Chapter 171: The Guardian

Luckily, his worries were unfounded. The system, though it experienced a slight slowdown, didn't present any serious issues.

After all, if you think about it, although the system copied a lot of data at once, compared to the enormous amount of data it already had, what was added this time only represented about ten percent.

However, the customization of the advanced pokéblocks that Steven needed might be delayed a bit. Anyway, Steven is in no hurry. Cain plans to let the system organize all that data before researching the pokéblock formula for Metang.

As Cain was lost in thought, he was interrupted by a few clear knocks at the door.

"Knock, knock... knock!" It sounded in a special rhythm.

Hearing that pattern, Cain's expression changed slightly. He stopped his Pokémon from opening the door and waited for the knocking to stop.

A moment later, the knocking ceased, and instead of hearing footsteps retreating, a small card was slipped under the door.

Cain carefully picked up the card. On it were the words "Psychic Gym."

This was probably the meeting place set by Umbra.

Although he was prepared to meet anywhere, upon seeing the words "Psychic Gym," Cain felt a slight headache and a pang in his chest.

Sabrina!

The moody Psychic Queen who had "helped" Cain awaken his psychic powers was someone he wasn't sure how to face.

He trusted that, with Umbra's presence, Sabrina wouldn't do anything unusual.

Thinking of that, Cain let out a sigh of relief.

As for how they found him and knew which room he was in at the Pokémon Center, Cain considered it completely natural.

Where was he?

In Saffron City.

It could be said to be a place jointly ruled by Team Rocket and the League. If the League represents the light, then Team Rocket could represent the darkness.

They have even infiltrated the League, and much easier would it be to do so in a simple Pokémon Center in Saffron City.

Never underestimate the power of Team Rocket, especially in Kanto, the team's origin.

After receiving the information, Cain didn't hurry to leave. He waited in his room until lunchtime, when the streets were relatively empty, and only then did he leave the Pokémon Center.

Without hiding his identity, Cain dressed like a League trainer, took a taxi, and headed straight to the Psychic Gym in Saffron City.

The driver, looking at him with pity, spared him a few pokédollars and, faster than when he arrived, fled from the gym as soon as he dropped Cain at the entrance.

Cain couldn't help but rub his forehead. It seems Sabrina has quite a terrifying reputation among Saffron City's residents.

At the large entrance to the Psychic Gym, there was no one around. Cain pushed the door open and entered.

Once inside, he saw quite a few people, and it seemed they all had varying levels of psychic powers, as each one could move objects with their minds to some extent.

Cain saw several young children, only a few years old, manipulating objects as large as half their size, which made him feel a bit embarrassed.

Those kids, so young, could already levitate objects that big, while he, having lived three lives, could barely move a pebble the size of a fingernail.

Comparing himself to them only led to frustration.

Adopting an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude, Cain made his way through the crowd and headed straight for the door leading deeper into the gym.

Just as he was about to cross the hall and open the inner door, someone suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

The one blocking Cain was a young man wearing a blue jacket, with light blue hair. He looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, and beside him was a Kadabra.

The way he suddenly appeared in front of Cain was probably due to Teleport, though it wasn't clear whether the young man or his Kadabra had used it.

With an impassive expression, the young man blocked Cain's path without saying a word, simply pointing to a sign beside the door that read, "No unauthorized entry unless you defeat the guardian."

Cain looked at the sign, then at the young man, and calmly asked, "Guardian?"

The young man nodded, still silent, but his message was clear: if Cain wanted to enter, he would have to defeat him first.

Cain's and the young man's actions attracted the attention of the people in the hall, who stopped their training and began gathering around the entrance.

"Look, look! Another one trying to challenge Miss Sabrina. Do they really think our Psychic Gym is a place anyone can challenge?"

"Bah, he's just a muggle who doesn't know his limits. Watch how Brother Azure wrecks him!"

"Wait, this guy seems to have a faint psychic aura... isn't he a muggle?"

"Hmm, that's true. But he's very weak..."

Originally, everyone looked at Cain with disdain, but upon sensing a faint trace of psychic power in him, they began to take him a bit more seriously.

Although Cain's psychic powers were extremely weak and anyone there could easily surpass him, awakening those powers set him apart from an ordinary human, allowing him to gain a bit of respect from them, reducing their looks of contempt.

"Even if he has psychic powers, someone so weak won't be a match for Brother Azure."

"Actually, I think if someone wants to challenge a gym, this shouldn't be the one. After all, Miss Sabrina... mmm!"

Suddenly, the person speaking was silenced by someone covering their mouth. The person who did it, after cautiously looking around and seeing no one, sighed in relief.

"Hey! If you want to get yourself killed, don't drag us down with you, alright? There are things you shouldn't say so lightly," the one who covered their mouth burst out, clearly upset.

The one who spoke out of turn realized his mistake, frantically wiped the sweat off his forehead, and gave a grateful look to the person who had stopped him.

Sabrina's temper really isn't something to play with.

Hearing the comments around him, Cain smiled bitterly in his heart. It seems everyone had mistaken him for a League trainer who had come to challenge the gym.

Of course, it was also possible that this was some kind of test from Umbra or Sabrina.

He didn't believe that, with Sabrina's abilities, she wouldn't have noticed his presence the moment he entered the gym.

It's possible that, at this moment, Sabrina and Umbra were watching him from some corner.

And he wasn't far off in this assumption. It wasn't that they were secretly watching him but openly doing so, standing right beside Cain and the crowd, though no one could perceive their presence.

It was as if they were air.

(End of chapter)