Cain's body had not yet recovered; he didn't even have the basic ability to move.
So venturing into other unknown areas would be dangerous.
Since he had already investigated nearly everything within a twenty-kilometer radius, and there was no rush, it was better to take things slowly and advance little by little.
After all, even within the Pokémon world, this moment was meant for Cain and his Pokémon to deepen and assimilate their progress.
And in this unknown space, things could be organized in the same way.
In that sense, the group of Combee that Cain had identified from the beginning would be of great use.
After all, the ones who needed to settle down were Tyranitar and Gengar, but that group of little ones didn't have to do the same.
Bagon, Horsea, and Kirlia had gone quite a while without participating in battle.
Especially Bagon, who was the type that loved fighting—he had been holding back his desire to fight for some time now.
Moreover, all three Pokémon were at a key point in terms of their levels.
Bagon was at level 29; with just one more level, he could evolve into Shelgon.
Horsea was at level 30, just two levels away from becoming a Seadra.
Kirlia, on the other hand, was at level 26 and needed to gain four more levels to evolve into Gardevoir, her final evolution.
Gardevoir's evolution was relatively quick.
So if the conditions allowed, Cain planned to keep holding back her level for a while.
But with Bagon and Horsea, the situation was different.
To begin with, Cain had already been suppressing their levels since the last time they fought. He had been regulating that growth until now.
At this point, he had already developed the physical potential of both to the maximum, and continuing to hold them back wouldn't bring any additional benefits.
That's why Cain wanted to focus on training these two Pokémon and aim for them to evolve during this period.
Of course, nothing could be forced.
As for Bagon's training, Cain already had a pretty complete plan in mind.
It was something he had learned from Drake.
After all, Drake was one of the greatest experts in the Pokémon world when it came to Bagon.
With the guidance and experience passed down by Drake, both Cain and Bagon could avoid many unnecessary detours.
When Bagon was young, both his body and mind had suffered severe damage. Although the physical wounds had healed and his lost talent had been recovered (even slightly improved thanks to Drake's guidance), some psychological scars remained.
Now, his potential had improved—even if he was still Dark Blue in color, faint traces of Light Purple could already be seen in his energy.
Clearly, he was beginning to approach the upper level.
This was also the result of the subtle effect of the Pokéblocks Cain had been giving him.
But Bagon's psychological trauma remained an unresolved issue.
The original idea was to spend some time on Drake's ship after the trip to Celebi's space, to help him heal that emotional damage.
But for now, that would have to wait.
Fortunately, upon evolving into Shelgon, Bagon would enter a power-accumulation phase, like Pupitar, so there would be time before his final evolution.
As for Horsea, to evolve into Kingdra, she would need a Dragon Scale.
Cain had had that Dragon Scale for quite some time. Once Horsea became a Seadra and fully developed her body, he would let her evolve.
The reason Cain hadn't done it yet was because of the ability Swift Swim.
When Horsea evolved into Seadra, her ability would change. Only upon reaching Kingdra would she regain Swift Swim.
But right now, Cain was no longer in a hurry to form his Rain team—he could take his time building it.
In contrast, his Sandstorm team was progressing faster thanks to Tyranitar's presence as the core and was starting to take the lead.
So, at dawn the next day, Cain left the camp with Slowking and Mismagius as escorts, bringing along the three little ones: Bagon, Horsea, and Kirlia.
Thanks to Slowking's Teleport move, they arrived directly at the edge of the Combee forest.
They were also accompanied by the three Skuntank.
After witnessing the strength of Cain's Pokémon firsthand, they behaved with complete docility. They only pulled the cart and didn't get involved in anything else.
For this outing, the most excited one was Bagon, knowing he was finally going to fight.
He had been waiting a long time for this moment.
Horsea, on the other hand, had a much more passive attitude. If Cain asked her to battle, she would do so without issue. If she had to train or rest, she was equally calm.
Ah, Riolu was also with them, never leaving Cain's side.
Maybe it was because Riolu stayed curled up next to Cain's hand and licked the back of it from time to time.
After the muscles in his head started to heal, the first part of Cain's body he was able to move again were precisely the fingers of his right hand—the ones Riolu constantly licked.
Now he could move them a little and sometimes stroke Riolu's soft fur.
With Slowking and Mismagius by his side, he didn't have to worry about his safety.
And if any of the Pokémon faced an opponent that was too strong during battle, Slowking could teleport them away instantly to save them.
That was Cain's safety net to dare enter the Combee forest.
That day, Kirlia wouldn't fight. The main characters would be Horsea and Bagon.
Pokémon: Bagon (Dark Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 29
Type: Dragon
Ability: Rock Head
Held Item: Dragon Scale
Egg Moves: Hydro Pump, Dragon Dance, Fire Fang, Dragon Rush
Basic Moves: Rage, Ember, Leer, Bite, Dragon Breath, Headbutt, Focus Energy, Crunch, Dragon Claw
Learned Moves: Dragon Pulse, Snore
TM Moves: None
These were Bagon's current stats.
As long as Horsea didn't need the Dragon Scale, it made the most sense for Bagon to carry it.
According to Drake, since Bagon was a pure Dragon-type Pokémon, the best way to help him develop his potential and understanding of the Dragon-type was to carry items that contained Dragon-type energy.
And the Dragon Scale was the best option.
Cain had obtained that scale at an auction.
According to the auctioneer, it came from an Elite-level Dragonite from the Kanto region. It was a shed reverse scale.
Quality aside—if it was part of a dragon's reverse scale, it counted as a Dragon Scale.
So this particular one contained extremely dense Dragon-type energy.
Had it appeared in the wild, it would have attracted a horde of Dragon-type Pokémon fighting over it.
Its energy was like a beacon in the night to Dragon-types—easy to detect and highly desirable.
But once a Pokémon—especially a Dragon-type—equipped it, its energy would become partially concealed.
Only very powerful Pokémon could still sense it.
And those strong enough no longer cared about items like that.
Under Cain's instructions, Bagon and Horsea went to provoke the group of Combee.
Cain gave them clear instructions: any Combee or Vespiquen below level 35, no matter how many showed up, they had to face them alone. Only if the enemy exceeded that level could they ask for help.
Thus, the pressure was on for the two Pokémon.
(End of chapter)