Chapter 153:

Kadabra used Teleport again to escape. Being hit a single time didn't prove anything – it could've just been luck.

"Sneasel, Quick Attack again, then follow up with Bite!"

The previous scene once again repeated itself between Sneasel and Kadabra. Even though Kadabra responded promptly this time, launching an attack as Sneasel closed in, it was no use.

Sneasel's dark-type moves dealt twice the damage to Kadabra, while Kadabra's attacks could only deal basic damage to Sneasel.

The outcome of the battle was clear for all to see.

Despite being a Psychic trainer with a Psychic-type Pokémon, their amplified effects, synergy, and tactical understanding far exceeding than that of Sneasel and Cain; it was all in vain. They should never have allowed Sneasel to stack so many stat enhancements. If they hadn't, predicting the outcome of the battle might have been considered difficult because a Psychic trainer combined with a Psychic Pokémon was far from a simple sum of one plus one.

Even after the battle ended, Azure remained somewhat dazed, but the defeated Kadabra lying before him assured him that this was no dream.

Cain didn't recall Sneasel to its Poké Ball. Instead, he walked straight towards the door with Sneasel, ignoring the astonished, surprised, curious, and scrutinizing gazes of those around him.

Azure was still in a daze when Cain reached his side.

"Excuse me," Cain said indifferently.

Upon hearing Cain's words, Azure finally snapped out of his trance and moved aside, dejectedly giving way.

But judging from his hesitant expression, it was evident he wasn't entirely willing to accept defeat.

Cain noticed his expression and raised an eyebrow, but he had no intention of explaining why the battle had played out the way it did.

You see, Cain always said that the most precious thing in the Pokémon world wasn't rare Pokémon or items, not even Legendary or Mythical Pokémon.

The most valuable thing was knowledge!

Knowledge transformed into power, and that wasn't just a saying.

This battle was the perfect example.

Cain gently pushed open the door and walked in under everyone's watchful eyes.

The Saffron Gym was vast, with the main hall occupying less than a tenth of its total area. Cain walked down a long corridor before finally stepping inside an enormous room filled with various dolls: some resembling Pokémon, some human-like, and others shaped like furniture.

On the wall opposite the corridor was a massive platform with a huge chair made of cloth dolls, but it was currently empty.

In the center of the room sat a man and a woman, their eyes fixed on Cain as if they had been waiting for a long time.

The man and woman were none other than Sabrina and Umbra, who had been observing Cain and Azure's battle in the main hall. They were now leisurely sipping tea and chatting at a relaxed pace.

Upon seeing Cain enter, Sabrina casually waved her hand, gesturing for him to come over.

Cain forced a smile, unable to ignore Sabrina's command. He hurried to their table and respectfully said, "Mr Umbra, Miss Sabrina."

To his surprise, Sabrina's expression changed as soon as he uttered these words, while Umbra revealed a smile.

"Hey! Who told you to call him first?" Sabrina glared at Cain.

Cain was puzzled by Sabrina's reaction.

"Hehe, you lost again. Remember to pay up later," Umbra chuckled and took another sip of his tea.

Were the two of them really so idle, betting on whom Cain would address first?

Umbra's words enlightened Cain about the situation: Sabrina and Umbra had been betting on who he would call first upon entering the room.

So when Cain first entered the room, Sabrina waved at him, beckoning him over. Her actual intention was to make Cain call her name first.

What left Cain speechless, though, was that these two renowned and powerful Elite Trainers were playing such a petty game—and seemed to be enjoying it thoroughly.

Cain had no words to contribute to Sabrina and Umbra's bet. After all, he had no place in the conversation when it came to these high-level individuals.

"You're Cain, right? You just cost me 200,000. You'll pay him that amount later," Sabrina grumbled, puffing her cheeks and pointing at Cain.

Cain responded with a bitter smile and a nod, accepting the responsibility for the loss of 200,000 Pokédollars—an undeserved misfortune.

Cain didn't know why Sabrina targeted him, but Umbra did. It wasn't just because Cain had caused Sabrina to lose the bet; more importantly, he had easily defeated Azure earlier.

Sabrina had lost face in front of Umbra. Although Azure wasn't Sabrina's disciple or relative, he was part of her Saffron Gym, and his defeat was embarrassing—especially since nobody understood why he had lost.

That was why Sabrina wanted Cain to pay back the 200,000.

If Cain knew the whole story, he might feel even more wronged.

Umbra waved his hand, indicating it was no big deal.

Then, his expression turned serious. "Did you bring the thing I asked for?"

Seeing Umbra's serious demeanor, Sabrina stopped joking around. While she loved to play, it didn't mean she couldn't be serious. When it was time to get down to business, she was all business—otherwise, she wouldn't be one of Team Rocket's top three senior executives.

Hearing Umbra finally addressing the matter, Cain breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't particularly want to face Sabrina, who could be so unpredictable, fearing he might offend her at any moment.

"I have it," Cain said, taking a black box out of his ring. The middle-aged man with the moustache from the Lake of Rage research facility had given it to him.

Cain had scanned the box, but only received information about the materials used to make it. He still had no idea what was inside.

He carefully placed the black box on the table.

Upon seeing it, Sabrina shot up and stared at the box for a moment. Cain then sensed a powerful psychic surge emanating from her—she was likely using her psychic abilities to inspect the box for any issues.

After she confirmed its safety, Umbra, with his two-fingered hand, slowly dragged the box towards himself.

After inputting a string of numbers on the box's keypad, it automatically opened with a "click." The sturdy, black outer shell instantly crumbled to dust, revealing the contents inside.

Seeing the box's transformation, Cain felt somewhat relieved.

Initially, when he saw the keypad, he thought about having his AI system try to hack the code and see what was inside. However, fearing a potential trap, he refrained from doing so.

It was fortunate that he hadn't let his curiosity get the better of him back then and opened it; otherwise, he might no longer have had a place in Team Rocket.