Just now, when they were fighting against the Beedrill, Cain did not allow Salamence to undergo Mega Evolution. Otherwise, with the explosive output of Mega Salamence combined with the area-of-effect attack range of the move Hyper Voice, Lucario and the others would not even have needed to intervene—Salamence alone would have been able to completely wipe out the entire Beedrill swarm.
However, if that had been the case, Lucario and the others would not have been able to experience such a difficult battle, much less gain any understanding from it. They also would not have understood how harsh fighting can be, nor developed the mindset required to face battles in which you know beforehand that you might not be able to win, yet still must fight.
Now that there was only an Ursaring in front of them, there was no longer any need for Lucario and the others to fight, especially since they themselves were already quite injured.
In the face of the full offensive power of Mega Salamence, Ursaring had no way to resist at all.
When the third Hyper Voice attack from Mega Salamence sent it flying, making it tumble several times, Ursaring immediately fell to the ground and surrendered, begging for mercy. Its clumsy and honest-looking appearance had nothing to do with the fierce attitude it had displayed moments earlier.
It was at that moment that the Ursaring, whose mental reactions were somewhat slow, finally realized it: the reason those terrifying Beedrill had disappeared was because someone had forcibly driven them all away!
After confirming this thought, Ursaring became even more docile. It clasped its hands together and knelt obediently on the ground, wearing an expression that clearly said, "I'm very obedient, please don't attack me."
Cain looked at it, wearing that aggrieved expression—almost like a resentful wife—that was completely unbefitting of a tyrant of the forest. The impulse he had felt to directly deal with it also dissipated.
It was truly rare to encounter such a "well-behaved" and understanding Pokémon in the wild. With a bit of training and discipline, it could be put directly to work.
Of course, Cain would not use it personally; rather, he would give it to one of his subordinates whose level was not yet sufficient. Having an Elite Four–level Ursaring as a Pokémon would cause that person's strength to skyrocket rapidly. Moreover, being able to command an Ursaring of such a level would also quickly improve the trainer's command ability, allowing them to direct Pokémon of higher level and greater demands.
Thinking of this, Cain took a Poké Ball from his pocket and, under Ursaring's pleading gaze, threw it.
After having been thoroughly frightened by Salamence, Ursaring did not dare to resist at all and was successfully captured.
Cain looked through the window of the Poké Ball at Ursaring, who seemed somewhat lost. Seeing its true personality—so clumsy and endearing—he couldn't help but let the corner of his lips lift slightly.
If there were really that many simple-minded and easy-to-tame wild Pokémon, please give him a dozen. Whether to hand them over to his subordinates or sell them in exchange for resources, all would be excellent options.
Cain still had two Pokémon in his hands that he had not sold, and he was still unsure whether he should trade them for resources or keep them to try forming a potential group of his own.
One of them was the Hydreigon he had snatched from Alexandra's hands, originally belonging to the Black Messenger. It was a fully tamed pseudo-legendary Pokémon at Champion level. Although it did not completely meet Cain's standards, it had to be admitted that, as an already trained pseudo-legendary and at Champion level, its value was immeasurable.
Exchanging it for all the assets of a medium-sized family would not be a problem at all.
The difference in value between a trained pseudo-legendary Pokémon and an untrained one is impossible to measure.
Back then, in Goldenrod City of the Johto region, Whitney's Miltank family... her grandfather, who had intimidated Cain when he was young, would surely be willing to hand over nearly half of his family's assets in exchange for that Hydreigon.
Of course, if he handed it over to the League, the resources obtained would be far fewer; and if he gave it to Team Rocket, it would probably completely drain the resources of one of their bases.
The other was also a pseudo-legendary Pokémon: the Goodra he had captured on the Nebel Plateau.
It too was a pseudo-legendary, but compared to Hydreigon its value was much lower, and moreover, it was a Pokémon that rejected humans, making it extremely difficult to find a buyer.
To be honest, Cain was no longer lacking in ordinary materials or resources. He was now the Sandstorm Elite Four of the Hoenn region; if Drake did not appear, Cain could even assume the position of the first Elite Four of Hoenn.
At the same time, Cain controlled Team Heaven, currently the largest underground force in Hoenn. Its information and trade network covered the entire region, and many large and small families of Hoenn maintained close ties with Team Heaven in secret. In addition, they had absorbed nearly half of the forces of Team Aqua led by Shelly.
Team Heaven was already completely intertwined with the Hoenn region, an existence that was difficult to separate.
Added to this, the diamond company he had opened together with the Stone family—backed by an ever-growing Carbink kingdom—made money nothing more than a simple number to Cain.
Status, power, and money.
Cain lacked none of them. The only thing he still lacked was a sufficiently powerful force.
And to obtain that force, he needed extremely rare and valuable resources—resources capable of accelerating his growth. Therefore, the Pokémon he currently held, if possible, would be best exchanged for those scarce resources.
Returning to the main topic: this Ursaring, aside from being used for minor chores or guarding the house, had absolutely no other use!
Fortunately, Ursaring was quite aware of its situation; otherwise, it would probably already be lying on the ground crying in pain.
Cain released Ursaring and asked whether it was familiar with the surrounding area, whether it knew of any special terrain or places occupied by powerful wild Pokémon.
Just as the Beedrill swarm occupied an area where valuable materials—including their honey—were concentrated, if there were territories nearby controlled by strong Pokémon, there would surely also be rare resources.
Upon hearing Cain's questions, Ursaring began counting the surrounding Pokémon one by one using its fingers, although it did not mention any particularly peculiar terrain.
Even so, Cain obtained a general understanding of the environment of the nearby forest.
Cain had Ursaring help him collect the honey from the hives; if it performed well enough, he would not mind rewarding it a little.
Understanding Cain's intention, Ursaring happily ran off to extract honey. In any case, it couldn't eat that much at once, and besides enjoying the honey, it also enjoyed the process of extracting it without restrictions.
Seeing that he suddenly had an extra helper by his side, Cain nodded in satisfaction.
After delegating the minor matters to Ursaring, Cain was finally able to calmly focus on his own affairs.
For example—Darkrai's recovery medicine!
(End of chapter)