Didn't the Sacred Church like to play at being infiltrators?
Perfect. Cain also loved playing counterintelligence.
Let's see who the true king of "the infiltrator business" is!
Only by truly getting close and digging deep could one understand the Sacred Church's real nature. As for whether he could interfere with their goals and plans, that would depend on Cain's ability.
In fact, without them knowing it, he had already destroyed half of their plans, hadn't he?
Otherwise, the Sacred Church would not have mobilized so many resources to find Cain and take that Leafeon back.
After adjusting his psychic abilities to match Bartram's, Darkrai hid himself once more within Cain's shadow. Then, with a sweep of his cloak, Cain vanished from the spot together with Gengar and Weavile.
Cain's psychic abilities were not inferior to Bartram's. Before, he had been unable to use instantaneous teleportation simply because his control was insufficient. But after two months of covering the entire Aura Valley with his psychic power, he had already reached the required level.
After disappearing via teleportation, Cain did not head toward the central peak where the Sacred Church members were gathered, but instead appeared near the area where Steven was training and battling outside.
Hidden beneath the cloak, Cain smiled faintly. Now he would test whether his disguise was truly convincing.
Steven, who was giving orders to Mawile in a battle against a powerful wild Pokémon, suddenly felt a stab of alertness. He threw a Poké Ball, and his Shiny Metagross appeared at his side.
Frowning, Steven observed his surroundings. He did not sense any immediate danger, but he could clearly feel that someone was secretly watching him.
With the increase in outdoor training and the rise in battles, it was not only the Pokémon that progressed; the trainers evolved as well. At that moment, Steven's sixth sense was as sharp as that of a beast accustomed to surviving in the wild.
Cain observed his reaction and nodded to himself. Although he was not a Psychic-type, that level of vigilance was enough for Steven to survive under the threat of the Sacred Church and continue growing.
If he wanted to test how well he was imitating Bartram, Cain had no reason to avoid contact.
Moreover, he could take the opportunity to assess Steven's current strength and progress.
Cain used teleportation again and appeared in front of Steven together with a smiling Gengar and a Weavile completely immersed in its role.
Seeing someone suddenly appear before him, Steven was startled, but he quickly narrowed his eyes. They already had quite a bit of information gathered about that person.
That "member of the Sacred Church"... Steven felt that this moment and this place could be the perfect opportunity to eliminate one.
Cain perceived the intent to fight in Steven's eyes, which aligned perfectly with his own plans.
"Tell me where Cain is, and I'll let you live," Cain said, perfectly imitating Bartram's tone and manner of speaking.
Steven frowned. Although that person gave him a strange feeling, the arrogant tone characteristic of the Sacred Church was deeply unpleasant to him.
"Not in your dreams! Mawile, Mega Evolve!" Steven growled, raising his right hand as a Key Stone emitted a strange glow.
For some time now, Steven had turned his Key Stone into an improvised ring using a special vine, wearing it on his right index finger.
Seeing that flashy Mega Evolution gesture, Cain could not help but fall silent beneath the cloak. So Steven had already developed a taste for exaggeration back then...
The energy of Mega Evolution surged from the Key Stone and completely enveloped Mawile.
Mega Mawile appeared before Cain!
After two months of living together, the synchronization between Steven and Mawile was even greater. Mega Evolution had become something entirely natural for them, smooth and without the slightest pause.
A faint smile appeared on Cain's hidden face, though his hands did not stop moving. He took out a divine stone of the Sacred Church.
He had obtained it from Bartram's spatial equipment. If he was going to imitate the Sacred Church, his "divine infusion" also had to be flawless.
He placed the stone above Gengar's head and shouted, "Since you seek death, I'll grant your wish! Gengar, divine infusion!"
However, when the stone was less than a centimeter from Gengar, a thin psychic film stopped it. In Cain's other hand, hidden beneath the cloak, a Key Stone appeared that matched the Gengarite.
The energy of Mega Evolution enveloped Gengar, identical in appearance to the Sacred Church's "divine infusion."
With a subtle motion, Cain put the divine stone away under the cloak and then into his storage space.
It had to be said: Gengar was a genuine actor. He had seen with his own eyes how Bartram's Gengar mega evolved through the divine stone, so...
When the energy dissipated, Mega Gengar appeared panting, with an expression as if it had suffered enormously to complete the transformation.
Even Cain almost believed it. Let alone Steven, who had barely interacted with the Sacred Church; naturally, he suspected nothing.
Weavile, to the side, glanced over in surprise. It had not known that its "third brother" possessed such acting talent. At this rate, Cain's greatest rival for an Oscar might very well be that freshly mega-evolved Gengar.
Fortunately, Weavile did not draw too much attention, and both Steven and his Pokémon were focused on Mega Gengar.
Since today he had come to "kill" Steven, Cain could not appear too friendly. Earlier, he had not yet fully completed the identity switch and had forgotten to release his killing intent, but it was never too late.
Feeling the change in the presence of the "member of the Sacred Church" and sensing that killing intent, Steven not only did not suspect anything, but thought that this was exactly how it should be.
The reason he had felt uncomfortable earlier was precisely because he had not sensed hostility. Now, at last, everything made sense.
Steven began to feel excited. After so much effort, he finally had the chance to verify the results of his progress.
Constant training does not always allow one to perceive growth, especially when one is always facing the same companions.
Battling Cain was also not a useful reference: those he could not defeat before, he still could not defeat; those he defeated, he continued to defeat.
It was like driving a car: only by comparing oneself to stationary objects could one perceive real speed.
That member of the Sacred Church was the perfect point of reference.
From the standpoint of types, Steven was confident he had the advantage. Metagross could resist Mega Gengar to a certain extent, and both it and Mega Mawile excelled in defense, which limited Weavile's impact.
Moreover, thanks to his training with Cain, Steven was well acquainted with Mega Gengar's characteristics. By contrast, he was sure that the Sacred Church did not know Mega Mawile's true strengths, which would allow him to catch the enemy by surprise.
Steven did not summon any more Pokémon. If the opponent was only using two, he did not want to abuse numerical superiority.
Not everyone shared Cain's mindset: winning was winning, no matter how many Pokémon were used. For Steven, dignity still carried weight.
This self-reliance, common among League trainers, was not always a good thing.
"Mawile, Swords Dance!"
"Metagross, Psychic!"
Steven gave the order to attack without hesitation. Although he would not summon more Pokémon, that did not mean he intended to stay on the defensive.
(End of chapter)