The two stood in the hallway, carrying on an incredibly childish exchange.
Silas's broken-record responses were clearly getting under Reggie's skin.
Unfortunately for Reggie, there was nothing he could do about it.
Because what Silas kept saying was simply the truth.
After fighting him several times, Reggie had never managed to beat him once.
Not far away, a small figure peeked cautiously around the corner.
It was the first time he had ever seen his older brother acting like this.
"Oh?" Silas's eyes lit up as he noticed the child.
"Who's that?"
His voice was full of curiosity and interest.
Of course, Silas already knew exactly who the little boy was.
He had almost the exact same face as Reggie, with only his hairstyle being different.
It was none other than his younger brother Paul, the boy who would one day become famous for his brutally blunt attitude.
As for the brothers' philosophies regarding Pokémon training.
Silas didn't feel like judging them too much.
After all, judging from the anime, both brothers eventually learned from their mistakes and became genuinely admirable people.
They were completely positive supporting characters by the end.
Besides, Silas remembered that Paul hadn't always been obsessed with strength.
He was still just a child.
Like most children, he dreamed of becoming a powerful Trainer while also wanting Pokémon to be his friends.
The reason he later adopted the same harsh mindset Reggie currently possessed was largely because his older brother had been utterly crushed several times by Brandon.
Not only had Reggie lost confidence.
Paul had as well.
The difference was that they reached completely opposite conclusions.
Reggie realized the flaws in his previous beliefs.
Paul, on the other hand, concluded that his brother had simply been too weak.
Reggie ignored Silas's question.
Instead, he turned toward the little boy and scolded him.
"Didn't I tell you to stay in the room?
Why did you come out?
If you keep disobeying me, next time Mom and Dad ask me to bring you along, I'm refusing."
He sounded fierce.
But listening carefully, it was obvious that Reggie genuinely cared about his younger brother.
Silas smiled and stopped him.
"Come on, don't scare the kid."
Looking at the timid young Paul, Silas found him surprisingly amusing.
Unfortunately...
They were in public.
Otherwise, Silas would have loved to record this moment.
Showing it to the future Paul would certainly have been entertaining.
Then again, maybe not.
Because thanks to the anime he'd watched in his previous life, Silas actually liked Paul quite a bit.
Looking at things objectively. Paul's survival-of-the-fittest philosophy and military-style training methods weren't inherently wrong.
If emotions were removed from the equation.
Unfortunately Pokémon weren't machines.
Nor were they mere statistics.
If possible, Silas wanted to help steer Paul onto a better path.
Compared to Reggie...
Paul was still young enough that changing his outlook should be much easier.
"Come on out, Escavalier."
After thinking for a moment, Silas released the Pokémon with the coolest appearance.
Gallade was far too rare.
Alolan Vulpix was too adorable, Paul probably wouldn't appreciate that.
As for Prinplup it would probably spray the poor kid with Water Gun the moment it saw him.
After weighing the options, Escavalier was clearly the best choice.
Sure enough the instant Paul saw Escavalier, his eyes lit up with excitement.
He didn't know who this older brother defending him was.
But he was smart enough to judge from Reggie's reaction that Silas wasn't a bad person.
Most likely he was even Reggie's friend.
So Paul happily ran over and began admiring Escavalier.
"Big brother, what Pokémon is this?"
After staring at it for a while, he looked up and innocently asked his unfortunate older brother.
Completely ignoring the fact that Reggie's face had somehow become even darker than Brock's.
"Escavalier."
"It's a Pokémon from the Unova region."
"It evolves from Karrablast."
Despite his sour mood, Reggie patiently answered.
Then he looked toward Silas.
"It seems you haven't been slacking off lately."
Silas tilted his head.
Come to think of it he doesn't know some of my Pokémon reached Elite level?
Thinking about it carefully he really hadn't told him. Strictly speaking, they weren't actually friends.
They simply knew each other.
A smile gradually spread across Silas's face.
"What are you smiling about?"
Reggie frowned.
That smile it gave him a very unpleasant feeling.
"Nothing."
Silas smiled brightly.
"You just challenged me, right?"
"That's right."
Although he had no idea what Silas was planning, Reggie nodded.
It wasn't as though he lacked the strength to obtain a private room and continue competing for a Rising Dragon Ceremony token.
Even without a Elite-level Pokémon, he still possessed several Pokémon at the Pseudo-Elite level.
That was more than enough to clear the first stage and earn a token.
Reggie was a genuine prodigy himself.
The only unfortunate thing was that every time he fought Silas, the result had been miserable.
Had that not been the case, he would never have gone on to challenge Brandon in the future.
"I accept."
"But only a two-on-two battle."
Silas replied.
"Deal."
Reggie agreed immediately.
Silas smiled toward the little boy.
"Come on, Paul."
"I'll show you what a completely one-sided battle looks like."
In only a short time, Paul had already developed enormous trust in Silas.
To him this older brother named Silas truly understood Pokémon.
He really knew how Trainers should raise them.
Unlike his own brother.
Reggie's training methods looked exhausting and no fun at all.
Reggie silently clenched his fists.
He would definitely make Silas understand what it meant to improve dramatically after only a few days apart.
After all Reggie had only just arrived in Blackthorn City himself.
Not only had none of his friends updated him on Silas's recent growth. He also knew nothing about the events that had happened earlier that morning.
As far as he was concerned.
Even if Silas had gotten stronger, it couldn't have been by much.
The two had fought only recently inside the Goldenrod Department Store.
Back then Silas's ace Blaziken and his Drapion had been evenly matched.
Reggie subconsciously forgot one important detail.
Blaziken had practically emerged from that battle completely unscathed.
Well unless being assaulted by Drapion's horrible breath counted as psychological damage.
After training inside the Ice Path, Reggie was confident he would completely surprise Silas.
After all silas wasn't the only person blessed by good fortune.
They found an empty battlefield near where Brock's match was taking place.
Silas casually took out two Luxury Balls.
"Then I'll send out my Pokémon first."
Before Reggie could say anything, Silas tossed one of them.
"Soar across the heavens, Pidgeot!"
A magnificent cry echoed across the sky.
Instantly, Trainers from the surrounding battlefields turned toward the sound.
"That's a Pidgeot?"
Many people looked utterly confused.
Ever since being transformed by the Sacred Fire, Silas's Pidgeot had gradually begun resembling its future Mega Evolution.
However Mega Evolution had not yet been publicly revealed.
Even fewer people knew what Mega-Evolved Pokémon actually looked like.
So every Trainer present was filled with curiosity toward this unusual Pidgeot.
One thing was obvious, however.
This Pidgeot was anything but ordinary.
Faced with countless gazes from every direction, Silas remained perfectly calm.
He had always known this day would come.
As one of his primary aerial partners, Pidgeot would inevitably appear in battle frequently.
Rather than trying to hide it...
He preferred revealing it openly.
He had more than enough confidence to deal with whatever consequences followed.
Reggie suppressed his surprise and sneered.
"You're far too confident."
"I'll show you how wrong that decision is."
Normally...
The challenger was supposed to send out their Pokémon first.
By releasing Pidgeot before Reggie had chosen his own Pokémon, Silas had practically ignored him completely.
Although Pidgeot's appearance and the overwhelming aura it subtly radiated made Reggie feel uneasy.
His desire for revenge pushed those doubts aside.
"Show them what a world of ice truly looks like! Go—Froslass!"
He threw a Poké Ball.
A graceful, humanoid Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Its "body" resembled a kimono, especially the sash tied around its waist.
Its arm-like appendages hung beside its head like oversized ears, with pale blue markings near the wrists.
Each hand had three small fingers.
Its head resembled a sideways water droplet, topped with two ice crystals and several hollow openings.
Through those openings, patches of purple skin could be seen, while icy blue eyes with yellow sclera peered out from beneath its white mask-like face.
"...Holy..."
Silas stared in disbelief.
Most of the Trainers watching wore similarly shocked expressions.
Some even stumbled backward several steps.
They had, quite literally, seen a ghost.
After a moment of silence, Silas raised a thumbs-up toward Reggie.
"Respect."
He had suddenly realized one advantage of Reggie's personality.
The guy truly judged Pokémon only by their strength, not by their species.
This was a Froslass, after all.
Female Froslass were infamous in legends.
As Ice/Ghost-type Pokémon, they wandered through blizzards searching for unsuspecting humans and prey, freezing them solid before attacking.
According to folklore, they even displayed the frozen bodies of their victims as trophies.
Young men were said to be their favorite targets.
Silas, for one, had absolutely no intention of ever raising a Froslass.
"...Wait."
Looking more carefully, Silas suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"Your Froslass..."
Reggie looked rather proud.
"That's right."
"My Froslass is a Shiny Pokémon."
It was difficult to notice because a Shiny Froslass differed only in the color of the sash around its waist, changing from its normal red to a purplish crimson.
Unless someone looked very closely, they would never notice.
"You've had pretty good luck too."
Silas sighed in admiration.
"Enough talking."
"Make your move."
Reggie had no interest in chatting.
He urged Silas to begin the battle.
According to standard battling etiquette, the Trainer who sent out their Pokémon first was entitled to attack first.
Having already released Froslass, Reggie couldn't wait to make Silas experience defeat.
Ghost-type moves couldn't affect Normal-types, and vice versa. But Ice-type attacks were undeniably super effective against Flying-types.
Unfortunately...
There was something Reggie didn't know.
A smile appeared on Silas's face.
"In that case i won't hold back."
"Pidgeot Flare Blitz!"
"Piiiidgeot!"
Hovering majestically in the air, Pidgeot let out another magnificent cry.
Flames burst from its long crest, instantly engulfing its entire body.
The overwhelming aura unique to a Elite-level Pokémon caused every Trainer who had been watching for entertainment to turn deathly pale.
"What kind of joke is this?!"
Feeling Pidgeot's terrifying aura and seeing the move it had just used, Reggie's expression changed dramatically.
You've got to be kidding me!
He had never heard of a Pidgeot capable of learning Flare Blitz.
Wasn't that one of the Fire-type's signature high-powered attacks?
Why could a Normal/Flying-type Pidgeot learn a move that many actual Fire-type Pokémon couldn't?
More importantly how had this guy managed to raise a Elite-level Pokémon after only a year and a half of traveling?
The overwhelming shock left him frozen.
He didn't even issue an order to Froslass.
Whatever history existed between Trainer and Pokémon.
Froslass didn't react on her own.
She obediently remained where she was, calmly facing Pidgeot's blazing charge.
"Damn it."
Fortunately, Reggie wasn't an incompetent Trainer.
He immediately slapped himself across the face, forcing himself to regain his composure.
"Froslass, Powder Snow! Defensive barrier!"
The simple command rang out.
Facing the sea of flames rushing toward her, Froslass slowly spread both arms.
Countless snowflakes rapidly gathered into a powerful blizzard.
The swirling storm compressed into a massive sphere of ice and snow that completely enveloped her body.
"Excellent control."
"Powerful Ice-type energy."
"Fast reactions."
Silas instantly gave Froslass high praise.
As expected of a wild Shiny Pokémon that had grown to the Pseudo-Elite level.
Every aspect of her abilities represented the pinnacle of what her species could achieve.
Unfortunately it wouldn't matter.
Silas's expression remained calm.
Let me see. Just how powerful have you become, Pidgeot?
"Piiiidgeot!"
Linked by complete mutual understanding, Pidgeot naturally understood Silas's thoughts.
Since receiving the power of the Sacred Fire...
This was its first true battle.
Its eyes, flickering with faint flames, burned with overwhelming fighting spirit.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye the white blizzard disappeared completely beneath the crimson inferno.
Heat waves swept across the battlefield.
A bead of sweat rolled into Reggie's eye.
Whether it came from the heat.
Or from fear...
Even he wasn't sure.
Silas snapped his fingers.
"Sorry."
"It's over."
As his fingers snapped a violent gust of wind erupted.
The raging flames vanished as though they had never existed.
When the smoke cleared. Pidgeot calmly hovered in the air, slowly beating its wings.
Directly beneath it...
Froslass still maintained her defensive stance with both hands raised.
But she had already fainted.
"...One move..."
Reggie nearly ground his teeth to pieces.
I've worked just as hard.
So why...
Why is the gap between us only getting bigger?
Paul wisely chose not to rub salt into his brother's wounds.
Instead...
He simply stared at Silas and Pidgeot with shining eyes.
Yet even that silent admiration made Reggie feel even worse.
Without saying another word, he recalled Froslass.
"Let's end the battle here."
With that he turned and walked away without looking back.
Paul hurried after him.
"Big brother! Wait for me!"
Silas scratched his head awkwardly.
"...Oops."
"I might have gone a little overboard."
Then he looked up at Pidgeot and smiled.
"You've really become unbelievably strong."
Pidgeot proudly lifted its head.
Of course I have.
BOOM!
Not far away, another loud crash echoed across the battlefield.
An enormous Aggron was launched completely out of another battlefield.
Its body was covered in black scorch marks, along with lingering traces of psychic energy.
"Nicely done, Ninetales."
Brock narrowed his eyes as he praised the Pokémon before him.
"Niiiine~"
The elegant Ninetales smiled proudly as its nine tails swayed gracefully behind it.
It had been a long time since battle had felt this satisfying.
...
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