were.
Still, their stay at the Battle Chateau had to end for now. Cain didn't reach the marquis rank and would have to leave it for another time.
Because both he and Lance received an urgent order from the Kalos League as League Researchers: they had to go deal with a serious incident at the Parfum Palace, not far from the castle.
The issue had arisen suddenly, and Cain didn't have time to prepare.
The four had to say their goodbyes, thus ending their brief gathering.
The next time Cain met Diantha and Drasna, they might already have become members of Kalos's Elite Four.
In these seven days, he and Lance got to know each other quite well, even engaging in some private battles.
Lance had to admit that, in a one-on-one battle, aside from his Dragonite, none of his Pokémon could confidently defeat Cain's Slowking.
Moreover, the rest of Cain's team wasn't far behind—they were all on the verge of Elite level.
Seven days may not seem like much, but they were enough for significant improvement.
Lairon and Pupitar, the most used, leveled up together: Lairon to level 40, Pupitar to level 41.
Lairon was about to evolve, and Cain decided to give it a break.
Blaziken reached level 43, Politoed level 46, and Swampert level 51.
The battles in the castle, though numerous, were against opponents of similar strength, which greatly helped his Pokémon's growth and their mastery of moves and energy.
His entire second team was now at Advanced level. But since they wouldn't participate in the next mission, Cain used the portable transport system to send them back to his island.
They needed time to stabilize and train.
In their place, he brought in Altaria.
Now he had Slowking, Mismagius, and Altaria, all at Elite level, since the next mission required considerable strength.
"If they summoned us, researchers from other regions' leagues, then the incident at Parfum Palace must be really urgent," Cain remarked as they prepared to depart.
Lance rubbed his temples with resignation.
"It's not like I'm thrilled to get involved, but it seems urgent. We'll talk on the way."
From what he said, it seemed he already had some prior info about the incident.
Then, Lance summoned his Dragonite and Cain his Flygon.
Both flew swiftly toward Parfum Palace.
Diantha and Drasna saw them off with serious expressions. Though they knew what had happened, they couldn't get involved, as they weren't league researchers.
(End of chapter)