Cain barely managed to board the last flight of the day from Mauville City headed toward the League headquarters.
Exactly one day had passed since he received Juan's call until he finally arrived.
Without any issues, he entered Juan's office.
At that moment, his mentor, Matsuda Takashi, had already been waiting there with Juan for quite some time.
They had expected to see him the day before but hadn't anticipated that it would take Cain an entire day to arrive.
"Master! President!" Cain greeted respectfully as he entered the office.
Besides them, Phoebe was also present, giving him a small wave from behind Juan.
She had grown a bit since the last time he saw her.
Juan and old Matsuda nodded with satisfaction.
"Cain, we've already heard all about what you did in the Kalos region. The Kalos League even sent us a letter of thanks for your contribution during the Parfum Palace incident. On top of that, the heir of the palace also sent a gift as a token of appreciation. Phoebe will give it to you in a moment," said Juan with a smile.
At his age, what Juan most wished for was to see the new generation of the Hoenn League grow and thrive.
Cain's generation had great potential, which left Juan quite pleased.
Especially now that many of them were starting to prove it.
The main ones: Cain, Steven, Wallace, and Phoebe.
All four had the potential to reach Elite Four level, and Juan dreamed that they could all reach that level—or even surpass it.
Champion!
Currently, the title of Champion of Hoenn was still held by Juan.
But he couldn't deny that age was starting to take its toll, and his energy was no longer the same.
Moreover, his strength was also slowly fading. At most, he could probably maintain his current level for another three to five years. After that, he might not even qualify as Elite Four level.
After all, not everyone could be like Professor Oak, who maintained his peak condition for so long.
At his age, neither the trainer nor the Pokémon can escape the blade of time.
Juan had also placed his hopes in Norman, the Gym Leader of Petalburg City.
Norman's strength was undeniable, but unfortunately, he had no interest in becoming an Elite Four member or Champion.
He told Juan directly: he'd accept the position of Elite Four, but he didn't want too many responsibilities. He preferred to have time to train.
But there were already several Elite Four members avoiding administrative duties, and another like Norman would be too much.
So that matter was shelved.
"It's all thanks to the teachings of the President and Master," Cain said with a smile.
"You, huh... you've been spending too much time with that brat Lance, and you're starting to talk like him," Juan chuckled while scolding him affectionately.
"Hehe~" Cain scratched his head, smiling.
For a moment, he nearly forgot the role he was stepping into.
"All right, let's get to the point. This time we called you urgently to give you more responsibility."
More responsibility?
Juan continued: "A few days ago, that brat Lance sent me an email with the video of his battle with you. It was a close match, and you only lost by a small margin."
"That kid even wanted to meddle in the affairs of the Hoenn League... but well, never mind that."
Even though Juan grumbled, he wasn't actually upset with Lance.
What Lance had done was exactly what Juan hoped to see.
They couldn't allow a talent like Cain to go unnoticed.
"Because of that battle, and your actions during the Parfum Palace incident, we've more or less confirmed that your strength is already at the Elite level. Maybe not all of your Pokémon are quite there yet, but we believe you're not far."
"So, after discussing with your master, we've decided to assign you greater responsibilities. We hope that in the future, you'll be able to take on one of the major duties of the Hoenn region," Juan said seriously.
Upon hearing that, Cain immediately straightened his posture.
Even if not stated directly, Juan's words were essentially reserving him a future seat among the Elite Four of Hoenn.
As long as Cain reached the appropriate level, Juan would push him into that position.
And it must be said that in the Hoenn League, Juan's word was practically law. As both League President and Champion, he held all political and battle authority.
And after so many years at the top, who in the League wouldn't support him?
Probably more than half of Hoenn's upper ranks stood behind him.
After all, anyone would respect someone who had dedicated their life so wholeheartedly to the region.
"I place myself at the full service of the League," said Cain firmly.
Juan nodded with satisfaction.
"Since that's the case, we now appoint you as the Fourth Chief-Level Investigator of the Hoenn League. This role reports directly to me—so I'll be your immediate superior."
The fourth!
Chief-Level Investigator of Hoenn!
Cain's heart trembled.
He thought he'd be given a lower position—but Juan had just dropped a bombshell on him.
The Research Department was directly overseen by the Champion in each region. And since Juan was also Hoenn's Champion, he was in charge.
And Chief-Level Investigator was the highest rank in that department.
Cain had assumed that Lance, upon returning to the Kanto League, would receive that title—but he never imagined he himself would also receive it upon returning to Hoenn.
Becoming a Chief-Level Investigator placed him among the League's upper leadership.
At just 16 years old, Cain had become the youngest person in Pokémon world history to receive this title.
To take this role, Elite-level strength was a requirement. But not every Elite-level trainer could attain it.
Power and status were essential.
Currently, in Hoenn, there were only three other Chief-Level Investigators:
Joy Yui, from the Joy family, a former superior of Cain's, and the wielder of a legendary Articuno.
A woman from the Jenny family (name unknown).
A member of the Stone family, possibly Steven's uncle or cousin—though not entirely clear. What was certain was that he had a close relationship with Steven.
In fact, Steven worked under this last one.
And now, Cain—recently promoted to Elite level—would be on the same level as these three titans.
This showed that in this role, family background and position mattered even more than strength.
That's why Steven couldn't occupy the post.
It wasn't due to a lack of power or prestige—but because the Stone family already had a representative, and a balance had to be maintained.
Which meant that from now on, Cain could even be considered Steven's superior. Perhaps not in direct command—but a superior nonetheless.
(End of chapter)