Dawn broke the next day.
At the Rocket Team's base on the test island.
In the square where previous exams had been held, a crowd had gathered.
It was half an hour before eight in the morning, the time the final test was set to begin.
All the participants were already there.
Cain, along with Skye and the others, stayed in the far corner. At this final moment, there was no need to provoke unnecessary confrontations. In the final test, no one but oneself could be fully trusted.
The leaders of the various groups surely understood this.
They had gathered followers mainly so that, during the three months on the test island, they'd have some subordinates to help manage minor tasks in exchange for a measure of protection. It was a fair trade.
However, the number of people who would remain truly loyal after the test was something only time would reveal.
Probably only Xander was still fixated on the number of followers.
He stood at the center of the square with around thirty or forty people. Yesterday, he hadn't managed to recruit anyone from Cain's group, but he had succeeded in drawing in a few loners from Alec's group.
Cain glanced at one of the loner group members, the one in eighth place, who was now behind Xander with a determined stance, thanks to Skye's information.
Xander kept his gaze fixed on Cain, his eyes full of resentment.
If it weren't for Cain severely injuring his Arbok, he wouldn't have lost over half a month, nor would he have needed to beg his brother. He also wouldn't have to worry about those who had joined later and their strength.
As the only participant with a solid position on the test island, Xander had been informed by his brother of the true purpose of this test.
So, even in the final moment, he was trying to gather more people.
He knew that even with his brother's support, he couldn't be sure of defeating Cain, nor was he confident in facing the Rocket Team officers' subordinates. Thus, he could only gather more people to use as cannon fodder if needed.
However, Xander had matured considerably. Despite his hatred toward Cain, he didn't approach him directly to provoke him as he had before.
He showed a much more restrained attitude.
Beside him, his Arbok stared at Cain's Murkrow, perched on his shoulder, with his one remaining eye filled with fury. Arbok clearly blamed Murkrow for making him lose an eye.
But Cain's Murkrow simply ignored him, calmly resting on Cain's shoulder.
Jasmine and Alec were also standing aside with their followers, looking at Xander and Cain with a touch of irony in their eyes.
They had a few followers, though not as many as Xander.
Their respective sponsors were merely common Rocket Team Officers, unlike Xander's brother, who was on the verge of becoming a Senior Officer, so their resources weren't as abundant.
Thus, even after Xander had been out of commission for half a month, he soon surpassed them.
This was the difference in power base.
So, although they also knew what the reward for winning this test was, they weren't interested in fighting for first place.
Their priority was to survive!
Soon, Viper and Umbra arrived at the square. With them came a group of people cloaked in black robes, each accompanied by a Psychic-type Pokémon.
This group was likely the Rocket Team's mentioned Psychic Team.
Viper observed those present. There were ninety-one participants left, but their quality surpassed that of previous groups he had supervised.
Finally, his gaze fell on Cain and the Murkrow perched on his shoulder. He frowned slightly.
Cain was among the strongest of the participants, but his Murkrow didn't seem to meet expectations. Its current strength didn't seem sufficient to face the Rocket Team Officers' subordinates.
Viper looked at Umbra.
Umbra gave a faint smile. Even he didn't fully know Cain's true potential, but he was certain that Murkrow and Haunter weren't Cain's limits. He remembered that when Cain had left the island, he had three Pokémon.
He gave Viper a look that seemed to say "you know what you're doing" and then stopped paying attention.
This left Viper confused.
What did that look mean? Assumptions? That there was no problem? Or...?
Hiding his discomfort, Viper cleared his throat and said:
"The final test is about to begin! Shortly, the Psychic Team members will teleport you to any location on the test island. You know the rules, so I won't repeat them."
"Let the final test begin! Each of you must pick up a scoring device and then enter the teleportation circle."
With that, he ordered his subordinates to organize the distribution of the scoring devices and access to the teleportation circle formed by the Psychic Team members and their Pokémon.
Before stepping onto the platform, Xander glanced at Cain, moving his lips without sound, but Cain understood.
Xander had said, "I'll be waiting for you inside!"
As the participants entered the teleportation circle, the square gradually emptied.
Once the other three groups had gone, Cain stepped onto the platform with his group.
He received the scoring device, which looked much like the information device used previously, displaying the number "1."
Had they given him a random starting point for not participating in the preliminary tests?
Cain made a mental note of it, stored the device in his storage space, and then entered the teleportation circle.
One of the Psychic Team leaders, while maintaining the teleportation circle, gave a slight "Hmm?" upon sensing Cain's presence, then used the power of others to teleport him out.
After Cain disappeared, he murmured in a tone only he could hear:
"A psychic... interesting."
Viper looked at him in surprise. Although these members had been summoned by him, they had actually been sent by the officers to prevent cheating among the participants.
The leader of this Psychic Team was not weak. Although he hadn't reached Sabrina's level, he was among the strongest in the Rocket Team.
Could Cain be less simple than he seemed?
Why did both his friend Umbra and this psychic seem impressed by Cain?
Once all the participants had teleported out of the square, the Psychic Team leader gave a slight bow before taking the others to sit in a corner of the square, closing their eyes to rest.
Feeling puzzled by the reactions of those around him, Umbra smiled and said:
"That boy has something special. Don't underestimate him. He just might manage to pull off something surprising."