Chapter 156:

"This is the official Shadow Unit badge. The stripe represents a junior member of the unit, equivalent to a Team Rocket captain. However, since you haven't completed the trial, you won't have any subordinates assigned to you. So, you can choose to recruit them yourself or remain a lone wolf for now."

Umbra handed Cain the badge, symbolizing his official membership in the Shadow Unit, and took back the old provisional badge. From that moment on, Cain was a bona fide member of Team Rocket, skipping the rank of lowly grunt and holding the authority of a captain even before "officially" leaving Trial Island.

In Team Rocket's records, Cain's rank had changed from grunt to captain. While still a low-ranking member, it was a step up from the absolute bottom. In principle, captains were assigned five subordinates according to Team Rocket's rules. However, Cain only had the authority of a captain, without the associated benefits. If he wanted subordinates, he'd have to recruit them himself.

For most people, it might be a hassle, but Cain would rather recruit his own members than accept those assigned by the organization. After all, he had a considerable faction on Trial Island under his command.

"Can I recruit from the Trial Island's participants?" Cain asked, since Team Rocket had invested heavily in this batch of trainees.

Umbra glanced at Cain with a meaningful look and replied, "You can."

Umbra was well aware of Cain's activities on Trial Island, as the chief instructor of Team Rocket, Viper, was one of his good friends. The relationships and rivalries among the young participants on Trial Island somewhat resembled the current internal situation of Team Rocket. As long as a powerful and authoritative figure was in charge, they would only fight behind the scenes, not daring to confront each other openly.

Cain likely had his own group of "minions" on Trial Island, but it was unclear how many would still follow his orders after his long absence. Nevertheless, this batch of trainees had been carefully selected by Team Rocket. Even the ordinary citizens among them had higher overall qualities than their predecessors, like Cain himself.

Moreover, the starting Pokémon given to the trainees this time had significantly higher potential. Previous batches started with orange-aptitude Pokémon, but this time, they began with yellow. Some lucky ones even received green-aptitude Pokémon, and Cain was among them.

In short, the trainees on Trial Island had great potential. If Cain could recruit them, they'd be ready to take on significant responsibilities in a few years. And If he could become the ultimate winner and recruit several top performers from Trial Island, he'd have a perfect opportunity to establish his influence in a new region.

The key was to have enough strength.

"Your rank within Team Rocket has changed, and you now have access to the Shadow Unit's mission system," Umbra told Cain. "You can check it out if you're interested, but know your limits. Focus on improving your strength and winning the final competition."

Cain nodded in understanding. Umbra was right; even if he completed many missions and earned resources now, it would pale in comparison to gaining Team Rocket's support to establish a force in other regions. Moreover, Cain didn't plan on taking on difficult tasks. If they were along the way, that was fine, but if they required him to spend days or even weeks on troublesome missions, it wouldn't be worth it.

After all, there was only a month and a half left until the final trial on Trial Island. Time was money.

"What's the prize for coming in first on Trial Island?" Cain hesitated for a moment before asking his final question. He was particularly interested in the starter Pokemon awarded to the top trial participant.

Umbra gave Cain a half-smile and replied, "Do you even have the resources to train another Pokemon from scratch?" Cain's Sneasel had potential, but it was clear that it was a recently caught Pokemon, lacking the desired harmony with its trainer.

"If you want one now, I can give it to you, but if you wait until the end of the final trial, the starter Pokemon might have an even higher aptitude. It's up to you." Umbra presented Cain with a choice: take a decent starter Pokemon now or wait a month and a half for the chance to get a top-tier one.

In truth, Cain didn't need to make a choice. He already had plenty of Pokemon to train, and in a few days, his Skorupi would enter its growth stage. If he were to add another Pokemon now, the outcome might be that neither Skorupi nor the starter Pokemon would be useful by the time of the final trial.

Instead, it would be better to focus on training Skorupi, who might catch up in the remaining month and a half. By then, along with his Miltank, Cain would have six main Pokemon able to battle, barely enough to handle various situations.

So Cain slowly shook his head, signaling there was no need to choose – the answer was crystal clear and didn't require deliberation.

Seeing Cain's refusal, Umbra nodded in satisfaction. Not everyone could resist the allure of a starter Pokemon. At least Cain's performance on an overall scale was satisfactory to him.

Ever since Umbra was injured in an ambush by the Pokemon Association and barely escaped, most of his trusted subordinates were either dead or incapacitated. Those who survived either lost their strength or were no longer completely trustworthy.

Although Cain's strength was weaker than Umbra preferred, he had a certain level of trust in him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have shared so much information today. Recruiting Cain as a subordinate was one of the purposes of their meeting.

Umbra had not concealed his conversation with Sabrina from Cain, and he figured that someone as clever as Cain would know how to make the right choice.

"Alright, I've told you so much today to let you know that you should focus on training and preparing for the final trial. The rewards will exceed your imagination," Umbra concluded his conversation with Cain.

Having waited impatiently, Sabrina waved her hand and used her psychic powers to teleport Cain out of the Saffron Gym after Umbra had finished speaking.

Only after Cain had left did Sabrina look at Umbra seriously and say, "So, you've settled on him? While he's cunning and calculating, his strength is lacking. It doesn't seem like your style."

Umbra gave a mysterious smile, avoiding Sabrina's question directly. "He's not bad. But you, aren't you going to send someone to stir things up?"

Sabrina waved her hand dismissively. "I won't interfere with them. If they want to go, they'll go on their own. I won't offer any support."