Once the meeting ended, Cain temporarily stayed at the League headquarters.
He needed to wait there for a week to see if anyone would come to challenge him.
Although, in all likelihood, that wouldn't happen.
Indeed, during those seven days, not only did no one come to challenge him, but a massive crowd of fans also gathered outside the League headquarters, hoping to witness another of his battles.
The most numerous among them were journalists from various media outlets, eager to get firsthand news about Cain.
But upon learning there would be no battles, Cain locked himself inside the League building with Steven and the other two, dedicating himself entirely to conversation and idea exchange.
Cain was ahead of the others in terms of tactics, and his use of a double-core — or even pseudo-triple-core — strategy was precisely what had made him famous.
Steven had already outlined a single-core system, while Phoebe and Wallace had yet to clearly identify theirs, which was why they wanted to see if Cain could help them resolve it.
At the same time, while discussing with them, Cain also focused on some of his own Pokémon: Shelgon, Seadra, and his newly evolved Gardevoir.
During the ten days he'd spent aboard Drake's ship, aside from testing strategies with him, he'd devoted the rest of his time to discussing the training of Shelgon and other Dragon-type Pokémon.
Although Seadra was currently a pure Water type, its future evolution would turn it into a Water/Dragon type.
Of course, most of the discussions centered on Shelgon.
The special method Drake had taught him could still be applied, but to make the most of it, the ideal would be to obtain purer dragon blood — with a higher energy concentration.
Cain's Kommo-o was very strong, but its energy had already been used once before, when Bagon evolved into Shelgon. Because of that, traces of that same energy still lingered within Shelgon's body, making Kommo-o's blood ineffective as a catalyst now.
Drake's Salamence, on the other hand, did not possess the same purity as Kommo-o, so its blood would only produce about 80% of the desired effect.
The best option would be to find a source of draconic blood with even higher purity.
This worried Cain, though Drake mentioned he might have a way to resolve it — he only asked Cain to wait a few more days and to slow Shelgon's level progression in the meantime.
As for Gardevoir, after her evolution, her power skyrocketed rapidly. In just twenty days, she had gone from level 35 to level 40, formally reaching the Advanced stage.
All thanks to the energy crystal embedded in her forehead.
Since the energy of that crystal originally belonged to another Gardevoir, the compatibility was extremely high; and because that Gardevoir had willingly bestowed her power, the absorption caused almost no adverse effects.
Day by day, vast amounts of energy flowed from the crystal into Gardevoir's body, gradually strengthening her. Although her foundation might become slightly unstable, with some time to adjust, there would be no major problems.
In Cain's eyes, Gardevoir even held more potential than Slowking to become his team's second core. However, since she was still too weak, he had chosen Slowking first.
Fortunately, Slowking had fulfilled that role perfectly, allowing Cain to begin designing plans for a third — and even a fourth — core.
As long as it didn't interfere with overall power growth, structuring multiple cores simultaneously was also a valid path of development.
However, the materials he had obtained from Team Rocket were already exhausted, so now he would have to rely on more common resources.
In the short term, Cain could sustain that level of expenditure, but in the long term, even with his current position and income, it wouldn't be feasible.
He needed to find a more stable method.
...
After the seven-day waiting period ended, Cain helped Steven summarize and evaluate the pros and cons of his single-core tactic.
At the same time, he assisted Phoebe and Wallace in preliminarily identifying the focal point of their first cores based on their battling habits and the control they had over their Pokémon.
Generally, the first core was always the easiest to define, and a single-core tactic was the fastest to form.
But as the number of cores increased, the difficulty rose exponentially.
It wasn't just a trial for the Pokémon — it also demanded great skill from the trainer.
Although Cain's psychic abilities gave him an advantage over normal trainers, this was also his first time dealing with something this complex. Even if someone handed him a fully formed four-core team right now, he wouldn't be able to coordinate it properly.
The more cores there were, the harder they were to control.
Even his current dual-core setup wasn't perfect — experts like Drake or Juan could see that. And as for his supposed triple-core structure, in reality, it was merely a concept within his team composition — it didn't yet produce true synergy or complementarity. It was nothing more than a sketch.
"The seven days are up. What do you all plan to do now?" Cain asked.
"I have to take the Gym trials. My master wants me to become a Gym Leader once I'm done," Wallace replied, brushing a strand of hair aside.
"I'll probably stay at headquarters," Phoebe said. "Grandpa Juan wants to design some special skills for me, though I don't yet know what they are."
"As for me, I'll head back to my family. Maybe join a few tournaments, and once I meet the requirements, I'll challenge Cain — to knock down our Sandstorm Elite Four from his throne, hahaha!" Steven laughed loudly.
The three exchanged amused looks and smiles.
For Steven, the title of Elite Four was more a testament to his effort and talent than something sacred.
They all knew he was joking.
"That's not fair! I'm joining too!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I'm not falling behind — I want to be an Elite Four member and show off too!"
Hearing that, Wallace hesitated for a moment and was about to respond when Cain placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Do what you truly want to do," he told him.
Wallace was momentarily taken aback, then, with his usual flirtatious gesture of brushing back his hair, replied, "Yeah, I think I'll devote myself to Contests. These competitions that showcase Pokémon beauty probably suit me better."
The others didn't object — they all knew Wallace's true passion.
Besides, contests now included battles as well, and fighting was still a crucial component.
"You're all taking it easy, but I, on the other hand, will be swamped," Cain sighed. "Master Drake just called me — my life of endless tasks is about to begin."
Being under the direct supervision of both Drake and Juan, there was no escape for him.
Steven, Phoebe, and Wallace exchanged knowing smiles at Cain's exasperated tone.
"Our Sandstorm Elite Four has hard work ahead of him — we can't waste his time. We'd better get going," Steven said, patting him on the shoulder sympathetically.
"What if I ask Master Drake to let me take you all with me?" Cain shot back, annoyed.
But before he could even finish his sentence, the three had already dashed off at full speed, leaving only their laughter echoing through the hallway.
(End of chapter)