148 Chapter 148:

Upon entering the Pokémon Center, Cain immediately booked a room, where he secluded himself with his Pokémon.

He had obtained quite a few items from the research facility at Lake of Rage near Mahogany Town, but because he had been busy traveling, he hadn't had time to examine them. Now, he could finally sit down and sort everything out.

Most importantly, the AI system had downloaded 15% of the massive data pool from the research facility.

"System, organize the data you've collected, separating out all the important information and discarding the rest into the data dump," Cain mentally commanded.

"Beep! Task established. Due to the massive volume of data, the estimated analysis time is two days. Time remaining: 1 day, 23 hours, and 59 minutes."

He had indeed collected a substantial amount of data. He hoped that the AI system had prioritized copying the more critical information first.

He couldn't help but wonder about the outcome of the battle between Ariana and Pryce. Ariana was definitely at a disadvantage, but as a Team Rocket Executive, she would surely have an escape plan. Moreover, Cain didn't believe that Pryce was the type to risk everything for the Association.

Perhaps the old Association would have inspired such loyalty, but not the current one.

As a veteran Association member, Pryce had been relegated to a small place like Mahogany Town by scheming politicians. They claimed it was to curb Team Rocket's activities, but everyone knew it was actually to remove him from their power struggle.

So, the idea that Pryce would fight to the death for them was absurd.

"Ah, right!" Cain suddenly remembered something.

He took out a small glass bottle from his ring, containing a transparent, silvery-green liquid. It was the very same substance Cain had found in the fifth-floor lab of the Lake of Rage base, just before leaving.

He hadn't thought about it since escaping, only remembering when he asked the AI system to analyze the data.

"System, can you analyze what this substance is?"

"Beep! ..."

The AI system seemed to stutter for a few seconds, likely because it was already working at high efficiency to analyze the data, causing some lag in its other functions.

Item: Elixir of Evolution – Suspected

Function: Accelerate Pokemon growth!

Usage: Unknown

Caution: This information is inferred from fragmented data. As there is a large amount of unanalyzed data, please rescan after data analysis is completed.

Cain contemplated the information sent back from the AI system.

This half-filled bottle of green liquid was most likely the primary research outcome from Team Rocket's Lake of Rage Research Base, capable of catalyzing and accelerating Pokémon growth.

Cain did have some recollection of this mysterious substance. In his previous life, after leaving Trial Island and entering the Team Rocket Base in Mahogany Town, he encountered an exchange item like this on Team Rocket's exchange list. Its price was incredibly high, but the effects were equally unique, able to catalyze the evolution of difficult-to-evolve Pokémon and accelerate the growth of slower-growing creatures.

However, this substance was not without side effects. The sudden attack by the Pokemon Association may have forced the research to stop, leading to the loss of crucial data and halting the experiment, ultimately resulting in this semi-finished product.

Pokemon exposed to this liquid experienced accelerated growth and could even evolve if they were on the verge of evolution.

But in exchange, the lifespans of Pokemon using this item decreased significantly. For example, a Pokemon that could live for a hundred years might only survive fifty, forty, or even thirty years after exposure.

The extent of lifespan reduction depended on the effects of the catalyst, with most Pokemon experiencing a halving of their lifespans.

Team Rocket initially researched this catalyst to facilitate rapid growth for their lower-ranking members' Pokémon, quickly transforming them into effective combatants and narrowing the gap between them and the low-rank Pokémon Association trainers.

At the same time, some Pokemon, such as Dragon-type and pseudo-legendary creatures, took an incredibly long time to grow to their full potential. By using this catalyst, their growth could be accelerated.

The Pokemon Association, however, discovered this research.

Knowing the consequences of this substance's widespread use, the Association launched a decisive raid. Even if they couldn't obtain the catalyst, they were determined to destroy it.

If this elixir were to be released in its complete form, it could potentially disrupt the existing balance in the Pokemon world.

Fortunately, the Pokemon Association's discovery was not too late. The elixir developed by Team Rocket was still in a semi-finished state. Not only were the side effects not eliminated, the production cost of the elixir was extremely high as well.

In the end, the Association decided not to pursue the matter further, as the exorbitant production costs meant the substance posed no threat to the world's balance.

After Team Rocket decided the elixir wasn't worth further research, they abandoned the project. However, this didn't mean the chief researcher, Professor Sebastian, had given up. The dedicated scientist continued working on reducing the side effects and costs of the catalyst elixir at the Lake of Rage Research Base. This eventually led to the infamous Lake of Rage Gyarados chaos, but that's a story for another time.

"So, is this green liquid in the vial the original prototype of the catalyst?" Cain wondered, gently shaking the glass bottle in his hand.

The elixir had significant drawbacks, and Cain had no intention of using it on his own Pokémon. However, its potential value was undeniable. At this point, it could fetch a considerable amount from either Team Rocket or the Pokémon Association.

But for now, Cain felt it was too risky to reveal the elixir. If word got out, he would surely be hunted down as a traitor, not only by the Association but also by Team Rocket.

Cain stashed the elixir back into his ring. If he wasn't going to use it, it was best to keep it hidden. His most significant gains, aside from the elixir and the information retrieved by the AI system, were the assets of the two Pokémon Association trainers who tried to capture him. From their storage spaces, Cain obtained items worth nearly a million in total.

The real prize, however, were the trainers' Pokémon – ten in total. Though their overall aptitude hovered around yellow, a few had reached the green tier. Their levels were also quite high, with the highest at 37 and the lowest at 29.

Cain knew that he owed his victory over the two trainers to both luck and the element of surprise.