Watching Silas and Pidgeot's movements, Kiyo felt he finally understood why they had been stuck.
Still a young man after all.
"Kid," Kiyo said, unusually not calling Silas by name, "I told you before, breaking through to Elite level isn't just about the Pokémon."
Silas froze.
"Body. Breathing. Spirit. Bond. Everything between Trainer and Pokémon combined together, that's the true key to an Elite breakthrough."
Kiyo tapped his chest.
"Maybe you should ask yourself whether you've truly entrusted your life to your Pokémon or whether you've just been standing aside, directing it as an observer."
"In other words, your Pokémon has entrusted itself to you. But what about you?"
Silas stood there, stunned.
Haven't I entrusted myself to them? he asked himself inwardly.
Kiyo ignored the still-ongoing battle.
"The connection between humans and Pokémon has never been one-sided. Neither exists merely depending on the other. You have your world. It has its world. Both of you have your own lives.
But since you've become its world, Don't try to separate yourself from it."
Silas stood motionless.
Kiyo nodded with satisfaction.
Seems like I really do have talent for lecturing, he thought. He gave Machamp a subtle signal to slow its assault.
Machamp understood immediately.
Its four thunderous arms gradually reduced speed.
Struggling Pidgeot suddenly felt the pressure lighten.
What's Boss doing? Spacing out?
It didn't know its Trainer was currently undergoing philosophical impact damage from the opposing Trainer.
If it did, Pidgeot would probably complain for half an hour.
"Ha… Rare to get lectured like this."
Silas suddenly chuckled softly.
It really had been a long time.
"Sorry about that, Pidgeot. Now it's our time to strike back."
Feeling the faint resonance in his heart, Silas knew. Pidgeot was urging him to command. And he also knew what that meant.
He'd never felt this before.
His eyes sharpened.
"Spread your wings and soar, Pidgeot!"
"Pidgeot..—!"
Pinned down moments ago, Pidgeot suddenly felt its body grow light.
Spin. Wings angled at thirty degrees.
In the next instant, it slipped free from Machamp's overwhelming barrage of fists.
"So that's how much you yearn for the sky…"
Feeling Pidgeot's emotions, Silas smiled.
"Then let them see how strong you truly are."
Kiyo's instincts tingled.
"…Maybe we should stop? Looks like Pidgeot already broke through."
"How could we do that, Kiyo? I'm technically your senior in lineage, listen to me."
Silas couldn't suppress his grin.
"Besides, how could a peak Elite-level Machamp lose to a freshly advanced Pidgeot? Right, Pidgeot?"
"Pidgeot—!"
Hovering high in the sky, its aura completely transformed, Pidgeot cried in agreement.
"Hah—" Kiyo snorted. "You really think you can win? Fine then. Machamp, jump and use Smack Down!"
"Pidgeot, use Fly!"
Silas swept his hand forward.
This time, his command lacked any follow-up attack instruction.
Machamp leapt into the air with all four arms spread wide, attempting to swat Pidgeot down like a fledgling.
It failed.
The massive Pidgeot blurred into an afterimage the instant Machamp jumped, merging into the sky itself.
"Boom!"
Machamp's four palms clapped together, detonating the air.
"Stone Edge!"
Kiyo's tone turned serious.
The gap between Pesudo-Elite and Elite was enormous. But the gap between newly advanced Elite and peak Elite was bridgeable.
If careless, he could absolutely lose to Silas.
He had no intention of lecturing someone only to get reverse-educated.
Machamp stomped down powerfully.
"BOOM!"
A massive chunk of rock tore free from the ground and was hoisted overhead.
Silas's eyes gleamed.
Peak Elite Machamp truly possessed monstrous strength.
Calling it a rock chunk was modest. It was practically the peak of a small mountain.
The battlefield looked bombed, a massive section missing beneath Machamp.
Trainer and Pokémon appeared as tiny as Caterpie beneath it.
Machamp hurled the colossal stone skyward.
One ripple. Two ripples. Three—
Three rings of white shockwaves spread outward. The gust that followed temporarily suppressed even the Valley's relentless wind.
"Quick Attack."
Though the eye couldn't precisely track Pidgeot. Silas could feel it.
The sensation was incredible.
A bright streak of white flashed even in broad daylight. Pidgeot folded its wings and slammed into Machamp.
"Machaaamp!"
Machamp cried out in pain, but its four arms still attempted to seize Pidgeot mid-impact.
Pidgeot would never allow that.
If caught, it was over.
Using recoil momentum, it kicked off the ground with its talons, twisting at an impossible angle and escaping Machamp's crushing grasp.
"Now—Tailwind!"
Silas seized momentum.
For Pidgeot, the Valley's wind had once been an obstacle.
Now, It was an ally. Under Tailwind, it became unstoppable. Moments ago, one could barely glimpse its outline. Now It vanished entirely.
"Machamp, Wide Guard."
Forced into a defensive posture he rarely used, Kiyo clicked his tongue.
His philosophy was offense, offense, and more offense. But if you couldn't find the opponent, what then?
That was why he disliked fighting Silas.
Beyond typing, Pokémon also countered each other stylistically. A power-focused Machamp facing a speed-specialist Pidgeot was inherently at a disadvantage.
Yes, if Pidgeot were caught, it might be KO'd instantly.But that required catching it first.
Kiyo called this kind of battle "hide-and-seek."
He hated it.
A sandy-yellow barrier enveloped Machamp.
"True romance between men is trading blows!" he shouted.
Silas wagged a finger.
"No, no. Flying-type romance is speed, hit and vanish."
A true assassin style.
Previously, Pidgeot's kiting with Air Slash was more swordsman than assassin.
It failed to fully leverage its speed advantage.
Long-range attacks were useful, But too slow to decisively end battles.
In evenly matched fights, even moves like Shadow Ball were most effective when pressed directly into the opponent's body.
Only then could maximum damage be achieved.
After all.
"Where there's smoke, there's no damage" applied in every battle.
The two Trainers locked eyes.
Kiyo broke first.
"You're not attacking?"
Silas shrugged.
"I'm waiting for Wide Guard to expire."
Completely justified.
Tailwind lasted far longer than Wide Guard.
And through observation, Silas had already calculated Machamp's deployment time.
The second Wide Guard would mark Pidgeot's strike window.
Kiyo knew this too, but had no solution.
Randomly hurling mountains in hopes of hitting a supersonic Pidgeot?
He wasn't betting on luck.
"Machamp. Focus."
Kiyo exhaled.
If the enemy remained unseen. Then counter-offense from defense was the only option.
The wind resumed.
Dust spiraled upward.
Silas seized it instantly.
"Pidgeot—Wing Attack!"
"Machamp—Circle Throw!"
Silas raised an eyebrow.
So he intended to trade durability?
Circle Throw would guarantee a follow-up hit. But only after being struck first.
For Machamp, tanking a Flying-type move that hit for double damage wasn't wise.
It seemed this was Kiyo's battle style.
Even if he was injured, he would bite a chunk of flesh off his opponent before going down.
It truly carried the spirit of an old-school martial artist.
But how could Silas and Pidgeot possibly give him that opportunity?
"Poof."
The Pidgeot that had spread its magnificent wings and charged forward at high speed turned into bubbles the instant it collided with Machamp.
Machamp, which had been preparing to use Seismic Toss, grabbed nothing but air and slipped slightly.
"Piii—!"
At that moment, the real Pidgeot arrived just a heartbeat later.
As the two crossed paths twice in rapid succession, its sharp wings slashed across Machamp's muscular body, leaving deep marks.
"Double Team? When did that happen?" Kiyo exclaimed in shock.
Silas replied, "Just now, when the wind picked up. But I only created two or three clones, so it's normal that you didn't notice."
As for how Pidgeot could receive instructions without Silas speaking aloud, that came down to the tacit understanding between Trainer and Pokémon.
Sometimes, a mere twitch of a finger—barely even a signal is enough for a Pokémon to know what to do.
Kiyo licked his dry lips. Seriously he had only just broken through to the Elite tier, yet he was already this difficult to deal with?
Watching Pidgeot vanish once more, he felt a headache coming on.
"Pidgeot, use Wing Attack again."
Silas wouldn't give him time to think up a counterstrategy. He pressed the attack relentlessly.
With Machamp's durability and stamina, it wouldn't be able to withstand continuous Flying-type attacks for long.
Seeing Pidgeot reappear before him, Kiyo immediately made a judgment.
"It's the real one! Machamp, use Seismic Toss!"
Not good, Silas thought.
He hadn't expected Kiyo to see through his intentions so decisively.
Normally, after the first one turned out to be a Double Team clone and after hearing that there were two or three copies, most people would hesitate before making their next move.
If the judgment were wrong, it would mean taking two consecutive super-effective hits.
But Kiyo had no such concern. He counterattacked immediately.
Machamp lowered its center of gravity, grabbed Pidgeot's wings with all four hands, and performed a powerful bridge.
"Boom!"
Although Wing Attack struck Machamp, Pidgeot traced a graceful arc through the air and was slammed hard onto the ground on its back.
"Backflip—Cross Chop!"
Kiyo's eyes gleamed fiercely.
Machamp's body, bent into a ∩ shape, displayed astonishing flexibility. Pushing off the ground with its four arms, it launched itself skyward.
"Machaa—!"
Midair, Machamp clenched its four fists together, which began to glow brilliantly.
It drew its body into a bow shape and then smashed its fists downward.
"Boom!"
Dust billowed everywhere.
Kiyo's expression changed. From Machamp's feedback, it hadn't felt much resistance from its punch.
"Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace."
Sure enough, Silas launched another attack.
A streak of white light cut through the dust, accurately striking Machamp at the waist.
"Machaa…"
After enduring four or five Flying-type attacks, Machamp finally collapsed.
Pidgeot, covered in wounds, panted heavily.
"You actually escaped that at the last second with Substitute, honestly."
Understanding what had happened, Kiyo shook his head helplessly. When he got back, his teacher was definitely going to laugh at him.
"Well done."
Silas walked over to Pidgeot and bumped wings with it in a celebratory high-five.
His first victory after breaking into the Elite tier had come against a peak Elite tier opponen —and a very capable Trainer at that. It was perfect.
Now, his team had officially achieved a zero-to-one breakthrough at the Elite tier.
"Seriously, stop celebrating and hurry up—have your Pokémon help with treatment."
Kiyo called out as he struggled to lift his Machamp.
As a Fighting-type specialist, he was still lacking in field medical support. Even being a Elite-level Trainer didn't change that.
Silas quickly sent out his Pokémon with a smile.
Serperior, Togekiss, Ampharos, and Kirlia—the four little ones worked together.
Due to the difference in energy levels, their healing moves were less effective than usual.
Fortunately, Machamp didn't need to be fully restored, just awakened so it didn't take too long.
"Tch. Machamp isn't even the strongest ace on my team, but your Pidgeot is seriously too powerful," Kiyo praised Silas.
He had to praise him enthusiastically to preserve some face.
If Silas and Pidgeot weren't impressive, then losing to them would only make him look worse.
Silas believed him.
Not because Kiyo praised Pidgeot, but because Kiyo's strongest Pokémon was definitely that Tyrogue which had evolved into Hitmontop.
Or perhaps that Fighting/Psychic-type Medicham.
Either way, it certainly wasn't Machamp.
After all, Kiyo had officially become a Elite-level Trainer in his thirties, he was a true genius. He definitely had that level of strength.
..
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Btth: Ascend to Pinnacle (30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: My Martial is Tyranitar (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu