The mill that had been built some time ago was not only capable of grinding flour, it could also be used to turn beets into sugar.
Silas selected a batch of beet roots, peeled them, and cut them into chunks. He added water and threw them into the mill's built in blender, crushing them into a thick paste.
"Morpeko, Cyclizar, come help."
"Cyc!"
"Morpe!"
A large Pokémon and a small one quickly ran over from behind him. Both stared curiously at the beet paste.
Morpeko boldly dipped one of its claws into the mixture and licked it from its paw. It was sweet.
"Morpeko, go start the fire. Cyclizar, you help me squeeze out the beet juice."
Under Silas's instructions, the two Pokémon immediately got to work.
For the sake of food, Morpeko worked hard to start the fire. As it blew and fanned the flames, its once clean little face quickly became covered with soot, turning pitch black.
Meanwhile, Silas and Cyclizar wrapped the beet pulp inside a piece of gauze cloth.
Human and Pokémon worked together, pressing down hard. Purple red beet juice slowly flowed through the tiny gaps in the gauze and dripped into a ceramic basin below.
Before long, the basin was filled. The air itself began to carry the light sweet scent of beets.
"Squeeze it a few more times."
Silas wiped the sweat from his forehead. Switching to another ceramic basin, they continued pressing the pulp again and again.
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar nodded and pressed harder with its claws. As the final bit of beet juice was squeezed out, only dry, shriveled beet pulp remained inside the cloth.
Silas casually dumped the pulp into a nearby feed bucket. It was excellent livestock feed, perfect for the chickens.
When he and Cyclizar carried the basins of beet juice toward the stove to begin boiling it down, they saw a small gray black mouse lift its head.
It revealed clean white front teeth and bright sparkling eyes.
Morpeko. Its face looked like it had been dusted with charcoal.
Silas could not help laughing out loud. Morpeko scratched its head in confusion, completely unaware of what was funny.
While Silas was not paying attention, it secretly dipped a claw into the beet juice and quickly stuffed it into its mouth.
The sweetness was even stronger this way.
Silas instructed Cyclizar to pour the beet juice into the iron pot used for boiling sugar. Meanwhile, he wiped Morpeko's face clean, revealing its original light brown fur underneath. Morpeko hummed comfortably as he did so.
"Next time do not get so close. Be careful not to burn yourself."
"Morpe~"
Morpeko laughed sheepishly and said it understood. Then it jumped onto the stove platform and stared eagerly at the pot.
Silas adjusted the fire so the liquid would heat slowly. As the temperature rose, bubbles began to form throughout the beet juice.
"Lower the fire a bit. It needs to simmer slowly."
"Cyc~"
They stirred the pot continuously while boiling it so the mixture would not stick to the bottom. Gradually the water evaporated and the beet juice thickened into a sticky paste.
"Morpeko?" (Is it ready? Silas, can I taste it now?)
Morpeko could barely hold itself back. The sweetness in the air was tempting the greedy little creature.
Silas reached out, grabbed the back of Morpeko's neck, and lifted it up.
"Do not rush. You have to wait until it cools down. It is still very hot."
The dark red sugar paste was poured into prepared molds. Silas asked Cyclizar to watch over it while it cooled, and he left for a while before coming back later.
After leaving the mill and returning to the ranch house, Silas saw Jigglypuff sitting obediently on the sofa studying something. It raised its head and handed him the Xtransceiver.
"Jiggly~" (There was a call for you, Silas. It was a pretty big sister I have never seen before.)
"Really?"
Silas took the transceiver and gently rubbed Jigglypuff's head before calling back.
The call connected quickly. The screen split in half, showing Cynthia on one side and the slightly slow looking Garchomp behind her.
"Long time no see, Cynthia."
"Yes, it has been a while."
After exchanging a few casual greetings, Silas asked about the reason for the call.
Cynthia pressed down Garchomp's head and her expression became serious.
"I plan to initiate the Sinnoh Champion Challenge in mid August. I called today to invite you and Diantha to attend as guests."
Silas froze while holding the transceiver. His eyes widened in surprise.
"So soon?"
There was no need to doubt Cynthia's strength. Among people of their generation she was definitely among the very best.
Calling her the absolute strongest might be an exaggeration, but being in the top three was absolutely accurate.
"Jiggly?"
Jigglypuff tilted its head in Silas's arms, blinking its watery eyes. It clearly did not understand what the phrase Champion Challenge meant.
"A Champion is like a music superstar," Silas explained in terms Jigglypuff could understand.
The little Pokémon thought about it for a moment. Its reaction was even stronger than Silas's.
"Jigglypuff?!" (Does that mean there are tons and tons of fans? That is amazing!)
Silas placed Jigglypuff down and finally recovered from his surprise.
After all, each region only had one Champion. The person who held that position was the strongest trainer in the region, possessing overwhelming battle power.
The Champion Challenge was not simply about challenging the Champion directly. Before that, the challenger had to defeat the four Elite Four members in sequence.
Only after accomplishing that could they earn the right to battle the Champion.
The difficulty of such a challenge was obvious.
Within a short period of time, without replenishment, six Pokémon had to defeat thirty opponents of equal strength or only slightly weaker.
Since Cynthia was planning to launch the challenge, she must have great confidence in winning.
Silas quickly agreed.
"Alright. I will definitely come and cheer for you in person."
Before ending the call, Silas asked about another matter.
If he remembered correctly, Cynthia was also a mythology researcher.
"You mean the Steel Titan, Registeel?"
Cynthia fell into thought.
"There are statues of them inside Snowpoint Temple. As for how to awaken it, I will ask my grandmother later."
"Alright."
Cynthia's grandmother was Professor Carolina, a historian and mythology researcher who knew many ancient secrets.
After ending the call, Silas thought for a moment before dialing Steven.
"What? You found the sleeping Steel Titan?!"
Steven's reaction was far more intense. Cynthia's calm response probably meant she had already seen something similar before.
Silas dug at his ear and rolled his eyes.
"It was discovered in your Hoenn region. Based on my discussion with Cynthia, we believe that Regice and Regirock might also be sleeping somewhere in Hoenn."
As everyone knew, the three Regi Titans never appeared alone.
For someone like Steven, who was obsessed with stones, the legendary giants were only slightly less attractive than Diancie.
While still on the call, Steven immediately began making several phone calls.
He ordered the research teams of the Devon Corporation to send out exploration groups throughout Hoenn to search for information related to the three Titans.
"That is it for now. If you find anything, remember to share it with me."
Just as Silas was about to hang up, Steven stopped him.
"Wait. I have not asked you yet. When are Diancie and the others going to hold their concert? I have already finished preparing everything on my side."
"It will still take a while before the concert. Diancie and the others do not even have a new song yet. Just wait a little longer and do not rush."
With help from Steven and Cynthia, Silas believed it would not take long before he could awaken Registeel and eventually capture it.
At the same time, a sense of urgency grew inside him.
Everyone around him was moving forward more and more quickly.
Siebold was preparing to challenge the Elite Four. Cynthia was launching her Champion Challenge.
Compared to them, he had already fallen behind quite a bit. It seemed he needed to work harder as well.
Later he planned to visit Dragonite Island and bring the giant Dragonite back to the ranch.
When Silas returned to the mill, the syrup in the molds had completely cooled and hardened.
The beet flavored brown sugar had successfully been made.
He broke off a small piece for Morpeko, then began checking the detailed information displayed on his system panel.
(End of Chapter)