Chapter 525: I Can't Break My Word

After finishing the delicious dinner, both Cain and Steven, accustomed to surviving in the wild, quickly went to sleep.

The next day, at the summit of Mt. Chimney.

In the lava cave they explored the day before, Cain and Steven decided to continue investigating the area.

This place seemed to have never been visited before. They didn't know where Butler got the information about the existence of this cavern leading to the volcano's interior, as it appeared to have been sealed until Team Magma manually opened it.

Aside from some Pokémon inhabiting the cave's corridors, there were probably wild Pokémon living inside, but it seemed Butler and his team had already dealt with them.

Therefore, during this second cave exploration, Cain and Steven decided not to take any risks by sending only one Pokémon each.

Cain chose to keep his Skorupi and Slowking close, with Haunter appearing sporadically. Meanwhile, Steven brought out both his Lairon and Metagross.

After the battles of the previous day, Steven's Lairon had reached level 40, advancing to the advanced level. Skorupi, on the other hand, despite contributing in the battle against Camerupt, didn't level up but gained significant experience.

The cave was primarily filled with Fire-type Pokémon, though some Rock-types occasionally appeared. The predominance of Fire-types made both Steven's Lairon and Metagross a bit uncomfortable.

However, Steven welcomed such challenges, wanting his Pokémon to adapt to hostile environments, gradually improving their fire resistance.

The most common Pokémon in the cave were Slugma and its evolution, Magcargo. As they approached the volcano's core, the area appeared to be a vast habitat for them, filled with nooks where they lived in large numbers.

The absence of predators due to the harsh conditions had allowed these species to thrive.

Toward the end of their exploration, Cain and Steven encountered a Magcargo emanating a powerful presence, a Pokémon at the elite level, forcing them to retreat immediately.

Despite this, both achieved what they needed. Skorupi and Haunter leveled up; Skorupi reached level 36 and Haunter 37, narrowing the gap with Honchkrow and the others.

Once Skorupi reaches level 40 and evolves into Drapion, its combat damage capacity will be devastating.

As for Haunter, Cain was still unsure how to evolve it, though he suspected it would require taking it to a place rich in Ghost-type energy.

In the Hoenn region, such a place exists.

Besides Skorupi and Haunter's progress, Slowking's improvement pleased Cain the most. Though it only leveled up once, reaching level 42, the difficulty for Slowking was far greater than for the other Pokémon.

The environment and the Pokémon they encountered allowed Slowking to shine, facilitating its progress.

The biggest surprise for Cain was Steven's Metagross. After its evolution, Metagross had accumulated a large amount of energy, allowing it to level up twice in one go.

This left Cain astonished.

It was no wonder Steven showed such confidence after Metagross's evolution. At level 47, Metagross was on its way to the quasi-elite level.

After an entire day of battles, Cain and Steven finished exploring the cave. It wasn't the right time to venture further into the Magcargo habitat.

Both decided to leave the cave and descend Mt. Chimney.

Clearly, Mt. Chimney still held more secrets, but amidst their exploration, Cain received a message from his mentor, Matsuda Takashi, telling him to return to Leafy Town. The League agents had arrived.

The League had designated the town as suitable for establishing a gym, and the Pokémon Center staff were already in place.

Officer Jenny had started working at the local police station some time ago.

Leafy Town was starting to operate like a well-oiled machine, but it hadn't reached its full potential yet.

The reason was the absence of a key figure: Cain, the Leafy Town gym leader and the driving force behind its development. Without his presence, the town couldn't meet its expected potential.

Additionally, old Matsuda was on his way to the town, as members of the Pokémon Breeders' Guild saw this as an opportunity to establish the first branch in the Hoenn region, and Matsuda had been sent to negotiate.

At the same time, Steven's evaluation team had sent a detailed report about the town, prompting him to join Cain in returning to Leafy Town to discuss cooperation plans.

Leafy Town was full of potential and no longer a forgotten corner. Once Cain formally assumed his role as gym leader, all the systems would begin operating at optimal capacity.

The town's development would accelerate dramatically.

The Devon Corporation had already set its sights on this place.

So, after finishing their day of battles, the two decided to return to the town.

However, they weren't in a rush. Cain still remembered his promise to Aron and Torchic that they would participate in battles.

As a trainer, he couldn't break his word.

As for the League agents, they would just have to wait a little longer.

(End of Chapter)