"Steven, Phoebe, looks like you two gained quite a few benefits as well," Cain said with a smile.
Hearing his voice, Steven and Phoebe realized the three of them had reunited once again.
They both showed a joyful expression. "Cain!"
They had found each other again.
Then they began to observe their surroundings.
They were no longer in the previous emerald space, but inside a tree... although this tree was enormous in size.
If it weren't for the fact that they could clearly see the bark around and above them, it would be hard to imagine they were inside a hollow tree.
Could they have reached the bottom of the Tree of Life?
That was Cain's first thought.
And it wasn't far-fetched.
After a quick scan of their surroundings, the three began to exchange experiences.
From the moment he saw them, Cain scanned the data of their Pokémon with his system.
Both Steven's Shiny Metagross and Phoebe's Dusknoir had reached level 65. This time, their gains were truly significant.
But what surprised Cain was that Steven's Metagross, according to the system scan, was in the middle of a "Shiny Awakening"—an evolution of its capabilities related to its Shiny rarity.
That meant not only had it become stronger, but its "Shiny trait" was also being activated.
"Could it be that Shiny Pokémon, upon reaching level 65, automatically activate their Shiny trait?" Cain wondered. After all, his own Slowking had done so upon reaching that level.
Without a doubt, that was a good piece of data to document.
Steven and Phoebe then noticed the large figure standing behind Cain.
They both looked surprised.
"Is that a Tyranitar? When did you get one, Cain? I never saw it before," Steven asked.
Just by looking at the posture and aura of that Tyranitar, it was obvious he wasn't weak. Moreover, his physical size was far above average.
"Yes, that! Cain, since when have you been hiding such a trump card?!" added Phoebe as she ran up to Tyranitar.
Compared to him, the petite Phoebe wasn't even as thick as one of the Pokémon's legs.
Cain shook his head with a slight smile.
"I wasn't hiding him. He just hadn't evolved yet. You know Pupitar need time to accumulate energy. He only evolved recently, so I wanted to show him to you now."
Steven nodded.
There was nothing more to add. What Cain said was a well-known truth.
Still, knowing that Cain now had such a powerful pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Steven felt an even greater desire to face him.
They had talked about it before—when they returned, they owed each other a battle.
Now Steven was more eager than ever.
Although Tyranitar was strong, he still wasn't at the Elite level. Steven considered waiting until Cain had trained him up a bit more before battling.
That way, it would be more interesting.
Otherwise...
Remembering the disgusting tricks Cain had used in previous battles, Steven shuddered instinctively.
"Better to wait... yes, better that it be a direct, fair, frontal battle..."
The three began to share details about the spaces they had been sent to.
And as Cain had suspected, they didn't differ much from what he had imagined.
Steven had gone to a place dominated by Steel-type Pokémon, and Phoebe to one filled with Ghost-type Pokémon.
And why did they look so battered?
It had to do with the trials they were subjected to in those places.
But when it came to the exact details, both chose to remain silent.
"Cele~!"
As the conversation was winding down, Celebi appeared once again before them.
Steven and Phoebe sincerely thanked it.
And Celebi happily accepted the thanks.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A loud rumble was heard from the top of the tree.
The ground trembled slightly.
The three of them turned serious. They had almost forgotten where they were.
Could Drake still be fighting those three?
Cain thought for a moment and asked, "How much time has passed since you entered those spaces?"
"Seven days," Phoebe answered without hesitation. "Why do you ask? Wait... has Mr. Drake been fighting for seven days? That's incredible...!"
Her admiration for Drake's strength was clear.
"Seven days? But I was in there for ten..." said Steven, surprised.
"Just as I suspected," Cain confirmed his theory.
The two looked at him, expectant.
"Celebi has the ability to travel through time. It's likely she sent us to different places... and to different timelines."
"I was in there for less than five days, but out here maybe not even one has passed. Maybe even less," Cain explained.
Steven recalled Celebi's ability, and Phoebe nodded in understanding, as if everything suddenly made sense.
Both looked at Celebi with renewed respect.
And upon seeing their looks, Celebi proudly wore an expression of, "That's right, I'm amazing!"
Even though it didn't fully understand what it was being praised for, being praised was enough.
"So... it's likely we've only been away for a short period, and Drake is still fighting... and the battle has now reached the interior of the Tree of Life?" Steven pondered.
That meant the Hunters' Guild's true target was probably Celebi.
They wanted to take advantage of its incredible abilities.
Traveling through space and time... even sending others through it.
If someone were to obtain that power...
Steven shook his head. He didn't even want to imagine it.
The Pokémon world would descend into complete chaos.
"Cele~!"
Celebi also noticed the noise.
It wrinkled its little nose in disgust.
No one likes people fighting in their home.
With a wave of its hand, it opened a large hole at the top of the tree, revealing the battle that had been going on inside for some time.
There were four people in poor condition, along with their Pokémon.
Yet Drake, facing three opponents alone, still exuded an imposing presence.
He looked at his enemies as if they were mere insects.
The four had been dragged to the bottom of the Tree of Life without knowing how.
"Mr. Drake!" the three shouted in unison.
Drake turned his head upon hearing their voices.
Though Steven and Phoebe looked a bit beat up, they were safe.
That gave him peace of mind. He gave them a thumbs-up gesture.
"If you're alright, then it's time to fight seriously," Drake said.
His face, previously calm, now turned serious... even showing a hint of anger.
(End of chapter)