Strictly speaking, it wasn't a complete overturning of his understanding, more like a supplement.
Simply put, current research among humans generally agrees that Champion-level potential is not the ultimate limit of a Pokémon's aptitude. Above it, there must exist even stronger potential, it simply hasn't been discovered yet.
Silas believed the same. Otherwise, the existence of Legendary Pokémon would be very difficult to explain.
However, according to Suicune, once a Pokémon possesses Champion-level aptitude, it has already reached the absolute talent ceiling of its own species, and this ceiling is restricted by rules and cannot be broken.
Not even Ho-Oh can change that. At most, Ho-Oh can elevate a Pokémon to that very limit.
"When a Pokémon's talents in all aspects reach the strongest possible level within its species, then the only deciding factor left is acquired effort."
That was roughly what Blaziken translated.
In other words, after reaching Champion level, whether a Pokémon can break through into so-called Tier-Three Legendary strength depends entirely on the effort of both the Trainer and the Pokémon—provided that the direction of effort is correct.
Although this was still quite far from where Silas currently stood, it was good news to him.
At the very least, it once again confirmed—indirectly, the importance of the Trainer.
Two parties striving together would always be more efficient than struggling alone.
As for why most Legendary Pokémon witnessed by humans possessed absurdly overwhelming strength, Suicune's explanation was very simple.
"If a species has a larger population, then those weak individuals are not permitted to roam freely. For example, among our Suicune kind, the usual dividing line is roughly around what humans call the Elite Four level, though there are exceptions.
But for those beings whose numbers are few, or who exist as a single individual, those 'great ones' are truly entities favored by the world. Leaving aside how much time has passed since the birth of the world, even a newborn among them grows in strength at a pace that we cannot compare to."
When saying this, even Suicune revealed a trace of envy.
Favored by the world…
Silas fell into thought. The slumbering Arceus truly was omnipresent.
(In an unknown region where darkness and light intertwined, a white Pokémon resembling both a horse and a qilin, with a golden cross-shaped wheel around its waist, trembled ever so slightly.)
Naturally, Silas personally leaned more toward another explanation:
having a Legendary Pokémon personally teaching another Pokémon one-on-one would obviously result in extremely rapid growth.
To say nothing else—if Ho-Oh were to teach Blaziken right now, Silas suspected that Blaziken breaking into Tier-Three Legendary strength would only be a matter of time.
This was a realm that humans could never reach.
After all, humans couldn't exactly fight Ho-Oh with their own flesh and blood. One sneeze and they'd be incinerated no, they'd probably be cooked alive before even getting close.
Moreover, according to Suicune's explanation, Pokémon with naturally long lifespans had a massive advantage—such as Ghost-types, Psychic-types, or more specifically Pokémon like Blastoise or Ninetales.
But after thinking it through carefully, Silas felt it wasn't something to worry too much about.
Although humans in the Pokémon world lived noticeably longer than in his previous life, they still paled in comparison to Pokémon.
Even Bug-type Pokémon, widely acknowledged as the shortest-lived, could accompany their Trainers for an entire lifetime if they avoided serious injuries.
The main reason most Pokémon appeared to have shorter lifespans than humans was simply due to accumulated battle injuries eventually proving fatal.
Fortunately, that was the case. Otherwise, humans would have virtually no room left to survive in this world.
By combining the discussion of potential with the earlier classification of Legendary strength, Silas arrived at a bolder hypothesis.
The so-called authority of Legendary Pokémon could essentially be understood as a form of bond toward specific concepts or phenomena—sometimes intangible, sometimes tangible.
For example:
Ho-Oh with fire,
Dialga with time,
Palkia with space,
and Giratina with the Distortion World.
Similarly, Reshiram believes in truth, while Zekrom believes in ideals.
As long as these concepts continue to exist in the world, those two Legendary Pokémon will remain powerful.
Once such concepts are damaged or eroded, the strength of the corresponding Legendary Pokémon will naturally be affected.
This was likely one of the reasons why Giratina placed such importance on the Distortion World—because for it, losing power was equivalent to having its very life threatened.
To be even more specific, some Legendary Pokémon—such as the Legendary Birds or the Legendary Beasts were unable to compare with stronger Legendaries precisely because the things they cherished produced far fewer bonds.
With that in mind, it also became understandable why the Hoenn duo, despite constantly fighting each other and even teaming up two-on-one, still couldn't defeat Rayquaza.
Beyond territorial disputes, changes in power were what truly mattered to them.
This also explained why Suicune claimed that Tier-One Legendary Pokémon could never be reached through effort alone.
The bond between a Trainer and a Pokémon simply could not surpass the forces of nature or the faith accumulated over countless millennia within a single lifetime.
Unless both lived together for hundreds or even thousands of years.
"Then if the bond is deep enough, does talent even matter? Couldn't a Pokémon skip everything and directly reach Tier-Three Legendary strength?"
Another sudden idea popped into Silas's mind.
The very next moment, he realized his lack of sleep had dulled his thinking again.
Suicune's answer closely matched what Silas had already realized.
It gently shook its head.
"No. Bond is one aspect, but one's own ability is also a necessary foundation."
The logic was simple.
Like Taiji—using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds still required at least those four ounces of strength. Without them, it was meaningless.
Pokémon likewise could not control the power of nature purely through willpower alone.
The small island fell into silence once more.
"In any case, thank you very much for your explanations."
Silas bowed respectfully to Suicune.
Although he still didn't know why Suicune had proactively chosen to meet him, it had told him many things and confirmed numerous long-held suspicions. He was sincerely grateful.
"No need."
Suicune inclined its head slightly.
Unknowingly, one human and one Pokémon had already been conversing for over an hour.
The sky was gradually turning pale—sunrise was approaching.
"Before you leave, let me give you a few gifts."
Standing upon the water's surface, Suicune's serene voice echoed once more in Silas's mind.
Two completely different gemstones floated up from beneath the water.
Under Suicune's control, they gently landed in Silas's unconsciously outstretched palm.
One gem was shaped like a water droplet, the other like a diamond.
Silas immediately recognized both items: Mystic Water and Water Gem.
"This Mystic Water should provide roughly a 20% boost. As for the Water Gem, it can help your Pokémon better comprehend the power of water."
Suicune even offered a brief explanation.
Silas sucked in a sharp breath.
As expected of a Legendary Pokémon, its generosity was extraordinary. Right off the bat, it handed him top-tier Water-type items.
Such amplification items were already far beyond normal market pricing. With the added prestige of being gifted by a Legendary Pokémon, their value would easily double or more.
Moreover, Silas didn't believe that a Water Gem condensed from Suicune's dwelling would be comparable to ordinary ones formed in normal waters, it was surely far more effective.
His gaze subconsciously drifted toward the lake beneath Suicune's feet.
That lake… surely it wasn't full of these things, right?
"Do you have any other questions?"
Sensing Silas's thoughts, Suicune—unfamiliar with the concept of speechlessness, experienced it for the first time and quickly interrupted his train of thought.
Silas snapped back to his senses.
Thinking such things in front of a Legendary Pokémon was both impolite and dangerously suicidal.
"Uh… would it be possible for you to give me a few Rainbow Branches shed by Corsola?"
After a moment's thought, he actually made another request.
The tips of Corsola's branches continuously grew and naturally broke off, so this wasn't an unreasonable demand.
Suicune didn't really understand what the item was for, it couldn't increase strength or be eaten but at least Silas had stopped thinking about its treasure trove.
Strangely enough, Suicune felt no displeasure at Silas's thoughts at all, despite its sensitivity to natural auras—something even it found difficult to explain.
Perhaps because, across its long life, Silas was one of the rare humans it genuinely found agreeable.
"Wait a moment."
Suicune "said" to Silas, as soft blue light like rippling water surfaced in its eyes.
Unlike Aura, this blue glow was far gentler, instantly instilling calm in anyone who saw it.
Beyond the island, the ocean surface began to vibrate at a frequency imperceptible to both humans and Pokémon.
One object after another rose from the seabed and traveled toward the island.
Before long, seven or eight Rainbow Branches were neatly lined up before Silas.
"That's enough—that's enough!"
He hurriedly stopped Suicune.
This efficiency was a bit too much.
The blue light in Suicune's eyes quickly faded.
"Are these very useful to you?"
It asked curiously.
Suicune could sense the joy Silas felt when he saw the Rainbow Branches, a fluctuation it hadn't detected even when they first met.
"Yes, very useful. So thank you very much."
Bathed in the rising sunlight, the coral branches emitted brilliant rainbow-colored light. As Silas put them into his spatial backpack, he nodded vigorously.
He really hadn't expected Suicune to obtain so many Rainbow Branches for him.
Although they were called Rainbow Branches, not every piece shed from a Corsola's tip could emit multicolored light under sunlight. Two or three colors were the norm; even five colors were extremely rare.
Even though they were useless to Pokémon, to wealthy collectors and connoisseurs, these were genuine treasures.
Without exaggeration, the value of these seven Rainbow Branches alone was no less than that of the Mystic Water Suicune had just given him.
Of course, to Silas, the latter was far more valuable. Money could always be earned again but strength was not so easily obtained.
He had already begun thinking about how to sell these high-value Rainbow Branches slowly over the long term. It wouldn't be easy dumping them all onto the market at once would affect prices.
Watching Silas leave the island in high spirits, Suicune still couldn't understand what use those discarded, seemingly useless objects had.
"Humans really are a difficult species to understand," it thought silently.
At that moment, there were quite a few anglers fishing along the coast, yet not a single person could see Suicune or the island beneath it so close at hand, yet seemingly worlds away.
The next instant, a gentle breeze passed by, and Suicune's figure on the island had completely vanished.
To it, Silas was merely a small interlude. Moreover, finding him again in the future would be easy, it had already left its aura on him.
Most importantly, for reasons it couldn't explain, Suicune had a feeling it would see this human again very soon.
On the other side, back at the Pokémon Center, Silas was grinning from ear to ear.
"You're in a great mood—what happened?"
Nurse Joy, who had just opened the door and was preparing to start her shift, cast him a puzzled glance.
"I fished all night yesterday, look at this."
With childlike excitement, Silas pulled out a Rainbow Branch from his bag and showed it off.
Due to the Pokémon Center's architectural design, sunlight naturally shone onto the branch, causing it to radiate seven-colored light.
"Wow, it's so beautiful."
Nurse Joy gave her immediate reaction from a woman's perspective.
Then, in the next moment, she instinctively exclaimed, "Seven colors?"
Her tone was filled with astonishment.
"Hehe~"
Silas simply smiled without answering.
Nurse Joy quickly regained her composure. As a Joy, she had strong mental resilience—it was just that the surprise had been too sudden.
Fortunately, it wasn't too late in the day and the Pokémon Center wasn't very crowded. The few people nearby merely looked on with envy and didn't crowd around.
"Congratulations. I never imagined there were real Rainbow Branches in Cherrygrove City."
Nurse Joy said with a sigh.
"Anyway, could you get me a room first? I fished all night and I'm exhausted."
Silas deftly pulled out his ID card.
There was a lot of information to digest from the night before, so he planned to rest in Cherrygrove City for the day and set off tomorrow.
Nurse Joy quickly completed the registration and handed back the room card and ID card.
"Have a good rest."
Silas returned the smile politely and walked toward the interior of the Pokémon Center.
On the way to his room, he casually took out his Pokégear and sent messages to both Professor Oak in the Kanto region and Professor Rowan.
Before any replies arrived, Silas collapsed onto the bed the moment his head touched the pillow and fell fast asleep.
"Ding—" "Buzz—" "Ding—"
In his sleep, continuous notification chimes and the vibration of incoming calls sounded.
Naturally, the deeply sleeping Silas heard none of it.
This continued until the afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the window and fell across his body.
"Champion calling!"
A completely different alarm tone rang out.
Silas's eyes remained tightly shut. His brows furrowed slightly on his handsome face as his hand instinctively groped toward the Pokégear by the bedside.
"Hullo~"
A groggy voice sounded.
"Just woke up?"
Cynthia's amused voice came through the Pokégear.
"My grandfather and Professor Oak were almost driven crazy with worry."
....
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