Because Ampharos had gained so much from the trip, Silas was in such a good mood that he treated the other three to a luxurious dinner.
"This place really is full of energy."
Leaning against the window, Brock couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the brightly lit scenery outside.
Even though it was already past eight in the evening, the atmosphere in the Battle Park remained lively.
Not to mention the official battle arenas—even on the streets of the town, many Trainers could be seen battling and training their Pokémon.
Whenever a particularly skilled Trainer battled, spectators would naturally gather around them, forming one small crowd after another.
This was an extremely rare sight in any city of any region.
Even in the sleepless city of Neon Town in Kanto, people were generally more interested in enjoying life than in Pokémon battles.
"Oh, right, Miss Cynthia, did you receive an invitation from the Enta Group regarding the Battle Frontier?"
Haruto suddenly remembered something and asked.
Cynthia, who had been staring blankly at two different fruit juices in front of her, subconsciously nodded.
"Yeah."
Silence.
"Uh... what kind of invitation was it exactly?"
Haruto continued awkwardly.
Even though they had only just met, he had already learned a little about Cynthia and knew that she occasionally suffered from bouts of indecisiveness.
He was curious whether she would act the same way during battles.
The answer was naturally no.
Cynthia only behaved like that when she wasn't focused. During Pokémon battles, however, her concentration never wavered in the slightest.
This was a quality every powerful Trainer possessed.
Faced with Haruto's follow-up question, Cynthia finally came back to her senses.
"I think they invited me to become some kind of Battle Dome Champion. but I turned it down. It would take too much time."
Her tone was extremely casual.
"Battle Dome Champion?"
Haruto and Brock had never heard the term before.
Like Silas, the invitations they had received were only to participate in challenge events and build publicity.
Silas, however, knew exactly what it meant.
"The Battle Frontier that the Enta Group plans to build is basically similar to a collection of Gyms, except it's divided into various battle facilities.
Each facility has a person in charge, equivalent to a Gym Leader, called a Frontier Brain. Each Frontier Brain represents something different and possesses a unique title.
As for 'Battle Dome Champion,' it sounds like it represents strength."
He briefly explained before looking surprised.
"So the person Anabel mentioned was you."
Anabel, the future Frontier Brain and formerly Looker's subordinate in the International Police before eventually becoming his superior had once chatted with Silas about the Battle Frontier.
According to her, the Enta Group had openly admitted that before inviting her, they had first invited another powerful Trainer to become a Frontier Brain.
That Trainer had declined, which was why they approached her instead.
Fortunately, Anabel didn't particularly care about such things and agreed after a brief consideration.
Silas hadn't expected that the powerful Trainer mentioned by both Anabel and the Enta Group would turn out to be Cynthia.
Then again, it made sense.
There weren't many Trainers who were both incredibly strong and free from official responsibilities.
Cynthia was one of those rare exceptions.
"Who's Anabel?"
Haruto was once again curious about this suddenly mentioned name.
"How do you know so many people?"
"She's one of the leaders of the International Police. We worked together on an operation before. She accepted the Enta Group's invitation to become a Frontier Brain."
Silas gave a brief introduction.
Haruto tilted his head.
"Are the International Police really that amazing these days? Even one of their leaders is that strong?"
Although he didn't know Anabel's exact strength, considering she was compared to Cynthia, she couldn't possibly be weak.
After all, the beautiful blonde woman beside him possessed strength comparable to a regional Champion.
Silas shrugged.
That's just how the Pokémon world was.
There were simply too many geniuses.
Even setting aside monsters like Red and Blue, people who were only slightly less extraordinary weren't everywhere, but they certainly weren't uncommon.
"Sure enough, being a researcher suits me better."
Haruto shook his head helplessly.
"You freaks can keep fighting among yourselves."
He was referring to both Silas and Cynthia.
Silas chuckled.
"Oh? Didn't you say before that you were going to beat me up?"
"Get lost."
Haruto rolled his eyes.
"I don't have a masochistic hobby. Who would've thought you'd have more than one Pokémon break through to the Elite level in less than half a year?"
Ever since learning that fact, no one in Silas' social circle had dared to challenge him to a battle.
Silas clicked his tongue regretfully.
Looks like he'd have to wait until the Johto Silver Conference to enjoy a proper full-team six-on-six battle.
And it might not even be much of a challenge.
With his current strength, winning the tournament would be child's play.
"How about I battle you instead?"
Beside him, Cynthia suddenly spoke, as though she'd been daydreaming.
Silas immediately wanted to make an excuse and leave.
"Come on, don't tell me you're that scared?"
Haruto grinned, clearly enjoying the chance to stir up trouble.
He openly admitted it to himself.
He just wanted to watch Silas get beaten up.
"That's right! Trainers should constantly challenge the strong to become stronger!"
Brock suddenly chimed in, equally interested.
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected this thick-browed guy to be so devious.
Still, the two of them instantly formed a united front.
The friendship between men really could be that simple.
They took turns provoking Silas.
Silas naturally knew the two idiots had ill intentions.
But under Cynthia's gaze, he somehow gritted his teeth and agreed.
"Fine. Let's battle. But there probably isn't a suitable battlefield nearby."
"No need to worry."
Haruto immediately crushed his hopes.
"Before coming here, I chatted with Tatsuya. This place has a battle arena specifically built for Elite Four-level Pokémon battles. It should be more than enough.
I'll call him right now. Nobody's using it anyway."
Silas unconsciously clenched his fists.
"Fine."
He ground his teeth as he stared at Haruto.
Meanwhile, Haruto enthusiastically operated his Pokégear, completely oblivious.
At this point, none of them had any desire to continue eating.
Soon, thanks to arrangements made by Tatsuya, who was far away in Kanto, the four arrived at a secluded battle arena outside Battle Park Town.
Calling it secluded wasn't entirely accurate.
Because the arena was huge.
So huge that anyone nearby could spot it at a glance.
It was simply that the place had remained closed all year, causing most Trainers to completely ignore it.
But today, this tower-like structure welcomed a rare group of guests.
Inside the enormous battlefield, Brock voluntarily took up the referee's position.
"You people really have way too much free time."
In the spectator stands, Tatsuya watched through a video call while leisurely eating his late-night snack.
"You don't seem very busy yourself," Haruto complained.
"And didn't you say this morning that you wanted to lose weight?"
"Eh, the diet can wait."
Tatsuya casually took another bite of fried chicken.
"I'm interested in the Trainer you said could beat Silas up. I thought our intelligence department had made a mistake, but it turns out it's this person."
The two chatted casually.
However, the two Trainers standing on the battlefield didn't feel nearly as relaxed.
For Cynthia, it was simply her personality.
Whenever Pokémon battles were involved, she became incredibly serious.
As for Silas, he was filled with excitement and anticipation.
"Then let the battle begin!"
Since this was a private match between friends, the rules weren't particularly strict. Brock waved his hand and started the battle.
"Go, Blaziken!"
"Go, Lucario!"
The Trainers' gazes met, while the red-and-white Pokémon and the blue-and-black Pokémon faced each other across the battlefield.
BOOM—!
Inside the somewhat noisy Battle Park, whether they were battling or spectating, all the Trainers heard an enormous crash.
Many people subconsciously looked into the distance.
To their astonishment, the Battle Tower of Battle Park had lit up.
"That's..."
The Trainers familiar with Battle Park's facilities exchanged glances, immediately understanding what was happening.
The others looked confused, and some even became a little panicked.
"Attention, Trainers, please do not panic. The Battle Tower—"
BOOM!
"—is available for free battles—"
BOOM!
"—thank you for your support."
BOOM!
Amid one thunderous explosion after another, the park's loudspeakers broadcast their announcements in broken intervals.
The Next Day
"Prinplup is unable to battle. The winner is... Prinplup."
The referee calmly announced an incredibly tongue-twisting result.
"Thank you."
After stepping down from the platform, Silas shook hands with the opposing Trainer before leaving the Water-type battlefield.
"Hmm, that rookie Trainer just now wasn't very good. His reactions were too slow."
Brock shook his head while writing something in his notebook.
"But your Prinplup also has problems.
"The transition between the second and third Water Guns was 0.37 seconds too slow, which allowed your opponent to dodge part of the damage.
"You should strengthen its Metal Claw training next. It's also about time to start developing its Steel-type energy.
"And a lot of Prinplup's battle habits still come from its days in the wild. It'll need time to overcome those as well.
"..."
He continued speaking endlessly, yet in a surprisingly organized manner.
Silas listened carefully while casually tossing a Poké Ball in his hand.
He had never thought that having Zero meant he could ignore everyone else's advice.
Although most of Brock's suggestions had already been pointed out by Zero, what if there was something new?
The strangest thing was that the two of them had somehow developed this kind of tacit understanding.
Even though Silas was actually better than Brock as both a Trainer and a Breeder.
Talking as they walked, the two soon arrived at the Pokémon Center in Battle Park.
"Hello, Trainer Silas. These are the seven Pokémon you left here. They've all fully recovered."
With a gentle smile, Nurse Joy handed him a tray containing the shrunken Poké Balls.
"Thank you for your hard work."
After offering his usual thanks, the two sat down in the lounge area.
"So, Haruto went to your house?"
While drinking a beverage, Silas chatted with Brock.
Brock nodded.
"Well, he just caught that Magikarp, so they still need time to bond. He decided to do his research at my place instead. It's all the same."
"Tch, lucky for him that he ran away so quickly."
Silas curled his lip in disdain.
He was sure that if Haruto had traveled with them for a few more days, he'd have peeled several layers off him.
Just remembering Haruto's expression after last night's battle with Cynthia made Silas want to beat him up.
No, at least ten times.
"Still, Miss Cynthia is truly flawless in battle."
Brock sighed with admiration.
Silas fell silent for a moment before nodding.
No matter how one looked at it, Cynthia's coordination with her Pokémon was perfect, as were the performances of both Trainer and Pokémon.
In previous battles, he had still been able to spot weaknesses and mistakes in his opponents' strategies and exploit them.
Last night, however, that had been nothing but wishful thinking.
Fortunately, Silas had a strong mentality.
If someone else had been crushed 6-0 without any suspense, they would probably have become depressed.
That's right.
6-0.
In Cynthia's view of battling, there was no such thing as going easy.
Her commands, switches, and Pokémon selections had all been the most optimal choices possible.
Could you imagine Champion-level Pokémon battling Elite-level Pokémon while also having type advantages?
Although both sides were fairly familiar with each other's teams, the difference was that Cynthia had correctly predicted almost every one of Silas' lineups.
"I still have a lot to learn."
Silas let out a long sigh.
He wasn't praising Kanto's Elite Four for no reason.
If Cynthia, who was still weaker than Lance already possessed this kind of strength, then just how powerful did the other three Elite Four members have to be to hold Lance back?
Even though Lance always lost to the Ice-type Elite Four member, Bruno and Agatha had undoubtedly contributed a great deal.
One could only say that Lance was unlucky in every sense of the word.
As for Cynthia, she had probably already returned to the electric-healing lake where Zapdos was staying.
She still needed to remain there and protect Zapdos for a while longer, until it recovered enough strength to fight again and until the League could send someone to replace her.
"So, what's today's plan?"
Brock squinted comfortably while sipping his coffee.
Silas wore a similar expression.
"Is there anything you want from the exchange shop?"
Another unique feature of Battle Park was its Battle Point Exchange Shop.
Battle Points were earned by winning battles in Battle Park.
You could grind them, trade them, and do whatever you wanted, as long as you had the confidence to challenge the rules set by the Enta Group.
As far as anyone knew, nobody had succeeded in exploiting them.
Brock shook his head.
That made sense.
No matter how many items the shop had, there weren't many that could truly interest him.
Rather than spending enormous amounts of time earning Battle Points, it was easier to simply buy things with money.
"Then, today we'll head to Blackthorn City!"
Silas quickly decided on the day's itinerary.
His right hand subconsciously slipped into his pocket, rubbing against a cold object shaped suspiciously like a Badge.
...
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