Chapter 157:

In the blink of an eye, Cain found himself teleported out by Sabrina. When he opened his eyes again, he was in an unfamiliar alley.

Stepping out of the alley, he looked around and sighed in relief upon discovering that he still in Saffron City.

After asking a passerby for directions, Cain found out his current location.

Sabrina's Saffron Gym was in the northeast corner of Saffron City, but Cain only learned after asking around that he was now in the southwest corner.

This was Saffron City, not a small place like Mahogany Town. Sabrina had casually teleported him all the way here.

If she had wanted to, she could have sent Cain to a forest outside Saffron City just as easily.

If it were an ordinary forest, it wouldn't be a problem, but the thought of appearing in a densely populated forest sent shivers down his spine. Even if he managed to escape, it would surely leave him worse for wear.

He couldn't help but shudder. These powerful Psychic trainers were truly terrifying.

To resist their Psychic powers, either one's Dark-type Pokémon had to be strong enough to withstand them, or they had to enhance their own Psychic abilities.

Thinking of his own Psychic talent, Cain shook his head helplessly. It seemed more reliable to train his Pokémon instead.

Cain hailed a cab and headed straight for the nearest entrance to the black market.

Finding a secluded corner with no one around, he changed into a new set of clothes, put on his unique skin-mask, and donned a large black robe before reentering Saffron City's black market.

Like raindrops falling into a lake, Cain's arrival went unnoticed in the bustling black market.

He first went to the Pokémon trading area, visited several different shops, and sold the ten Pokémon he'd taken from the Association trainers at a low price.

He'd been worried about being attacked if he released them, so he hadn't fed them, which had further lowered their selling price.

Ten Pokémon with decent aptitude and levels were ultimately sold for only 1.5 million, a very low price.

But this was Cain's highest profit since his first visit to the black market, when he'd sold the Earth Essence Milk.

It just went to show, murder and arson brought in the most money.

Cain was lucky, having successfully ambushed and defeated two intermediate Association trainers. Even now, his shoulder still throbbed with pain from the wound he'd received.

Such an opportunity was rare and precious. If given the choice, Cain would rather not make the money and avoid facing two intermediate-level Trainers from the Association.

He knew that if he had slipped up even slightly, death would have been certain.

Thankfully, the outcome turned out to be favorable.

With his previous savings of 3.45 million Pokédollars, plus the 1.5 million he just earned, and after selling some miscellaneous items and stocking up on essential medicine for wilderness survival and battles, Cain now had exactly 5 million Pokédollars.

Five million Pokédollars might be a fortune that an ordinary family could never accumulate in their lifetime, but for a Pokémon Trainer, especially those with lofty ambitions, it was merely a drop in the bucket along their journey to greatness.

A drop in the bucket!

The money could barely cover Cain's current needs.

After hearing Umbra's explanation of the Trial Mission, he felt a sense of urgency.

No wonder he had no inkling of it in his previous life, when he was ranked only in the thirties in the trials, merely struggling to survive.

However, in this life, he was almost guaranteed to rank in the top three of the Trial Island. His opponents could be the trusted disciples of the powerful Team Rocket officers or the direct subordinates nurtured by high-ranking executives.

Although the officers' positions were much lower than those of the executives, they had their loyal and well-trained confidants, while the executives' direct subordinates were numerous.

Regardless of which category they belonged to, they all had more advantages than Cain.

What did he have?

Apart from being a junior member of the Shadow Unit and having the title of a Team Rocket captain, he had no tangible benefits. Even though Umbra had hinted at taking him under his wing, he hadn't provided any resources or assistance. Cain had to rely on himself, except for occasionally invoking Umbra's name.

Therefore, if possible, Cain wanted to stretch every penny as far as it could go.

With his plans for the money in mind, he entered the Pokémon food store he had visited once before.

Just like last time, he didn't spare a glance at the sought-after mid-to-high-grade Pokéblocks that others coveted. Instead, he focused on the essential materials required to craft high-grade Pokéblocks.

The custom high-grade Pokéblock formulas for Miltank and Sneasel had already been analyzed and configured by the AI system. Cain only needed to purchase the materials according to the formulas.

Although Miltank was a Normal-type Pokémon, the materials most suitable for her high-grade Pokéblocks were not the same as those for other Normal-type Pokémon.

According to the system's explanation, it was the branches and roots rich in Grass-type energy that were ideal for Miltank. Once ground and infused into the Pokéblocks, they would be perfect for her.

So, Cain purchased an assortment of plant roots and branches rich in Grass-type energy.

For Sneasel, he bought several decades-old semi-finished Never-Melt Ice. Though wearing them wouldn't provide much benefit to Pokémon, incorporating them into the Pokéblocks would replenish a significant amount of Ice-type energy.

In addition to these, there were remnants of Dark-type Pokémon exuviae, similar to the materials used for making Murkrow's Pokéblocks.

Upon Cain's observation and the AI system's scan, it was determined that Sneasel's Ice-type talent surpassed its Dark-type talent. Adhering to Cain's principle of maximizing strengths, he would adjust the proportions of Ice-type materials to be greater than Dark-type materials when crafting advanced (high-grade) Pokéblocks for Sneasel.

Sometimes, balanced development might make a Pokémon more powerful, but more often than not, it leads to mediocrity across the board. Cain always encouraged bringing out a Pokémon's greatest strengths.

By emphasizing their strengths, their weaknesses could be minimized. Then, a slight compensation would suffice to prevent them from becoming fatal flaws.

Purchasing these materials cost Cain 600,000 Pokédollars—just for one month's worth of Pokéblock consumption.

Training Pokémon was challenging, and raising them well was even more difficult!

And this was with Cain being able to craft advanced Pokéblocks himself. For ordinary people who had to buy them, the expense would be even greater.