Through Lanturn's simple description, Cain discovered the position of power held by the Kabuto colony in this deep underwater canyon.
It was the undisputed ruler of the area!
According to Lanturn, there was an extremely powerful Pokémon within the Kabuto colony, and its presence was the reason the Kabuto dominated this zone.
Although Cain didn't fully grasp the details, he understood the essentials.
Allowing Lanturn to lead the way, Cain and Slowking slowly followed it toward the Kabuto's nest.
After covering a certain distance, Lanturn suddenly stopped.
When Cain was about to ask, Lanturn explained that they had reached Kabuto territory and that it couldn't go any farther, as it might be fiercely attacked by the Kabuto.
If that happened, it would no longer be able to survive there.
Cain sighed in resignation.
Without Lanturn's light, Cain would have to rely on Slowking's perception to vaguely sense his surroundings.
So Lanturn couldn't leave!
With no other choice, Cain forced Lanturn to move forward.
However, he promised that if Lanturn truly couldn't continue living there afterward, Cain would find it a quieter habitat that was no worse than this one.
Lanturn wanted to resist, but seeing the Pokéblocks in Cain's hand, it calmed down.
Cautiously, it led Cain forward.
It was evident that in such a dark place, a Pokémon like Lanturn would be highly visible, no matter how much it tried to hide.
After advancing a bit more, Cain began to see small red dots in the water.
They were Kabuto's eyes!
However, the Kabuto didn't attack. They simply watched silently as Lanturn and Cain entered their territory.
Suddenly, a massive rocky wall appeared in front of Cain.
In the rock, there was a cave.
Following Cain's instructions, Lanturn, though very reluctantly, entered the cave.
Like the cave where the Slowpokes lived, after advancing a bit, the interior opened into a large underground chamber.
Cain and Slowking surfaced from the water.
Lanturn was quickly returned to its Pokéball.
It was no longer needed, as the walls were covered in fluorescent moss that softly illuminated the entire area, allowing Cain to clearly see his surroundings.
"Who would've thought there'd be a place down here," Cain thought.
If the Slowpoke's cave was the size of a basketball court, this was like five or six football fields.
It was a vast space, and thanks to the fluorescent moss, even the darkest corners were visible.
"Slowking, can you still detect spatial coordinates?" Cain asked telepathically.
As long as Slowking could use Teleport, the danger of this place would be halved.
Slowking nodded, indicating no issues.
Only then did Cain relax a bit.
"Set a coordinate here, just in case. We might come back in the future," Cain said.
Hearing this, Slowking closed its eyes and began marking the coordinates in space.
However, just then, a rattling sound like insect bones clashing echoed through the large cave.
From several small openings in the cave, yellow-colored Pokémon began to emerge.
They were the Kabuto Cain had been searching for!
There were many of them.
But what surprised Cain even more was that from some larger holes, Kabutops began to appear.
Cain, who was familiar with Kabutops, knew that for a Kabuto to evolve into a Kabutops, it had to reach at least level 40, the advanced level.
Judging by the number of Kabutops emerging, there had to be at least twenty or thirty of them. That many Kabutops were something Cain couldn't handle at that moment.
As Cain was about to retreat, a much larger Kabutops than the others appeared in the cave.
With its arrival, all the Kabutops and Kabuto bowed in respect.
It was the leader of the Kabutops!
This must have been the powerful Pokémon Lanturn had mentioned.
The difference between Kabuto and Kabutops was immense.
What was once Kabuto's armor now formed Kabutops' head, with its body, scythe-like arms, and long legs extending below. It now walked upright.
Its sharp, triangular eyes locked onto Cain, observing this strange being it had never seen before.
Under the leader Kabutops' command, the Kabuto and Kabutops began to approach slowly.
Cain, frowning, placed his hand on Slowking's back, linking with its psychic power and preparing for Slowking to use Teleport at any moment.
But as the leader Kabutops approached, Cain saw something that left him stunned.
On the leader Kabutops' head was a thumb-sized stone, somehow attached to it.
It emitted a multicolored glow that, under the fluorescent moss's light, distorted the light and shimmered with various colors.
Cain stared intently at the stone on the leader Kabutops' head, unable to hide his surprise.
Although he wasn't entirely sure what kind of stone it was, there was one thing Cain knew for certain.
That stone on the leader Kabutops' head was none other than...
Even though he didn't know which Pokémon it belonged to, it didn't matter.
Cain had only one goal in mind.
He had to obtain it, no matter what.
Even if it wasn't a Mega Stone for his Pokémon, in the future, when Mega Evolutions became widely known, he could trade it for one he could use.
In other words, whether it was compatible with one of his Pokémon or not, obtaining it meant that one of his Pokémon could potentially Mega Evolve in the future.
Mega Evolution, while requiring both a Mega Stone and a Key Stone, depends most critically on the Mega Stone. The Key Stone has no restrictions on the type of Pokémon.
Cain barely managed to suppress his astonishment, but his dark eyes gleamed with even greater ambition.
That Mega Stone could be the key for Cain to reach Elite Four or even Champion level.
Even if the leader Kabutops was extremely powerful, with Cain being the only one who knew of this place, he was determined to return if he couldn't succeed this time.