The Hoenn Grand Tournament.
In the main VIP stand, Cain took the central seat without hesitation. Because among everyone present, he was the most influential figure.
A true big name.
And aside from Juan and a few others, almost no one knew the true purpose behind Cain's arrival.
Although he sat watching the match, in reality he fully extended his psychic power, trying to find a certain person among the crowd. But he detected nothing abnormal.
"Now we invite our Sandstorm Elite Four, Cain! To face the champion of this tournament, coming from..."
When the final ended and the winner was announced, the host followed the program and began calling Cain onto the field for the exhibition match.
Cain stood up with a smile, but did not immediately head toward the stadium. Amid the cheers of the crowd, he walked toward an elderly man also seated in the stand, at the far end, with a smile on his face.
Everyone watched Cain, not understanding what he intended to do.
"You hid very well. If I hadn't sensed an anomaly right when the host spoke my name, I might not have found you at all. What's wrong? Didn't you want to face me? Now I'm standing right in front of you. Why hesitate?" Cain said, smiling at the white-haired elder.
Clap, clap, clap—
Suddenly, the old man's smile vanished. He began to applaud and said in a hoarse voice, "Impressive, as expected of the Sandstorm Elite Four and psychic Cain. But I heard that within Team Rocket there is also an officer named Cain. Do you know him?"
Upon hearing this, Cain's expression changed slightly, but he did not respond. He merely gestured for the people approaching from behind to stop and move away.
Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Since when do people from Team Rocket associate with the Sacred Church? Aren't you afraid of displeasing Lord Giovanni? Right, head of the Nishikawa family?"
The moment Cain spoke those words, he deduced the man's identity.
After Giovanni acknowledged his strength, he had deliberately begun erasing his traces within Team Rocket, especially after learning that he planned to aspire to become part of the Elite Four of the Hoenn region.
That was part of Cain's requests to Giovanni himself.
For this man to now appear so brazenly in the Hoenn region, directed specifically against him, and even allied with the Sacred Church, could only mean one thing: the Nishikawa family, whose powerful descendants had been almost completely eliminated by Cain himself—and this old man was, very likely, the head of the Nishikawa family.
Upon hearing his identity exposed, the old man showed no surprise. On the contrary, he also confirmed Cain's true identity.
"So it really is you. Should I call you Elite Four Cain? Elite Officer Cain? Or perhaps... leader of Team Heaven?" the Nishikawa patriarch mocked.
Cain merely raised his hands with a carefree expression, inviting him to call him whatever he wished.
Since he had dispersed the nearby crowd from the very first moment, no one managed to hear their conversation. And the Nishikawa patriarch also did not seem interested in publicly revealing his identity.
That was not his mission. He had come only to assassinate his enemy with his own hands.
The two of them stood extremely close, at a distance dangerous for any human.
Especially for people like them, who were accustomed to attacking the trainer directly.
BOOM!
Cain and the Nishikawa patriarch moved at the same time. If the Sacred Church valued him so highly, he must possess extraordinary psychic power.
The clash between the two was like a signal.
From Cain's shadow emerged his Gengar, and from behind the Nishikawa patriarch appeared his Dusknoir. The moment they appeared, they collided violently.
Unlike Cain and the Nishikawa patriarch, who were evenly matched, Gengar immediately gained the upper hand—something the Nishikawa patriarch had never imagined.
BOOM!!
An explosion shattered part of the VIP stand.
Cain was seen riding atop an imposing Salamence, shooting out through the smoke. When it dispersed, the old man was already accompanied by six Pokémon, ready to fight.
The spectators who were fleeing still did not understand what was happening; they had not even seen the Sandstorm Elite Four fight yet.
But the explosion made the seriousness of the situation clear: someone capable of confronting Cain head-on had appeared, and moreover, he was an enemy of the League.
In an instant, the evacuation sped up.
Cain, on Salamence's back, looked down at the Nishikawa patriarch and his Pokémon. Among them was the Dusknoir, which, after Gengar's sudden strike, lay on the ground struggling to get up.
One more blow and it would have been knocked out.
The Nishikawa patriarch's face was grim.
No matter how much he had tried to measure Cain's strength, he had still underestimated him.
According to Cain's battle with Steven, Gengar was strong, yes, but had only just entered the Advanced Elite Four level... and now? It was clearly at quasi-Champion level.
The gap was enormous!
In just half a year—how was it possible to grow so much?
Had he taken a rocket?
While the old man was stunned by the speed of Cain's growth, Cain felt disappointed by the Nishikawa patriarch's strength.
He was strong, yes—but only that. Perhaps slightly stronger than Cain from half a year ago... but that was without counting Mega Evolution.
With Mega Evolution, even the Cain from half a year ago was stronger than him.
"Too weak. Can you tell me who gave you the confidence to try to ambush me here?" Cain asked directly.
The old man's face darkened even more. His trump card was "Divine Descent," a power bestowed by the Sacred Church that would allow his Charizard and Venusaur to evolve once more.
But he had never expected that, with just a single clash, Gengar's strength would crush him like this.
Cain took several Poké Balls from his belt. It was obvious that he planned to restrain him first and then extract information.
Moreover... Team Rocket and the Sacred Church working together... Giovanni needed to know about this.
But just before Cain threw a Poké Ball, an explosion thundered from an island near Slateport City. A massive spatial tear appeared above it, revealing a completely dark interior.
That kind of spatial rift felt familiar to Cain. He turned to look at the Nishikawa patriarch... and saw surprise on his face as well.
"It seems you didn't even know that you yourself were the bait. A piece that wants to be a player... that is your greatest mistake," Cain said coldly.
He threw multiple Poké Balls.
Tyranitar, Slowking, Drapion, Blaziken, and Swampert appeared.
(End of chapter)