Chapter 43:

"It seems I have yet to establish my authority." Cain's words were spoken with a deadly calm, and the murderous intent in his eyes grew stronger. "Since you want to test my strength, let me show you how wide the gap really is."

Hiding the fury that raged within him, Cain commanded his Murkrow and Slowpoke to stay alert and on the lookout. He couldn't help but wonder who it was that dared to challenge him. "I wonder who it is, could it be Xander?" he mused, his face expressionless. But he quickly dismissed the thought. "If that was all Xander had to offer, there was no way he could have kept a steady lead on myself in my previous life."

Another figure crossed Cain's mind. "Could it be him?" he thought. Soros was the type of person who seemed cheerful on the outside, but was rather narrow-minded on the inside. Cain knew that Soros held a grudge against him, and the thought of facing him in battle sent a thrill of excitement through his body.

With a sly grin, Cain led Murkrow and Slowpoke down an overgrown path that gradually diverged from its original course. Soros and the others were unaware of this; in fact, some of the more impatient members suggested that Soros make his move now, while the target was caught off guard.

What they didn't realize was that the person they were about to attack was actually Cain; otherwise, they would have reconsidered their decision to be so aggressive.

"Slowpoke, Teleport back to the position we were just at," Cain commanded once they had reached his ideal location. The blue light in Slowpoke's eyes flickered and enveloped the trio, and in a flash they were gone.

Soros and the others, who had been following from a distance, simply followed Cain's footprints until they reached the spot where he had disappeared. Both Soros' and Skye's expressions changed when they saw this. "Damn, where did he go?" Skye muttered as he examined the last two footprints Cain had left.

Since Slowpoke had been floating with Confusion, he hadn't left any footprints on the ground, so they didn't know that Cain had caught a new Pokemon. In their opinion, to survive this trial, they needed to focus their resources on just one Pokemon; having more would be counterproductive.

"We've been discovered." Soros said solemnly, his face darkening as he remembered the devastating attack of Murkrow during the test. He motioned for his Koffing to come closer, ready for any potential battle.

One of the five men following behind stepped forward, confusion etched on his face. "What's going on, Soros?" Soros gave him a blank stare and didn't answer, his mind consumed with the thought of Cain's sudden disappearance.

Skye, standing nearby, explained, "We lost our target." The man was visibly relieved, but Soros and Skye knew better. They didn't want to explain too much, for fear that Cain wasn't the type to take anything lying down. They could only hope that Cain wouldn't lash out when he realized there were a lot of them.

At the same time, Cain reappeared at the spot where he first learned he was being followed. "It seems the position of hunter and prey has been reversed," he mused, a grim smile on his face. Cain knew that bullying the few with the many worked well in most situations, but he was no ordinary man. He had learned long ago that in the face of absolute strength, numbers were not the key to victory or defeat, especially when one had the initiative.

Aside from the tremendous progress that Cain's Pokemon had made during this half-month or so on the Trial Island, Cain had also benefited greatly as a trainer. He had exercised every day while his Pokemon were training, and his physical fitness had improved tremendously compared to before. Humans in the Pokémon world were much more physically fit than those on Earth, and they grew at a much faster rate. Cain's intense daily training, combined with dietary changes, had greatly strengthened his body during his time in the wilderness.

Even though he didn't have bulging muscles all over his body, he was still able to completely crush Soros and the other trialists who were comfortably staying at Team Rocket's base. Thanks to Slowpoke's Teleport, he didn't have to hold back any longer. And his familiarity with the forest only added to his advantages.

Cain prowled through the trees and grass like a cheetah, his mind focused on his prey. He was confident that if he was fast enough, they would still be at the place he had teleported from. The grass there was so tall and thick that he would be able to catch them off guard as long as he maintained his stealth.

The Pokemon in Soros' group were mostly Team Rocket's signature Pokemon. Soros had his Koffing, Skye had his Ekans, and the others had either a Rattata, Zubat, or Oddish. While the Pokemon weren't particularly powerful, they weren't a weak force when gathered together.

But Cain was aware of their strength, and he knew that for them to have the audacity to go after him, it can only be said that "greed makes a man blind and foolish, and makes him an easy prey for death."

The group gradually spread out in search of where and why Cain had disappeared, with Skye reminding them to always maintain communication. But this, however, negated their numerical advantage and made things easier for Cain in what was to come.

"Get ready, it's time to start hunting," Cain whispered to Murkrow and Slowpoke as he pulled a dagger from his sheath.