Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom-Chapter 380 - 379: Steven and Old Matsuda

Finally, after more than five hours of flight, the plane reached the airspace of Saffron City in the Kanto region. It landed at Team Rocket's private airport.

That's right—Team Rocket has its own private airport in Saffron City. While they don't openly display the Team Rocket emblem, it's still an impressive setup.

That's how bold they are!

After deboarding, the group, led by Team Rocket members, entered Team Rocket's base in Saffron City.

Although Cain had been to Saffron City several times before, this was his first time arriving here in this life.

The staff swiftly registered their identification cards; from this point onward, they were all official members of Team Rocket.

As for Cain, already holding the rank of Team Rocket Squad Captain, he received special treatment, including personal assistants.

After Skye and Alec were registered as Team Rocket Captains, they applied to join Cain's unit. Following a series of formalities, they officially became his subordinates.

As for Miyamoto, he also wanted to join directly, but since Cain hadn't given him permission yet, he remained under the radar.

However, Cain instructed him to go directly to Hoenn and contact Alec after some time. Before departing, they exchanged contact information.

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The pill Cain had given Miyamoto had a maximum effect duration of one month, so Miyamoto would have to seek Cain in Hoenn.

Once all registrations were complete, Cain left the Team Rocket base on his own.

Dressed in his familiar League outfit and wearing his human-skin mask, Cain reappeared on the streets of Saffron City as a League trainer.

While walking through the streets, his Slowpoke invisibly emanated an aura that kept strangers at bay, so no one dared approach Cain.

"Slowpoke, tone it down a bit. We're no longer on the trial island; there's no need to be so tense," Cain said with mild frustration.

The prolonged survival training and battles had affected his Pokémon.

Fortunately, Cain's League Trainer attire caused those who feared Slowpoke's aura to regard Cain with admiration instead.

"He must be a very strong trainer," most thought.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Cain hailed a taxi and headed to a well-known luxury hotel in Saffron City.

As for the Pokémon Center, given the number of Pokémon he had and his current identity, it was best to steer clear of that place.

After leaving the trial island, Cain decided to gradually separate his different identities. This way, whether in the League or Team Rocket, he could operate more comfortably.

For now, the only people aware of his League identity were Umbra and perhaps some higher-ups. This didn't pose a threat to Cain.

He checked into the most luxurious room in the hotel.

After so much time in the wilderness without a proper bath, Cain settled into his room, ensured it was secure, released all his Pokémon, and took a long, thorough shower, finally feeling comfortable.

Dressed in a bathrobe, he plugged his phone into the charger and lay on the bed to rest.

It had been a while since he'd slept in such a soft, comfortable bed; now that he was there, he didn't want to get up.

When he turned on his phone, he saw several messages.

There were texts from Steven, Whitney, and Old Matsuda.

Whitney's messages were mostly casual chatter, so he set those aside for now. Old Matsuda's message was just one line asking him to call back upon reading it; the message was from three days ago.

Steven's messages were the most detailed, filled with various issues and multiple requests for Cain to call him as soon as possible.

Cain sighed, got up, and used the hotel's phone to dial Steven's number.

After a few seconds, the call connected.

Steven, as elegantly dressed as ever, wasn't at home but outdoors, evidently using a more advanced portable phone than Cain's.

"Cain! You finally called back. I thought you'd disappeared and was about to send someone to find you," Steven said, clearly excited.

Cain was one of his few friends.

Cain rubbed his forehead and replied wearily, "What's the rush? I told you before that I'd be out of contact for a while."

"Ha ha ha, I just got a bit excited. You know, the Pokéblocks you gave me last time worked wonders with Metang, but they're almost gone. Could you get me more?" Steven asked, somewhat embarrassed.

"Didn't I give you enough for two months last time? How are they gone already?"

"Well, I don't have just one Metang..."

Steven said it so casually that Cain didn't know how to respond.

"..."

"Alright, fine. I'll be heading to Hoenn in a few days. I'll find you and bring more. Where are you now? Looks like you're in a forest."

"Oh, I heard about a strange stone in this area, so I came to investigate."

"Perfect. If you're going to Hoenn, great. I'll arrange to meet you in Rustboro City. Oh, and about that Aron you wanted, I'll take you to my mine to see if you can find one."

"... I'll pretend you're not bragging."

"Alright, see you in Rustboro City. Also, about what I asked for last time, we'll discuss it when we meet. Sounds like you're busy over there."

Cain heard some battle noises in the background.

"Got it. Talk later—I've got some trouble here!" Steven said before quickly ending the call.

Afterward, Cain called Old Matsuda.

A few seconds later, the call connected, and Old Matsuda greeted him with a scolding.

"Kid! Calling me back only now? You didn't even reply to my messages! Where the hell have you been?"

"Ehm... Master, calm down. Ha ha, I was training in the wilderness. As soon as I got back, I called you. Did something important happen?" Cain scratched his head, genuinely respecting Old Matsuda.

"You brat, always causing trouble...!" Matsuda grumbled before raising his voice. "Even though I agreed to let you focus on being a trainer, you can't neglect your studies as a breeder. Your knowledge is fine, but you need to organize it better."

"I've prepared an outline and summary of the key points you need to learn—I'll send it to you now! Next time we meet, I'll test you, and you'd better pass!"

"Ha ha, Master! Don't worry; I'll study hard!"

"You'd better! Goodbye!" Old Matsuda grumbled before hanging up.

Cain felt warmth in his heart. Though he was partly leveraging the relationship, he couldn't deny that Old Matsuda was an excellent teacher.

(End of Chapter)