Three Days of Hectic Travel

Although Dazao was a kind-hearted person, Cain overlooked an important fact: kind-hearted people tend to be conservative and timid.

If Cain was already a ten years child, Dazao might have agreed to let him stay. However, such an honest person simply didn't have the courage to violate the League's regulations.

After much hesitation, Dazao suddenly said, "Well, I can adopt you, so you don't have to go to the orphanage."

Dazao felt he had come up with a perfect solution.

Cain was not convinced and felt extremely down, but he couldn't say anything about it.

If it were an ordinary family, the people at the orphanage would be more than happy for someone to adopt the children there, saving them some food expenses. However, they would definitely investigate Cain's possessions thoroughly.

Things wouldn't be that simple then. They would do everything in their power to prevent anyone from adopting Cain. As Dazao was a weak-willed person, he would likely compromise in the end, so Cain didn't have much hope in this method.

It's better to rely on oneself than to rely on others.

"Thank you."

After saying that, Cain left and hurried back to Ecruteak City without stopping.

It seemed he had taken the wrong path from the start. These kind-hearted people were, in fact, law-abiding citizens, and it was very difficult to ask them to break the rules.

As long as he didn't ask for a salary, some small, profit-driven factories might be willing to provide him with a work permit.

By the time he returned to Ecruteak City, it was noon.

Cain's lunch, a bowl of noodles, cost him only five pokedollars, while Ditto's three bottles of mid-to-high-quality milk cost fifteen pokedollars.

Just feeding Ditto would cost about fifty pokedollars a day, and Ditto was considered to have a small appetite. Some Pokémon would require even more, and that was just the expense of a single Pokémon.

From this, one can see the cost of raising Pokémon in this world. Taking Ditto as an example, including food and medical expenses, it would cost about two thousand pokedollars a month. A Pokémon Trainer would need at least six Pokémon, so just feeding them would cost twelve thousand pokedollars, and that's the bare minimum.

Keep in mind that the average salary of a working-class person is only around five thousand pokedollars per month.

Adding in a family's expenses, it is impossible for a working-class family to support a Pokémon Trainer.

Although these circumstances would change in the next decade or so, due to the League's encouragement and supportive policies, the cost of raising Pokémon would decrease. However, there would always be a relative balance point. If everyone became a Pokémon Trainer, who would do the work in the basic industries? But a lack of Pokémon Trainers wouldn't work either, as some jobs do require them. Of course, that's another story.

Back to the main point, since it takes such a high cost and involves so many dangers to train a Pokémon Trainer, why are there still so many people eager to become Pokémon Trainers?

Naturally, high risk brings high rewards.

All jobs related to Pokémon had salaries at least three times higher than regular jobs. Typical Pokémon Trainers mainly worked as security for large-scale construction projects.

For example, power plants, cross-river bridges, highways, mountain roads, railways, dams, and other constructions would affect the habitats of Pokémon, inevitably leading to attacks and destruction by the Pokémon. At this point, the Pokémon Trainers responsible for security would play their roles.

A more advanced level would be those who achieved rankings in regional league competitions. These Pokémon Trainers would have better job benefits and usually take on local security jobs. Some would also assist Officer Jenny in law enforcement. Reaching this level meant enjoying considerable benefits, far better than those of the average salaried class.

If one could win awards, rank in the top three, in regional leagues, they would be considered completely successful. Such talents would be directly recruited by the Pokémon League to take on high-level positions like Rangers or Investigators, with high salaries, great benefits, and lifelong positions within the league. This was the dream of all Pokémon Trainers.

Gym Trainers were almost always controlled by powerful families, who had their own businesses and were closely aligned with the Pokémon League. Anti-league families had been eliminated, and their gyms were hereditary without any major errors.

A city with a gym would inevitably bring more economic development opportunities and serve as a symbol of the city. Gym Trainers also held very high statuses. To become a Gym Trainer as a common person wasn't impossible, but one would need to be outstanding, achieving at least five top-three finishes in regional league competitions, and make significant contributions to the league.

In his previous life, Cain had organized his knowledge of Pokemon breeding and inheritable skills into a theory, which, combined with his achievements in various league competitions, allowed him to apply to become a Gym Leader.

To become a Gym Leader, he had to challenge various leagues and cultivate Pokémon, spending most of his savings from twenty years as a Pokémon Hunter.

However, it was all worth it. After becoming a Gym Leader, he set up several Pokémon breeding centers using his authority, and with the league's salary and benefits, he earned back their investment within two years.

The gap was evident. In just two years as a Gym Leader, he had earned back the hard-earned money from twenty years of risking his life.

As for Elite Four Champions, they naturally enjoyed a continuous stream of resources from those below them. The annual taxes and protection fees handed over from various regions amounted to astronomical figures.

In short, in this world, to become a Pokémon Trainer meant spending money, and to become a powerful Pokémon Trainer meant spending a lot of money.

However, once they succeeded in building their value, they would quickly earn back that money.

So being a Pokémon Trainer was a double-edged sword, and for Cain, it was all about fame and fortune.

After a busy afternoon with no results, some small factories laughed when Cain offered to work for free, but when he asked for a work permit, none were willing to take the risk.

Two days had passed, and if he didn't succeed tomorrow, he would venture out alone. At least he still had over 20,000 in cash. Worst case, he could return in three years to unseal his assets – far from his original plan, but the only way out.

Cain had prepared for the worst.

That night, Cain wasn't in the mood to visit the black market. He returned home, turned on the TV, and let his Ditto continuously transform into various items on the screen.

On the third day, Cain once again hustled around the factories in Ecruteak City, but all efforts were in vain.

At this point, Cain had essentially given up.

Now, he was planning to buy a space backpack, a few Poké Balls, various medicines, food, and outdoor survival tools – a significant expense.

He would pack up the available items, report the incident tomorrow, and immediately leave Ecruteak City after cremating his grandfather.

Moreover, his top priority after leaving Ecruteak City was to make money; otherwise, his cash would only last a month at most.

As Cain pondered what he needed to buy, he was about to step into a backpack store.

A middle-aged man with his head down handed Cain a small card and left without looking back.