Bang!
Blaziken's flame-covered legs arrived in front of Blastoise's pale yellow abdomen in the blink of an eye.
At this moment, Blastoise had only just managed to gather Water-type energy around its tail.
BOOM!
The blue figure was sent flying and crashed into the edge of the battlefield.
"W-What kind of joke is this?!"
The gentleman, Hammond, suddenly widened his eyes, unconsciously tightening his arm around his companion.
The woman named Sia looked displeased but didn't say anything.
The surrounding Trainers were equally shocked.
"Elite level?! That Blaziken is an Elite-level Pokémon?!"
Cries of astonishment rang out one after another.
After all, these were fairly capable Trainers. If they couldn't even tell that much, it would be ridiculous.
But that conclusion only made things even more unbelievable.
Although Silas was wearing a mask that covered most of his face, his youth was impossible to hide.
Having a starter Pokémon at the Pseudo-Elite level was acceptable. Starters were usually a Trainer's first Pokémon and generally had excellent potential.
But an Elite-level Pokémon?
That was simply astonishing.
"Blas…toise…"
A charred black mark was clearly visible on its abdomen. Blastoise cried out in pain and shakily struggled back to its feet.
As a Pokémon renowned for its defense and resistant to Fire-type attacks, it hadn't been knocked out in one hit.
That said, it wasn't much different from being unable to battle.
"Blastoise, use Aqua Ring!"
Despite his unpleasant personality, Hammond was still a qualified Trainer and knew what he needed to do.
He quickly ordered Blastoise to recover.
From this alone, it was clear that his Blastoise was quite strong.
Aqua Ring, an Egg Move, complemented Blastoise's battle style extremely well and significantly enhanced its combat capabilities.
A faint blue mist gradually surrounded Blastoise.
"Not bad. At least you didn't surrender immediately. You've got some backbone."
Silas casually praised him.
"Blaziken, Quick Attack into Thunder Punch!"
"Blaze!"
Blaziken nodded as dazzling white light enveloped its body.
This time, there wasn't even an afterimage.
With its Speed Boost Ability already activated and the incredible speed of Quick Attack, its movement had become too fast for ordinary people to follow with their eyes.
"Blastooooise!"
The Blastoise let out a pained cry filled with static.
Its voice suddenly stopped at its peak.
Behind Blastoise's shell, Blaziken slowly withdrew its claws, which were crackling with electricity.
Without even glancing at Blastoise, it leaped several times and returned to Silas' side.
"This Blastoise isn't that impressive. Next time, let's fight the one from before."
The power of Aura flowed, and Blaziken's voice sounded in Silas' mind.
"Sure. I'll contact Shizushi later. He doesn't seem too busy these days."
Silas turned and replied with a smile.
After their previous battle, he and Shizushi had exchanged contact information.
Arranging another battle half a year later wouldn't be difficult.
After all, no Trainer disliked sparring with an evenly matched opponent and measuring the progress they and their Pokémon had made.
Though...
"I want to fight all six by myself next time! Oh yeah!"
Blaziken enthusiastically expressed its wish.
"Sure."
"N-No, wait! I was joking! Three at most…actually, two is enough."
Blaziken immediately chickened out.
Joking aside, defeating two opponents of the same level despite a type disadvantage was already extremely impressive.
At the Elite level, the gap between Pokémon wasn't actually that large.
Any Pokémon that reached that stage was an exceptionally talented individual.
While Silas and Blaziken chatted, Hammond and Sia were preparing to quietly slip away.
After all, there had never been any wager placed before the battle.
Hammond still held onto a sliver of hope.
But when he withdrew from the crowd and saw that Silas wasn't even paying attention to him, another wave of anger surged within him.
Just as he was about to say something harsh, pain suddenly came from his right hand.
Sia slapped away the hand that had been resting on her waist.
"I thought you were amazing. Turns out you got beaten in two moves. And you think you're getting into the Dragon's Den? I'd say you're better suited for a hole in the ground."
With that, she turned and left without another glance.
Smack!
Hammond angrily struck a nearby street lamp with his cane.
He was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
He had only met the woman yesterday.
Aside from her name, he didn't even know where she came from, only that she had also come for the Dragon's Den.
"Thank you for your patronage. This is a three-hundred-year-old antique. Repair fees are 80,000 Pokédollars."
At that moment, a worker in uniform suddenly appeared beside him.
As he skillfully took out paper and pen to write something down, he also produced a card reader.
Hammond nearly spat blood.
Whether electric street lamps had even existed three hundred years ago in the Pokémon world was questionable, yet they were charging him 80,000 Pokédollars in antique repair fees?
This was obviously extortion.
However, after noticing the emblem on the man's clothing, he could only take out his card and pay.
There was no helping it.
The worker was from the Blackthorn Gym.
Someone he absolutely couldn't afford to offend.
This so-called "antique repair fee" was actually a fine established by Blackthorn City's authorities to prevent Trainers from recklessly damaging public property.
During every Dragon Ceremony, there were plenty of people like Hammond who lost control of their emotions.
"Thank you for your patronage. Please come again."
After collecting the payment, the staff member vanished like a ghost.
Leaving Hammond standing there awkwardly by himself.
Fortunately, nobody cared about him anymore.
Every Trainer's attention was focused solely on the Elite-level Blaziken and its Trainer.
The fact that this young man had appeared here at this time meant that securing one of the top ten spots in the Dragon Ceremony had become even more difficult.
Many spectators' eyes flickered as they memorized Silas' appearance before quietly leaving.
These people were information brokers.
With their abilities, Silas' identity and strength would likely be uncovered very soon.
At least, part of it.
Silas didn't care.
"Let's go. To the Blackthorn Gym."
He turned to Brock.
"Huh? Don't we need to go through the registration process?"
Brock raised the city guidebook in his hand.
Silas waved his Pokégear in response.
"Clair sent me a message. She was nearby just now, too. We can go straight there."
As for how Clair had gotten his contact information.
It was probably from Lance.
If the message source hadn't been clearly identified, Silas might have thought it was a scam.
After recalling Blaziken to its Poké Ball, the two headed toward a luxurious building in the distance.
A gigantic castle-like mansion appearing in this tranquil mountain city was impossible to miss.
As a city famous for Dragon-type Pokémon, money was never an issue for the Blackthorn Gym.
If tradition didn't forbid it, rumors said that Gym Leader Clair wanted to expand the Gym to twice its current size.
At the entrance stood two honest-looking Dragonite statues, one on each side.
Before they could even knock, the iron gate slowly opened on its own.
"Excuse us." ×2
After politely calling out, the two of them walked straight into the Blackthorn Gym.
The Trainer standing behind the gate gave a slight bow to show his respect.
This was one of the Blackthorn Gym's unique traditions.
Unlike ordinary appointment-based Gyms, anyone wishing to challenge the Blackthorn Gym first had to get past him.
Because of this, the Blackthorn Gym was widely recognized as the most difficult Gym challenge in the Johto region. Second place belonged to the Mahogany Gym, followed by the Ecruteak Gym and the Goldenrod Gym.
"You two must be the Trainers that little Clair and little Lance were talking about."
An elderly voice suddenly rang out.
Both Silas and Brock were startled.
"Relax, youngsters. Why are you jumping around like that?"
An old woman wearing traditional samurai armor stood with her hands behind her back, looking completely unconcerned. On her head was an ornament modeled after the Sky High Pokémon, Rayquaza.
However, combined with her height of only about 1.5 meters, the sight was somewhat strange.
Smack!
A stick that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere struck Silas on the calf.
He instinctively jumped into the air.
"Don't think such rude thoughts!" the old woman said with a trace of dissatisfaction.
"I'm terribly sorry."
Silas quickly apologized. He really had been in the wrong.
At the same time, he was secretly shocked.
He had only let the thought pass through his mind for an instant, yet she had read his thoughts, and he hadn't even had time to react to the strike.
Just which senior member of the Dragon Clan was this?
As he wondered, a lively female voice came from above.
"Grandma, don't scare my guests."
"Roooaar!"
Along with the voice came a vigorous dragon's cry.
Looking up, they saw a rather chubby-looking Dragonite flapping its tiny wings while hovering in the air.
On its back, a young woman's blue hair fluttered in the wind, making her look exceptionally heroic.
It was none other than the current Gym Leader of the Blackthorn Gym, Clair.
Probably due to Lance's influence, she was also a cape enthusiast.
Her black cape with a dark crimson lining looked almost identical to Lance's.
Dragonite slowly descended, and Clair lightly flipped off its back and landed on the ground.
"Hello, Silas and Brock.
This is my grandmother, the current Dragon Elder of the Dragon Clan, guardian of the Dragon's Den, and leader of the dragon tamers."
As she spoke, the old woman proudly straightened her back.
Clair then turned toward the two of them and stuck out her tongue.
"Sorry about that. Grandma's personality is just like this."
"A youthful mindset is a good thing," Silas hurriedly replied.
"My body is still youthful too, you know!" the Dragon Elder retorted.
"Yes, yes, of course. But Grandma, has the Dragonite at the sacred grounds eaten yet? It's already noon. You should hurry over there, or you won't have enough time."
Half coaxing and half pushing, Clair guided the Dragon Elder toward another area.
That left only one Dragonite and the two of them staring at each other.
The chubby Dragonite cheerfully raised one little claw in greeting.
"Hello there."
Silas unconsciously patted its belly.
It was soft and bouncy.
Dragonite didn't mind at all. Instead, it puffed out its stomach proudly.
Among all the pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Dragonite was famous for its gentle personality.
Suddenly, Silas wanted to raise a Dragonite even more.
After all, who could possibly resist a big, yellow, chubby Dragonite?
...
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