Azalea Town
Disguised as an ordinary male Trainer, Thousand Faces looked at the orderly town and clicked his tongue quietly.
Luckily, he hadn't acted rashly last night—and had fled quickly. Otherwise, he'd probably be sitting in a police cell right now along with that bunch of idiots.
"I told them already," he thought with mild disdain, "people without brains shouldn't be part of the Three Admins in the first place."
Just then, the shouts of an Officer Jenny rushing past him reached his ears.
"Hurry up! Post the notices! Tell everyone to stay alert!"
"Oh no."
Thousand Faces' expression instantly changed beneath his "mask."
Something felt very wrong.
The words "Get out. Now." flashed repeatedly through his mind.
As a notorious thief—grandly known as a "Master Thief" but really just a professional burglar, Thousand Faces trusted his intuition almost completely.
If it weren't for that razor-sharp instinct, he was sure he'd have been caught and killed long ago.
Even if League law wouldn't allow execution, he had way too many enemies for comfort.
Without hesitation, Thousand Faces subtly altered his direction and blended into the flow of people leaving town.
Officer Jenny would never suspect that the sunny-looking young man who brushed past her was actually a legendary thief.
"We've received reports that a thief who's been moving between cities across Johto may arrive in Azalea Town soon.
All residents, please keep your belongings secure when encountering strangers.
If anything is stolen, contact the police immediately."
The announcement from the pretty Officer Jenny was clearly taken seriously by the townsfolk.
"Damn it, who reported me?"
Outwardly calm, Thousand Faces was cursing internally.
What was he supposed to do now to stir up a distraction? His gaze drifted, dangerously to the Azalea Gym in the town center.
"No, no, no."
He shook his head hard, baffled that such a suicidal idea had even crossed his mind.
"Better let someone else die. I'm out."
Cautious as ever, Thousand Faces quickly made his decision.
Just as silently as he had entered Azalea Town, he vanished back into the forest.
Aside from a very small handful of people, no one even realized the master thief had come and gone.
Unfortunately, his chosen direction wasn't exactly ideal.
If his hearing were just a little sharper, he might've caught Bugsy's distant wail echoing from ahead.
"Why?! Beedrill! Vespiquen! Pinsir! Butterfree! Forretress—!"
Bugsy called out to his Pokémon again and again in disbelief.
They completely ignored him.
Especially Beedrill.
Confident in its standing within the team, it chased away several wild Bug-type Pokémon clinging shamelessly to Silas's feet, then promptly pressed itself right up against Silas.
Frankly speaking, it was terrifying.
Normally, Beedrill was always airborne, so its size wasn't that obvious.
Up close, though—
Good grief. It was enormous.
With an average body length of about one meter and a weight nearing thirty kilograms, it looked like something that could end your life in a heartbeat.
Its twin forearm stingers, each nearly half its body length, were enough to make anyone's scalp crawl.
And Bugsy's Beedrill was far more developed than normal.
Silas instinctively compared heights.
It was nearly two-thirds his own height.
Completely ridiculous.
If Silas weren't tall himself, Beedrill, wings included might've been taller than him.
The only consolation was that, by Silas's personal aesthetic standards, among Bugsy's five main Pokémon, only Pinsir didn't quite suit his tastes.
Even Forretress, which was usually considered visually awkward, had a certain mechanical beauty to it.
Seeing Bugsy on the verge of a mental breakdown, Silas wisely chose not to rub salt in the wound.
After all, he was here to do business.
If his partner's mentality collapsed, what business would there be to discuss?
"Hoo…"
Bugsy took a deep breath.
Without another word, he recalled his "ungrateful traitors" into their Poké Balls.
"Uh… thanks."
Silas offered a weak note of gratitude.
"You're welcome."
Bugsy replied through clenched teeth.
Had he known this would happen, he definitely wouldn't have chosen that method to help Silas out.
…Though, that was just a joke.
Bugsy's Pokémon only dared act like that because they understood the relationship between the two Trainers.
For Elite Four–level Pokémon, nothing mattered more than protecting their Trainer.
Even if the opponent were a Legendary Pokémon, if they were an enemy, they'd charge without hesitation.
But since Silas was a friend?
Well… getting a little close was fine. They were peaceful Pokémon, after all.
"So… where to next?"
Silas quickly changed the subject as Bugsy's eye twitched.
"Area 30," Bugsy answered without thinking.
"There are many Bug-type species there, and the ecosystem's well developed."
To Bugsy, Ilex Forest was both a Bug-type paradise and his home.
Silas raised an eyebrow.
If his memory was correct, the Abra and Ralts groups Blaziken had identified yesterday lived near there as well.
Routes 30, 32, and 33 were separated by little more than a few dozen trees.
Silas looked at Bugsy with renewed interest.
Oh, you sharp-looking little liar.
Saying you wouldn't give me special treatment, yet your actions say otherwise.
Silas could only applaud silently.
Especially today, he was confident.
The lingering "Celebi buff" on him hadn't worn off yet.
"Let's go."
Bugsy hadn't thought that deeply.
Though he knew where the Psychic-types lived, his primary concern really was testing the Bug Catching Nets.
"As the southernmost town in Johto, Azalea sits right before the ocean. That's why Ilex Forest is basically our backyard. If we want to reach other cities via Routes 33 or 34, we have to pass through here."
As they walked, Bugsy explained Ilex Forest's geography in detail.
"Is the weather here always like this?"
Silas asked, watching the fog thicken around them.
"Yes," Bugsy nodded. "Because of the terrain, it's foggy most of the time."
"Butterfree, I'll leave this to you."
He tossed a Poké Ball.
Butterfree appeared in midair, gently flapping its wings.
With its help, visibility improved somewhat.
"Don't worry, I know the way. Just follow me," Bugsy reassured him.
"By the way, your Blaziken is holding Charcoal, right?"
His tone was confident.
Silas nodded silently.
"The Charcoal Shop in Ilex Forest is one of Azalea Town's specialties."
Bugsy said proudly. "After yesterday's incident, I already spoke to the owner. We'll stop by later, your reward's there."
"Oh?"
Silas raised an eyebrow.
To be honest, the Charcoal Blaziken was currently holding really didn't quite match its strength anymore.
A mere 10% boost, just barely meeting the baseline for a standard held item.
There was no helping it. Silas simply wasn't very well-off.
That Charcoal had been a prize from the S.S. Anne Tournament last year.
He'd been thinking for a while about upgrading Blaziken's held item.
Who knew, maybe just that change alone would help Blaziken break through to the Elite level faster.
"Besides knowing how to craft Charcoal-type items, the shop owner can also help enhance the boost of existing Charcoal."
Bugsy said proudly, hoisting his Bug Catching Net as he spoke.
Silas's heart skipped a beat.
For a moment, he seriously considered robbing the place.
No wonder Azalea Town had experienced such an economic boom purely because of the Charcoal Shop.
Whether it was crafting or enhancement, this technique was simply absurdly powerful.
"Come to think of it, we also have Mr. Kurt to thank," Bugsy added. "If it weren't for him, the Charcoal Shop's owner wouldn't have chosen to settle in Azalea Town in the first place."
"Wasn't it because he valued the volcano behind Azalea Town?" Silas asked instinctively.
"But volcanoes are everywhere," Bugsy laughed. "Azalea's volcano isn't unique."
Indeed, volcanoes were hardly rare in this world.
A shop like the Charcoal Shop would be welcomed with open arms even in the most economically developed cities.
So for Azalea Town and for Bugsy, Mr. Kurt, who had grown up here, had truly done everything he could to help the town thrive.
"Mr. Kurt really is an amazing person,"
Silas said with a sigh.
Perhaps that was why he'd been able to refine his craft to such an extraordinary degree.
Sometimes, mastery required more than just skill, it required emotion.
"La."
Hidden by the thick fog, neither of them noticed that behind a massive tree, a Pokémon with a green bowl-cut hairstyle was tugging at a yellow fox Pokémon, secretly watching them.
Invisible waves passed silently between the two.
They were the Pokémon Silas had long dreamed of encountering.
Ralts and Abra.
"Kaaa…"
Abra opened its half-lidded eyes in a dazed, half-awake state.
It just wanted to sleep peacefully.
"Ralts."
The white-bodied Pokémon with green hair called out softly.
Hidden beneath that green fringe, its red eyes suddenly lit up.
Bluish-purple psychic energy flowed directly from Ralts into Abra.
"Kaaa…"
Revitalized by the mental support, Abra let out a silent sigh.
"Ralts."
Smiling, Ralts gently took Abra by the hand.
If Silas and Bugsy had witnessed this scene, they would've been utterly shocked.
Psychic power, at its core, was a specialized form of mental energy, an intensely personal force.
It was not something that could normally be shared or reinforced at will.
Even Sabrina was no exception.
She could only sustain long-term psychic amplification with her ace Pokémon, Alakazam.
With other Pokémon, the lack of synchronization made such reinforcement impossible.
Forcing it would drastically shorten the duration and cause severe side effects.
Yet this Ralts, still in its first evolutionary stage was actively replenishing Abra's psychic energy.
That was absurd.
What's more, Abra's brain, exhausted from excessive psychic use, was notoriously difficult to recover.
And yet, after restoring Abra, Ralts showed not the slightest sign of fatigue.
By every measure, this Ralts possessed truly exceptional ability.
"Ralts?"
Tilting its head, Ralts let out a questioning cry as it looked at its now-recovered little companion.
"Kaaa."
Abra thought for a moment before replying.
This was the true strength of Psychic-type Pokémon.
With intelligence far surpassing humans despite sometimes simple thought patterns, they exceeded humans in nearly every other respect.
While it didn't possess Alakazam's near-3000 IQ, Abra's intelligence was still beyond doubt.
If not for its chronically exhausted brain holding it back, its popularity would be even higher.
A faint spatial ripple passed through the air.
The two Pokémon vanished from the spot.
"Huu."
Butterfree, which had been fanning away the fog, suddenly lifted its head alertly.
"What is it?"
Bugsy turned to his partner while chatting happily with Silas.
It wasn't that he thought anything in this forest could threaten him.
He was just curious under these circumstances, what Pokémon would dare disturb them?
Was Butterfree's Elite–level presence fake or something?
"Huu."
Butterfree conveyed something to its Trainer.
"Psychic fluctuations, huh…"
Bugsy fell into thought.
For most Bug-type Pokémon, even strong ones, sensing psychic energy was extremely difficult.
After all, concealment was one of psychic power's defining traits.
But Butterfree was different.
It was often called "half a Psychic-type Pokémon."
Especially after reaching the Elite level.
This gave Butterfree tremendous additional versatility in battle despite being a Bug-type.
"Probably some little one wandering out,"
Bugsy concluded quickly, familiar with the habits of Ilex Forest's Psychic-type Pokémon.
He glanced at Silas.
If a Pokémon really did choose this kid… that wouldn't be bad at all.
"?"
Silas stared at the suddenly silent Bugsy, a question mark practically popping out of his head.
What kind of riddle are you playing at now?
"Nothing," Bugsy said calmly. "Butterfree says it smells something tasty. Let's keep moving."
Butterfree's eyes widened.
I did NOT say that.
"Oh, looks like it's a glutton too,"
Silas nodded in understanding. "My Pokémon are the same."
Butterfree's antennae drooped slowly.
My reputation is ruined…
No, It looked at its Trainer. You're fixing this.
Out of Silas's line of sight, Bugsy held up three fingers.
Butterfree's antennae shot back up.
…Well, I suppose that works.
"Nei~"
Not far away, a large, formally dressed Gardevoir looked at her child in confusion.
Ralts covered its face in embarrassment.
...
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