With Hermes' help, Silas generated a few months' worth of pokeblocks for everyone in Spartan during the training period.
The Divine Alchemic Cauldron was simply a cheat. There was no other way to describe it.
One of the main reasons for the rise of his faction was undoubtedly his ability to make good-quality pokeblocks with little effort. Over time, this advantage would begin to show itself.
Over the course of a year, you might notice the difference, but it was unlikely unless someone was looking closely. Once several years passed, however, the difference would become obvious.
It was like athletes who trained consistently and maintained a good diet from a young age compared to their peers. Once they reached higher levels of competition, they would begin to stand out because they were simply better prepared.
The accumulation of harder work and better resources created a nearly insurmountable gap. This was why the best athletes tended to start young.
Silas had the same philosophy. It was still his first year as a trainer, but in a few years, he might be an elite tier trainer. By then, if he continued on this trajectory, his strength within the elite tier would be respected by all.
Among those within the same tier of strength, there were still major differences. These differences were created long before they reached the elite tier; they simply weren't as visible before.
Silas discussed the battle strategy with his talkative Pokemon. They essentially held a war meeting.
"So, as you all know, we will be fighting a battle where we're outnumbered early on. Unless we can hold on, the plan fails. How do you think we should handle this?"
Ursaring didn't usually participate, but this time around, he immediately spoke up.
"Let me use Belly Drum along with the Poliwrath, Poliwhirl, and Politoed. We can unleash a massacre and confront them directly with that kind of power."
Politoed looked on in horror upon hearing this.
What Ursaring was suggesting deeply troubled him. He knew full well how that would work out.
Silas spoke before Politoed could.
"Ursaring, I agree that we would be able to launch a deadly offensive, but I want you to think about this. What would be the cost? Such a frontal assault would lead to multiple casualties on our end at minimum."
Silas paused and allowed him time to digest the information and draw his own conclusions. While definitely a musclehead, Ursaring was capable of self-reflection and listened to reason.
"Okay, I think I get it. Many of the Poliwhirl would likely be sacrificed in that plan, so it doesn't work. I still think we should use the power of our Belly Drum, but now I'm unsure how to go about it."
Silas was proud. The quick reflection and correction were impressive.
"Now you are thinking. Remember, we must consider everything from the battle itself to the consequences and potential sacrifices. Death is always a possibility, but we will never use each other as cannon fodder."
Politoed gave Silas a grateful look. For a moment, Politoed nearly regretted his decision to take his clan and follow Silas.
Luckily, he had once again proven himself to be somebody worth following. A true leader. He was cruel to his enemies but kind and generous to his allies.
"What if we teleport around, combining guerrilla warfare with a divide-and-conquer strategy? With Teleport, we could fight only advantageous battles at the start to trim the enemy down before a big decisive battle."
Silas thought about the suggestion carefully. It was Electivire's idea, and it was actually feasible.
"Hmm, that might actually work. The only issue is that for it to work, we would need to employ a much smaller elite unit to carry out these assassinations. Otherwise, we could be easily disrupted if they had a psychic pokemon of their own."
"Boss, you forget that you have me. I have the power to overcome any psychic pokemon trying to interfere. In fact, as your strongest pokemon, I should be the vanguard."
Espeon was up to her usual antics, but this time, all his other pokemon were present.
Naturally, none of them would allow Espeon to continue her ridiculous claim.
At that moment, Espeon was enveloped in psychic energy and lifted into the air.
"Young Espeon, do you really believe that your power exceeds my own? What about my wise king?"
One of the royal guard Poliwraths stepped forward. His tone was friendly, but there was an unmistakable threat.
Espeon smiled sheepishly.
"Haha, fine, I admit it. I am the 4th strongest pokemon of the group."
The other tribe leaders were too lazy to argue. They simply didn't care enough. Actually, Espeon amused them. She was indeed competent too, so many chose to indulge her and let her be.
Silas laughed upon seeing this. The dynamics between one's team of Pokemon were important. If they didn't get along, it would be disastrous in a team battle setting.
"Anyways, let's get back to the purpose of this meeting. Electivire's idea works, but I have a wrinkle. The elite unit will consist of Greninja and me alone. Once a real battle starts, I won't hesitate to call upon you all."
"I like that idea."
"Me too!"
The meeting quickly concluded once they agreed. The irony was that this was his original plan, but he wanted his Pokémon to develop their critical thinking skills.
A Pokemon capable of thinking things through logically was extremely dangerous. Silas wanted all of his Pokemon to possess high intelligence, so he needed to stimulate their growth.
This was why he didn't voice his plan early on and instead allowed them the freedom to suggest their own ideas and discuss the feasibility among themselves.
Today's meeting showed the early fruits of his labor. Even a musclehead like Ursaring was starting to become more thoughtful.
Once they finished their strategy meeting, Silas had the Pokémon lightly practice their large-scale battle tactics. This would be important because as the battle became more and more chaotic, it would become harder for Silas to issue commands.
If some of his Pokemon acted independently, they could relieve him of that pressure.
Silas allowed them to sort this part out themselves. In terms of battle tactics, his pokemon were no longer the naive beginners they once were.
After the hard training, Silas allowed the Pokémon to rest for the final day before the mission began. This way, they could perform at their peak.
Silas would infiltrate using a stolen outfit and then start the attack. Once Silas and his pokemon were on the same page with the battle plan, Silas went to bed. The mission would begin tomorrow night, but he needed to embed himself much earlier.
"Boss, are we really going to go all out?"
The usually mischievous Espeon was concerned for her trainer. She understood better than the other pokemon the risk Silas was taking.
Showing one's strength was something to do only when backed into a corner.
Knowledge was power. It was better for enemies to underestimate you so you could better repel their attacks.
Silas had taught these concepts to his Pokémon to help them understand how to conduct themselves in battle. Naturally, they would have questions in moments like this.
"Espeon, sometimes you have to take a bet on yourself. If this operation goes well, I will have solidified my place within the organization."
This time, Electivire chimed in.
"I thought you already had a benefactor in that guy Archer. So isn't your position already safe?"
Silas would indulge all questions. Leadership without accountability was simply tyranny.
"There is some truth to that, but think about the true meaning of having that backing. It is nice to have someone who will support you, but shouldn't we strive to develop our own reputation and network?"
"Ohhh, Boss! I get it now! You don't want to have to depend on someone else's strength for our security forever, so you are trying to build up your own power."
Electivire agreed as well.
"Correct. I will forever be grateful to Archer for taking a bet on me, but it's not wise to stay in a protected role forever. Those kinds of people are the first to be discarded. Remember, any achievement I have reflects well on Archer too."
"Now we are confused again."
This time, it was Infernape who spoke before Silas could explain.
"What he's doing is building his own reputation and network within Team Rocket. At the same time, he's changing Archer's perspective of him, going from someone with great potential to someone with a proven track record and even greater potential for the future."
Silas was incredulous. Since when did his Pokemon speak with such eloquence? Each time it happened, he was always caught off guard.
The other Pokemon finally understood Silas' intentions after hearing Infernape's explanation.
The following morning, Silas descended the mountain before entering the Court's territory. There were many peak pseudo advanced tier trainers patrolling. He waited patiently until nightfall to take action.
Silas used his ability to share power with his pokemon to put himself at peak power. With the comprehensive gains experienced by his team, Silas could fight advanced tier pokemon in this state. As a result, in the first 20 minutes, Silas had already slain 4 trainers and their pokemon.
Greninja assisted in carrying out these assassinations. Using Shadow Sneak, he moved silently through the darkness and struck whenever Silas created an opening.
After 3 more trainers were quickly slain, Silas realized he had been surrounded by 4 advanced tier Court members.
"Wow, I must be very important since 4 gentlemen have to team up to deal with me."
"You have slain 7 of our members, yet you speak of fairness? How laughable. We will kill you where you stand, intruder."