"Drapion, Gengar, all the Poison-type energy in this place is yours. Absorb as much as you can," said Cain, looking at Drapion and Gengar.

Both Pokémon showed expressions of excitement and jumped straight into the pond.

The Poison-type energy within the pond was, without a doubt, the most concentrated in the entire cave.

Although absorbing all that energy at once was clearly unrealistic.

Who knows how many years' worth of energy secreted by Dragalge had accumulated here. Even though a lot had already been extracted, a great amount still remained.

"Kekeke~~"

Suddenly, as if he had found something, Gengar emerged from the water holding a round, dark purple orb.

Cain, upon seeing it, narrowed his eyes in surprise.

"A Toxic Orb!" he exclaimed instinctively.

He had almost overlooked this valuable item. Since the pond was saturated with Poison-type energy, the pearl had gone unnoticed.

Luckily, Gengar and Drapion had gone in.

It was no wonder the Poison-type energy in this place had remained so dense for so long—not only thanks to Dragalge, but also due to this Toxic Orb.

Cain held it in the palm of his hand, silently reflecting.

Not just anyone could handle a Toxic Orb.

Pokémon or humans who touched it directly would immediately enter a state of deadly poisoning.

And let's be clear: deadly poisoning is not the same as being poisoned. On contact, unless an extremely potent antidote is consumed instantly, a normal person would be dead in under a minute.

Cain had obtained one of these Toxic Orbs before, but it was badly damaged. Drapion absorbed its energy and gained massive benefits.

This Toxic Orb, however, was intact.

The real problem was how to use it.

Although Gengar was the one who found it, and it would make sense for him to possess it, neither he nor Drapion could fully exploit its true potential.

It would probably be better suited for a Pokémon with the ability Toxic Boost.

However, Cain had no immediate plans to raise a Pokémon with that ability, so for now, he decided to leave the orb in the joint care of Gengar and Drapion.

They would use it as an artifact to train their Poison-type energy.

By injecting their own poison energy into the orb, it would return a purer and more powerful version of that energy, helping refine their control.

Additionally, the orb constantly released poison, which would accelerate the growth of both Pokémon.

Gengar would keep it first for a week, and then pass it to Drapion. Each week they would alternate, ensuring both could benefit.

An unexpected reward, no doubt.

Gengar extended his tongue, wrapped the orb in it, and swallowed it.

Drapion looked visibly excited; he had already experienced the benefits of a broken orb, so he expected even more from this intact one.

Excitedly, both Pokémon returned to the pond.

They opened all their pores, letting the poisonous energy forcefully penetrate their bodies.

Cain sat by the pond and patiently waited for his Pokémon to absorb the energy.

Of course, they wouldn't be able to absorb it all, but at least they could fill themselves to the limit and then digest it calmly.

He remained there for nearly an entire day.

He didn't waste the time: he carefully healed all his Pokémon wounded from the battles.

He also brought out Crobat to treat its wounds. He didn't want it to die before selling it; that would be a considerable loss.

When Gengar and Drapion finally emerged from the water, the color of the pond was visibly lighter.

Gengar looked like he had suddenly gained weight—though it was just a visual effect, not real.

Drapion, on the other hand, showed no external changes, but couldn't open his mouth without leaking poison energy.

Seeing that both could no longer absorb any more, Cain returned them to their Poké Balls.

Now all that remained was to digest what they had absorbed.

With this amount, they should be able to reach the peak of the Quasi-Elite level.

Once this was done, Cain left the cave with his Pokémon.

There was nothing of value left there. In a few days, the fainted Golbat and Zubat would wake up.

But without Dragalge's constant supply of Poison-type energy, they would soon consume all the energy left in the place. Then, if they wanted to survive, they would have to go out and hunt for themselves.

So, the total number of Zubat and Golbat in Connecting Cave would drastically decrease.

In other words, Cain had completely cleared out Connecting Cave. Future visitors would find that not as many species remained there as before.

...

Cain flew on Flygon's back, cutting through the cold wind toward the berry orchard.

In the cave, his Pokémon had fought enough. For now, they needed rest and time to process their gains.

Of course, a battle against a powerful trainer would help consolidate their newfound strength.

Cain planned to visit the Battle Chateau, but first wanted to stop by the berry orchard.

He had no intention of causing trouble; he only planned to discreetly collect a few rare branches from certain trees.

He decided to act at night to avoid being seen.

Under the cover of darkness, he carefully cut a few twigs from rare trees.

Before leaving, he placed an anonymous bank card among the branches.

On it were five million Pokédollars.

After all, the orchard researchers had invested a lot of time and money optimizing those berries. Even though Cain only took a small amount that wouldn't cause damage, as a sign of gratitude, he left payment.

With that, the orchard's administrator likely wouldn't have too many complaints.

...

At dawn, on Route 7 of the Kalos region, an unknown young man presented himself at the Battle Chateau.

He didn't draw much attention. The castle received new challengers every day.

That young man was Cain, who had obtained exactly the branches he wanted from the berry orchard.

Since his time in the Hoenn region, Cain had already been interested in the Battle Chateau.

After all, the Mauville City Colosseum was clearly inspired by this castle. Though it wasn't an official institution, its design was heavily based on the original castle's model, though the latter was much more prestigious and valuable.