Once they confirmed Gary had completely disappeared deeper into the cave system, Silas and Rex immediately dropped the fake hostility.
Both burst into laughter before shaking hands firmly. It had been a long time since Silas last saw him.
Without warning, Silas punched Rex lightly in the arm.
"That's for disappearing right after getting your starter from Bruno."
Rex rubbed his arm dramatically.
"Ow. Nice to see you too. You got a tiny bit stronger I see."
The tension from the battle dissolved quickly after that. For the first time since arriving in Mount Moon, Silas genuinely relaxed. There weren't many people in this world he trusted completely.
Rex was one of them.
"So," Silas asked curiously, "how'd you end up in Team Rocket?"
Rex leaned casually against the cave wall while recalling Nidorino for a short rest.
"After leaving Pallet Town, I spent a while grinding battles on the routes near Viridian City," Rex explained. "Honestly, those were good times. Every day was just training, battling, and trying to survive."
His expression shifted slightly afterward.
"Then I reached Viridian."
Silas nodded knowingly.
Viridian City was where many rookie trainers experienced reality for the first time.
Pokémon food, medicine, training materials, pokeballs, and lodging were extremely expensive. Being a trainer consumed money endlessly like a black hole.
"The prices hit me hard," Rex admitted. "I figured joining the gym would solve things, so I kept training on the nearby routes and challenged every trainer I could."
A faint grin appeared.
"Eventually Nidoran evolved into Nidorino. Not long after that, Team Rocket noticed me."
Silas listened quietly. The explanation felt… incomplete. There were obvious holes.
Team Rocket didn't casually recruit random trainers simply because they evolved a Pokémon. Something else likely happened along the way. Still, Silas didn't pry.
Everyone carried secrets, himself included.
"What about you?" Rex asked.
Silas gave a heavily watered-down explanation of his own journey, carefully omitting Phoenix Forest, Ho-oh, Hermes, and anything involving his system directly.
Even with the omissions, Rex still looked stunned by portions of the story.
"Wait," Rex suddenly interrupted, "you're in Team Rocket too?"
Silas nodded. Rex grinned immediately.
"This is perfect then. You should join Executive Petrel's faction."
"Were you listening to the part where I got recruited directly by Admin Archer?"
Rex stared for a second and then laughed.
"Petrel works under Archer. Do you understand now?"
Silas smiled in understanding.
"The answer is still no."
Rex raised an eyebrow.
Silas's eyes sharpened slightly.
"I'm more interested in building my own faction eventually."
The words came naturally.
Ever since his battle in Viridian City, Silas felt like something inside him had shifted permanently. Accepting the reality that he sometimes needed to kill for survival changed the way he viewed the world.
New possibilities opened inside his mind including new ambitions. The stronger he became, the clearer one truth appeared:
Resources and power dictate everything and the best way to secure resources consistently was influence.
The best way to secure influence was building power around yourself.
A personal faction. A network of capable people loyal to the same cause.
Of course, the barrier to entry was terrifyingly high. Weak groups inevitably got absorbed or destroyed by stronger ones.
Silas understood that perfectly.
That simply meant he needed to become strong enough first.
Rex studied him quietly for a moment before nodding.
He didn't argue further.
Despite their different ambitions, Rex trusted Silas completely and vice versa.
That was enough.
"Come on," Rex said finally. "We can excavate while we talk."
Silas technically won the high-grade Moon Stone through the battle royale.
In the end, however, he handed it to Rex.
Rex stared at him in surprise.
"You sure?"
Silas shrugged.
"I don't have a Pokémon that needs it right now."
That wasn't entirely false.
Moon Stones remained extremely valuable, but Silas currently lacked Pokémon capable of using one effectively. Meanwhile, Nidorino practically radiated attraction toward the stone's energy.
The poison-type looked almost hypnotized staring at it.
Together, Silas and Rex continued exploring nearby tunnels while collecting additional Moon Stones embedded throughout the cave walls.
Most of the new discoveries were low-grade but still valuable.
Just not exceptional.
Silas secretly kept his nine mid-grade Moon Stones hidden inside his storage space while openly contributing to the collection of lower-quality stones alongside Rex.
In total, the pair gathered roughly twenty low-grade Moon Stones together.
Silas didn't feel guilty concealing the better materials.
The single high-grade Moon Stone he gave Rex was worth more than the remaining low-grade collection combined.
Along the way, they fought numerous Geodude and Zubat groups.
The battles became excellent training opportunities for Teddiursa and Zubat.
The baby bear Pokémon continued alternating Close Combat usage intelligently while Zubat repeatedly practiced Brave Bird despite the recoil damage.
Silas occasionally fed it Oran Berries afterward to help offset the self-inflicted injuries.
The constant combat accelerated growth quickly.
Eventually, Silas learned Rex wasn't technically assigned fully to the Mount Moon operation.
Rex was already an officer under Team Rocket and had separate responsibilities waiting in Pewter City. He only participated in this mission specifically to acquire a quality Moon Stone for Nidorino.
Thanks to Silas, he succeeded.
Before eventually splitting apart, the two exchanged contact information through their TR devices.
Then Rex prepared to leave toward the surface. Watching him go caused Silas to think briefly about Zane.
How strong had Zane become by now?
Would he already rival Rex?
Or perhaps surpass him?
The orphanage children scattered across the region now walked entirely different paths.
Still, despite everything, Rex and Zane remained among the only people Silas genuinely trusted.
Gary was different.
Silas respected him deeply as a rival trainer, but their bond hadn't reached true friendship yet.
After Rex departed, Silas resumed exploring Mount Moon alone.
Using Zubat's echolocation abilities combined with Hermes's mapping support, Silas navigated the twisting tunnels efficiently. Hermes constantly generated updated visual diagrams showing Mount Moon's internal structure in remarkable detail.
The system drastically reduced wasted movement.
As Silas ventured deeper, the atmosphere gradually changed.
The wild Pokémon became stronger. They were more territorial and aggressive.
Eventually, Silas returned briefly to the original cave fork and explored the second tunnel path he previously ignored.
The tunnel ended quickly. Inside rested a sleeping Onix.
The giant rock snake occupied nearly the entire cavern, its massive body coiled tightly through the cramped space. Every slow breath caused small tremors throughout the tunnel.
Silas immediately understood one thing. Fighting an Onix inside such a confined area would be suicidal.
A single large-scale attack could trigger a cave-in instantly.
Silas quietly motioned for everyone to retreat.
Onix stirred slightly several times during their withdrawal but thankfully remained asleep.
Once safely away, Silas finally explored the largest remaining tunnel.
This path felt different immediately. It was wider, older, and far more traveled.
This was the true route leading deeper into Mount Moon. The cave network expanded dramatically from there.
Mount Moon wasn't simply a mountain. It was practically an underground world.
Massive mountain ranges like Mount Moon and Mount Silver contained entire ecosystems within themselves. Vast tunnel systems connected underground rivers, hidden lakes, internal forests, and countless cave networks together into sprawling labyrinths.
There were entrances scattered all throughout the mountain range, creating connections between interior and exterior ecosystems constantly.
Wild Pokémon carved homes directly into the mountain itself.
Entire family domains.
The stronger Pokémon naturally claimed the safest and largest areas.
Silas understood this better than most after surviving Mount Silver.
Back there, he and Madam accidentally invaded the territory of a Druddigon family.
Now, history repeated itself.
While exploring a dug-out side tunnel branching from the main route, Silas unknowingly entered another Pokémon territory.
A Nidoran family den.
The tunnel eventually opened into a medium-sized cavern.
Several Nidorino and Nidorina immediately stood protectively in front of a cluster of young Nidoran gathered near the back wall.
Low growls echoed throughout the cave. Then the ground shook violently.
A massive Nidoking burst upward from beneath the earth itself.
The king of the den.
Silas immediately scanned it.
Nidoking — Level 36
Ability: Poison Point
Potential: C+
Moves: Rank C Horn Attack, Rank C Peck, Rank C Mega Horn, Rank C Drill Run, Rank C Focus Energy, Rank C Poison Sting, Rank C Double Kick, Rank C Head Smash, Rank C Poison Jab, Rank C Hone Claws, Rank D Sludge Wave, Rank D Earth Power
The Nidoking possessed decent strength.
Against Monferno and Electabuzz together, however, it wasn't enough.
The battle ended quickly.
Monferno and Electabuzz coordinated smoothly and overwhelmed Nidoking decisively without inflicting excessive injuries.
The moment Nidoking fell back, the remaining Nidorino and Nidorina charged forward furiously to defend their leader and children.
Then Nidoking roared.
Everything stopped instantly.
The large poison-type slowly rose back to its feet while glaring cautiously toward Silas and his Pokémon. Nidoking understood the situation clearly.
Continuing the fight would doom the entire den. Even victory would come at catastrophic cost.
Silas carefully used Monferno as an intermediary to communicate general intent.
He explained he only wanted temporary rest and had no intention of harming the family further.
In exchange, he offered compensation.
After several tense moments, Nidoking accepted. The atmosphere inside the den relaxed noticeably afterward.
Silas immediately took out high-quality Pokémon food and offered some to the family.
The food itself had been originally designed by Hermes for Zubat's nutritional needs, but the Nido family accepted it eagerly after Nidoking tested it first.
The younger Nidoran quickly became curious about Silas afterward.
Some of them had likely never seen a human before.
Silas sat near the younger Pokémon while feeding them poffins carefully beneath Nidoking's vigilant watch.
The entire scene felt strangely peaceful.
Eventually, Silas prepared to leave as promised.
Then two particular Nidoran approached him again.
One boy and one girl.
Both had spent the most time near him during the break.
Hermes quickly confirmed something interesting. Both possessed strong hidden abilities.
Hustle.
Meaning they would eventually gain Sheer Force upon evolution into Nidoking and Nidoqueen.
Silas's eyes sharpened immediately. Those abilities were exceptional. He couldn't let the opportunity pass.
Carefully, Silas took out two mid-grade Moon Stones and offered them toward Nidoking.
The large poison-type froze. Then its eyes filled with visible fervor. Those stones represented power.
Future protectors and evolved guardians for the family. Nidoking understood Silas's intentions immediately.
After several long moments, it accepted the exchange. Silas wasn't forcing anything.
He treated the family fairly and showed respect throughout the interaction. Nidoking clearly believed the two Nidoran would grow stronger under Silas's care than remaining hidden deep within Mount Moon forever.
The agreement settled naturally afterward.
Silas carefully captured both level five Nidoran without resistance.
Nidoran (M) — Level 5
Ability: Hustle
Potential: C+
Moves: Drill Run, Peck, Focus Energy, Poison Sting, Toxic Spikes, Headsmash
Nidoran (F) — Level 5
Ability: Hustle
Potential: C+
Moves: Drill Run, Scratch, Focus Energy, Poison Sting, Toxic Spikes, Poison Fang
Silas felt genuinely satisfied examining the scans. Both possessed excellent foundations.
Still, he had no intention of training them actively inside deeper Mount Moon yet. At level five, they were simply too young and weak for this environment.
For now, they would remain safely inside their Pokéballs while Silas continued exploring the mountain depths.