"What?! You want to go deep inside Mt. Silver? Are you serious?" Matsuda's voice suddenly echoed within the Breeder's Guild, startling most of the people inside.
Aoki looked at his teacher's exaggerated reaction with a helpless expression.
However, he still said, "Teacher, please don't get so agitated. You know, a few days ago when I was doing experiments, I almost used up all of the Alliance's stock. The only known source for this material is deep inside Mt. Silver, and I'm not that naive kid with no combat power anymore…"
Before Aoki could finish his sentence, Matsuda interrupted him, "Yes! I know you have incredible strength now, and as your teacher, I'm not as strong as you anymore. But you need to know, as your teacher, I will always be your teacher. In my eyes, you will always be a naive kid.
No matter if you're now the Sandstorm Elite Four or a Senior Breeder, in front of me, you're just a disciple! I said you're not allowed to go! And that means you're not allowed to go!"
Once Matsuda's temper flared up, not even nine Tauros could hold him back.
It was precisely because of his bad temper that, before taking Aoki as a disciple, he had always been alone, and he rarely bothered to return to the Breeder's Guild.
Aoki's helplessness deepened, but there was no anger in his heart, only a profound sense of gratitude.
Matsuda was probably the only person left in this world who could still yell at Aoki like that, without caring about his status or profession, only genuinely caring for his well-being.
So, even if he absolutely forbade him from entering Mt. Silver, Aoki wouldn't get angry at him.
Matsuda and Drake were Aoki's two teachers. Matsuda acted as a protective umbrella for Aoki's early growth, and in his own way, he continuously provided Aoki with help and protection.
He was a doting parent.
Drake, on the other hand, took on the role of guiding Aoki after he had achieved a certain level of strength. Drake's attitude towards Aoki was different; he was more open-minded, trusting Aoki's choices and believing he could face any difficulties.
So, when facing Team Magma and Team Aqua, when Aoki took the initiative to take responsibility, Drake respected his decision.
The two teachers had very different attitudes when it came to handling situations, but they both provided a lot of help to Aoki.
Aoki was also grateful to both teachers from the bottom of his heart, so even though his current strength surpassed Matsuda's, and he was in no way inferior to him in terms of breeding, in front of Matsuda, Aoki was still a student who dared not make mistakes.
Helplessly, Aoki could only look at Granny Kui beside him with a pleading gaze.
Unexpectedly, the usually majestic and domineering Granny Kui, upon seeing Matsuda's outburst, not only wasn't angry but instead showed the kind of adoring gaze that only a fangirl would possess.
It truly takes one to tame another...
"Cough, cough." Aoki immediately feigned a cough.
Hearing Aoki's cough, Granny Kui finally reacted, her face slightly flushed, and she said, "Xiao Gang, Xiao Aoki is an Elite Four now, so his strength is definitely not a problem. Although Mt. Silver is dangerous, it's not like no one operates inside it.
Didn't the Alliance stipulate that anyone with Elite Four level strength can enter Mt. Silver?
Even if Xiao Aoki doesn't have Champion-level strength, he's at least at the peak of quasi-Champion. What do you have to worry about if he goes in?"
Granny Kui's words also slightly eased Matsuda's expression. "You know how many people who enter Mt. Silver each year don't make it back alive. And many people only dare to operate in the peripheral areas. The materials he's looking for can only be found by going deeper."
"Didn't you used to run around in all sorts of dangerous places to find some precious materials, and aren't you still standing here perfectly fine? And do you think, with Xiao Aoki's current strength, how many places are left that can still provide him with training?" Granny Kui continued to say.
Aoki also chimed in, "Teacher, don't worry, I'll be careful. Don't forget I'm also a Psychic, so ordinary Pokémon can't get close to me. Plus, I have Slowking; he's mastered Teleportation to perfection."
"And you also know the current situation of the Alliance. It's also Xiao Aoki's hope that by finding a suitable place to train, he can get stronger and better face what's about to happen," Granny Kui added.
Hearing this, Matsuda fell silent.
Matsuda, of course, had a very clear sense that the current state of the Alliance was merely the calm before the storm.
Before the great turmoil truly arrived, it was not wrong to quickly improve one's strength, striving to survive this storm, and even to gain some benefits or advantages for oneself.
Aoki's choice was also not problematic.
The reason Matsuda reacted so strongly was simply because the interior of Mt. Silver was indeed very dangerous.
Don't be mistaken that the Kanto Alliance and the Alliance headquarters are located on Mt. Silver; in reality, they are only at the true entrance of Mt. Silver, not the actual Mt. Silver itself.
As one of the oldest mountains in the Pokémon world, Mt. Silver divides the Kanto region into two, namely the Kanto region and the Johto region. Its sheer size is almost unimaginable, and coupled with the vast number of tunnels and passages within its mountain body, it is even more complex.
As one of the oldest mountains, its interior obviously harbors a large number of powerful wild Pokémon. No one knows how powerful the Pokémon inside truly are.
Just as Granny Kui said, people who can enter Mt. Silver need to have at least Elite Four level strength. Anyone below Elite Four level entering Mt. Silver is undoubtedly committing suicide, and even so, every year a large number of people who enter Mt. Silver never return.
You should know that when the Alliance was first established, choosing to station its headquarters at the entrance of Mt. Silver was not to show the grandeur of the Alliance headquarters, but purely to keep the Pokémon inside Mt. Silver contained. This effectively reduced the phenomenon of very powerful Pokémon occasionally attacking humans in various cities within the region.
The Alliance not only suppressed the entire Mt. Silver but also brought a large amount of resources from within this vast Mt. Silver into its grasp.
All those who wish to enter the interior of Mt. Silver require the Alliance's permission.
Furthermore, the Alliance organizes teams to enter Mt. Silver every year to collect various valuable resources, including different materials and rare, high-potential Pokémon.
Why do you think the Alliance has so many Pokémon with extraordinary potential? Some of them were caught from within Mt. Silver.
It's just that the Alliance hasn't made these matters public, and only true direct members of the Alliance with a certain level of strength can access this information.
And once they have a certain level of strength, who hasn't been exposed to the capture and trading of Pokémon, so it's not surprising.