"A Elite level potential? Not bad."
Silas nodded slightly.
For him, anything above Advance-tier potential was acceptable.
Of course, the higher the better.
With Elite level potential, if things went well and two evolutions were supported by high-quality Evolution Stones, there was a good chance it could be raised to Elite Four-level potential.
That way, he wouldn't have to worry about his future Pokémon being unable to keep up with him and eventually ending up as "retirement Pokémon."
This was precisely why Silas rarely treated Pokémon as a secondary roster.
Even now, despite having two main team members who had broken through to Elite level, the number of Pokémon he had officially caught was only around ten.
For a Trainer, that was a very strange number.
Even Trainers who deliberately focused on elite training usually had at least forty to fifty Pokémon by this stage.
Some even exceeded a hundred.
Still, Piplup's potential didn't surprise him too much.
Although Zero hadn't provided a full data panel earlier, he could already infer it from the battle.
If it truly had Elite Four-level potential, then with its proficiency in Water-type moves, it should at least have been able to use Bubble Beam.
Yet it never once used it during battle.
Bubble Beam was a fairly powerful move, with a chance to lower the opponent's Speed. If Piplup had it, it would have used it in a desperate moment, but it didn't.
So it clearly hadn't learned it.
Even so, Silas judged that this Piplup was still top-tier within Elite level potential.
It had inherited two Egg Moves and could use them fluently.
Without sufficient potential, it would have been extremely difficult to master both.
"Welp, coming to Mt. Mortar didn't earn me anythingz I'm actually going to end up spending millions more."
Thinking of the price of high-quality Water Stones, Silas's mouth twitched slightly.
At the last Goldenrod City auction, a 96-quality Water Stone had already sold at an absurd price.
And given how popular Water-type Pokémon were, Water Stones were always in short supply. He might not even be able to buy them easily.
"Quit acting poor," Brock said from the side.
If he weren't a Rock-type Trainer, he would have wanted to catch this Piplup himself.
Silas shrugged. "I really am poor."
"Poor my foot. You and Bugsy are running such big businesses."
Brock clearly didn't believe him.
As one of the Eight Gym Leaders of Kanto, and given his proximity to Viridian Forest where many Bug Catchers trained, he knew exactly how well Bug Nets sold.
Even if Silas only had a small share, he was essentially a single man with no family expenses.
Pure personal wealth-wise, Brock felt he was definitely poorer than Silas.
He couldn't understand how Silas could call himself poor.
Silas just smiled without responding.
Money was just money, enough was enough.
Even if he had tens or hundreds of millions, that wouldn't guarantee someone would sell him items related to Legendary Pokémon.
For a powerful Trainer, money was necessary, but not the most important thing.
In terms of value alone, the items he had received from four Legendary Pokémon far exceeded mere currency.
From that perspective, Silas was actually wealthier than most Elite-level Trainers.
At least most Elite Trainers would never possess so many Legendary-held items.
Unfortunately, those items were never for sale.
Silas released the unconscious Piplup again. "Gallade, use Life Dew."
He turned to Gallade, who had been standing guard the entire time.
It had remained on alert since earlier without relaxing even once.
Silas didn't think it was necessary, but he didn't interfere this was Gallade's nature.
"Gallade…"
Gallade's blue-purple glow gradually faded as it placed its hands together, releasing a sky-blue energy.
Droplets of life-infused water fell onto Piplup's small body.
"Vulpix!"
Ice Vulpix immediately ran over, trying to get some of the healing effect.
It had taken a bit of damage earlier as well, roughly speaking.
Gallade said nothing, but silently expanded the range of Life Dew.
Piplup and Ice Vulpix were both enveloped in a gentle, mist-like rain.
Ice Vulpix narrowed its eyes in comfort.
"You little troublemaker," Silas said helplessly, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck.
Ice Vulpix froze instantly.
Uh-oh. Getting scolded again.
"This isn't the time to waste Gallade's energy," Silas said, lightly tapping its head.
Ice Vulpix hadn't even taken serious damage in the battle, any injury it suffered from flying debris was less than the stamina it spent attacking.
It just wanted to enjoy the "massage" effect of Life Dew.
Silas had once experienced it himself under Gallade's use: exhaustion vanished instantly, and his body felt completely relaxed.
The only downside was that he stayed slightly damp for half a day.
Ice Vulpix grinned sheepishly and settled comfortably in his arms.
Soon, under Life Dew's effect, all of Piplup's injuries were healed.
Strangely, however, Piplup still hadn't woken up.
The light rain gradually stopped.
Silas smiled faintly. "Time to wake up. Dinner's ready."
"Pip, GA!"
At the word "dinner," Piplup instantly opened its eyes. But there was no food, only a human face in front of it.
"Pip! Pip-pip!"
Piplup puffed up angrily, flailing its flippers at him.
Especially when it saw Ice Vulpix in his arms, its eyes burned with competitive fire.
"Come on, say hello. This will be your senior from now on."
Silas smiled as he lifted Ice Vulpix's paw and waved it at Piplup.
Piplup froze.
Right it had lost. It was supposed to become this human's Pokémon.
As a wild Pokémon, it wasn't particularly enthusiastic about being captured.
Wild Pokémon valued freedom, and most disliked being bound to humans unless forced.
The stronger they were, the more obvious this tendency became.
But Piplup considered itself a disciplined and trustworthy Pokémon. And this human didn't seem bad, plus the food had been good.
So becoming his partner wasn't entirely unacceptable.
"Pip—plup…"
It hesitantly greeted Ice Vulpix.
"Vulpix."
The curled-up Ice Vulpix responded lazily, eyes half-closed.
Then Silas and Piplup stared at each other in silence.
"Shh."
Blaziken quietly walked over and also greeted Piplup.
It knew one more "target" for harmless intimidation had been added.
Maybe it could get Pidgeot to take this little one for a flight later probably scare it senseless, Blaziken thought mischievously.
It wasn't really bullying, just a necessary part of joining the team.
After all, aerial battles were common, and getting used to the fear of high altitude was important.
With its and Pidgeot's strength and temperament, they would never actually put a new partner in danger.
Ice Vulpix had been terrified the first time, but recently it had started clinging to Togekiss to fly around everywhere.
Of course, Piplup had no idea it was already being mentally scheduled for a "welcome ceremony." It only knew that the Pokémon in front of it were very strong and poorly matched to its own typing.
"Pip…"
It responded nervously.
"As for the others, I'll introduce them after we leave. This place is too small."
While the Pokémon interacted, Silas and Brock set up a makeshift curtain again.
They really were planning to eat something here, and they hadn't lied to Piplup earlier.
"Do you have anything you want to take with you? Or anyone you want to say goodbye to?" Silas asked as Piplup walked toward him.
Piplup tilted its head.
Friends? It didn't really have any. Ever since arriving here, it had been alone.
Its Water typing meant it wasn't afraid of Ground- or Rock-type Pokémon living in the cave.
Most of them also avoided it due to its Water affinity. The few that did attack could usually be dealt with using its control over water currents at the very least, escape was never a problem.
But there was something it wanted to take with it, its treasured collection.
Piplup looked at Silas hesitantly.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to take your things," Silas said, already guessing what it was thinking.
They had only just met; it couldn't possibly trust him yet.
Piplup thought for a moment and nodded, then turned and headed back to its original hiding spot.
Silas turned to Brock and continued chatting.
"By the way, has Senior come back recently?"
"Not yet. He seems to have gone to Unova," Brock replied casually while grinding coffee beans, now wearing an apron from who-knows-where.
"Blaziken, help heat this up."
He placed the kettle on Blaziken's body.
With Blaziken's body temperature, the water would boil quickly.
Silas scratched his head. "I was planning to ask him about how to break through to Elite level for Gigalith."
"I'll ask him for you when I get the chance," Brock said. "He should come back eventually."
Gehao, Brock's uncle, was a powerful Rock-type Trainer who constantly traveled the world.
He rarely returned to Pewter City and barely contacted his family.
Even Brock's grandfather had scolded him many times, but it was useless.
Rock-type Trainers could be very stubborn, and Gehao preferred traveling and adventure.
Because of that, his knowledge was extremely broad, and his strength was considerable.
When Silas evolved his Boldore into Gigalith, Brock had helped him consult Gehao for advice, since Gehao also had Gigalith on his main team.
The information had been extremely helpful at the time.
"Alright."
Silas didn't bother with formal thanks. Their relationship had long since become that of close friends.
Whether someone could break through to Elite level wasn't something a single sentence could decide anyway, it depended on the Trainer and the Pokémon themselves.
Soon, the water boiled, and Silas and Brock each took a cup of coffee.
They would soon continue deeper into Mt. Mortar.
Meanwhile.
"Pip-plup! Pip-plup!"
Piplup returned carrying a pile of belongings.
Water plants, round ordinary stones, and several red Gyarados scales.
Honestly it was a pretty modest collection.
Silas didn't mind and handed it a bag.
"Pack them properly. I'll carry it for you."
Piplup happily nodded.
After hesitating for a moment, it reluctantly pulled out one red scale and handed it to Silas.
"Pip…"
It turned its head away slightly, as if embarrassed.
"This is for me?" Silas raised an eyebrow.
Piplup nodded stiffly.
"Thanks," Silas said with a smile, taking the scale.
At first, he didn't think much of it, it was just a Magikarp scale, common enough.
But the moment it touched his hand, a familiar sensation made him pause. He immediately called Zero.
[Red Gyarados Scale]
The familiar data appeared in his vision.
"This really is quite the coincidence."
Silas muttered inwardly.
His mind began to work quickly.
"Where did you get this?" he asked Piplup, who was still packing.
"Pip-plup! Pip!"
Piplup gestured energetically in explanation.
It wasn't leftovers from eating Magikarp, it had come down from a waterfall. It had even fought a group of Floatzel to obtain it.
Although it couldn't be eaten, it treated it as a prized trophy.
...
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