As expected, three days later Juan finally explained the entire background of the matter to Cain. Steven, Phoebe, and Wallace, who had arrived from the Hoenn region, were also listening alongside him.
What Juan explained was basically the same as what Lance had told Cain, with no major differences.
However, Cain couldn't say that he already knew it beforehand, so he could only cooperate and "act" once again, pretending ignorance. When Steven and the others showed expressions of surprise, he also put on a look of astonishment at the right moment.
Although the acting was a bit exaggerated, he still managed to get through it without any issues and did not expose Lance.
"But this time, the situation of our Hoenn region is different. On this occasion, we have four slots; that is, all four of you will be able to enter," Juan explained through the video call.
Upon hearing this, Cain and the others immediately understood. After all, each region only had three slots, but this time four of them had come, so someone would inevitably have to stay behind. Now, with Juan's words, they understood that this time Hoenn had truly become the most special case.
"When Team Magma and Team Aqua carried out their first joint action, the Hunter Guild rashly broke into the Hoenn region. Although we expelled them in the end, they still caused us considerable losses. Therefore, by taking advantage of this negligence of the General Council, we obtained an additional slot," Juan said.
As the chairman of the Hoenn region, Juan had also entered when he was young, so he could pass on some experience to them to avoid unnecessary casualties.
The four people in front of him were the greatest treasure of the Hoenn region. Losing any one of them would be an extremely heavy blow to the region.
But Juan also knew that, given the characters of the four, if they were not allowed to enter, they would make a huge fuss. Moreover, without going through danger, how could they break their own limits?
The four were now very strong, but Cain had become the most powerful of them all. This had a lot to do with the fact that he had always tempered himself and his Pokémon at the edge of danger.
In fact, whether it was Steven, Phoebe, or Wallace, the talent of the three as trainers was not inferior to Cain's. From a certain point of view, some of them even possessed greater talent.
It was just that Cain had turned his talent into real strength at an excessively fast pace—so fast that even geniuses had not been able to react.
Fortunately, after Cain became an Elite Four member, he managed to awaken the others, making them understand the direction in which they needed to strive.
"Because the reduced continent is too small when viewed from the outside, we can't precisely locate the teleportation point. Once inside, the first thing you must do is ensure your own safety and then determine your position. Before entering, each of you will receive an internal map; on it, I will mark some dangerous and safe areas."
"Cain, you will be the leader of this operation. You have extensive experience surviving in wild environments, and I trust that, with your abilities, you will be able to quickly gather the four of you."
"Once you are together and have sufficient self-protection capability, you can then explore some areas that may contain rare materials."
"Remember, the primary objective of this mission is not how many materials you collect or how much your strength increases, but ensuring your safety. Each of you is the future of Hoenn; we cannot afford to lose any of you," Juan emphasized in a solemn tone.
"Yes!" the four replied in unison.
As for Cain being appointed as the leader, no one had any objections. After all, Cain was currently the strongest among them and the only one who held the position of Elite Four.
Moreover, within the group, Cain had always been the one responsible for thinking and planning. It was just that recently he had "grown" quite a bit and seemed to want to compete with Steven and Wallace for the title of being the most attractive.
After that, Juan continued explaining many details they needed to pay attention to, almost as if he wanted to personally participate in the mission.
Finally, he once again stressed the importance of personal safety.
When they hung up Juan's video call, the four of them let out a breath at the same time, then looked at each other knowingly before laughing.
It had been a long time since all four of them had gathered together. They had many things to say to each other and many questions to ask.
After the greetings and jokes, they began to discuss the matter they would be facing the next day.
"It's been so long since we got together that we definitely don't have a clear understanding of each other's current strength. I propose that we reveal a bit of our cards, so I can have a clear idea," Cain suggested.
"You should definitely have a clear idea—otherwise, one day we might kick you out of the Elite Four and you wouldn't even realize it," Steven said with a smile.
Phoebe and Wallace also smiled knowingly.
It wasn't that they envied Cain for becoming an Elite Four member, but that fact had become an excellent topic for teasing him.
"Ahem, ahem, a bit more seriousness," Cain shot Steven a glare.
Seeing his expression, Steven shrugged, showing that he wasn't afraid at all, though he still said, "Then I'll start."
"Currently, I have one Champion-level Pokémon, five at the Advanced Elite Four level, and the rest are at the Intermediate Elite Four level."
One Champion-level Pokémon—even if Steven hadn't said it, everyone could guess that it was his Shiny Metagross, his ultimate trump card.
Immediately, everyone turned their gaze toward Wallace.
"Three at the Quasi-Champion level, three at the Advanced Elite Four level; the rest of my Pokémon are at the Intermediate Elite Four level," Wallace said straightforwardly.
Compared to Steven, Wallace's strength was a bit inferior, but having six Pokémon all at the Advanced Elite Four level was more than enough to take on the position of an Elite Four member of a region.
Then it was Phoebe's turn. "Two at the Quasi-Champion level, four at the Advanced Elite Four level; the rest are also at the Intermediate Elite Four level." Phoebe was the youngest of the four, and even so, reaching that level was already outstanding.
When the three finished speaking, everyone turned their gaze toward Cain.
His progress had been enormous, but Cain's strength was still what they cared about the most.
They didn't know since when, but catching up to Cain had become their shared goal.
Noticing their looks, Cain smiled. "Two at the Champion level; the rest are between the Quasi-Champion level and the Advanced Elite Four level."
Cain had the largest number of Pokémon among the four, so the difference in levels among them was also greater.
Moreover, Cain had concealed a bit of his true strength: he didn't mention either Darkrai or Kommo-o. Even so, he was still the strongest in the group.
Upon hearing Cain's real level, the other three fell into brief silence.
Only they knew how hard they had worked during that time, yet the gap between them and Cain was still considerable.
However, they soon accepted it. If it were so easy to catch up to him, would he still be the Cain they knew?
(End of chapter)