Willing?
Kaiser agreed so fast that Silas was caught off guard. He'd expected to have to talk him into it, but Kaiser just accepted outright. The explanation came a second later, as Kaiser said excitedly, "Sure, I've been here all these years just for Dragonair and her baby. If there's a better place for them, of course I'll take it!"
All for the sake of Dragonair and Dratini...
Silas couldn't help but feel moved. There were far too many Pokémon poachers in this world. If there were more people like Kaiser, the world would definitely be a better place.
While Silas was still reflecting, Kaiser's face fell. "But… will Dragonair agree?"
"Why don't you talk to her?" Silas suggested.
"I'll give it a try." Kaiser nodded and walked up to Dragonair, calling out, "Dragonair, remember me? The human you met thirty years ago!"
"Dragonair~"
Dragonair nodded, showing she remembered.
That little nod sent Kaiser's excitement skyrocketing. "Listen, I've found you a way better home. Somewhere new where Dratini can play all he wants—nobody will ever bother you again. So come with me, okay? Let's go to your new place!"
"Dragonair~"
Dragonair shook her head without a moment's hesitation. No.
"Why not?"
Kaiser started to panic at Dragonair's refusal. "Don't you want Dratini to have a better life? Keeping him locked up in a lake forever… is that really fair to him?"
"Dragonair~"
Dragonair still shook her head.
She was stubborn as a rock. No matter what Kaiser said, she just kept on shaking her head—refusing again and again.
Watching all this, Silas could only give a bitter smile. He stroked the Dratini in his arms and sighed, "Your mom is really stubborn, you know?"
"Dratini~"
The little guy just looked up at Silas, confused—too young to really get what Silas was saying.
"Dratini." Dratini's puzzled look was honestly adorable—and it made Silas even more determined. He was getting those two out of here, no matter what. So he turned to Dragonite. "Dragonite, go have a good talk with Dragonair, okay? If talking doesn't work… well, take her aside for a 'life lesson.'"
"Got it!" Dragonite nodded, then lumbered up to Dragonair. "Dragonite~"
"Dragonair~"
"Dragonite~"
"Dragonair~"
After a bit of back-and-forth, Silas and Dratini watched as Dragonite grabbed Dragonair and flew her off to one side. That sent Dratini into a full-on panic; he might hate being locked in the lake, but he still loved his mom. The moment Dragonair was gone, Dratini started squealing frantically, "Dratini Dratini Dratini~!"
"Relax." Silas patted Dratini's head, grinning. "Your mom will be back soon."
"Dratini~"
Hearing that, and soaking up Silas's attention, Dratini finally settled down.
"Silas." Kaiser came over, concern written all over his face. "Hey, is it really okay letting your Dragonite drag Dragonair off like that?"
"They're having a heart-to-heart." Silas replied flatly, leaving Kaiser scratching his head.
Kaiser figured it out not long after…
Because Dragonite soon returned—with a black-and-blue Dragonair. She looked nothing like the majestic beauty she'd been minutes ago; her body was covered in bruises and she was crying huge tears. The sorry sight made even Silas feel a little bad for her.
"Dragonair," Silas strolled over and asked with a smile, "Ready to go with Uncle Kaiser now?"
"Dragonair~"
Dragonair nodded… then immediately shook her head.
This waffling made Dragonite furious.
What's that supposed to mean? She'd just promised a minute ago, and now she's hesitating in front of my trainer? Trying to embarrass me? You must have a death wish! Dragonite turned to Silas: "Trainer, let me take her out for another talk!"
"Dragonair~"
Dragonair's face changed instantly. She nodded for all she was worth, all but begging Silas to let Kaiser take her and Dratini to Pallet Town. But Dragonite just grabbed her again and shot off at top speed, leaving behind her pitiful wails echoing in the distance.
Her miserable cries had Silas shaking with laughter and disbelief. What even was this situation?
"Silas." Kaiser, watching Dragonite fly off with Dragonair for another round of 'discussion,' looked genuinely worried. "Are you sure this is alright?"
"No…" Silas shook his head—though mentally, he added, "maybe."
Five minutes…
Ten minutes…
Twenty minutes later!
Dragonite came back!
This time, Dragonair looked even worse for wear. If her blue skin wasn't such a giveaway, you'd never recognize her as the Dragonair of everyone's dreams.
"Ready to move to Pallet Town now?" Silas asked again.
There was no way Dragonair was saying no now—she'd been 'convinced.' She bobbed her head up and down so fast it was a blur.
Once Dragonair agreed, Silas turned to the still-stunned Kaiser: "She's on board now, Uncle. Take your time getting ready—when you set off for Pallet Town, I'll call ahead so my grandpa knows to expect you."
"Okay." Kaiser could only nod dumbly.
Once he did, Silas looked down at Dratini and smiled. "Hey, little guy, when you get to Pallet Town, make sure you behave, okay? No turning the place upside down."
"Dratini~!"
Dratini nodded happily.
...
The next day.
Because of the whole Dragonair and Dratini affair, Silas's group ended up staying in the Safari Zone overnight. By morning, everyone was chipper and ready to go—everyone except Giselle, who was dragging her feet, an air of tragedy around her. The reason? She hadn't caught a single Pokémon in the Safari Zone!
Giselle had the worst luck. Kaiser had pointed her to seven or eight prime locations, and she hadn't seen a single rare Pokémon at any of them. The one time she finally ran into a Vulpix, it gave her zero chance to make friends—just bolted, out of sight in a flash—leaving Giselle about to cry while Lorelei and Suzie watched, somewhere between amused and helpless.
There were plenty of Pokémon in the Safari Zone. If she'd really tried, she could've gotten one. But after being warned three times by Silas, Lorelei, and Suzie, she'd lost motivation. Normal Pokémon simply didn't cut it for a princess like Giselle.
"C'mon now." Silas said with a cheerful grin as he watched Giselle sulk. "Chin up. I'll take you to a hot spring to make up for it!"
"No way!" Giselle huffed and turned away petulantly.
"No way?" Silas feigned surprise. "You don't want to visit Cinnabar Island's hot springs?"
Cinnabar Island?!
Hearing those words, Giselle's eyes immediately lit up—Cinnabar was the most famous hot spring spot in all of Kanto. She practically jumped for joy. "For real?!"
"Yup." Silas nodded, pulling out a map. "We're at the Safari Zone now. If we pick up the pace, we'll hit Pal Park by noon, then take the bikes from Pal Park and reach Sunnytown in the afternoon. Sunnytown has a direct ferry to Cinnabar Island. If all goes smoothly, we'll be in the hot springs in three days."
"Awesome!" Giselle's energy came roaring back. She immediately started hurrying everyone along. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get going!"
Watching this, Lorelei and Suzie couldn't help but trade amused looks. Giselle really was a kid at heart—give her something new to focus on and all her problems vanished.
...
With Giselle hurrying them all, Silas's group reached the outskirts of the town before noon.
As they reached the edge of town, a massive bridge, piercing the clouds, loomed into view—a real stairway to heaven. You couldn't even see the end from here.
Since it was still early, Suzie suggested, "Silas, should we camp and have lunch here?"
"No camping!" Before Silas could weigh in, Giselle shot back, "Let's hit the road right now. We can grab some bread or snacks to eat as we go!"
Her words left Silas a little embarrassed. He hadn't guessed that hot springs would motivate her so much she'd be willing to skip a proper meal just to make better time.
"Giselle…" Lorelei just shook her head, torn between smiles and sighs. "Cinnabar Island isn't going anywhere. What's the rush?"
"Because I'm tired!" Seeing that the others weren't moved by her act, Giselle dropped her voice and made her best 'tragic princess' face. "Traveling with Silas is always go, go, go—never any time to relax! Now that I finally get to visit a spa, can't you grant a poor girl's dearest wish and just hurry a bit?"
Giselle was a decent actress, but her companions weren't buying it—these three knew her too well. All she got in response were three fixed, smiling stares, each silently saying: Oh, keep it up. We're not falling for it!
Realizing her 'pity act' wouldn't work, Giselle's eyes darted around, and she instantly started sniffling. "Boo-hoo! You… you guys are so mean! You won't listen to me—you're all picking on me!"
But even her "crybaby" routine couldn't make the others budge—they just kept smiling at her, as if wordlessly daring her to keep the tears coming.
Finally, Giselle caved, realizing her tricks weren't working. "Fine, then what do you want? I'm the youngest—can't you let me have this one?"
"Nope," Suzie corrected smugly. "Silas is actually the youngest one here."
"…" Silas.
"But he's a boy!" Giselle protested.
"Not quite," Lorelei shot back with a smile. "More like… a boy, not a man."
"…." Two in a row! Even Silas's legendary patience was wearing thin; being called 'young' was a sore spot, and Lorelei and Suzie were pouring salt on the wound. But he couldn't even argue back, so he muttered, "I'm going to train my Pokémon. Call me when it's time to eat."
"Don't go!" Giselle jumped as Silas turned away. "Let's just head out now!"
"Hmph," was all Silas gave her, stomping away.
When Silas was gone, Giselle looked pitifully at Suzie and Lorelei. "Come on, please convince Silas to get moving now?"
"I'll start lunch." Suzie ignored her complaint.
"I'll help!" Lorelei chimed in. "I want to learn that red-braised pork you made last night. It was delicious!"
...
Afternoon.
After lunch, the group entered Pal Park.
Silas's group was way more prepared than Ash's crew ever was. Before arriving, they checked the town facts online, so they already knew the giant bridge was still under construction. If they wanted to get across to Sunnytown, they'd need to rely on vehicles or bicycles—otherwise, they'd have to take a long detour.
Fortunately, they had more travel funds than most. Each of them bought a bicycle and peddled right onto the bridge!
The sea breeze felt amazing, the ocean was crystal blue, and high above them, wild Pokémon sometimes soared overhead. Giselle basked in the wind and exclaimed, "This is incredible! It's been ages since I got to enjoy the sea like this."
"It really is." Lorelei agreed, gazing at the water with nostalgia. "Honestly, ever since I joined the Elite Four, this is the first time I've just relaxed like this."
"That tough?" Suzie, riding beside her, asked in surprise. "Don't the Elite Four get any breaks?"
"Breaks?" Lorelei gave a wry grin. "That's a luxury for us. Even when we technically get a vacation, if anything comes up, we have to drop everything and go right away."
While Lorelei chatted about Elite Four business, Giselle slowed down, curiosity all over her face. "Big Sis Lorelei, have you ever—"
With the three girls chattering away up ahead, Silas just smiled, eyes drifting with memories.
The last time he truly rode a bicycle was back when he was twelve—in his previous life. His parents were always on the road, so after starting middle school, he'd gotten into motorbikes and the rush of racing at crazy speeds. His days of riding a regular bike ended pretty early.
Remembering his school days, a rush of nostalgia swept over Silas.
While the girls kept gabbing, Silas's reminiscing was cut off by a burst of commotion.
Breaking from his thoughts, Silas realized the four of them had been surrounded by a gang of punk kids on bicycles. He couldn't help but laugh. Back in the day, he was the one leading the gang—now he was the one being boxed in.
"Hold up!" Silas said to the three girls before bringing his bike to a stop. Of course, if Silas stopped, the other three would fall in line too, joining him by his side. Once they were all together, Silas eyed the gang with lazy indifference. "So, surrounding us like this—what's your game? Planning to start something?"
"What's our game?" The leader—a red-haired kid on a Zapdos-themed bike—grinned. "You're not locals, are you? Trying to cross our bridge without showing some respect? Aren't you naïve."
"So how do we 'show respect'?" Silas said, voice flat.
"Pokémon battles, of course!" piped up a green-haired girl beside him, smirking. "If you can beat our squad, feel free to cross. But if you lose—well, tough luck for you."
"Fine." Silas agreed instantly. He wasn't in the mood to be polite after having his memories interrupted. "So, here or somewhere else?"
"Follow us!" The redhead, surprised by how quickly Silas agreed, took charge and led the way.
...
On the bridge, at a rest stop.
This bridge was over 20 kilometers long, so there was a rest stop built for bike riders halfway across. That's where Silas would take on the gang.
Seeing Silas really planning to fight these biker punks, Lorelei frowned. "Silas, you want me to call Officer Jenny?"
"No need." Silas shook his head. "Yeah, they stopped us, but all they want is a Pokémon battle. Didn't make any crazy demands. Even if Officer Jenny showed up, all she'd do is give them a warning or two. Waiting for the police would only waste more time. I'd rather just mop the floor with them myself."
He made sense—Lorelei nodded, but still reminded him, "Be careful, then."
"Sure thing." Silas glanced at the red-haired punk on the other side. "I'm ready."
"Let's do this!" The redhead grabbed his Poké Ball, then explained the rules, "It'll be one-on-one. Just beat two of our people, and you're free to cross—sound fair?"
"Almost." Silas grinned wickedly. "Sorry, but I'm not here to waste time. One-on-ones are too slow. How about you throw in both of your best at once? Actually, why not just bring your whole gang? Doesn't matter how many come at me—the result's gonna be the same. You're only delaying the inevitable."
His cocky words had the punks seething. If it'd been any other day, Silas would've played it cool—but having his memories interrupted had him in a foul mood, and these kids were about to pay the price.
Sure enough, the bikers exploded:
"Boss! Let me at him! I'll teach this punk a lesson!"
"Me first! My big bro just gave me a Machoke with elite mid-grade stats. No way he can stand up to that!"
"Mid-grade? Pffft, watch me! I've got an elite high-grade Heracross. Taking this brat down will be easy!"
"Shut it!" the redheaded leader yelled, cutting off the clamor. He turned to Silas, frowning, "You serious, kid?"
"Dead serious…" Silas gave a cold smile, doubling down. "Actually, since your crew is so fired up—why not send every last one of you? Doesn't matter how many trainers, or how many Pokémon. The ending's already set. All you'll do is waste a bit more of my time."
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