"Gar-oir~"
The Gardevoir, resembling an enlarged version of a Ralts, let out a soft sigh.
There seemed to be a bit of a problem with this silly child's understanding of things.
That human, didn't look particularly smart.
Had she been too strict in raising it?
Maybe she should let it go out more and learn about the world.
At this moment, Gardevoir found herself reflecting on her own parenting abilities.
She didn't actually oppose her child wanting to seek out a human Trainer.
After all, Psychic-type Pokémon were famously long-lived.
While they still couldn't quite compare to Ghost-types, or Dragon-types in terms of lifespan, compared to humans, the difference was enormous.
Once the Trainer passed away, returning home would be the most natural thing in the world.
Even the strongest Trainers only had a handful of Pokémon who, for various reasons, would choose to guard the Trainer's descendants.
Short lifespan, unwillingness to move on, growing up alongside the Trainer's children, any of these were possible reasons.
More importantly, Gardevoir understood clearly that an outstanding human Trainer could greatly accelerate her child's growth.
That was something even the smartest wild Pokémon struggled to achieve.
In the Pokémon world, humans and Pokémon were always mutually complementary, not a one-sided dependency.
"Na."
Gardevoir looked toward Silas's distant figure.
Putting intelligence aside, that human Trainer actually seemed like a fairly good choice.
A human favored by the Forest Guardian probably wouldn't be bad.
Gardevoir blinked her large red eyes.
As for intelligence, she wasn't worried.
Her species had never feared other Pokémon in that regard.
Only that group of old fellows next door barely even counted as Pokémon anymore.
So her child could easily make up for any shortcomings there.
That said, she wasn't going to decide so quickly.
As a parent, she still needed to thoroughly evaluate her child's future Trainer.
In a flash, the large and small Pokémon vanished from the spot.
This time, however, Bugsy's Butterfree stood no chance of detecting them.
Gardevoir's mastery of psychic power was on a completely different level from a first-stage Ralts.
"Here we are."
Elsewhere, Silas and Bugsy finally arrived at their destination deep within the forest.
Silas scanned the surroundings.
"This place really is perfect for testing."
He couldn't help but praise it.
The ecology of Area 30 in Ilex Forest was nearly flawless.
In addition to the tangled branches and tree trunks crisscrossing everywhere, there were even patches of sand and traces of flowing water.
It was practically a miniature version of Ilex Forest itself.
"See? Told you."
Bugsy puffed up his chest proudly.
Only someone like him would venture this deep, ordinary people wouldn't dare.
"Alright then, let's begin."
The two exchanged knowing smiles.
Over the next half hour, the weaker Bug-type Pokémon living in Area 30 truly suffered.
Their protein-filled brains simply couldn't comprehend why two demons had suddenly appeared in this remote, rarely visited place.
These demons liked throwing net-like objects over them, locking them in tiny dark rooms.
And that wasn't even the end of it.
Fine, you caught us, but why release us and catch us again?
Twice? Three times? Five? Six?!
This was an outright humiliation to Bug-type Pokémon!
Countless Bug-type "warriors" launched desperate assaults on the two demons.
Unfortunately, they were far too weak.
And worse still, those two demons had accomplices aiding them.
One was pink.
And the other was shockingly, one of their own Bug-type kin.
On this day, the alliance of Weedle and Wurmple officially formed against the Caterpie Coalition.
Many years later, researchers would still be unable to explain why there was an area in Ilex Forest where Caterpie activity was completely absent.
Such a phenomenon should have been impossible.
Yet its origin was nothing more than a moment of boredom-driven field testing by two young men on a random day.
No wonder people said Bug-type Pokémon had no Pokémon rights.
"That's enough, that's enough!"
Seeing Bugsy raise his Bug Catching Net again, Silas hurriedly stopped him.
The Wurmple in front of them had already lost all hope for life.
Probably because it had been caught and released nine times.
"Alright."
Still unsatisfied, Bugsy rested the net on his shoulder and mercifully stopped tormenting the Wurmple.
"Whoosh!"
The moment Silas relaxed, the Wurmple burst out with astonishing strength.
In an instant, it crawled three body-lengths away.
Wurmple swore that from this day forward, it would cut all ties with humans.
These creatures were demons.
Even the fiercest predators wouldn't treat Pokémon like this.
"It got away."
Bugsy looked at the slowly crawling Wurmple with some regret.
Silas stared at him in horror.
Was this guy really a Bug-type Pokémon enthusiast?
In the past half hour, Silas hadn't seen even a hint of that.
"My design really is effective."
Bugsy waved the Bug Catching Net proudly, completely unaware.
"It really is."
Silas instantly switched back into business mode.
"In different terrains, since the inner net is energy-materialized on the outside, it can change shape much more easily. That gives it exceptional capture capability against Pokémon hiding in corners.
"Also, considering that most Bug-type Pokémon can be captured with food-based lures, this net can double as a container.
"At the very least, you don't have to worry about a Pokémon biting your hand while you're placing food inside.
"And the pole design greatly improves both stability and safety…"
He analyzed it at length.
And he wasn't exaggerating, this was simply the truth.
Even though their tests had only involved Bug-types, the applicability of Bugsy's net far exceeded expectations.
Or rather, Mr. Kurt had played a major role in that.
Despite it being a first prototype, the old man had refined every aspect using his experience.
It looked like a simple tool, yet it was packed with subtle design details.
Just the act of materializing energy into the mesh itself was enough to stump many modern Poké Ball manufacturers.
"Still, that brings up another problem."
Silas frowned.
"What is it?"
Bugsy immediately asked.
When it came to business matters, he knew better than to meddle too much.
He had forgotten something.
Considering Silas's age and background, he was probably just a 'king of trash talk'—all theory, no practice.
Only thanks to knowledge from a previous life did Silas manage to be slightly stronger than him, despite both being rookies.
"If the manufacturing process is too complicated, costs will skyrocket. That's bad for both profits and large-scale adoption."
Silas voiced his concern.
"That's no problem," Bugsy said with a sigh of relief. "The old man said it's actually very simple. We just need to slightly modify the existing Poké Ball manufacturing machines."
"Mr. Kurt also studies modern Poké Ball production?"
Silas realized the moment the question left his mouth that it was a stupid one.
Kurt might dislike mass-produced modern Poké Balls, but for someone like him, could contemporary industrial processes really be harder to master than handcrafting Poké Balls from scratch?
If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have been able to train his son into Silph Co.'s chief Poké Ball R&D specialist.
"So, are we partnering with Silph Co. next?"
Bugsy tactfully changed the subject, sparing Silas further embarrassment.
"Absolutely not."
Silas shook his head decisively.
If they worked with Silph Co., how was he supposed to make real money?
With corporations of that scale, no matter how good the relationship, no matter how much potential he had, and no matter how strong Bugsy was, once cooperation began, they'd always be the smaller share.
"But if we don't work with a company like Silph, we won't have sales channels or logistics, let alone mass production," Bugsy said, puzzled.
He wasn't business-savvy, but he understood the basics.
Even with one of them being a Gym Leader, starting from scratch and pushing a product worldwide was incredibly difficult.
The Pokémon world did have intellectual property laws… but, well—
"It's fine. We'll do this first, then that."
Silas began outlining his plan.
In simple terms: instead of Silph Co., they would cooperate with Poké Mart.
With stores in virtually every city, Poké Mart was the perfect retail network and logistics would be handled automatically.
As for manufacturing? That was even easier.
Pokémon capabilities at this stage far exceeded what most people imagined.
With backing from two Gyms, producing capture nets would be trivial.
"Violet Gym?"
Bugsy hesitated.
As a Bug-type Gym Leader, his compatibility with the Flying-type Gym wasn't exactly great.
They weren't hostile, but they weren't close either.
Relationships like Pewter Gym and Cerulean Gym were rare.
If Brock's grandfather and Misty's grandfather hadn't been close, those two opposing-type Gyms wouldn't have such a good relationship today.
"Relax. Leave it to me."
Silas patted his chest confidently. "You just need to contribute a little."
This was another reason Silas wanted to work with Poké Mart.
Just imagine, selling Bug Catching Nets in stores associated with Flying-type Pokémon.
That was professionalism.
And if the spokesperson for those nets was the undisputed leader among Bug-type Trainers?
Once Silas explained his plan, Bugsy was genuinely stunned.
The Pokémon world had never really had the concept of "endorsements."
Perhaps Champions and Elite Four members felt too distant, too unreachable.
Even though that was true, making money wasn't shameful.
Silas reframed it in a way Bugsy could understand.
"You know Lance's cape, right? The way fans go crazy over it, that kind of thing."
Bugsy finally got it.
It was just a matter of perspective.
In Silas's previous life, celebrity endorsements didn't become systematic until someone pioneered the idea.
A talent scout might not find a true thoroughbred, but at worst, they'd still find a fine horse.
Thinking of this, Silas couldn't help but feel that Devon Corporation had really missed an opportunity.
When Steven Stone became Champion, Devon's growth exploded but without precedent, conversion rates were still low.
If Steven had endorsed Pokémon equipment?
Devon's profits would've skyrocketed.
The rock-obsessed Champion might not appear often in public, but his popularity rivaled Lance's.
And Pokémon fans were Trainers, people whose purchasing power far exceeded that of ordinary citizens.
"…Alright."
Bugsy thought it over and, unable to resist the vision Silas painted, agreed.
Silas was all smiles.
Even if his contribution was small and his profit share tiny, he was just one person.
Once the money came in, Pokémon training expenses would be a non-issue.
Both of them drifted into pleasant fantasies.
"Gardevoir~"
Sensing the emotions of the two humans nearby, Gardevoir felt they were, a little odd.
But after observing for a while, she decided Silas wasn't bad.
That was clear from how he treated the pink Pokémon beside him.
More importantly, Gardevoir could read minds directly.
Butterfree, hovering above Bugsy's head, suddenly assumed a battle stance.
Ampharos reacted a moment later, stepping protectively in front of Silas.
"Don't be nervous~"
Gardevoir's voice echoed in their minds.
Butterfree and Ampharos tensed even further.
Silas and Bugsy, snapped out of their daydreams, were startled by the sudden appearance of Ralts and Gardevoir.
The next instant, Silas's eyes lit up.
A Ralts!
A Gardevoir!
Alive!
"Hello," Bugsy greeted her.
As the first human to discover the Ralts and Abra populations in Ilex Forest, he had some connection with both groups.
But since their populations were large and their temperaments unique, he hadn't met this particular Gardevoir before.
That was why Butterfree had been so tense.
"Greetings."
An androgynous voice sounded in both their minds.
Telepathy, a trait only a few Pokémon possessed.
And among Psychic-types with it as a Hidden Ability, Gardevoir excelled.
"My child wishes for you to become its Trainer. I'd like you to battle it for capture, so I can judge your ability."
Gardevoir got straight to the point.
"Me?!"
Silas was completely overwhelmed by the sudden blessings.
....
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