"What!? You want to venture deep into the interior of Mt. Silver? Are you serious?" Old Matsuda's voice suddenly echoed inside the Breeders' Guild, startling more than half of the people present.
Cain showed a helpless expression when he saw his master react so dramatically.
However, he calmly replied, "Master, please don't get agitated first. You also know that a few days ago, during my experiments, I practically exhausted the guild's reserves. The only known place where that type of material is produced is the interior of Mt. Silver. Besides, I'm no longer the foolish and helpless kid I used to be..."
Before Cain could finish speaking, Old Matsuda interrupted him: "Yes! I know you now possess impressive strength—so much so that even I, as your master, am no longer stronger than you. But you have to understand one thing: as your master, I will always be your master. In my eyes, you will always be that foolish kid."
"It doesn't matter whether you're now the Sandstorm Elite Four or an Advanced-level breeder. In front of me, you're just my disciple. And I say you can't go, period!"
When Old Matsuda's temper flared, not even nine Tauros together could stop him.
Precisely because of that stubborn personality, before accepting Cain as a disciple he had always been alone and rarely returned to the Breeders' Guild.
The helplessness on Cain's face deepened, but there was no anger in his heart; on the contrary, he felt a profound sense of emotion.
Probably Old Matsuda was, in the entire world, the only person who could still shout at Cain like this, regardless of his status or profession, thinking solely about his well-being.
Because of that, even though he was firmly opposed to Cain entering the interior of Mt. Silver, Cain could not be angry with him.
Old Matsuda and Drake were Cain's two masters. Old Matsuda had taken on the role of protector during the early stages of Cain's growth, always helping and caring for him in his own way.
He was the extremely overprotective type of mentor.
Drake, on the other hand, assumed the role of guide when Cain already possessed a certain level of strength. His attitude toward Cain was different: more open, capable of trusting the decisions Cain made on his own and believing that he could face any difficulty.
That was why, when Cain took the initiative to shoulder responsibility in the face of Team Magma and Team Aqua, Drake respected his choice.
The two masters had very different attitudes when dealing with problems, but both had provided Cain with tremendous help.
Cain was deeply grateful to both of them. So even though his strength now surpassed Old Matsuda's and, in the field of breeding, he was not inferior in the slightest, in front of him he was still a student who dared not make mistakes.
With no other option, Cain could only cast a pleading look toward Grandma Syl, who was standing to the side.
Who would have imagined that the usually imposing and domineering Grandma Syl, upon seeing Old Matsuda lose his temper, would not only fail to get angry but instead show that admiring look of a devoted fan.
Indeed, there is always someone who can rein in another...
"Ahem." Cain pretended to cough lightly.
Hearing Cain's cough, Grandma Syl finally came back to her senses. With a slight blush on her face, she said, "Takashi, no matter what, Cain is still a member of the Elite Four now. In terms of strength, there's no problem at all. Although the interior of Mt. Silver is dangerous, it's not as if no one goes there."
"Doesn't the League stipulate that anyone with Elite Four–level strength can enter Mt. Silver?"
"Even if Cain hasn't reached Champion level yet, at the very least he's at Quasi-Champion level. If he goes in, what do you have to worry about?"
Grandma Syl's words caused Old Matsuda's expression to soften a little.
"It's not that you don't know. Every year, a great many people enter the interior of Mt. Silver and fail to return alive. Moreover, most of them only dare to move around the peripheral areas. The materials he's looking for can only be found by going deep inside."
"When you yourself were searching for valuable materials, didn't you run around all kinds of dangerous places? And look at you now—you're still here, perfectly fine. Besides, with Cain's current strength, how many places are really left that can serve as training grounds for him?" Grandma Syl continued.
Cain also interjected, "Master, don't worry. I'll be careful. Don't forget that I'm also a psychic; ordinary Pokémon can't easily approach me. And I have Slowking with me—he has already trained the move Teleport to a masterful level."
"And Takashi, you also know what the League's current situation is like. Cain finding a suitable place to train is also in the hope of strengthening himself and better facing what's to come," Grandma Syl added again.
Hearing this, Old Matsuda fell silent.
Of course, he could also clearly sense that the League's current situation was nothing more than the calm before the storm.
Before the great chaos erupted, strengthening one's own power as soon as possible and trying to survive that storm—or even gain some benefit from it—was not a wrong approach.
Cain's choice was not wrong either.
The reason Old Matsuda's reaction had been so strong was simply because the interior of Mt. Silver was truly extremely dangerous.
One must not be misled by the fact that the Kanto League and its headquarters are located at Mt. Silver; in reality, they are only situated at the true entrance to Mt. Silver, not within the mountain itself.
As one of the oldest mountains in the Pokémon world, Mt. Silver divides the Kanto region into two parts: Kanto and Johto. Its expanse is so vast as to be almost unimaginable, and moreover, the interior of the mountain is filled with tunnels and passages, making it incredibly complex.
Being such an ancient mountain, it naturally harbors numerous wild Pokémon of immense power within. Exactly how powerful those Pokémon are, no one knows.
As Grandma Syl said, to enter the interior of Mt. Silver, one must at minimum possess Elite Four–level strength. For anyone below that level, entering would essentially be courting death. And even so, every year there are many people who, after entering Mt. Silver, never return.
It must be understood that when the League was founded, choosing to establish its headquarters at the entrance of Mt. Silver was not to display grandeur, but simply to contain the Pokémon inside the mountain. In this way, incidents in which extremely powerful Pokémon suddenly attacked humans in various cities were effectively reduced.
By doing so, the League not only suppressed all of Mt. Silver, but also brought under its control the enormous quantity of resources that existed within it.
Anyone who wishes to enter the interior of Mt. Silver must obtain the League's approval.
Moreover, every year the League organizes personnel to venture into Mt. Silver and collect all kinds of valuable resources, including various materials and rare Pokémon with exceptional aptitude.
Do you think the League possesses so many Pokémon with extraordinary potential for no reason? A portion of them were captured precisely within Mt. Silver.
It's just that these things are not made public. Only the truly core members of the League, and only after reaching a certain level of strength, can come to know of them.
And once one has sufficient strength, who hasn't had contact with the capture and trade of Pokémon? As such, no one is surprised by it anymore.
(End of chapter)