After placing the Glacier Badge into his Badge Case, Silas felt extremely satisfied with his collection.
Aside from the two substitute Badges that had replaced the Earth Badge of Viridian Gym and the Marsh Badge of Saffron Gym, every Badge he had obtained came from one of the region's official eight Gyms.
Even those two substitute Badges came from Gyms ranked among the best in Kanto.
That was a very convincing achievement.
The reason the eight official regional Gyms were considered the "Eight Great Gyms" was not merely because of their history or the cities they were located in. More importantly, they represented the highest level of Gym strength.
The stronger the Gym, the harder it was to earn its Badge.
On average, a trainee from the region's top-ranked Gym and a trainee from the lowest-ranked Gym were worlds apart in strength.
In the past, there had been occasions when the title of one of the Eight Great Gyms changed hands. Yet without exception, the original eight Gyms eventually reclaimed their positions.
Just like the League Conferences held for Trainers, Gyms had competitions of their own.
The match aboard the S.S. Anne that Silas had participated in on behalf of the Pewter Gym was merely considered an exchange event between Gyms.
For the true Regional Gym Leader Tournament or even the World Gym Leader Tournament, participants had to meet extremely strict qualifications.
For the people of the Pokémon world, Pokémon battles were the best way to resolve disputes, which was why competitions of all kinds could be found everywhere.
Gym battles were merely one special category.
There were countless Type Tournaments, Fun Competitions, Mixed Rules Events, and more.
For a normal Trainer journey, fully exploring a region and experiencing its various competitions and scenery would take at least seven or eight years.
And that was assuming one had Pokémon available for transportation.
Badges and tournament rankings were the clearest proof of a Trainer's strength.
Putting away his Badge Case, Silas turned to Pryce with a question or rather, a request for guidance.
"Training Alolan Vulpix and Alolan Ninetales?" Pryce frowned slightly after hearing the question. "I'm afraid I can't help much with that."
"Pryce hasn't raised any new partners in a very long time," Auntie Sima explained. "The Pokémon you just battled were either descendants of his old partners or youngsters temporarily entrusted to my care."
"Besides, Alolan Vulpix is a Pokémon that was only recently discovered. Neither of us has really worked in that area."
Pokémon breeding, like training, relied heavily on both academic knowledge and experience.
For a newly discovered Pokémon species, even an expert breeder of similar Pokémon would need considerable time to experiment and gather data.
Otherwise, it would be irresponsible toward the Pokémon.
"I see..."
Silas looked somewhat disappointed.
He had assumed that as an Ice-type master, Pryce would have plenty of useful advice.
He hadn't expected the old Gym Leader to have stopped raising new Pokémon altogether.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
For an elderly Trainer, forming a new lifelong bond with a Pokémon was not necessarily good for either side.
Across all League regions, most Trainers eventually made the same choice as they grew older.
"However..."
Pryce suddenly changed the subject and pulled a thin booklet from inside his coat.
"I do have some personal notes on raising Ice-type Pokémon. Not all of it will apply to Alolan Vulpix and Alolan Ninetales, but there should still be quite a bit worth learning from."
Silas's eyes lit up instantly.
In his previous life, this would have been the equivalent of a martial arts grandmaster passing down a secret manual.
A summary of experiences from a Trainer beyond Elite level.
Even a fool could probably copy it and reach Elite Four level.
Overjoyed, he accepted the booklet with both hands.
Then he opened it.
And froze.
The contents were not handwritten notes.
They were printed.
Flipping to the last page, he found several bold words:
"Published and Printed by Enyta Group."
"Cough! Cough!"
Silas nearly choked on his own saliva.
So this was mass-produced?!
The entire feeling of receiving a secret inheritance from a hidden master instantly vanished.
Auntie Sima burst into laughter.
"Can't be helped. The Gym needs income too~"
She patted Silas on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. This edition isn't the basic version sold outside. It's been streamlined and improved quite a bit."
"If I remember correctly, Pryce also added plenty of personal annotations. Those should help you a lot."
Silas quickly flipped through the pages.
Sure enough, elegant handwritten notes could be found throughout most of the booklet.
"Variations in Ice Shard shaping and related energy-control training. Coordinating Blizzard with the Snow Warning Ability."
"Methods of using Mist within a blizzard to replicate effects similar to the Snow Cloak Ability."
The basic content wasn't particularly surprising to Silas.
But the handwritten notes fascinated him.
Just from a brief glance, he discovered several training methods that Alolan Vulpix could immediately benefit from.
"If there's nothing else, you can leave now."
Pryce spoke bluntly before turning around and walking away with the aid of his cane.
Silas gave the old man a respectful bow.
Although Pryce appeared distant and unfriendly, his actions clearly showed that he had been taking good care of Silas throughout the battle.
Auntie Sima was clearly dissatisfied with Pryce's attitude.
She had developed a very favorable impression of the two young Trainers.
"Come on, come on! Want to head up the mountain and train together?"
she invited enthusiastically.
"No, no, we still have some things to do. We don't want to trouble you two seniors."
Silas hurriedly declined.
After spending nearly a week inside the underground caverns, he wanted nothing more than some proper rest.
Brock, however, was curious about something else.
"Don't you need to stay here and wait for the next challenger?"
"Nope."
Auntie Sima waved dismissively.
"Pryce usually only accepts one challenge per day."
Despite being an official League referee, she completely ignored the fact that Pryce was openly violating League Gym regulations.
Like Blaine, the old Gym Leader was hardly the type to strictly follow rules.
To be honest, among Trainers, people like Lance, who diligently followed most regulations, were actually quite rare.
After saying their farewells once more, Silas and Brock slipped out through the side entrance of the Mahogany Gym.
"Pokémon Center next?"
Brock glanced up at the sky and suggested.
"Yeah."
Silas nodded.
"I want to rest for a bit. Also, I need to talk to Professor Oak about that Pokémon."
"Sounds good. I'll come to your room later."
Chatting and laughing, the two headed toward the Mahogany Town Pokémon Center.
A short while later.
After finishing their Pokémon's treatments and taking a brief rest, Silas and Brock sat together on the sofa in Silas's room.
Silas casually dialed Professor Oak's laboratory.
A familiar recorded message immediately played.
"Hello. This is Professor Oak's Laboratory in Pallet Town. Professor Oak is currently conducting research. Please leave a message, and an assistant will relay it to him."
Silas sounded very practiced as he responded.
"This is Silas. I need to discuss something with Professor Oak. Please inform him and ask him to contact me as soon as possible."
Normally, unless it was important, he wouldn't call Professor Oak's private number without prior notice.
Not that Oak minded.
The laboratory assistants collected messages every half hour anyway, so waiting wasn't an issue.
For someone like Silas, a close acquaintance calling about a semi-urgent matter, the assistants would notify Oak immediately.
It was also a safeguard to prevent interruptions if Professor Oak happened to be conducting particularly important research.
Sure enough, only a short time after leaving the message, Professor Oak's private communicator rang on Silas's Pokétch.
"Silas, what did you need?
We've basically finished researching that Ursaluna of yours. It's definitely an evolved form of Ursaring.
Just like what was shown in the video records you sent me, this big fellow's stat distribution is very similar to Gigalith's.
The difference is that its stamina is significantly higher than Gigalith's.
More importantly, it possesses the ability to manipulate peat. Combined with the chunks of peat you found in its den, we suspect that it probably evolves while holding that item at night.
However, our lab doesn't have many Ursaring, and it's currently their breeding season. We'll need more research and records before we can confirm the exact evolution requirements."
The moment the call connected, Professor Oak launched into an excited explanation before Silas could even say anything.
Clearly, over the past ten days or so, the professor had devoted himself entirely to researching Ursaluna.
The dark circles under his eyes were impossible to miss.
"Professor Oak, you really should take better care of yourself."
Silas looked genuinely concerned.
Based on what he knew about Professor Oak, the man had probably survived the past few days on nothing but instant cup noodles.
Whether they were Farfetch'd-flavored or Slowpoke-flavored was another matter entirely.
"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. I know my limits."
Professor Oak waved it off with a smile.
"As for why I contacted you this time. I think I may have caught another Pokémon that hasn't been documented before."
The smile on Professor Oak's face instantly froze.
He knew his own physical condition well.
One intensive research project was manageable.
Two in a row was another story.
He simply wasn't as energetic as he had been when he was younger.
Still, there was something else he was even more curious about.
"Why do you keep running into Pokémon like this? It's been years since anyone discovered an entirely new species."
If Silas's background weren't completely transparent, Professor Oak might have suspected he was the secret child of Jirachi or even Arceus.
"Uh..."
Silas scratched his head awkwardly.
"Probably luck?"
Brock rolled his eyes from the side.
"That makes sense."
Professor Oak actually accepted the explanation.
"Your Togekiss has probably brought you a lot of good fortune. Though being this lucky is still pretty unusual. Bring it by the lab sometime so I can study it properly."
As always, the conversation somehow returned to Pokémon research.
After chatting briefly, they finally got to the main topic.
Using the Pokédex's data transmission function, Silas sent all the information regarding the unknown bear Pokémon to Professor Oak.
"Oh, this Pokémon."
Professor Oak visibly relaxed after seeing it.
Thankfully, it wasn't an undiscovered species. At least he wouldn't have to spend several sleepless nights researching again.
"You know what Pokémon it is, Professor Oak?"
Silas immediately asked.
"Yes. Though your luck really is ridiculous."
Professor Oak sighed.
"This is the Legendary Pokémon Urshifu from the Galar Region. Judging from the information you sent, it appears to be the Single Strike Style form.
Its type is Fighting/Dark.
The other form is called Rapid Strike Style, which is Fighting/Water.
They usually inhabit mountainous regions, so finding one on Mt. Mortar isn't particularly strange.
What surprises me is that a Pokémon like this exists in Johto at all. I'd always thought they were exclusive to Galar."
Silas barely heard the rest.
His attention had stopped at the words:
Legendary Pokémon.
That title was normally reserved for mythical and legendary beings.
His thoughts became a little dizzy.
Did I really just catch a Legendary Pokémon?
Though admittedly, its strength didn't quite feel legendary.
Professor Oak immediately understood what he was thinking.
"While it's classified as a Legendary Pokémon, Urshifu's existence is more comparable to an extremely rare version of Arcanine. The reason it's known as a Legendary Pokémon is not only because of the many legends surrounding it throughout history, but also because of one particular Trainer from Galar."
Silas blinked.
"A Trainer?"
"That's right."
Professor Oak nodded.
"That Trainer is the strongest in Galar. Possibly the strongest Trainer in the entire world."
The statement was astonishing.
Silas found it difficult to imagine just how powerful someone would have to be for one of their Pokémon to earn the title of a Legendary Pokémon.
"What's his name?"
"Mustard. He's a Fighting-type specialist and a highly skilled martial artist himself.
He's currently traveling around the world, so it's entirely possible you'll run into him someday. Considering your luck, I wouldn't even be surprised."
Professor Oak chuckled.
Silas neither agreed nor disagreed.
"Compared to Pryce, who's stronger?"
The strongest Trainer Silas had personally encountered so far was undoubtedly Pryce.
At least, he had never seen another Pokémon raised by a Trainer that stood somewhere between Champion-level and a minor Legendary.
Professor Oak wasn't surprised that Silas knew about Pryce's true strength.
After thinking for a moment, he answered:
"In a one-on-one battle, Pryce could probably put up a fight. But in a full team battle, he wouldn't stand much of a chance."
Silas instantly understood.
"A main team that's almost entirely composed of Pokémon at the level of minor Legendaries..."
His eyes burned with excitement.
If a Trainer before him had reached such heights through training Pokémon, then there was no reason he couldn't do the same.
Indeed, the first thing Silas thought about wasn't seeking guidance from the so-called strongest Trainer.
It was whether he could eventually surpass him.
Of course, Mustard's title of "strongest" came with conditions.
When considering only Pokémon personally trained and raised by their Trainer, he was probably the strongest Trainer in the Pokémon world.
But that did not include Trainers who directly commanded Legendary Pokémon.
After all, it wasn't just Lorelei who had a connection with Articuno.
The Joy family, the Officer Jenny family, many prestigious clans, and even the Pokémon League itself all had people who maintained close relationships with Legendary Pokémon.
...
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