Silas, who had just been in a groggy, half-asleep state and not yet fully awake, immediately became alert.
"Ah—really?"
Cynthia could even hear a hint of schadenfreude in his voice.
This was probably one of the reasons why the two mischievous, childlike professors were so fond of Silas, the three of them were uncannily similar when it came to handling certain matters.
"I understand. I'll call them back right away."
Silas quickly put away his playful attitude.
If Professor Rowan was anxious enough to have Cynthia call him, then the two professors must truly have been waiting for a long time.
He himself hadn't expected to sleep for so long.
"Mm."
After responding briefly, Cynthia decisively hung up the call.
Listening to the busy tone in his ear, Silas shrugged. That style of doing things was really decisive to an extreme.
Without wasting any time, he immediately dialed the direct line to Professor Rowan at the Oak Research Institute.
"Hello—good afternoon, Professor Rowan, I—"
"You encountered Suicune? What did it say to you?!"
Before Silas could even finish his polite greeting, Professor Rowan impatiently interrupted him, going straight to the point.
Silas was already used to this kind of researcher behavior, so he slightly refined Suicune's words and retold everything.
From time to time, exclamations of shock from Professor Rowan and Professor Oak came through the receiver.
"That's roughly everything."
Silas ordered dinner in the meantime, chewing vigorously as he finished his report with somewhat unclear diction.
"Interesting. Very interesting."
Professor Rowan couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the summarized points.
"Have Legendary Pokémon that interacted with humans before never mentioned things like this?"
Silas was quite curious.
This information didn't seem secretive enough for Legendary Pokémon to deliberately withhold, and Suicune had spoken quite openly.
He didn't believe he was the only person who had ever encountered and communicated with Legendary Pokémon.
Ho-Oh, Rayquaza, and even Lugia—Tier-One Legendaries, might indeed not have had true, direct contact with humans, but among Tier-Three and even Tier-Two Legendaries, there must have been many that interacted with people.
In his understanding, Lorelei, who had already captured Articuno, was the best example.
"Well… there probably were, but the information certainly wasn't as detailed or as precise as yours."
The two professors sounded somewhat helpless.
Not everyone shared Silas's way of thinking.
Aside from the fact that Legendary Pokémon rarely appeared before humans or initiated communication, and the language barrier between species, the biggest issue lay in so-called information barriers.
Digging deeper, the early formation of the Pokémon League was more like the result of compromises and negotiations among major families, which led to this situation.
Although after many years and under several League Chairmen the League's situation had greatly improved, some gaps simply couldn't be filled in a short time—especially knowledge concerning Legendary Pokémon.
Moreover, Silas's way of thinking was indeed closer to that of a researcher.
Most Trainers, upon encountering a Legendary Pokémon, would first think, "Capture it," rather than "Ask questions."
In such situations, it would already be fortunate not to be killed by the Legendary Pokémon.
"Alright."
Silas found this explanation acceptable.
In any world, the most advanced and top-tier knowledge was always held by only a very small number of people.
After finishing the information exchange, Silas briefly reported his gains from this trip.
Normally, he definitely wouldn't mention them for example, the Rainbow Branch he had just shown Nurse Joy but with the two professors, there was no need to hide anything.
Aside from his deepest secrets, the rest probably wouldn't even interest them.
"Suicune's Water Gem… let me think. I remember there being records of its effects."
Professor Rowan, who had deep expertise in Pokémon items, stroked his chin in thought.
After all, without a thorough understanding of Pokémon items, he couldn't have discovered so many item-based evolutionary methods.
If there were sages in this world, the two professors Silas was speaking to were certainly among them—together, they were practically a living Pokémon encyclopedia.
It was no exaggeration to say that most Pokémon-related research in the world fell within their knowledge system.
"Ah, I remember now.
"In addition to enhancing a Pokémon's understanding of Water-type energy like a normal Water Gem, it can also be placed on an unhatched Water-type Pokémon Egg in an environment where Sea Incense is burning. It seems to have the effect of increasing potential.
"Of course, unlike the first use, this isn't something that lasts, it's a one-time effect."
Professor Rowan clapped his hands together excitedly as he explained.
Silas's eating slowed noticeably upon hearing this.
He quickly swallowed a mouthful of water and asked urgently,
"Are there any limitations? Can it only be used on Pokémon with Champion-level or below-Champion potential?"
This point was crucial.
With every higher tier, the Water Gem's value increased dramatically.
As for the first use—who cared?
With potential enhancement on the table, who would bother with something that could be achieved just by spending money?
"There's no relevant statistical data for that,"
Professor Rowan said regretfully.
"The sample size is far too small to prove anything."
His words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Silas's head.
But it made sense.
Even discovering this method meant the discoverer was a genius. Who would normally do something like this? Let alone gather large amounts of data, it was unrealistic from the outset.
Silas could only accept this regretfully.
Still, it wasn't bad.
In his original plan, once his current six Pokémon all reached pseudo-Champion level, he would begin training additional Pokémon.
After all, as a powerful Trainer, having only six Pokémon would feel a bit lacking.
Generally speaking, mature Trainers usually had at least two or even three teams, mainly to flexibly respond to different situations and needs.
It wasn't that one team was necessarily stronger than two—just that their focus differed.
Silas hadn't yet decided what his seventh Pokémon should be. Now, at least, he was certain it would be a Water-type.
Training new Pokémon had long been on his agenda. Even with Silas's exceptional talent, he couldn't guarantee his Pokémon would quickly break through from pseudo-Champion to Champion.
Mastering one's own energy through bonds sounded easy but in reality, it was extremely difficult. Otherwise, so many pseudo-Champion Pokémon wouldn't be stuck at that stage.
Thankfully, during his time at the Saffron City Fighting Dojo, had taught him a great deal. Combined with Silas's continuous practice over time, the difficulty of breaking into Champion level hadn't doubled.
Silas suddenly sighed emotionally—if he hadn't been accepted as a disciple by Bruno's fourth-generation successor, his progress in the near future would have been far slower.
"Then we'll go research these topics first. If anything comes up, contact us again."
Professor Rowan's impatient voice came through the Pokégear.
"Alright. Please make sure you both eat and rest properly."
As Silas politely finished speaking, the call was cut off, and the familiar busy tone sounded again.
"Sigh…"
He sighed helplessly once more.
Exactly the same, both of them.
After quickly finishing his last bite of food, he began his first major task after waking up.
"Guys! Dinner time!"
Six red flashes appeared alongside different cries, and the room instantly felt much more cramped.
Silas, temporarily transforming into a nutritionist, moved as if he had three heads and six arms, preparing dinner for his six partners at a speed so fast that only afterimages could be seen.
He truly didn't understand why mealtime scenes in the anime from his previous life looked so effortless.
Ash's group always had Brock handling everyone's meals all by himself.
It could only be said that Brock truly lived up to his reputation as a full-time "babysitter" who had grown up taking care of a bunch of younger siblings, his ability in this regard was terrifying.
"Whoa—!" "Bee—!"
The first and second Pokémon to start eating enthusiastically exchanged thoughts about the flavors of each other's food.
Actually tasting it was out of the question.
With its diet focused on light, mildly sour flavors, Pidgeot maintained a respectful distance from the other side's food, which was spicy to the point of being overwhelming or even deadly.
The reverse was also true.
Blaziken had no interest whatsoever in Pidgeot's bland, tasteless meals.
"Alright, let's go. Today's daily training will be moved to the evening, we need to make up for it."
After all his partners had finished eating and digesting their food, Silas snapped his fingers, signaling that they were about to face another grueling training session.
Only through day-after-day, unwavering training could Pokémon grow stronger.
The Next Day
After checking out and leaving Cherrygrove City, Silas once again set foot on his journey.
"Heracross Forest is located at…"
He held a yellowed map with a strong sense of age, carefully considering how to proceed.
Since he had arrived in the Johto region, a land with a long and rich history, many places were simply must-see destinations.
Heracross Forest was one such highly representative protected area.
The Heracross living here were renowned throughout Johto as true "powerhouses."
Among these Pokémon resembling giant rhinoceros beetles, even the weakest individual could lift an object one hundred times its own body weight, an astonishing feat.
In addition, Heracross possessed exceptionally hard armor, along with powerful legs and waist strength.
It could be said that, aside from its 4× weakness to Flying-type moves and a relatively narrow offensive move coverage, Heracross was an extremely ideal Pokémon suitable for cultivation by almost all beginner Trainers.
Its gentle temperament, in particular, added many bonus points.
However, for powerful Trainers, these few shortcomings alone were enough to cause it to be unilaterally passed over.
For novice Trainers, a gentle personality was a good thing but for strong Trainers, it was a different matter altogether.
Even though Heracross was not incapable of fighting, its lack of desire for victory at critical moments was a very fatal flaw.
Its neighbor was the best example of this weakness.
At the far right edge of Heracross Forest flowed a river.
On the opposite bank lay Pinsir Forest, commonly known as the forest inhabited by the horned clans.
Unlike the mild-mannered Heracross, Pinsir, which also enjoyed feeding on tree sap and nectar, had a far worse temper. From time to time, they would cross the river to harass Heracross.
If this were any Pokémon with even a bit of temper, Pinsir would certainly have been driven far away by the stronger side.
After all, conflicts over food and territory were absolute bottom lines for wild Pokémon.
Yet the powerful Heracross made a completely different choice.
They would only passively repel Pinsir, never taking further aggressive action.
If not for the fact that Pinsir feared the cold and spent much of the time burrowed underground, it would really be hard to say whether Pinsir might gradually press forward and drive Heracross out of their own territory.
If even competition for food only went this far, it was not hard to imagine how Heracross performed in conventional battles.
Many people lamented this fact.
Of course, those rare Heracross that genuinely loved fighting were extremely popular but unfortunately, they were exceedingly rare.
Silas's purpose in heading to Heracross Forest this time was not to capture a battle-hungry Heracross. He wasn't particularly interested in these oversized insect Pokémon.
Even if Heracross could be considered good-looking among Bug-type Pokémon, it made no difference.
His true goal was Honey.
This Pokémon food, commonly produced by Combee in the Sinnoh region, also appeared in areas inhabited by Heracross.
Or rather, as long as a place produced Honey, Heracross would migrate there en masse first come, first served still had to be made clear.
As a sweet and fragrant nectar, Honey's major function was attracting wild Pokémon, regardless of size or species.
For bounty hunters who frequently operated in the wilderness, beyond helping complete missions by locating targets, its greater value lay in diverting the attention of Pokémon that were pursuing them.
It was effective even against enraged Beedrill, and even Ursaring during breeding season.
This was truly a life-saving treasure.
As a result, despite not being particularly rare, Honey had always been in short supply on the market.
The Sinnoh Region, as the primary production region, had earned a considerable amount of extra income by selling this specialty to other regions.
Since Silas would often be spending time in the wilderness in the future, Honey was naturally an indispensable item for him. Compared to spending money and time purchasing it, he preferred to rely on his own abilities to gather it.
He quickly chose a direction and headed off.
In a corner Silas failed to notice, a very familiar Pokémon covered in white fur once again appeared behind him, quietly staring at his departing back.
....
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