Cain did not interfere with Lorelei's thoughts. He asked her to rest well and to reflect during those days on how to train her Pokémon. Once she and her team had fully recovered, they could put everything into practice.
After leaving the tent, Cain shared with the others the information he had obtained from Lorelei, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
After a month, the camp finally gained one more person. Their collective strength continued to increase.
Lorelei's arrival was only the beginning. Surely, more people would arrive afterward.
What they needed to do now was to steadily strengthen themselves. The strength of the Sacred Church lay in their numerical superiority, their psychic powers, their divine infusion, and, most problematic of all, how little was known about them.
Knowing the enemy is crucial. Acting blindly without understanding their true strength could lead them straight into a trap.
Cain and the others' advantage lay in their practically limitless potential for growth. The limit of each of them far exceeded what the Sacred Church could imagine.
For the members of the Sacred Church, it was already impossible to grow stronger in the short term: they had reached their ceiling. This was due both to their lower natural potential and to the fact that, after so many years, they had already squeezed out all of their talent. Moreover, their excessive reliance on divine infusion had reduced the potential of their Pokémon.
To grow further, they would have no choice but to start over or find some miraculous treasure.
That was the advantage of Cain and his group. The more contact they had with the Sacred Church, the more they would understand them. When they accumulated enough power and struck with full force, they would undoubtedly catch them by surprise. At that point, the final outcome would be unpredictable.
What had begun as an enormous crisis had turned into a narrow path of survival. With their potential and mentality, they would cling to that slit and grow frantically until they could face everything head-on.
The time that followed returned to a superficial calm, while beneath the surface power accumulated at a frenetic pace.
And finally, Cain and the others welcomed the second member of the League.
Unlike Lorelei, she did not arrive gravely injured. Although she looked exhausted, it was most likely the result of how harsh it was to survive and train outside.
This person was quite well known to Cain: the Dragon-type Pokémon Trainer of Kalos, the future true Dragon-type Elite Four... Drasna!
Drasna was kind by nature. Although she used Dragon-type Pokémon, she was not as fond of combat as Lance. If she could grow stronger without fighting, she would probably abandon combat without hesitation.
This time, the one who received her was Lorelei, who had not yet fully recovered. The others had gone out during the day.
Lorelei was not surprised by Drasna's arrival. After she herself had arrived in that condition, Cynthia and Diantha had reinforced the markings and expanded the range of activities. That Drasna had followed those marks here was completely normal.
However, with Lorelei's cold disposition and Drasna's warm and enthusiastic personality, it took a little time for them to adapt to each other at first.
Taking advantage of the fact that she was still recovering and had nothing better to do, Lorelei gradually began to converse with Drasna.
And without realizing it, they chatted until nightfall, when Cain and the others returned.
Lorelei explained her current situation, the attitude they needed to adopt toward the Sacred Church, and the plans of Cain and the others.
Only then did Drasna truly understand what they were facing, and the pressure increased all at once.
With Drasna's arrival, the number of people in the valley continued to increase, and the sensation of gradually accumulating strength produced an intoxicating excitement.
Being able to perceive growth at a glance: that was the true pleasure of improvement.
Especially because Cain possessed a system that allowed him to see with greater precision and detail the progress Pokémon made after battling or training.
It was an enjoyment the others could not experience. Even so, although Steven and the others could not perceive it as clearly, over time they would end up noticing it and seeing their own growth along with that of their Pokémon.
After Drasna, the arrival of the third member was unexpected.
Johto Region, the Dark-type Elite Four... Karen!
Cain and Steven had encountered Karen before and had told her that if she ever got into trouble, she could look for him in this area.
That was why Karen was the third to arrive. Cain had not revealed the exact location of the valley; she ran into Phoebe and Wallace while they were battling outside and was brought by them.
Karen was not in good condition either. Although not as severe as Lorelei's, several of her Pokémon had lost their ability to fight. In desperation, she recalled Cain's words.
Several Pokémon gravely injured and the rest in poor condition: a clear case of overcombat. Thinking of Cain's identity as an advanced-level breeder, she decided to come.
Phoebe and Wallace hesitated greatly at first about bringing her to the valley. After all, among those who had joined the Sacred Church were two members of Johto's Elite Four, one of them someone they knew: the Psychic-type Elite Four, Will.
Phoebe had even been captured by trusting him. If not for Cain, even if she had survived, she would have lost most of her strength.
But seeing Karen's miserable state, they could not ignore her.
Moreover, the most important thing was that Cain had indicated that direction to her. Out of their trust in him, they decided to bring her.
Later, it was confirmed that Karen truly was just a simple Elite Four member, and moreover the only one from Johto who had been pushed into that position almost against her will.
Even with the extreme advantage of the Dark type, she had failed to defeat Will's Psychic-type Pokémon in an exhibition, which made it quite clear.
Even so, after her arrival, Cain carefully checked whether Karen possessed psychic powers.
The concealment of the Sacred Church was excellent; one could not tell from appearances alone. Only through a certain degree of physical contact was it possible to detect it.
After confirming that Karen did not have psychic powers and that her Pokémon had not undergone divine infusion, everyone was finally able to relax completely.
The constant arrival of allies gave them much greater confidence.
Time flew by, and another month vanished in an instant.
And at that moment, the counterattack of Cain and his group sounded the horn of war!
The horn of the counterattack was already resounding loudly!
Can you hear it?
(End of chapter)