Luxurious skyscrapers towered between the city streets; spiraling sky bridges stretched across the heavens.
Even though the moon had already replaced the sun high in the sky, Goldenrod City was still dazzling with lights.
Although the Johto region wasn't particularly fond of advanced technology, in Goldenrod City, even the smallest entrances were equipped with machines for identity verification.
After all, this was the most important core city in Johto, there could never be too much security.
After pulling out his Pokédex to verify his identity and catching a wave of attention along the way, Silas finally entered Goldenrod City.
The first step, naturally, was to head to a Pokémon Center and find a place to stay.
"I'm very sorry, but all of our rooms are fully booked. We don't have any reserved for you,"
Nurse Joy said apologetically.
Silas was a little helpless.
He'd been traveling for nearly a year and a half, and this was the first time he'd encountered a fully booked Pokémon Center.
And not just any kind of full, it was extreme.
Not to brag, but his Trainer priority was still high at Pokémon Centers.
Even no rooms were left for him, which gave him an idea of just how many people were staying in Goldenrod City.
"Are other Pokémon Centers full as well?"
Silas asked, unwilling to give up.
Goldenrod City was enormous. Aside from the city headquarters in the east, several Pokémon Centers were scattered throughout the city.
"Yes… it seems other locations are full too. Would you like me to help you find a hotel?"
Nurse Joy operated the computer for a moment and then delivered the unfortunate news.
"No, thank you," Silas said, sighing lightly.
Looks like he'd have to spend a bit more money for comfort.
Not really what he intended, but there was no other choice.
Unable to hide his excitement, Silas summoned Duduo and rode it to a luxurious Pokémon Hotel.
"Thank you for your patronage. The total comes to 400,000 Pokédollars," The hotel clerk calculated the price for him.
"Card," Silas said generously, pulling out his Pokémon League bank card.
Rich, and he could afford to be indulgent.
Of course, he was only staying a week; if it were a long-term stay, he would have felt differently.
Pokémon Centers were practically free after all!
Even for a short stay, he didn't choose the most expensive suite, the price for those rooms was ridiculous. He could think of far better uses for that money.
"All right, here's your key card. The elevator is around the corner to your right," the clerk said nonchalantly.
His salary probably wasn't high compared to the trainers who frequented this hotel, but he'd seen all kinds of people.
Booking a week-long room? Not a problem.
The top-floor suites had been fully booked since the hotel opened, this was nothing new.
The only surprising thing was Silas's young age.
Judging from his ID, he was just a young man with no real background.
"Trainers sure do make a lot of money!"
Another middle-aged man working there, watching Silas walk away, said with a grin.
"The wild is too dangerous, better to work in the city.
And your Dunsparce is cute too. Give me some time to pet it, it's got a really comfy back."
The two of them began their usual banter during work.
"Last time, Dunsparce said you hurt it. Next time it sees you, it'll bite!"
Taking the elevator straight up to the 25th floor, Silas soon reached his room.
Opening the door, he immediately understood the meaning of "you get what you pay for."
Though the layout wasn't much different from a single room at a Pokémon Center, both the size and the quality of furniture were leagues above.
Some rooms were even designated specifically for Pokémon of different types.
No wonder they asked what types of Pokémon he brought when filling in personal information.
Silas looked thoroughly impressed.
Excluding the VIP room he stayed in on the Saint Anne cruise, this was the first time he'd spent money on such a luxurious room.
"Everyone, dinner time!"
He casually tossed seven Luxury Balls at once.
Without needing instruction, the Pokémon all immediately found their own little spaces:
Pidgeot to the forest room,
Blaziken to the greenhouse,
Gigalith to the rock room.
Silas followed them and was surprised to discover space expansion technology was applied to these rooms, they were much larger inside than they appeared.
"Truly, quality goods make you feel like you're getting a bargain."
Watching his Pokémon enjoy themselves, Silas suddenly felt a little guilty for not giving them better accommodations earlier.
Looks like getting a backyard would be next on the agenda.
After spending over an hour preparing dinner for each Pokémon, Silas brought them to the hotel training grounds.
Tiring as it was, daily training couldn't be skipped.
The training grounds were quiet, only occasional vibrations breaking the silence.
As usual, the high-end hotel training grounds used space technology, preserving privacy while letting Trainers and Pokémon train freely.
The only downside: the training grounds weren't free.
But any trainer staying at this hotel wouldn't care about the extra cost.
Just as Silas was about to enter after getting his training room number, a young, fit man with a buzz cut and a small fringe walked straight out toward him.
"Yo, Mr. Norman, going back so early today?"
From the staff's greeting, Silas confirmed the man's identity.
He was Norman, future Gym Leader of Petalburg Gym in the Hoenn region, known as "the man practically born for Pokémon."
His specialty was Normal-type Pokémon; his daughter was May, his son Max.
Silas immediately recalled him from memory—Norman was a Gym Leader in Hoenn, and his children traveled with Ash in the future.
Norman's power as a Gym Leader was impressive, by the time Ash traveled through Hoenn, Norman was already regarded as a future Elite Four candidate.
Silas didn't know how strong he was now.
More than that, he wondered why Norman was in Goldenrod City.
Turns out, Norman and his family were originally from Johto, but he had been invited to Hoenn to become Gym Leader.
To fulfill his duties conveniently, the family relocated there.
"Can't help it. If I don't go back, Caroline will let D J Mary 'expose' my sins,"
Norman joked with the hotel staff.
It seemed this wasn't his first time training here.
"Oh~ then I kinda don't want you to go. That way I can hear some interesting things on tomorrow morning's broadcast," the staff teased.
Only Norman could hear that and respond so casually. Most Trainers wouldn't dare speak that way.
Despite speaking casually, he never slowed down confirming things in his hands.
Leaning lazily against the counter, he asked suddenly:
"Hey, do you recognize that Trainer who just walked past?"
"That guest? Just arrived today, don't know them," the staff replied without looking up.
"Strange," Norman muttered.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
The staff didn't catch what Norman said.
"Nothing. Hurry up, I need to go home to the kids,"
Norman said with a grin.
"All right, all payments processed. As usual, here's a 10% discount," the staff handed him a receipt.
"Really, every time I still have to show this to my wife."
"You single guys wouldn't understand. Find someone if you can!"
Norman ran out of the training grounds without stopping, ignoring the staff's laughter behind him.
"That young man… does he know me?"
He wondered curiously.
Just a moment ago, Silas's eyes had been fixed on him for over three seconds.
Sharp as ever, Norman noticed the subtle surprise that Silas tried to hide.
At this time, Norman's fame wasn't nearly as large as it would be in the future.
His trainer rank had been stuck at Prospective Elite Four for quite some time.
"Now that I think about it… I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Norman frowned, trying to recall.
Even after he got home and opened the door, he still couldn't remember.
"Daddy~"
A small figure called out and leapt into his arms.
"Oh, Max, you're in a good mood today, huh?"
Norman quickly caught his son, putting aside his thoughts.
"Yes! Yes! Because daddy came home super early today!"
Children were always so direct.
His five-year-old son, Max, said it without a second thought.
"Where's your sister?" Norman asked.
"She's doing homework."
Being lifted onto his father's shoulders, Max looked even happier.
Norman nodded in satisfaction.
His daughter May really was someone he could completely trust.
"By the way, Daddy, I watched the last Indigo League matches today, and I found this super amazing older brother!"
The young Max was eager to share his discovery with his father.
"Oh? Really?"
Norman sat down with him, interested.
Aside from Pokémon training and raising, he didn't pay much attention to other things.
In fact, he often learned news and updates from his youngest son.
Even at Max's young age, his intelligence was starting to show.
While other kids at that age were still fishing, Max was already learning Pokémon knowledge.
Max eagerly grabbed the remote and brought up a battle video.
Seeing the trainer appear on TV, Norman's eyes instinctively narrowed.
"Look! Look!"
Max tugged on his father's sleeve.
"This big brother called Shizuo is amazing, right? And he's the champion of this Indigo League!"
"Of course! But not as good as Daddy," he added casually.
"That's true."
Norman puffed out his chest proudly. "Your dad was a league champion a long time ago."
A look of admiration appeared in Max's eyes.
Norman felt proud.
"What about the other trainer? What's his name?"
He asked casually.
"Seems like… Silas," Max said uncertainly.
"Bah, he lost anyway. What's the point? If I went, I'd be stronger than him," Max said dismissively.
Norman's face turned serious as he patted his son's head.
"You can't say that, he's very strong."
"Yes, yes, yes~"
Max dragged the final syllable in a slightly impatient tone.
Norman frowned.
His son seemed a bit too overconfident in theory.
Looks like some guidance would be needed.
Though Norman thought this, he realized he'd barely taught Max anything, most of it had been handled by his wife, Caroline.
If he were the one teaching, Caroline would probably write a huge essay about it.
"Look, see? This Gigalith's Rock Blast seems faster than usual, right? Based on speed data, these two Pokémon could have clashed energy at this point,"
Norman patiently explained the battle in the video to his son.
If word got out, who wouldn't envy Max?
But all they could do was regret not having such a strong dad.
Max looked at Norman with full admiration.
His father really was the strongest.
He could tell that compared to his dad's explanations, the commentary provided by the League on the video was practically a joke.
Many things weren't accurate; Norman just knew more than most.
"All right, that's enough, you two. Time to eat."
Caroline, wearing an apron and cooking, tapped the rice pot in her hand.
"Hey, Caroline, you're cooking at home today?"
Norman asked somewhat cluelessly.
Max instinctively shifted several positions to the side.
"What?"
A sobbing voice rang out.
Norman, a beat late, realized something was wrong.
"Am I no longer worthy of your attention? You didn't even notice I'm home. Is our trust really that fragile?"
Tears filled Caroline's eyes as she looked at Norman, ready to overflow.
"No, I just thought you went shopping today with Whitney and D J Mary,"
Norman explained nervously.
"You pay so much attention to Whitney and D J Mary, I knew it…"
Caroline continued crying.
Max and May sat expressionless at the table, watching their parents show affection.
Max thought: What's life like with a dramatic mom?
He felt a little overwhelmed.
Elsewhere, Silas was still training his Pokémon diligently.
"Looks like this guide really is useful," he said, looking at the test data while speaking to Ralts.
"Ralts!"
Ralts excitedly raised its little hand.
It could feel the progress it had made in such a short time.
...
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