This is heading in a good direction. I stayed within our editing rules no plot changes, no added scenes, no altered battles. Here are the edits I'd make.
While Silas and his friends celebrated Infernape's evolution, the Seviper were terrified. Before Infernape evolved, it was already strong enough to defeat their kind, and now it was even stronger. They were scared of what would happen to them.
Silas sensed their anxiety but said nothing. He wanted them to sit with their fear for a while so the negotiations would proceed more smoothly in his favor.
Silas had Tropius use Grassy Terrain while he treated the Seviper's most serious and painful injuries.
"Are you going to uphold the wager or not?"
Silas got straight to the point. There was no need to be polite.
"No, I have no intention of that. As long as you spare us, take whatever you want."
"It depends on what you have to offer."
The Seviper king led Silas deep into their burrow. Silas had Excadrill dig a tunnel wide enough for him to pass through. Eventually, they arrived at a cavern dimly lit by traces of glowing crystals embedded throughout the walls and floor. The chamber was far larger than the rest of the burrow.
A giant pool of dark purple liquid sat in the center. Silas immediately sensed the powerful energy contained within it. He had a hunch and asked Hermes to analyze it.
"This is extremely dense poison-type energy in liquid form. It should be highly beneficial to your poison-type Pokémon."
"Good. I know what to do."
Silas used telepathy to call Jessie and James, telling them to bring Golbat, Nidorino, and Nidorina.
"Boss, why did you call us?"
"Have your Pokémon take a look at that pool. Then it'll be obvious."
When Jessie and James released their Pokémon, all three poison types immediately stared at the pool longingly.
"You may enter."
Silas spoke to them telepathically, and after hearing his permission, they all dove into the pool without hesitation.
Once they entered, Silas explained everything to Jessie and James. Their Pokémon would experience rapid growth from bathing in the concentrated poison energy.
"Let them soak for three days, then spend another week assimilating the energy they absorb. Only after that should they leave this cave."
With that, Silas had Espeon teleport him out of the burrow. Recently, Teleport had become a simple technique for both Espeon and Electabuzz. Espeon's control over her psychic powers had become astounding. She could teleport objects and other beings just as easily as herself.
This was a skill unique to psychic humans and psychic Pokémon. Some non-psychic species, such as Electabuzz, could develop psychic techniques, but there would always be certain limitations.
Those limitations varied from Pokémon to Pokémon. For example, Politoed couldn't use Teleport, but its telekinesis was exceptionally powerful.
After thoroughly defeating the Seviper, Silas took control of their burrow. He established a psychic marker near the poison pool so Espeon could teleport directly to it whenever necessary.
Silas spent the next few days training alongside his Pokémon while waiting for Jessie and James's poison types to finish their cultivation. Infernape and Silas focused almost exclusively on refining their aura.
Now that Monferno had evolved into Infernape, the evolution came with a much deeper understanding of his own power.
Infernape could now seamlessly infuse aura into every attack, dramatically increasing its destructive power.
The greatest improvement by far was Mega Shift. When Infernape executed the technique while channeling aura, it shielded the ground from the tremendous propulsion force.
Normally, a crater would mark the spot where he launched himself. Now the technique could be executed silently, leaving virtually no warning.
The jump in power was astonishing. During sparring matches with Politoed, Infernape could now defeat him even while fighting under the rain that naturally weakened his fire techniques.
Their battles quickly became legendary among the group. Both Pokémon had mastered Mega Shift to an incredible degree, and everyone learned something by watching them clash.
Electabuzz desperately tried to learn Mega Kick but struggled to grasp it. Silas made sure to remind him of all the techniques he had already mastered to keep his spirits high. Since meeting Silas,
Electabuzz had never struggled with training itself. His greatest challenges had always been difficult battles, not learning new moves, so this was an unfamiliar frustration for the young Pokémon.
On the fourth day, Silas finally decided it was time to speak with Altaria.
He released the weakened dragon. Standing behind him were Politoed, both Poliwrath, and Infernape—the strongest forces currently under his command.
"I believe you owe me an explanation for why you tried to kill me twice."
"Human, just kill me now. Your kind is known only for trickery. I understand that I lost, but I will never submit to you. Kill me now, or you will regret letting me live."
Silas blinked in surprise.
This Altaria could actually use Telepathy.
Seeing his expression, Altaria proudly raised her head.
"Once dragon type Pokémon reach a certain level, they naturally learn telepathy."
"Hahaha, I suppose I underestimated you. I'll be honest, though. I'd rather we become friends, so I'll give you some more time to think about it."
Silas returned Altaria to her Poké Ball. He knew taming an elite-tier Pokémon would never be easy. It would have to be done one step at a time.
Afterward, Silas resumed training with Infernape.
Together, they were developing an incredibly dangerous technique.
Flare Blitz was already powerful, but it was relatively easy for skilled opponents to dodge. To solve that weakness, Infernape began combining Flare Blitz with Flame Wheel while simultaneously reinforcing the attack with aura. Flame Wheel supplied the mobility and rotational speed, while Flare Blitz dramatically increased the destructive force.
The combination was still incomplete.
At present, the techniques interfered with each other instead of working in harmony. Rather than multiplying the attack's strength, they weakened one another, producing a move that required twice the effort for disappointing results.
Training continued.
After the third day, Silas returned to check on the poison pool.
When he entered the cavern, he found the three poison-type Pokémon diligently meditating. He nodded in satisfaction. They would remain here for another week to completely assimilate the absorbed energy.
Silas, however, wanted to discover the source of the overwhelming poison energy.
He extended his psychic aura throughout the pool until he detected a hidden chamber feeding into it. One passage carried fresh water, while another led toward a sealed cavern.
Excadrill expertly dug an entrance.
The moment Silas stepped inside, he froze.
"What the hell is this?"
A massive scorpion-like Pokémon lay motionless within a second pool. Countless barbed chains pierced its body, anchoring it firmly in place. Silas could still sense an incredibly faint life force lingering within it.
He scanned the Pokémon.
Drapion (F) — Level 70 (Suppressed to 54)
Ability: Battle Armor
Potential: A- (Suppressed to B)
Moves: Rank A Poison Sting, Rank A Bite, Rank A Knock Off, Rank A Pin Missile, Rank A Acupressure, Rank A Pursuit, Rank A Bug Bite, Rank A Poison Fang, Rank A Toxic Spikes, Rank A Night Slash, Rank A Cross Poison, Rank A Crunch, Rank A Fell Stinger, Rank A Poison Jab, Rank A Venoshock, Rank A Toxic, Rank A Whirlwind, Rank A Agility, Rank A Confuse Ray, Rank A Sand Attack, Rank A Slash, Rank A Screech, Rank A Earthquake, Rank A Iron Tail, Rank A Fire Fang, Rank A Ice Fang, Rank A Thunder Fang, Rank A Shadow Sneak
"She's really still alive."
Silas extended a psychic connection.
"If you can hear me, perhaps I can help you."
There was no response.
Just as he turned to leave, a weary voice echoed through his mind.
"How exactly do you intend to help me?"
Silas couldn't help but smile.
"What was with the dramatic pause?"
"I haven't heard another voice in a very long time. At first, I thought I'd finally gone mad."
The voice sounded eager to continue talking, so Silas naturally indulged it.
"If you're the one speaking, then tell me how you ended up trapped here."
"Can you remove my restraints?"
"I can tell your strength has been drained somehow to fuel the adjacent poison pool. I can help you recover your power, but I need something in return."
"What do you want?"
Silas immediately sensed Drapion becoming guarded.
"I want you to become my Pokémon for ten years. In return, I'll free you from those restraints, help you recover your strength, and take you away from this suppressed land."
For the first time, Drapion actually lifted her head.
Until now, she hadn't moved at all.
"I can serve as your Pokémon… but ten years is a long time."
"Drapion, let's be honest. If I hadn't found you today, who knows whether you'd ever escape this cave? Even if you eventually did, your strength might have deteriorated all the way to the intermediate tier."
Silence filled the cavern.
Finally, Drapion spoke again.
"I'll agree as long as you help me find what remains of my family. We were once well known, so they shouldn't be impossible to trace."
"I can agree to that. Welcome to the team. But first, tell me about yourself."
"Very well. I was once an acolyte of Giratina. We fought a great war here against Mew, Lugia, and the divine birds and we lost. The last thing I remember was Giratina severing our bond before escaping to the Distortion World. When I regained consciousness, I was chained here. Hundreds of years had already passed."
Silas frowned.
"Hold on. What exactly was this bond?"
"Pokémon bonded to Giratina gained access to ghost-type energy. That's how I learned Shadow Sneak. More importantly, we could travel through portals connected to the Distortion World. Giratina severed our links so our enemies couldn't track him through us."
Silas looked at Drapion thoughtfully.
"Why remain loyal to a leader who abandoned you?"
"I never truly had a choice. Either I followed Giratina or I watched my entire clan be sacrificed. At first, the arrangement benefited us greatly. We became stronger, and our mastery of Shadow Sneak made our clan famous. We were happy until the war among the legendary Pokémon began."
"I'll help you search, but you need to prepare yourself for the possibility that you're the last survivor. Even so, I promise I'll take the search seriously."
"Thank you, now can you remove these chains?"
Silas reached toward one of them.
The instant he touched it, an overwhelming surge of energy blasted him backward, slamming him violently into the cavern wall.
He tried everything.
His Pokémon focused repeated attacks on a single point.
Even their combined strength failed to leave the slightest mark.
The chains were formed from condensed a few different types of energy. The power required to create something like this far exceeded anything Silas had ever encountered.
As a final attempt, he threw a Poké Ball.
The chains simply rejected the capture.
Silas sighed.
"My apologies. This is beyond me for now. I'll return after I've found a way to free you."
Drapion's expression softened.
"Then, please visit me from time to time, even if you haven't found a solution."
Silas nodded.
He understood all too well that every living being needed companionship.
After a long period of isolation, Drapion wasn't simply asking to be rescued.
She just didn't want to be alone anymore.
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Thanks for the continued support on my first fanfic!!
Moving forward, every 50 Power Stones, I will release a bonus chapter.
I will also be releasing bonus chapters for milestones. The next ones are 300k views and chapter 200.
Finally, I will be releasing 3 extra chapters once we reach 10 reviews. 5 star reviews are appreciated but not required, I want honest feedback so I can improve.
Once again, thanks for all the support and feedback!