Three days later.
Silas set out on another journey.
But this time, both his Pokémon lineup and the roster of his travel companions had grown by one.
As for the Pokémon, it was naturally Tyranitar. With backing from the Elite Four and Professor Oak, none of the higher-ups who resented Silas taking ownership of Tyranitar could stir up any trouble; they had no choice but to accept what was, for them, an unpalatable fact. As for the travel companion, this time it was a girl named Giselle.
Giselle was Takashi's granddaughter, and also Silas's childhood friend—the two had known each other since they were little. So when Takashi suggested Silas take Giselle out to see the world, Silas didn't hesitate to agree. After all, it was thanks to Takashi that he'd been able to catch Tyranitar in the first place; how could he say no?
Suzie, for her part, had even less objection to Giselle joining. Since Silas wasn't much of a talker, most of the time their team was fairly quiet. If someone could brighten the mood along the way, wasn't that a good thing?
"Silas." Not long after setting out, Giselle piped up, unable to hold back her curiosity. "Where are we headed next? Is it Vermilion City? If so, can we stay there for a bit? In a few days, there's this luxury cruise called the S.S. Anne setting sail. My grandpa gave me tickets—maybe we could ride it together?"
"The S.S. Anne?" Suzie exclaimed in surprise, turning to Giselle. "You mean Kanto's most luxurious ship, making her maiden voyage next week?"
"That's the one." Giselle nodded. Over the past couple days, she'd seen Suzie massaging Silas's Pikachu and realized Suzie must be his Breeder, so she didn't dare act spoiled. Flashing Suzie a sweet smile, she continued, "I don't really know how luxurious it is, but it's definitely the S.S. Anne. Sister Suzie, can you help me persuade Silas? We'd have such a good time!"
"Um…"
"We can."
Suzie hadn't even had a chance to refuse before Silas answered for her.
He knew full well the S.S. Anne was a trap, doomed to sink to the bottom of the sea. But with Giselle eager, and Suzie clearly tempted, he had no reason at all to refuse. Most important of all, he had complete confidence in himself and his Pokémon: no matter the situation, he could keep the two girls safe.
"Awesome!"
Getting the answer she wanted, Giselle cheered, then turned excitedly to Suzie: "Sister Suzie, when we get to Vermilion City, will you dress shop with me?"
"Sure," Suzie nodded, and in no time, the two were chattering away.
While the girls conversed, Silas narrowed his eyes at Pikachu, mulling over his plans for the development of his current trio of Pokémon.
First was Pikachu—right now the weakest on his team, but also the fastest to improve. In just a month, Pikachu had gone from ordinary to elite. At this rate, by the time Indigo Plateau rolled around, Pikachu would definitely reach Elite Four level.
Second was Tyranitar, without question the strongest. He'd reached the very peak of Champion power, and his mastery of the earth element was second to none. If Silas wanted Tyranitar to power up even further, there were only two options: either give him a huge amount of top-grade Rock Crystals—which wasn't realistic—
So Silas was considering the other path: awakening a second element for Tyranitar, the Dark element.
While it's true that no Pokémon in history has awakened a second element, that's simply because even unlocking a first elemental power requires both luck and opportunity. For those rare few who do, researching their new power is already a full-time job—so who could ever focus on a second? Without his crystals as leverage, Silas would never even dream of attempting it.
The real headache, though, was Charizard.
Normally, Charizard is Fire- and Flying-type. But his Charizard was Fire, Flying, and Dragon. Under ordinary circumstances, Silas would focus only on Fire-type advancement. Now, though, Charizard had consumed a top-grade Fire Crystal and fallen into a deep sleep. Silas was convinced that, upon waking, Charizard would break through to the absolute summit of Champion power. Which meant, it was time to plan his next element wisely.
Over the past few days, Silas had used League records to gain a general understanding of both Flying and Dragon elementals.
The flying element, sometimes known as the speed element, would make Charizard the fastest flyer below even the Legendary Pokémon. The dragon element, by contrast, massively amplifies move power—and if Charizard mastered it, he'd be able to stand toe-to-toe with legendaries themselves.
Because both options were so powerful, Silas simply couldn't decide.
"Silas." As he hesitated, Giselle's voice called him back. She came up beside him, tugging his sleeve and pointing ahead: "Look at that!"
Silas followed her finger and nearly spat blood. What he saw was a building, with a huge sign next to it marked "97 Consecutive Wins." It wasn't the win count that got him—if he remembered right, this record belonged to a guy named A.J. in the original anime.
The real reason he felt like coughing blood was simple: with that sign still standing, it meant Ash hadn't shown up yet. Which meant his own plans would have to wait.
Deep in the forest.
While Silas was brooding, Giselle suggested beside him, "Silas, why don't we go check it out?"
Her suggestion snapped him out of his thoughts. Seeing Giselle so eager, he couldn't help but smile in exasperation—she was always keen on excitement. If he caved to her on every whim, his peaceful journey would soon be anything but. Without even thinking, he refused: "No."
Giselle frowned, "Don't you want to see what kind of Pokémon he's using?"
"Nope," Silas shook his head. If he didn't know what A.J. used, maybe he'd be curious—but he already knew. Whether it was just a Sandshrew or even a Sandslash, nothing here could withstand a single blow from any of his Pokémon. With nothing challenging about the battle, why bother?
"You…" Giselle puffed up, big eyes rolling as she planted her hands on her hips. "Even if you're not interested, you should think about me and Sister Suzie—how about letting us satisfy our curiosity?"
"Suzie?" Silas grinned, "Come on, this is clearly just your idea. Why not ask Suzie and see what she thinks?"
"Hmph!" Giselle replied. "Fine, let's ask!"
She immediately turned and gazed pleadingly at Suzie: "Sister Suzie, you're kind of curious too, aren't you?"
"I am." Suzie gave an encouraging smile, then turned to Silas. "I'd like to go take a look. Can you show us?"
"Sure." For Suzie's sake, Silas agreed without hesitation.
After all, Silas owed Suzie far too much. From the very start, she'd supported his every choice without complaint, never once asking for anything in return. As long as her requests didn't violate his bottom line, he would never refuse her.
"Yay!" With Silas's agreement, Giselle cheered and dashed ahead.
"Sorry," Suzie said apologetically as she walked with Silas. "Sorry to waste your time like this."
"It's fine." Silas shook his head and replied with a gentle smile, "But don't say sorry to me anymore. Since you're my Breeder, I'm your shield, and helping each other out is only natural—so no more apologies, got it?"
That gentle smile and that commanding tone made Suzie break into a rare playful grin: "Yes, yes, my future Champion!"
"Hey now." As they chatted, Giselle waved from up ahead. "Hurry up, you two!"
Her urging made Silas and Suzie exchange a smile. Suzie answered warmly, "Okay, okay, we're coming."
...
"Is anyone here? We're challengers!" Silas called out as he led both girls into the building.
A boy of twelve or thirteen, leading a Sandshrew, appeared. He shot Silas a proud look, "Challengers? Looks like I'm not far from my goal of a hundred consecutive wins!"
A hundred?
Suzie and Giselle gaped—after all, they knew how terrifying Silas was. In the whole world, maybe only the League's ancient Champions could hope to defeat him. Yet here was this kid talking big as could be, and the girls were left speechless.
"Heh."
Silas just smiled, entirely unbothered, and simply asked, "Rules?"
"Competition rules are one-on-one. My Pokémon's Sandshrew!"
"Pikachu~" The moment Tyranitar appeared on stage, the previously resting Pikachu immediately perked up and geared for battle. But before Pikachu could charge out, Silas's command stopped him cold: "Tyranitar!"
Ka-chunk!
A flash of white—and Tyranitar stood there, all seven meters tall, filling half the ring. He glanced at the Sandshrew, then turned to Silas, his deep rumble carrying a hint of surprise, "This is my opponent?"
"Is it a problem?" Silas narrowed his eyes slightly.
"No." Tyranitar shook his head. "I just didn't expect you to have this…hobby."
You've got to be kidding me!
That line made Silas's face darken, while Giselle and Suzie both giggled quietly.
They read his subtext all too well: Silas looked like he enjoyed bullying the weak. Their laughter made Silas's face grow even darker. The truth was, he only had electric and fire crystals at the moment—not a single rock crystal. Using conversions for more crystals would be a huge waste, so Tyranitar was the only practical choice!
"A-A talking Tyranitar?!"
A.J. and his Sandshrew, by contrast, were both pale with shock the moment Tyranitar materialized—obviously scared stiff.
"S-sandshrew…" A.J. stammered. "D-don't be afraid, that Tyranitar's just big—he's all talk! You can win, I know you can!"
"Sandshrew…" Sandshrew squeaked in reply, but its feet stayed glued in place. Even so, Silas had to give credit—Sandshrew was instinctively timid, and all Pokémon could sense the power disparity here, yet it still didn't flee. That was proof: A.J. was actually quite the Trainer.
But praise or not, the battle had to begin.
As soon as things started, Silas took the initiative: "Earthquake!"