Flygon was significantly faster than Tropius.
This was mainly due to Flygon's ability, Levitate, which reduced the effects of gravity on it.
Additionally, Flygon was much slimmer than Tropius, and its level and strength were also much higher, which greatly increased its speed.
While riding Flygon, Cain didn't stop for a moment and flew straight toward Rustboro City.
He remembered that Rustboro City's gym was a Rock-type gym, so he planned to use Slowking as his main Pokémon for the battle.
If he had flown with Tropius, they would probably have arrived in Rustboro City in the afternoon, but thanks to Flygon's speed, they arrived just in time for lunch.
Once there, Cain recalled Flygon and took a taxi to the Devon Corporation building.
The driver, noticing Cain was a Pokémon trainer, chatted with him the entire ride.
It wasn't until he got out of the car that Cain was freed from the cheerful driver's chatter.
Upon entering Devon Corporation, he showed his employee ID.
As Steven's personal advisor, Cain headed straight to the office on the top floor. Seeing his ID card, no one dared to stop him.
"Knock, knock!" Cain smiled as he knocked on the door of Steven's office, where Steven was immersed in his work.
Hearing the knocks, Steven looked up, and upon seeing Cain, gave him a bitter smile.
"What's with the sour face?" Cain teased as he settled onto the sofa.
Steven pointed to the mountain of documents on his desk. "Look at all this paperwork... how could I possibly be in a good mood?"
Cain burst out laughing. "Well, there's no other way. You gain something, and you also have to pay the price."
Steven could only shake his head in resignation and continue going through the documents. "What brings you to Rustboro City? I thought you'd take some time to rest in Leafy Town."
"I've rested enough, and it's been a month, so I decided it was time to move on," Cain replied.
Suddenly, Steven stopped writing and looked up in surprise. "What? It's already been a month?"
Hearing this, Cain realized Steven had been so focused on his work that he'd lost track of time.
"What did you expect?" Cain said with little enthusiasm.
Luckily, Steven came from a well-off family and had access to a specialized training center where he left his Pokémon. He didn't have to worry about his Pokémon deteriorating from lack of battles.
Moreover, the training center provided regular battle simulations, ensuring that his Pokémon's levels and skills continued to improve steadily.
But Steven felt that, in contrast, he himself was growing rusty from being cooped up in the office for so long.
However, seeing the pile of documents, he deflated like a balloon. He knew that, just as Cain had said, gaining something came with a price.
He increased his pace in reviewing the documents, intending to finish as soon as possible so he could go out to train. He couldn't afford to let Cain surpass him.
"Where are you headed this time?" Steven asked as he continued reviewing the papers.
"I want to try Cynthia's method and see if it works for me."
While Cain traveled across the region searching for certain items—though he knew where they were, he couldn't be entirely sure things hadn't changed from his previous life.
Having a legitimate reason to move around Hoenn would be better than wandering aimlessly.
"Cynthia's method? In terms of battle awareness, you're not inferior to her in the slightest. In fact, if we consider your telepathic ability, your reaction speed in battle is even better," Steven remarked, somewhat puzzled.
"I want to use her method to give my Pokémon more experience. By facing different types of opponents, they can learn many new tactics and familiarize themselves with various battle styles, something both my Pokémon and I need to refine," Cain explained.
Hearing this, Steven understood.
Cain had great skill and power, but as he had only been a trainer for a short time, his Pokémon hadn't yet fully reached his level.
Steven couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated for Cain.
Most trainers found their Pokémon surpassed their skills, forcing them to work hard to improve and match their companions' level.
Cain, however, had the opposite situation.
As a trainer, his abilities were exceptional, but his Pokémon had yet to catch up to his commanding prowess.
"So, you're starting in Rustboro City?"
"I know the Rustboro City gym leader—she's an old friend. She uses Rock-type Pokémon. Are you prepared?" Steven asked.
"I've heard about her. She's an outstanding graduate of Rustboro City's Pokémon Trainer School and specializes in Rock-type Pokémon. Her goal is to apply the theoretical knowledge learned in school to real battles."
"She's a very powerful academic trainer, and I was told she recently took over as the gym leader." Cain recalled some information about Roxanne.
Within the Pokémon League, trainers are generally divided into two groups.
One group is the academics, consisting of those who study at Pokémon training schools. If they manage to graduate, they can participate in league tournaments.
Of course, graduating isn't an easy task.
However, these trainers have a deep understanding of Pokémon and possess clearly defined battle strategies, almost always based on what they learned in school.
Trainers in this category often have guaranteed success if they graduate.
The other group consists of travelers.
These trainers choose to receive their starter Pokémon at a certain age and embark on a journey, exploring different places, encountering all kinds of Pokémon, and participating in countless battles.
As they haven't received the systematic training of the academics, they often make mistakes in battles due to a lack of knowledge.
Traveler trainers start from the very bottom. Although their success rate is much lower than that of the academics, it's common for the most outstanding trainers to come from this group.
An iconic example is Professor Oak from Kanto.
In his youth, he also started as a traveler. Even after becoming a champion, he decided to retire from battles and dedicate himself fully to research, to the point of declining the champion title.
Oak's successes wouldn't have been possible without the knowledge he gained during his travels.
What one learns in practice often surpasses what's studied in books.
Rustboro City's gym leader, Roxanne, is a classic example of an academic trainer.
Cain hadn't yet had many opportunities to face trainers of this style.