Upon noticing that Cain was not afraid of him and had not fled immediately, the newcomer also showed some surprise.
It was neither the first nor the second time he had encountered members of the League. Aside from a few who initially tried to fight him, most of them, whenever they ran into him, fled without hesitation.
That was why, upon detecting Cain's movements, he had hurried over as quickly as possible. He had thought it would be just another chase, but he did not expect that this person would not only fail to escape immediately, but would also look at him with a contemplative expression.
This made the newcomer feel somewhat excited; however, upon noticing Cain's gaze, he did not know why, but a chilling sensation arose within him, as if a venomous snake were staring straight at him.
When he came back to his senses, he discovered that Cain had already returned to his normal expression. Only then did he clearly realize his appearance: that face which, under the orders of the black-faced leader, they had been searching for over the past two months.
Cain!
Realizing that the person observing him with that strange gaze was precisely Cain, whom his leader had been seeking so fervently, a wave of joy flooded Bartram's heart. In his mind, he was already imagining what kind of praise he would receive if he managed to capture him, and how many tangible rewards he would obtain.
Not everyone had Lucas's luck. That fortunate fellow, merely by possessing a Jolteon, had received the special attention of the black-faced man, obtaining enormous resources for training.
This made many people feel deep envy: a Jolteon that had originally been barely at Elite Four level was already impacting the Champion level in just two months.
Although that progress had been achieved by forcibly pushing its growth with a large amount of resources, suddenly gaining a Quasi-Champion-level Jolteon from nothing was undoubtedly like a pie falling from the sky.
But if he could capture Cain, who had practically single-handedly ruined the Sacred Church's plans, Bartram firmly believed that the reward would be far greater than Lucas's. Then...
Thinking of this, Bartram suppressed the intention to call his companions. He was unwilling to share such a coveted reward.
He wanted to capture that young League member called Cain all by himself!
Once that idea emerged in his mind, he could no longer restrain it. As for Cain having defeated Jacob and that idiot expert in Electric-type Pokémon, in Bartram's eyes, it had all happened simply because they had been too careless.
That Electric-type specialist had not even started the battle before being taken down by an ambush.
As for Jacob, according to what Irene had said, she had almost defeated someone called Steven, but before she could succeed, Cain had finished Jacob off first.
To Bartram, that was nothing more than a way to shift the blame onto others. How Jacob had really died was hard to say: whether it was that she had almost defeated Steven or that Steven had almost defeated her was not clear at all.
During this time, the people they had encountered were not exactly weak, not people who could be defeated easily. Therefore, Bartram was convinced that the story was an invention by Irene to wash her hands of responsibility. Most likely, Cain and Steven had joined forces to get rid of Jacob; but saying that outright would have made Irene look bad, so she had been forced to "justify herself."
The reason Bartram thought this way was simple: if he were in Irene's position, he would have said exactly the same thing.
Therefore, in his judgment, Cain was not weak, but he definitely could not be that strong.
Moreover, both Jacob and that Electric-type specialist, although they had lived for a long time, had led lives that were far too comfortable, which had long since caused them to lose the fighting spirit of a trainer.
Being killed in an ambush without even being able to react... the word "trash" fit them perfectly.
If it were not because those people had been chosen by the legendary bishop, Bartram would have been the first to openly disdain them. At the very least, he did not take seriously those who had lived twenty-five years longer than him at all, and as for those who had lived fifty years longer, Bartram said he still respected his elders.
He was not the only one who thought this way. That was precisely why they were searching for Cain so enthusiastically: everyone had the same idea as Bartram, to capture him alone and take all the rewards.
Today, luck was on his side. He had thought it would just be a token patrol, and that the opponent would flee like all the others he had encountered before.
But he never imagined that this person would not only fail to flee, but was actually the Cain he had been "thinking about day and night."
An extremely intense greed welled up in Bartram's eyes, as if Cain had instantly become an irresistible delicacy, coveted by all.
Although it seemed as if he had thought for a long time, in reality all of this had happened within a matter of seconds.
Cain remained where he was, watching with a mocking air as that Sacred Church member stood stunned for two or three seconds. Although he did not know exactly what the other party was conjecturing, Cain assumed that he was surely plotting something special against him.
Cain knew that the Sacred Church was looking for him; what he did not know was their true purpose.
Irene and Will had undoubtedly already spread his appearance among all the members of the Sacred Church, so Cain had not deliberately hidden his face, waiting to be recognized.
As for this person not attacking immediately after seeing him, not fleeing, and not even calling his companions, that made Cain unable to fully read him.
It was clear that the opponent did not truly understand Cain's strength.
But!
Cain already understood, to a certain extent, the strength of his adversary.
This was due to the plan that Cain, Lance, Cynthia, and the others had initiated a month earlier: to deliberately increase contact with the Sacred Church, gather information, and analyze their power, and then find a suitable opportunity to wipe them out in a single blow.
And that member of the Sacred Church accompanied by Gengar and Weavile was precisely listed among the people whom Lance and the others had already encountered.
He was an expert in Ghost- and Dark-type Pokémon, with strength that had just reached the Champion level. If the special abilities of the Sacred Church were taken into account, he was even slightly stronger than an ordinary Champion-level trainer.
If Steven and the others were to encounter him, their chances of winning and retreating unscathed would not be very high. But Cain believed that he had far greater odds, not only because he held a certain advantage in strength, but because he knew the opponent's Pokémon perhaps even better than Bartram himself.
(End of chapter)