The lake was very deep, making it difficult for Silas to clearly observe Piplup's movements underwater.
Fortunately, Pidgeot could.
Thanks to its Keen Eye Ability, its vision was exceptionally sharp, and even the rushing current couldn't interfere with its sight.
"Pidgeot, keep an eye on Piplup. Vulpix, come with me. Let's look around and see if there's anything interesting nearby."
Silas instructed Pidgeot before beckoning to the Vulpix that was happily playing in the water.
"Vulpix~"
The Vulpix immediately turned around and climbed up Silas's clothing onto his shoulder.
The entire sequence was smooth and practiced.
A faint chill gathered around its forepaws.
While climbing, it froze the water on its feet into tiny chunks of ice, which fell harmlessly to the ground.
Thanks to that, Silas avoided getting soaked first thing in the morning.
Though the places the Vulpix touched felt rather cold.
Circling overhead, Pidgeot cried out in acknowledgment before landing nearby and beginning to groom its feathers.
It looked unusually energetic.
Then again, during the past few days, aside from routine training, Pidgeot hadn't had much chance to move around.
Silas had been visiting either snowy mountains or underground caverns, places where there wasn't much room for a flying Pokémon.
Confident in Pidgeot's supervision, Silas and Vulpix began their sweep of the area.
The landscape near the top of the waterfall wasn't much different from an ordinary forest, except for its higher elevation.
"What exactly causes Magikarp to evolve into Gyarados after crossing the waterfall?"
Silas muttered while rubbing the surface of a broken tree.
In his view, everything in the world should have an underlying cause.
A phenomenon like the Dragon Gate Leap had to have a source.
Many researchers thought the same way, including the renowned Pokémon evolution expert, Professor Rowan.
Professor Rowan had visited Sweet Orange Island in the Orange Archipelago multiple times to investigate the origins of the Dragon Gate Leap phenomenon.
Yet despite all his efforts, he had made little progress.
What he did manage to publish were numerous reports on Magikarp behavior, including their spawning migrations.
That was precisely why Silas had come up here.
He wanted to see whether there was anything unusual about the surrounding environment.
Perhaps without even realizing it, under the influence of Professor Rowan and Professor Oak, his habits were gradually becoming more like those of a Pokémon researcher.
Most Trainers wouldn't bother investigating the deeper causes behind a phenomenon.
Catching Pokémon or simply recording the event was usually enough for them.
"Maku."
A youthful yet somewhat deep cry sounded out.
Not far away stood a plump yellow Pokémon staring at the two intruders.
Its hands looked as though they were wearing gray boxing gloves, while a gray cloth resembling a bib was tied around its neck.
Its permanently squinted eyes made it look remarkably similar to Brock, as though it were constantly smiling.
"A Makuhita from Hoenn, huh? Mt. Mortar's ecosystem really is impressive."
Silas couldn't help but marvel.
In just a single day, he had already encountered numerous Pokémon originating from other regions.
Such a thing was rare in most wild environments.
Without a large group supporting them, foreign Pokémon usually found it difficult to survive in another region.
Perhaps only a place as vast as Mt. Mortar with its enormous mountain range and extensive cave systems could support such a diverse population.
The Makuhita watched Silas and Vulpix for a while but didn't attack.
Instead, it wandered over to a large tree and began slamming its body into the trunk.
This was a characteristic habit of the species.
Makuhita loved training more than anything else.
They constantly rammed trees to strengthen both their bodies and their indomitable spirits.
Their naturally gentle personalities meant that they rarely attacked even when their territory was invaded.
Of course, that didn't mean anyone should bully them.
An enraged Makuhita was still a formidable opponent.
Widely recognized as one of the most determined Pokémon species, Makuhita never gave up no matter how many times it was knocked down.
Each time it stood back up, more energy accumulated within its body for evolution.
One moment an intruder might be facing a Makuhita.
The next, they could be facing its evolved form, Hariyama.
Hariyama possessed enough strength to casually swat away objects weighing ten tons.
Naturally, Silas had no intention of disturbing its training.
Glancing around, he realized that the broken trees nearby were probably the Makuhita's handiwork.
Judging by its condition, the little Pokémon was likely not far from evolving into Hariyama.
Because of Mt. Mortar's unusual geography, the Pokémon living on the mountain surface were generally weaker than those deeper inside.
A Makuhita on the verge of evolution was probably considered a local powerhouse.
"Maybe I should ask it."
An idea suddenly appeared in Silas's mind.
He immediately decided to act on it.
"Maku?"
Seeing Silas and Vulpix approach, even the easygoing Makuhita stopped training and looked at them warily.
Silas smiled warmly and held out a piece of Fighting-type Pokémon food.
"I mean no harm. I just want to chat."
"Maku."
Makuhita shook its head.
No. You don't.
"..."
The blunt rejection caught Silas completely off guard.
Ever since arriving in Johto and meeting Suicune, most gentle-natured Pokémon had treated him rather favorably.
He hadn't expected to strike out this time.
Still, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
After a moment's thought, he pulled out two dumbbell-like objects from his spatial backpack.
They were training weights that Blaziken had used back when it was still a Combusken.
Now they were little more than forgotten equipment gathering dust.
For Makuhita, however, they were perfect.
Despite their small size, the weights were astonishingly heavy.
"These can help you train your body."
Silas held up the dumbbells as he spoke.
With his calm expression, he looked almost like a Pokémon himself.
Vulpix secretly hooked one of the dumbbells with its tail.
The result was immediate.
Unable to maintain its balance, it nearly tumbled off Silas's shoulder.
"Vulpix..."
Concluding that it was far too delicate for this sort of training, it immediately gave up on the idea.
Steadying the little fox with one hand, Silas looked toward the increasingly hesitant Makuhita.
"So? Let's chat. We can be friends."
Whether it was the phrase "be friends" that convinced Makuhita, or whether its simple mind, filled mainly with eating, sleeping, and exercising had been captivated by the training equipment, nobody knew.
The Pokémon nodded honestly.
Plop.
The Makuhita, whose body shape somewhat resembled Munchlax's, sat down heavily on the ground.
Its thick layers of fat spread outward so much that its legs disappeared from sight.
The two dumbbells were carefully placed beside the tree it used for training.
"Do you know when this waterfall formed? Or how it formed?"
Silas sat cross-legged across from it and began asking questions.
Makuhita licked the crumbs from around its mouth and tilted its head.
Silas immediately realized that his question might have been too complicated for a wild Pokémon that had grown up in the wilderness.
So he switched tactics.
"Water."
He pointed.
"It goes down."
He waved his hands.
"Splash splash splash."
He mimicked a waterfall.
"Do you know?"
Vulpix covered its eyes.
It couldn't bear to watch.
Why not just bring Blaziken up here to help translate?
It genuinely didn't understand.
Fortunately, thanks to the universal language of exaggerated gestures, Makuhita quickly understood what Silas meant.
"Maku! Maku, maku!"
The Pokémon stood up and began enthusiastically gesturing back.
"I see..."
Silas nodded thoughtfully.
Vulpix curled into a ball and sighed.
It was genuinely worried about its Trainer's intelligence.
According to Makuhita, the waterfall had existed for a very long time.
It had been there since Makuhita was a child. Or rather, it had already existed when its parents lived nearby.
However, two blue Pokémon later arrived and drove away both its parents and itself.
Only recently had Makuhita discovered that those two blue Pokémon had disappeared, allowing it to return.
Its parents hadn't come back, though.
They were still living somewhere in the underground caverns, leading a group of Geodude and Sandshrew while defending their territory.
Of course, Silas knew exactly which Pokémon Makuhita was talking about.
They were undoubtedly the pair of Golduck that Nobohiku had previously driven away.
Territorial conflict was the main theme of life in the wild, so Silas wasn't surprised.
Still, being able to escape from two Elite-level Pokémon meant Makuhita's parents were no ordinary Pokémon.
Of course, it was also possible that the Golduck hadn't yet reached the Elite level back then.
Unfortunately, Silas still hadn't learned when the waterfall had originally formed.
"Maku."
While eating its food, Makuhita pointed toward several blue scales scattered along the riverbank.
"You're saying your parents told you that this waterfall was created by a Pokémon like the ones that appeared last night?"
After spending some time communicating, Silas had become much better at interpreting Makuhita's gestures.
Makuhita immediately gave him a thumbs-up.
Exactly.
Those roaring creatures were so noisy that it hadn't slept well at all last night.
Silas fell into thought.
The waterfall had a vertical drop of nearly two hundred meters and was absurdly wide.
It looked as though someone had punched a gigantic crater straight through Mt. Mortar.
Ordinary Pokémon simply couldn't cause destruction on that scale.
Even a Pokémon as famous for its destructive power as Gyarados would likely need at least Champion-level strength to create such a landscape.
It might even require surpassing normal limits.
If the Dragon Gate truly originated from a Pokémon of that caliber, then the mystery suddenly became much easier to understand.
Meanwhile, Makuhita continued stuffing food into its mouth without a care in the world.
It wasn't interested in how the waterfall had formed.
It only knew that the food tasted really good.
Thanks to its parents, it had eaten human-made food before.
But this was the most delicious food it had ever tasted.
Naturally.
The Pokémon food Silas bought was among the highest-quality products available on the market.
Only premium Pokéblocks could surpass it.
Most Trainers would never be so extravagant.
For ordinary maintenance, mid-grade Pokémon food was more than enough.
Only someone like Silas reasonably wealthy and obsessed with perfection would carry so many top-tier canned Pokémon foods in his spatial backpack.
"Pidgeot!"
Just as Silas was deep in thought, Pidgeot suddenly cried out.
He immediately realized that Piplup had discovered something underwater.
"It was great meeting you. These are the same kind of Pokémon food. If you ration them, they should last several days. Hopefully we'll meet again someday."
Silas hurriedly got to his feet.
Halfway there, he suddenly turned around and pulled several more cans of Pokémon food from his backpack before tossing them to Makuhita.
Whether the information was accurate or not, Makuhita's story had at least given him a new lead.
"Maku!"
Makuhita's eyes narrowed even further.
Its entire face radiated happiness.
It waved goodbye to Vulpix before hugging the cans and running back to its nest.
"Vulpix."
Perched on Silas's shoulder, Vulpix waved back.
The chubby, somewhat dim-witted Pokémon had been pretty nice.
It had even wanted to share some food with her earlier.
Silas paid no attention to the exchange between the two Pokémon.
He quickly jogged back to where he had originally arrived.
Piplup was puffing out its cheeks and spraying water at Pidgeot.
Pidgeot lazily floated through the air.
The water streams passed directly through its body.
Or rather, Pidgeot was moving so fast that it only looked that way.
From its expression, it seemed to be enjoying itself.
"Piplup! Piplup!"
As soon as Silas returned, Piplup immediately began lodging complaints.
Apparently, after arriving here, Pidgeot had spent the entire time teasing it.
Just another example of Pidgeot's mischievous sense of humor.
"You really have too much free time."
Silas rolled his eyes at Pidgeot.
Honestly, he suspected Blaziken had learned some of its bad habits from Pidgeot.
Pidgeot merely landed beside the river and began drinking water, completely unconcerned.
Piplup quickly forgot about the matter as well.
With a proud expression, it pulled out two objects from behind its back and presented them to Silas.
A faint draconic aura instantly spread throughout the surrounding area.
Vulpix's fur stood on end.
Silas froze.
Then his face lit up with excitement.
"A Dragon Scale and a Dragon Fang?!"
His voice practically cracked.
Everyone knew that Dragon-type Pokémon were synonymous with power.
The items they produced were equally precious.
Whether it was a Dragon Scale or a Dragon Fang, even an Elite-level Dragon-type Pokémon might only leave behind one in its entire lifetime.
After all, a Dragon Scale was essentially a scale from its most treasured body parts, while a Dragon Fang represented one of its sharpest and most energy-rich fangs.
Typically, these items only became available after the Dragon Pokémon approached the end of its life.
"My luck really is incredible."
At this moment, that was the only thought in Silas's mind.
So what if he had never obtained a Pokémon item from wild Pokémon during his previous adventures?
These two treasures more than made up for it.
On the market, Dragon Scales and Dragon Fangs appeared to be worth only hundreds of millions.
In reality, their true value far exceeded their listed prices.
After all, even if you had the money, what could you do if nobody was willing to sell?
Possessing these items often meant having the opportunity to raise an exceptional Dragon-type Pokémon.
That value couldn't be measured by money alone.
The ability to significantly shorten the growth cycle of many Dragon-type Pokémon was already worth the price.
"You really are my lucky star, little guy."
Silas excitedly scooped Piplup into his arms.
Piplup had no idea why the two items were so valuable.
But seeing its Trainer so happy, it proudly raised its head.
Pretty amazing, right?
It shot a smug look toward Vulpix.
Vulpix, whose fur had only just settled down, didn't even bother looking at it.
Pidgeot also walked over curiously and leaned in to inspect the Dragon Scale and Dragon Fang.
Earlier, it had sensed the powerful energy emanating from the two items.
That was why it had called Silas over.
...
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