Precisely because of this, Mt. Silver became the first initial capital upon which the League established itself.
Of course, although the League exploited the resources within Mt. Silver, they also understood the principle of sustainable use, so to this day the internal ecological environment of Mt. Silver has been preserved in very good condition.
Moreover, as the League continued to expand and became the largest organization in the Pokémon world, its demand for resources and the pressure it placed on Mt. Silver's ecosystem decreased considerably, slowing the pace of extraction.
In recent years even more so: many families with a certain level of strength, in order to provide their descendants with Pokémon of good aptitude, have also organized personnel to enter Mt. Silver and search for Pokémon with potential.
However, juvenile-stage Pokémon taken out of Mt. Silver must first pass the League's inspection before they can be brought outside.
Not only that, to ensure that the League maintains sufficient combat power, the headquarters sends two to three legions into Mt. Silver every year.
In this way, while receiving training, the formation of high-level forces within Mt. Silver is also kept under control.
Training troops and regulating the internal ecosystem of Mt. Silver—this is what the League has been doing in recent years.
That Black Messenger who had been defeated by Cain in the past was precisely one of the commanders of those legions.
But the fact that even a legion commander of that level had been infiltrated by the Sacred Church showed just how insecure the interior of the League currently was.
That was why even the old Matsuda and Grandma Syl said that the present was nothing more than the calm before the storm.
After venting his anger, the old Matsuda also understood that what Cain said made sense, and that what Grandma Syl mentioned was in line with reality.
In the end, he nodded helplessly and said, "I know that with the strength you have now, as your master I can no longer help you much. I only hope that you know how to take good care of yourself."
"Inside Mt. Silver, there are League legions stationed there. If you encounter any difficulty, you can ask them for help. Out of respect for your identity as one of the Elite Four, they will provide support."
Saying this was equivalent to the old Matsuda accepting that Cain would enter Mt. Silver.
"Master, don't worry," Cain nodded solemnly.
However, deep down, he did not believe that the League's legions would be able to offer him much help.
To begin with, the current situation of the legions within the League was quite bad. Although the identity of the Black Messenger was not publicly announced nor openly exposed, anyone with some strength or status already knew the truth, which caused many people to now view the League's legions with suspicion.
As the main victims, the legions naturally hated the Sacred Church, but what angered them the most was the betrayal of the Black Messenger, which left them with a sense of humiliation and bitterness that was difficult to describe.
When the Black Messenger was still a legion commander of the League, he had been a very kind person and treated his subordinates extremely well, earning their deep loyalty. If there had not been irrefutable evidence, they would never have believed that their superior was a traitor to the League and an infiltrator of the Sacred Church.
But now, with the corpse right before their eyes, they had no choice but to accept reality.
And since Cain was precisely the one who exposed the identity of the Black Messenger, it was easy to imagine how much goodwill he could expect to receive from those legions.
They would not go so far as to hate him or deliberately cause him trouble, but they certainly would not show him a friendly face.
So asking them for help could end up leading to unexpected demands.
Moreover, Cain himself did not feel much sympathy for that group either. Just as many people thought: if one legion commander could be an infiltrator of the Sacred Church, who could guarantee that there were not other commanders, or even more members, who were the same?
Of course, as long as those legions continued to exist, it meant that the League had carried out strict investigations and reviews. Otherwise, if one of the League's greatest military forces had its leaders infiltrated by enemies, then there would be no point in continuing at all—it would be better to just crash into a wall.
Facts were one thing; personal opinions and prejudices were another matter entirely.
It was said that, because of the Black Messenger incident, the League had even decided to cut the budgets of several major legions.
So Cain had no reason to expect a warm welcome.
After bidding farewell to the old Matsuda and Grandma Syl, Cain headed straight for the entrance to the interior of Mt. Silver, where a League legion was stationed specifically to evaluate the strength of anyone who wished to enter.
Cain arrived riding Salamence.
A Pokémon like Salamence, being a pseudo-legendary, was quite rare. Although it did not directly represent Cain's identity, it did serve to reflect, to a certain extent, the strength of the visitor.
Amid the roar of wind and sand, Cain landed, recalled Salamence, and strode toward the entrance.
There were quite a lot of people at the site. Seeing his domineering manner of arrival, and knowing that flying was prohibited within the League yet he had still arrived riding a Salamence, everyone understood that he was someone out of the ordinary.
Cain did not try to conceal his identity either: he was wearing the Elite Four uniform customized by the Hoenn League and bore on his chest the exclusive insignia of the Sandstorm Elite Four.
His identity was obvious, and murmurs began to spread around him.
Some soldiers, upon recognizing who he was, immediately ran toward the legion's camp.
Not long after Cain arrived at the entrance, several people quickly approached from the distance. From the clothing of the one at the front, it was clear that he was the person in charge of the legion stationed there—that is, the commander.
"Elite Four Cain, please wait a moment," the newcomer shouted with a smile so loud it could be heard from afar.
Cain frowned slightly and looked at the man: he was wearing an earth-yellow military uniform, without any other visible insignia indicating his rank or identity.
After all, he was in someone else's territory, so Cain stopped.
Seeing him stop, the man's smile deepened. He quickly stepped forward and said, "The arrival of Elite Four Cain without any prior notice, and without a proper welcome, is truly inexcusable on our part."
As the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling person. And although his words were somewhat exaggerated, they did not seem incorrect.
"Sorry for the trouble, I simply decided to enter the interior of Mt. Silver on short notice," Cain replied.
"Of course, of course. As one of the Elite Four, there is absolutely no problem for you to enter Mt. Silver. But you know, after what happened last time, the League has greatly strengthened the surveillance of Mt. Silver. Anyone who wants to enter must answer a few questions, so..." The man's tone did not resemble that of someone commanding a military force at all.
His words were filled with veiled insinuations. On the surface, they did not sound problematic, but they concealed an uncomfortable undertone.
What did he mean by "what happened last time"? Was it not the incident in which Cain defeated the Black Messenger?
Pure sarcasm.
Although he did not say it outright, his words easily provoked unpleasant thoughts. And hadn't the subtle changes in the gazes of the soldiers behind him already become noticeable?
Moreover, some curious onlookers around took out various recording devices and began filming the scene, pointing them directly at both of them.
(End of chapter)