🎄 Christmas Special Discount 🎄
From December 23 to December 25, there will be a public 50% discount on the following tiers:
Intermediate Trainers, Advanced Trainers, Elite Trainers, Elite Four Trainers, Champion Trainers, and Legendary Trainers.
🎆 New Year Discount 🎆
There will also be a 50% discount, but it won't be public. On December 31, the discount code will be published inside the chapters, so stay tuned 👀✨
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"Originally I was planning to take a short break... now it seems time is truly pressing," Cain murmured to himself.
He had planned to stay a while in Leafy Town, organize the information he had obtained both from Team Rocket and the League, and then design the most suitable training plan possible for his Pokémon.
Now there was no time for that.
He headed to the backyard, to the Carbink Cave, and gathered all at once the diamonds they had produced during that period.
Of course, that wouldn't be enough to feed Tyranitar and Aggron, but if rationed carefully, it should last them for a while.
He had the feeling that Carbink was about to complete its mutation; if that happened, perhaps soon they would have a steady flow of diamonds to consume.
Luckily, the private jet hadn't departed yet.
Under the puzzled gaze of the pilot, he demanded to be taken directly to the Kalos region.
The pilot didn't dare ask anything more, limiting himself to carrying out his duty.
It was then that Cain realized how useful power and money were.
The damned social hierarchy...
Though, he admitted, it had its pleasant side.
The Kalos region was quite far from Hoenn.
Even with the high speed of the private jet, it wasn't possible to arrive in a single day.
So Cain made use of the time in the air to review the information stored in his system, searching for anything that might give him new inspiration.
...
Kalos Region.
In Lumiose City, Cain asked the plane to drop him off there and then dismissed it.
After strolling a bit through the city, he headed toward Team Flare's base.
Making sure no one noticed his presence, he ordered Slowking to transport him to the outskirts of the base.
His attire had already been completely replaced.
His face was also covered with a psychic veil.
That level of control showed that Cain was already an advanced-level psychic; except for someone like Sabrina, no one could see through that membrane of mental energy to discern his true appearance.
At the base entrance.
He had given prior notice, and someone was already waiting at the door.
A chubby man, with a small tuft of red hair on his forehead, smiled at him with squinting eyes: "Welcome back, Mr. Kaelus."
"Mr. Xerosic," Cain replied with a slight nod. His voice, somewhat hoarse, made it impossible to guess his true age.
Xerosic's face showed respect, though who knew how much of it was genuine.
His loyalty had always been to Lysandre; what he didn't understand was why Lysandre showed so much deference to Cain.
"Mr. Lysandre has been waiting for you for quite some time," Xerosic said with a smile.
Cain nodded, indicating for him to lead the way.
He knew very well what that man really thought, but as long as Lysandre was there, Xerosic wouldn't be able to do much.
And as for the other members of Team Flare, Cain also had ways of controlling them.
Guided by Xerosic, he arrived at Lysandre's office.
"Mr. Kaelus," Lysandre greeted him as soon as he saw him, approaching with a smile and open arms.
But Cain raised a hand to stop him.
It was better to avoid physical contact.
Lysandre wasn't offended; he simply invited him to sit down.
"Mr. Kaelus, may I know why you want to search for the Nebel Plateau? In Kalos history it's called the Forgotten Land, a place where many Pokémon abandoned by human trainers dwell," Lysandre asked curiously.
"Did you forget what I showed you last time?" Cain replied with another question.
At those words, Lysandre slightly frowned, as if recalling something unpleasant.
He nodded gravely: "I see..."
Cain continued: "From what I know, not far from the Nebel Plateau there once existed a kingdom called Azoth. Just like Nebel Plateau, it remained apart from modern civilization. Its development took a completely different direction: they specialized in mechanics and arcane science. For us, that represents enormous value and could be of great use for future plans."
He paused briefly before adding: "First we must locate that kingdom. Send people to infiltrate it. I am particularly interested in one person, and I want them to search for him once inside."
"Does such a place really exist?" Lysandre couldn't hide his surprise.
He had never imagined that in Kalos there could be a place where arcane science was cultivated.
As for how Cain knew all this, Lysandre had already come up with his own explanation: "Surely it comes from above."
And in that he firmly believed.
Cain, who already had a prepared explanation, saved himself the effort upon seeing that Lysandre didn't ask.
If he knew what Lysandre was thinking, surely he would laugh at how convenient it was to pose as an enlightened one.
Throughout the meeting, Xerosic remained silent behind Lysandre.
He listened to what they said, without interrupting, though deep inside he wasn't very interested in that so-called arcane science.
"No matter how mysterious it is, how could it compare to modern technology?" he thought.
"Give me the exact location of the Nebel Plateau, I want to see it for myself," Cain requested.
Lysandre nodded and pulled out from a drawer a small device with a screen showing the map of Kalos.
There, a red dot marked the location of the Nebel Plateau.
Cain didn't linger any longer. He stood up and decided to leave.
Team Flare was still only in its initial phase; there were too many things to prepare, but Cain had no intention of involving his Pokémon in those trivialities.
Lysandre didn't try to stop him and only saw him off with his gaze.
Once Cain disappeared from the office, Xerosic dared to speak: "Mr. Lysandre, why do you show so much deference to this Mr. Kaelus?"
It was a doubt he had kept for a long time, and the occasion lent itself to expressing it.
Lysandre thought for a moment before replying: "For... the future."
"The future?" Xerosic repeated, confused.
Meanwhile, Cain was already flying away on his Flygon, disappearing among the mountains and forests.
The meeting with Lysandre had surprised him a little; he hadn't expected that seed planted in the past to bear such remarkable fruit.
"It seems I really must value more the power of dreams," he reflected.
It was a useful method, though with too many prerequisites.
The essential thing was to know the other's weaknesses well: to understand what kind of person they were and what they desired.
Only by showing them what they wanted to see, and then guiding them little by little through subtle suggestion, could one achieve an effect like with Lysandre.
At the core, what was happening was that Lysandre's obsession was too strong, and Cain had known how to take advantage of it, merely diverting that obsession a little.
A change so fine that no device, ability, or power could detect it.
(End of Chapter)