Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom (200 - 398)

Chapter 380: A Small Goal

After finishing the call, Cain received the information Old Matsuda had sent him.

He immediately stored it in the system without reviewing it, trusting the system to automatically organize it. However, the amount of data exceeded his expectations.

Unconcerned, he went straight to bed.

He slept until nightfall before finally getting up.

Then, he left the hotel and headed to Saffron City's black market.

Although it had been some time since his last visit, the black market remained the same, unchanged.

He went straight to the Pokémon sales section, where he sold the light blue-quality Golduck he had captured from Vexor, along with three Meowths he had caught on the Challenge Island, to a shop.

When the employee learned that the visitor was selling a light blue-quality Pokémon, they even alerted the store manager.

The manager personally came out to handle the transaction.

For them, a light blue-quality Pokémon represented the entry level of a higher tier. Finding one in an entire month was rare, making this a very important customer.

After some negotiation, Cain received ten million Pokédollars.

In reality, if properly valued, that Golduck could have fetched a bit more, but since its origins weren't entirely legal, Cain didn't want complications and sold it quickly.

Generally, a green-quality Pokémon is worth less than a million, while dark green-quality ones can range between one to five or six million. However, when the quality reaches blue, the price increases significantly.

This particular Golduck should have been worth over ten million, but the manager suspected it originally belonged to someone else, so they hesitated to raise the price.

Cain wanted to dispose of the Pokémon quickly to avoid the possibility of anyone tracing it back to him.

Additionally, Cain was in need of money and hadn't given any to his subordinates. They should be able to grow on their own, without fully relying on the Pokémon he provided them.

Upon arriving at the Hunter's Guild, cloaked as usual, he noticed that Rosa and the Sun Badge wielder who had chased him were no longer there—likely reassigned to another branch.

Cain went directly to the Pokémon exchange section and opened the trade list.

Cain's primary objective for visiting the black market this time was simple: to see if he could find a Pokémon that suited his current plans.

Poliwag!

A common Pokémon in the Kanto region, but one Cain needed for his current strategy.

This Pokémon was tied to one of his upcoming goals.

Although he had devised this plan after his calls with Steven and Old Matsuda that same day, Cain considered it highly feasible.

The plan was to become a Gym Trainer in the Hoenn region.

First, set a small goal: become a Gym Leader!

It might sound amusing—a member of Team Rocket wanting to become a League Gym Trainer or even a Gym Leader—but it was actually plausible.

At least, Cain saw it as highly viable.

First, he had a very influential friend in the Hoenn region—Steven Stone!

The future president of Hoenn's largest company, Devon Corporation, whose status far surpassed that of an average Gym Leader. With Steven's support, there wouldn't be much local opposition in Hoenn.

Then, there was Cain's master, a renowned high-level breeder and Elite-level Trainer, Matsuda Takashi!

An almost legendary figure in the League, even Drake treated him as a peer.

Therefore, as long as Cain's Team Rocket identity remained hidden, he could be considered a legitimate League Trainer, even though he hadn't received one of the League's starter Pokémon.

Considering this, Cain wondered if it would be possible to ask Old Matsuda to help him obtain a League starter Pokémon.

A Mudkip, perhaps?

It was a possibility!

Thus, from this perspective, Cain's plan to become a Gym Trainer in Hoenn wasn't far-fetched. The only limitations now were his strength and the Pokémon he owned.

Everyone knows that while not all Gym Trainers specialize in one type of Pokémon, many assume Gym Leaders focus on a specific type.

Therefore, Cain had to decide what type to represent. Even if he didn't fully specialize, he at least needed to appear to.

Hoenn's major cities already had Gyms, with some even hosting more than one.

Opening a Gym in one of these cities would be difficult and risk offending existing Gym Leaders—not worth the trouble.

Furthermore, with his current strength, Cain wasn't a match for those veteran Gym Leaders.

Establishing a Gym in a major city also required significant funds.

However, opening a Gym in a small or less developed town could even receive League support.

After all, the League wanted to expand its influence in other regions, and the best way to do that was by establishing as many Gyms as possible in towns and villages.

A Gym Leader could represent the League in that location, acting almost like a mayor or town chief but with greater trust from Trainers.

Thus, becoming a Gym Leader would allow Cain to have more control over a town and conceal his underground activities.

This would benefit both his growth within the League and his development in the underworld.

So, becoming a Gym Leader in the Hoenn region was Cain's first goal.

Once achieved, he could involve himself in power struggles within the underworld.

Now, Cain needed to choose a Pokémon type to represent.

The Pokémon he had publicly revealed were: Slowpoke, Miltank, Haunter, Gyarados, and Tropius.

As for other Pokémon, he hadn't shown them much, so there wasn't an issue.

If circumstances allowed, Cain would choose Dragon-type Pokémon, but they were hard to obtain and slow to develop, which didn't suit his current needs.

Therefore, Cain opted for the Water type, as it was the most represented in his team.

Thus, his first target was one of Kanto's most common Water Pokémon: Poliwag.

Although Poliwag was common, most people only knew about its final evolution, Poliwrath, achieved with a Water Stone.

However, few knew there was another evolutionary path.

(End of Chapter)