After understanding the true objective of the mission thanks to Tenebris and Umbra, Cain took his leave.
The two of them were mainly discussing how to deal with the three legendary birds this time. Cain would play more of a support role and wouldn't need to face them directly.
However, in order for Umbra and Tenebris to complete their part of the plan, those three birds wouldn't be the real legendaries, but rather high-level wild Pokémon.
Cain didn't get involved in the specific details.
He went directly to the exchange center inside the Team Rocket base.
Four hundred million in funds was no small amount.
If used wisely, he could significantly strengthen his Pokémon before setting out.
The first thing Cain did was exchange for all the aura-related materials needed for Riolu's egg.
It had to be said—the Team Rocket warehouse was truly impressive. All those materials Cain hadn't been able to find for so long... they were all here!
After Ralts evolved into Kirlia, and before it could become a Gardevoir, it still needed a few main ingredients for the quality-enhancing potion.
So the second thing he did was exchange for those key ingredients.
Just with those two rare materials, Cain had already spent 100 million of the total.
Then he exchanged for a large number of moves.
Rare moves.
Some of these moves were really hard to come by, and on top of that, the number of exchanges was limited.
For example, the move Swords Dance—even with Elite Officer rank—could only be redeemed twice a year. There were other moves with similar restrictions.
There was no way around it; even for Team Rocket, these items were limited.
Cain redeemed all the rare moves available for his rank that year.
It didn't matter whether he would use them now or not. First, he had to secure them. Maybe he'd need them later. And if not, he could always sell them to make some profit. The important thing was, they wouldn't go to waste!
After completing all the exchanges, he still had 100 million credits left.
He decided not to exchange anything else for the moment. He might need it later.
Under the bitter gazes of the exchange center staff, Cain left with his hands full, while the workers were drenched in sweat from all the back and forth.
Nothing Cain had exchanged for was cheap. They handled everything with extreme care.
And knowing he was an Elite Officer, they were even more afraid of making mistakes and bringing unnecessary trouble.
Back in his room, there were still several days before the mission began. Each person had to prepare as best they could.
After checking that there were no surveillance or listening devices in the room, Cain opened a hidden alternate space in the wall and stepped in to begin his final preparations.
This mission was highly difficult, so he had to carefully consider which Pokémon to bring.
First, since this was a secret Team Rocket mission, the League shouldn't find out. Everyone involved was a loyal subordinate.
But it couldn't be ruled out that the League had deep infiltrators inside Team Rocket.
That's why he had to bring Slowking, even if he wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary and under total secrecy.
Right now, if someone from Team Rocket exposed him, the League wouldn't act, since Giovanni had even sacrificed a base to protect Cain.
But if he were caught using a Pokémon as unique as Slowking, suspicion around him would grow significantly.
Fortunately, the method to evolve Slowking had already been made public, and in time, there would likely be many more like him.
At that point, using Slowking would be much safer.
During this time, Slowking had reached level 64, thanks to accumulated effort and an intense training period. Though that progress had already consumed his entire previous stock of experience.
Aside from Slowking, the rest of his Pokémon had no major issues.
Honchkrow and Weavile had become the emblem of Cain's new status.
Both had reached level 60 and entered the elite tier, thanks to a long period of accumulation and preparation.
This was the result of joint effort, and Cain felt truly satisfied. These two would be the front line in this mission.
Gengar, on the other hand, was already at level 62.
And he had also improved his potential to Light Purple.
Probably due to the influence of that mysterious dark power he absorbed, after reaching elite level, Gengar had developed an extraordinary sensitivity to ghost energy, improving his control exponentially.
This made Cain value that strange energy even more.
With his Mega Evolution capability, Gengar now probably surpassed even Slowking in strength, becoming Cain's trump card and main asset for this operation.
In addition, Drapion had reached level 61, and Florges reached level 62.
Drapion was more common; many Team Rocket members used poison-type Pokémon, so it didn't raise suspicion.
But Florges was different. Along with Slowking, it was practically a direct identifier of Cain. He shouldn't use her unless absolutely necessary.
Fortunately, he had two backup Pokémon prepared for such situations: Altaria and Mismagius.
Both had fairly decent strength, and after a month of intensive training and coordination, they adapted well to Cain's battle style and commands.
In this way, Cain had six fully usable elite-tier Pokémon for this mission.
They would form the combat core.
But he also decided to bring his second line of Pokémon.
After all, the mission site seemed to contain more than just the three legendary birds. Bringing them could help them train and accelerate their evolution so they could catch up to the front line.
During this month, all of them trained intensively.
Swampert had already reached the quasi-elite level, while the others were still in the Advanced tier: Blaziken, Pupitar, and the rest.
But the standout was Lairon.
Currently, Lairon was at level 41. He had only gained one level in the entire month.
That was completely intentional, both by Cain's command and Lairon's own decision.
Both were holding back his evolution.
With his talent and potential, Lairon had not yet fully developed his body. While he could evolve without issue, Cain wanted him to build a strong foundation first.
During that time, Lairon had also raised his potential from Quasi-Purple to Light Purple, which was his current limit.
However, both Lairon and Pupitar had eaten all the diamonds Cain had collected from Mythical Island.
The consumption had been way faster than expected.
Before departing, Cain had even completely looted the Carbink cave, taking all the diamonds and minerals they had gathered with so much effort.
But even that wouldn't last long.
Cain would have to find a solution for Lairon and Pupitar's feeding problem.
They were literally driving him into ruin!
(End of chapter)