Chapter 1728 - 1722: The Leader of Team Rainbow Rocket!

In the past, the two of them were truly tied together by the name of the Twin Stars of Hoenn, and their friendship officially began from that moment.

Back then, Steven's strength was far ahead of Cain's. The only thing that allowed Cain to be mentioned alongside him was Cain's extraordinary ability as a breeder.

Afterward, in the Sinnoh Tournament, Cain's strength finally began to gradually catch up to Steven's steps. He caught up to his strength, and both of them achieved extremely proud results in the Sinnoh Tournament. Also from that moment on, the names of Cain and Steven became known throughout the entire Pokémon world.

Then, the strength of both seemed to rise as if they were on an airplane. The positive competition between them made their strength increase together, and the name of the Twin Stars of Hoenn became more and more deserved.

What truly opened a gap between the two and allowed Cain to slowly begin possessing strength superior to Steven's was when Cain and Steven fought head-on and Cain managed to become a member of Hoenn's Elite Four.

After that, the situation between the two changed. From Cain being the one constantly chasing Steven, it became Steven who constantly chased Cain.

But no matter how it was, on many occasions, others always mentioned them together.

And Cain and Steven were true friends. Those absurd plots of intrigue, rivalries, open disputes, and secret struggles never appeared between them.

Even that situation of pushing each other forward and supporting each other caused a friendship difficult for others to imagine to be born between them.

If one asked in the entire Pokémon world whom Cain trusted the most, without a doubt, it would be Steven. And conversely, Steven was the same.

After spending so much time together, they knew each other very well.

But Steven never would have imagined that the friend he acknowledged the most, actually... actually, from the very beginning, had been an infiltrator of Team Rocket. And all of this, he had only just learned from someone else's mouth.

If it had not been because the person who revealed this fact possessed prestige that made it impossible for him to doubt, and also presented irrefutable evidence, Steven would not have believed it under any circumstances.

He would not have believed that.

Facing Steven's interrogation, facing the emotions Steven had erupted with, Cain, who originally was also extremely agitated, slowly calmed down.

He once again forced the corners of his lips and showed an extremely bitter smile.

"Why? The me from before had no choice. But if I had had the opportunity to choose, without a doubt, I would have chosen to be a good person. But birth is something destined by fate. It was not something I could decide."

From the moment he was reborn, he had already appeared on Trial Island. Cain had not been given any right to choose.

But, in reality, even if Cain had not joined Team Rocket before, he still would have chosen to join Team Rocket, because that was the fastest path to stand out, obtain resources, and grow.

That was the sadness of this world, and also the place of this world that Cain had always hated the most.

Many times, when a person was born, everything was already decided.

Some people were born as children of great families. Even if they did not make an effort, they could become Trainers. As long as they made a little effort, they could become people above others.

But what about civilians?

For civilians, this world truly was very unkind. The Pokémon League's policies toward civilians were also not friendly at all.

Because of that, after becoming Champion of the Hoenn region, Cain always devoted himself to improving those unfriendly policies, and he had already begun to see results in the Hoenn region.

Only, in the end, he was merely the Champion of the Hoenn region. The place he could influence was also only the Hoenn region.

That was the limitation.

Hearing Cain's words, Steven also stopped.

According to the information he had seen, before he met Cain, Cain was already a member of Team Rocket.

At that time, being so weak and as a civilian, possessing strength like that was already, in itself, quite an unexpected existence.

Only, back then, Cain had old Matsuda as cover, so Steven had not thought too much either.

He slowly released the hands that were gripping the collar of Cain's clothes and looked at him with a complex expression.

"Then, how should I call you now? Deputy leader of Team Rocket? Leader of Team Heaven? Or Champion of the Hoenn League?"

Evidently, Steven and the others still did not know that Cain had already replaced Giovanni and become the leader of Team Rocket.

"Perhaps you can call me leader of Team Rainbow Rocket," Cain said as he slightly straightened his clothes.

He had thought about this for a long time. He had thought about his identity being discovered by the League, had thought about being interrogated by these acquaintances, and had also thought about how to respond to their questions.

His heart gradually calmed down. At that moment, all emotions that did not match the real situation were restrained.

Hearing Cain's words, Steven instinctively took a step back.

"Team... Rainbow Rocket?"

Cain took a deep breath. Then he let out a long sigh, suppressing all his emotions. Afterward, he once again swept his gaze across the entire room.

"Were you not curious to know why, when Boss Giovanni launched his attack against Mt. Silver, almost all regions attacked their respective Leagues?"

"To face that colossus called the Pokémon League, Boss Giovanni united the dark forces of several regions and created what I just mentioned: Team Rainbow Rocket!"

Cain spoke indifferently.

"Then, are you now the leader of this joint force? Did you successfully replace Giovanni and become the leader of Team Rocket?" Drake asked in a grave voice.

Inside this room, the pain he felt was in no way inferior to Steven's and old Matsuda's.

Only, his personality was quite strong, so he did not show it so obviously.