Hunting was one thing. Eating them, except in an extreme situation of mortal starvation, was absolutely repugnant to him.
Not only Cain: the vast majority of League trainers would never accept something like that.
But the human who lived here had clearly eaten more than one Pokémon. Just on the wall, Cain saw three or four Ursaring hides.
Was this what the elder Ursaring meant when they warned not to leave the forest or they would be devoured?
Not only Ursaring: there were also Rattata hides hanging on the wall.
Cain felt both disgust and astonishment, but Togekiss and Salamence only showed surprise, without any additional emotions.
Among wild Pokémon, hunting also existed. Eating other Pokémon was not something strange to them.
After passing through the area filled with hides, they reached the back of the cave.
There should be the human's living quarters: a bed covered with soft hides, smoked meat hanging from the ceiling, and a large stone jar filled with water.
The traces indicated that this person had been living there for a long time. But Cain and his group had only been in this space for a little over a week.
That meant this human had not entered recently.
He probably belonged to the previous batch, or even the one before that, and had lost the spatial stone that allowed returning, becoming trapped here.
To return to the Pokémon world, he could only steal the spatial stone from someone who entered later, like Cain.
Each spatial stone could only transport one person. Whoever lost it would be trapped on this continent of time and space for at least twenty-five years.
Meanwhile, only five years would pass in the Pokémon world.
A difference of twenty years. Upon returning, everything would have changed.
Cain then noticed that one of the walls was filled with markings: horizontal and vertical lines, used to count the days. There was no sun or moon, but there was dawn and dusk. That person was counting time, waiting for the arrival of a new generation of trainers.
"Yadon!"
Just as Cain was about to observe more closely, Slowking warned him again. His eyes shone with intense psychic power, his expression serious.
Cain did not need to think: the human who lived here had returned.
A human who had survived twenty-five years here... what kind of strength would he have?
Everyone who entered was an elite of their region.
If Cain used his own growth as a reference, after twenty-five years here he would undoubtedly surpass his master Drake. But whether he would surpass someone like Giovanni... that was no longer certain.
Of course, not everyone was Cain, with advanced breeding skills, capable of producing large quantities of Pokéblocks with local resources.
Many trainers, without sufficient knowledge, would not be able to train their Pokémon well here.
Moreover, growth required suitable battles and quality nutrients. On this continent, wild Pokémon were generally not strong enough, and cases like Togekiss were rare.
All of that was merely Cain's conjecture. To know the truth, he only needed to go out and see.
When Cain left the cave behind the waterfall, he saw a barefoot man, dressed in hides, standing by the lake. In his hand he carried a small waterskin, and beside him stood a muscular Feraligatr.
The Feraligatr was holding an injured Pidgeotto, probably the day's meal.
The man had also noticed Cain's presence, so he did not enter the cave.
He was smiling, but his long hair and beard hid half his face. One could only see that he was a man in his thirties or forties.
Judging by his age, he should belong to the previous batch of trainers, forgotten in this place.
But his smile sent a chill down Cain's spine.
A man alone, surviving twenty-five years without other humans... if not for his Pokémon, his mind would have collapsed long ago.
They stared at each other in silence for nearly a minute.
Finally, the man spoke first, with a hoarse but clear voice: "You... are from the new batch?"
Cain frowned and nodded.
"Have you seen humans who didn't enter from outside?"
The man only let out a low laugh.
Silence fell again.
Cain did not know what to say.
Compassion? What that man needed was not compassion, but Cain's spatial stone and his abundant resources.
The man also did not know what to say. He had gone too long without speaking to humans.
Taking advantage of that brief interval, Cain did not remain idle and scanned the opponent's Feraligatr's data, to see what kind of strength someone who had lived here for twenty-five years might have.
Pokémon: Feraligatr (Light Purple)
Gender: Male
Level: 86
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Crunch, Ancient Power, Ice Punch, Metal Claw
Basic Moves: Agility, Scratch, Leer, Water Gun, Rage, Bite, Scary Face, Ice Fang, Flail, Chip Away, Slash, Screech, Thrash, Aqua Tail, Superpower, Hydro Pump
Learned Moves: Water Pledge, Uproar, Liquidation, Snore, Block, Iron Tail, Low Kick, Water Pulse, Focus Punch, Spite
TM Moves: Protect, Dragon Claw, Toxic, Ice Beam, Earthquake, Double Team, Aerial Ace, Scald, Shadow Claw
Upon seeing the data of that Feraligatr, Cain felt some surprise, but what predominated was disappointment.
Live here for twenty-five years and only raise a Pokémon like this?
Aside from an acceptable level and a decent physique, it practically had no outstanding characteristics.
A prodigy of his region who, in twenty-five years, only managed to raise a Pokémon to level 86, barely crossing the first barrier of the Champion level.
That greatly disappointed Cain, who had initially had high expectations of him.
Moreover, judging by how he was dressed, he did not seem to have any storage space; aside from carrying two Poké Balls, he had nothing else.
That person only had three Pokémon in total!
Although, from the looks of it, the strength of those three Pokémon was not weak.
"You... you should have many spare Poké Balls, right?" the man spoke again. This time his words were much smoother, and there was even a slight note of excitement in his voice.
Cain knew that he only had three Poké Balls, and they were the most common kind.
Could those be the last three Poké Balls he had left?
Unconsciously, Cain felt somewhat relieved. At least, whenever he went out he carried hundreds or thousands of Poké Balls for any contingency; after all, stored in storage space they took up almost no room.
"You should also have many daily-use items, right?" the other said again, though that sentence sounded completely hollow.
Cain's frown had not relaxed for a single moment, and he asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Upon hearing this, the man once again showed an unsettling smile, revealing his slightly yellowed teeth.
"It's very simple. I know you're one of the prodigies sent by the League this time, and I assume you've already guessed my identity as well."
"Everything is just as you imagined, except that there are many things and many details you still don't know. But it doesn't matter; I'm sure that in time you'll learn them."
As he spoke, his speech became increasingly fluent. He continued, "Now you need to hand over everything you're carrying with you. Remember: everything. Including the clothes you're wearing and that spatial stone you hid in the deepest place."
"I don't want to kill you, so it's better if you obey and do what I say. That way, both you and I will benefit, and everything will be simpler."
Suddenly, Cain's brows relaxed, and a slightly mocking smile appeared on his face. A stone emitting a faint glow appeared in his hand; he waved it in front of the man and said, "Do you mean a stone like this?"
(End of chapter)