Watching Silas's departing figure, then glancing at the two towers in the distance, Morty's eyes were filled with hope.
As long as it could be proven that Ho-Oh was still watching over humanity, its shrine followers would continue to uphold their faith.
They had already endured three hundred years, what were another ten or so?
Meanwhile, after returning to the Ecruteak City Pokémon Center, Silas handed his Pokémon over to Nurse Joy.
"Please wait to the side. Your Pokémon will be fully recovered shortly."
"Chansey~"
Nurse Joy's sweet voice rang out together with Chansey's cheerful cry.
Silas, wearing a face mask, went to sit in a corner of the lounge area.
He casually opened his Pokégear watch and found several messages waiting for replies.
The first good news came from Bugsy of Azalea Gym and Walker of Violet Gym.
After nearly two months of pilot sales, both sides had officially finalized cooperation regarding the new-style Bug Catching Net, and it was now being rolled out across both Kanto and Johto.
Soon, a steady stream of money would begin flowing into Silas's account.
Although his percentage was not huge, it was enough to fulfill his dream of financial freedom.
"At last, I won't have to worry about the little guys going hungry someday."
Silas let out a sigh of relief.
Truthfully, he had not worried too much before. Worst case, he could always live off a rich older woman.
Still, money earned by one's own effort always felt better.
Bugsy also asked if Silas knew any Gym Leaders in other regions.
Simply put, they wanted one or two suitable partners in each region.
Of course, Silas only had recommendation rights. Final decisions would depend on discussion and analysis, not simply whoever he named.
Compared to him, the two Gyms naturally knew far more people.
After some thought, Silas mentioned it to Norman and Professor Rowan, then forwarded their names to Bugsy after receiving permission.
Though Norman had not officially taken office yet, rumors of the Hoenn League recruiting him had surely already spread.
And his strength was unquestionable.
Bugsy quickly replied:
"Norman and Professor Rowan? Those are excellent candidates. Now I have the pleasant burden of too many choices."
The second message came from Cynthia.
Come to think of it, aside from regularly mailing her Pokéblocks since the auction over a month ago, Silas had not spoken with her much lately.
This time, she informed him that her Togetic had evolved into Togekiss, so the Pokéblock formula needed adjustment.
Silas was slightly surprised.
For Cynthia, obtaining a high-quality Shiny Stone was hardly difficult.
The reason she had delayed evolving Togetic earlier, according to her, was because she wanted it to first reach Elite level.
This message meant Togekiss had already achieved that strength.
As expected of Cynthia.
She had accomplished in three months what many could not do in several years.
Silas had no intention of giving up that source of income just because he now had money.
Even mosquitoes were still meat.
After congratulating her and discussing nutrition changes, he casually added that his own training progress was faster than hers.
Then, ignoring the three question marks Cynthia immediately sent back, he moved on to the next message.
The next one came from someone less familiar, Professor Elm.
Though they had exchanged contact information back in New Bark Town, they had not spoken much.
The sudden message surprised Silas.
After reading it, he found it was a semi-official commission.
Professor Elm and the Johto League intended to build a Marine Pokémon Research Institute on the coast between Blackthorn City and New Bark Town.
Its purpose would be to study marine Pokémon ecology while improving existing behavioral data.
The early preparation work was complex.
Elm hoped that if Silas had time, he could help by protecting researchers and capturing certain necessary Pokémon.
Silas accepted almost instantly.
According to his route and Elm's proposed schedule, he should have finished his business in Blackthorn by then and be free.
Besides, almost no Trainer would refuse a request from a regional Professor.
The final message came from Professor Oak, who had only left that morning.
Thanks to Dragonite, he had already returned to his laboratory in Pallet Town, and he brought another piece of good news.
"The Trainer from Unova has been contacted. He is willing to help your Karrablast evolve.
However, he has one condition.
A friend of his will test your abilities first.
Tomorrow morning.
Location: the Pokémon Ninja Academy."
That was what Oak said.
Silas nearly jumped for joy.
Karrablast was already close to reaching Adavance level.
If it could evolve now, that would be perfect timing.
For Pokémon, the difference between pre-evolution strength and evolved strength could be worlds apart.
"Understood. I'll head there immediately."
He replied without hesitation.
As for the so-called test, Silas completely ignored it.
What a joke.
If he and his partners could not pass some arbitrary challenge, then maybe they should just try turning Ash and Gary into Red and Green instead.
Checking the map, the Pokémon Ninja Academy was directly north of Ecruteak City not very far.
"Perfect. Didn't Janine invite me over before? I'll stop by first."
Silas made his decision immediately.
At that moment, his Pokégear chimed again.
His Pokémon had finished healing.
He returned to the counter, collected the nine Poké Balls, shrank them, clipped them to his belt, and left the Pokémon Center.
As an ancient city, Ecruteak lacked much commercial atmosphere.
There were not even many recreational places to visit.
Originally, Silas planned to relax this afternoon and depart tomorrow morning, especially since Pidgeot still needed observation after absorbing the Sacred Fire.
But now that he had reason to leave early, he could monitor Pidgeot on the road.
Soon, the ancient city disappeared behind him.
Walking beneath the blazing sun, he instinctively released Vulpix and held it in his arms.
"Vulpix?"
Still sleepy, the little one turned over groggily and instinctively released a wave of cold air.
Silas scratched under its chin.
By the way where had this little rascal hidden the Fog Badge?
He still had not found it.
He ruffled Vulpix's head and decided not to worry about it.
League registration checked not only badges, but official challenge records as well.
Even if the badge itself was missing, it would be fine.
This system existed because the League worried careless Trainers might lose their badges.
Though recently, some officials wanted to revise the rule.
Quite a few people believed that if a Trainer could lose Gym Badges, they might as well go home and become farmers.
Silas thought that was fairly reasonable.
Provided his own badge was not missing.
Lost in random thoughts, he gradually entered a forest.
"Hmph. Caught you alone again, haven't I?"
On a distant hillside, a wild-looking man peered through binoculars while secretly tracking Silas's movements.
It was none other than the persistent Thousand Faces.
"What the hell was that guy doing in the Valley of Wind for half a month? I've become neither man nor ghost waiting out here."
Chewing food angrily, Thousand Faces glared at Silas's back.
He had to admit, Silas's travel routes were absurd.
The guy truly only moved in straight lines.
From Goldenrod City to Charizard Valley, then from Charizard Valley to Ecruteak City
Silas was nothing like ordinary Trainers.
Other Trainers might take secluded wilderness paths, but they still avoided danger zones.
Silas did not care.
He bulldozed straight through everything.
Beedrill swarms. Ursaring forests.
The guy simply forced his way through with raw Pokémon power.
Thousand Faces licked his dry lips.
That was not even the important part.
What mattered was the bounty on Silas within the criminal underworld.
And he knew exactly why.
The temptation of the Rainbow Wing was simply too great. Thousand Faces had no interest in Ho-Oh's power itself.
He only knew that with that item, he could trade for a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, plus enough resources to raise it to its final evolution.
That alone was enough.
Thousand Faces naturally understood that the gap in strength between himself and Silas was considerable.
But in the wilderness, raw power alone did not guarantee victory.
Judging by Silas's amateurish route through the wild, Thousand Faces believed he had ten thousand ways to teach him how cruel human nature could be.
As he thought this, a mass of white mist suddenly covered his binoculars.
"What the hell is wrong with this weather?"
Cursing, Thousand Faces lowered the binoculars and released one of his Pokémon.
"Golbat, use Supersonic and locate him."
Without him noticing, the sunny weather had abruptly transformed into dense fog.
Still, he did not think much of it.
The weather in northern Johto was notoriously unpredictable. Clear skies turning into fog was common enough.
Even sunshine suddenly becoming hail was not unusual.
The only real problem was that it made tailing Silas much harder.
Meanwhile, Silas had no idea that the man he had previously noticed was following him again.
His senses were sharp, but not sharp enough to detect someone from that far away.
However…
He had indeed noticed an old acquaintance.
More accurately an old beast.
"Yo, Suicune. Long time no see."
Looking at the figure emerging from the white mist, Silas casually raised a hand in greeting.
The ribbons flowing from Suicune's body moved without wind.
"Long time indeed. You could recognize me?"
Silas shrugged.
"How should I put it instinct, I guess. I just felt it was probably you."
A faint smile appeared on Suicune's gentle face.
"Is that so? Not bad."
"You two really talk too much."
A somewhat irritable voice suddenly echoed directly inside Silas's mind.
Silas froze for a moment.
Then two more figures emerged from the fog—one red, one yellow.
He recognized them instantly.
The other two members of the Legendary Beasts, Entei and Raikou.
The one using telepathy just now was likely one of them.
Probably Raikou, since it looked more short-tempered than Entei.
Entei glanced at Raikou, then raised one foreleg and kicked him.
"Grrraah!"
The saber-toothed Raikou bared its fangs and roared back furiously.
"Apologies for startling you."
Unlike Raikou's aggression or Suicune's gentleness, Entei's telepathic voice carried immense dignity.
"We simply came to see what sort of human Ho-Oh chose."
Silas suspected that because Entei shared Ho-Oh's Fire typing, its status among Ho-Oh's guardians might be the highest.
Raikou's reaction seemed to support that.
Still, that was not the important part.
Silas frowned.
"Are you sure Ho-Oh really chose me? Couldn't it just be because of some natural aura?"
"Certainly not," Suicune replied warmly.
"Ho-Oh's Rainbow Wing is not something obtained so casually."
The other two Legendary Beasts nodded in agreement.
"Though there is a difference," Entei added.
"You were chosen by our lord, yes but you are not a Rainbow Hero."
Silas did not quite understand the distinction.
Suicune kindly explained.
"A Rainbow Hero may fully represent Ho-Oh in the human world. Ho-Oh also continuously watches all that occurs around them. Only a rare few humans who pass special trials earn that honor."
Silas understood immediately.
So basically someone like Ash.
The sort who could die and somehow come back endlessly.
He honestly did not care about not being a Rainbow Hero.
The "trial" Suicune mentioned was probably nothing like the challenge he would face tomorrow.
And Silas had no desire to experience death firsthand.
"Entei sensed the Sacred Fire," Suicune continued, answering why the three had gathered.
"So we came at once. Even I did not expect that you were the one who activated Ho-Oh's lingering power."
Silas smacked his forehead.
"Right! Then could the three of you please check whether my Pidgeot has any issues?"
As he spoke, he released Pidgeot.
Entei and Raikou stared in disbelief.
This human was far too familiar. Were modern humans not supposed to tremble respectfully before them?
"Human," Raikou growled. "We are not your Pokémon."
Suicune, having spoken with Silas before, was unsurprised.
This human was different.
He held almost no reverence toward them.
A blue pulse swept across Pidgeot.
Suicune examined it.
"It absorbed our lord's flame, yes?
There is no problem, as long as you remain its Trainer. Otherwise, the Sacred Fire may run wild once it can no longer sense Ho-Oh's aura."
Silas nodded in understanding.
As for why he felt so little reverence toward Legendary Pokémon.
It was probably because in his previous life, he often captured them in games and stuffed them into the PC.
Under those conditions, it was difficult to suddenly become awestruck.
If he did not fully understand their terrifying strength, Silas might have already tried to see what riding a Legendary felt like.
Sensing his thoughts, the three beasts fell silent.
Silas quickly recalled the confused Pidgeot into its Luxury Ball and checked the time.
"Do the three of you need anything else? If not, I'll be going."
He looked rather eager to leave.
After all, what was there to admire?
He could not catch them anyway.
Making his own Pokémon stronger was far more appealing.
Entei scraped the ground with one paw.
"As Ho-Oh's guardians, we have a small gift for you."
Originally, it had not planned such a thing.
But Silas's attitude had become impossible to ignore.
Raikou nodded repeatedly.
Yes. Surely now this human would understand their greatness.
Silas, who had been about to leave, immediately lit up.
Now this was excellent.
Last time, Suicune's Water Gem and Mystic Water had been incredible. There was no way Entei and Raikou's gifts would be inferior.
He instantly stopped walking.
A red orb slowly floated from Entei's body.
"This is a Flame Orb. I trust you know its function. Within it lies a trace of my Sacred Fire. Fire-type Pokémon may carry it and continuously gain insight from it."
Its tone was full of pride.
After all, aside from Ho-Oh, only Entei possessed Sacred Fire.
Well…
Now there was also one Pidgeot.
Raikou hurriedly presented its own gift.
Several plain-looking golden seeds.
"These are Electric Seeds. An Electric-type Pokémon may consume them directly. Its electrical power will become fuller, and its Defense will also rise."
Compared to Entei's treasure, Raikou's gift seemed a little humble.
But Silas did not mind in the slightest.
He accepted them enthusiastically.
Ordinary Electric Seeds certainly did not have such effects.
Normally, they only activated under Electric Terrain as held items.
Legendary Pokémon were Legendary Pokémon.
Their power far exceeded normal Pokémon.
"Then thank you both for the gifts."
Silas smiled brightly.
Suicune looked helplessly at its two old companions.
It felt they really ought to interact with humans more often.
Otherwise, one day they might be tricked away by someone.
"This time, he'll definitely treat us with proper respect next time, right?" Raikou said excitedly to Entei.
Entei nodded in agreement.
Suicune looked at Silas's departing back and decided not to shatter their illusion.
"I threw that peeping fellow outside into the water," Suicune said casually while dispersing the mist.
"Fine. Teach him a lesson, but don't let anything happen," Entei replied.
..
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