"Pidgeot~"
Hearing a familiar voice, Pidgeot turned around and saw its Trainer standing inside the observation room.
Letting out a cry in response to its Trainer's instructions, Pidgeot, with its massive body, displayed an almost unreasonable level of agility as it swiftly turned and flew toward the corner of the room.
Silas watched Pidgeot's movements while quickly shutting off the machine in his hands.
Before stopping the wind pressure chamber's training, it was necessary to communicate with the Pokémon and prepare it. Otherwise, if the machine was suddenly turned off during intense resistance training, the Pokémon might lose balance and footing unexpectedly, leading to unnecessary injuries.
This was something Silas had been told the first time he came here.
Pushing open the small door beside him, he stepped into the now calm training ground.
"Good job, Pidgeot." He gently smoothed out Pidgeot's ruffled feathers.
"Pidgeot~" Pidgeot rubbed its head against Silas's body affectionately.
Patting Pidgeot's head, Silas said, "Alright, take a rest in your Poké Ball for now. Once Combusken finishes training, I'll take you all out for a meal."
Pidgeot nodded, and Silas took out a Luxury Ball, recalling it inside.
He then headed to the Gravity Chamber and the Material Chamber, where he recalled his other two Pokémon Combusken and Roggenrola into their respective Luxury Balls after they had completed their training. With that done, he made his way toward the cafeteria.
Arriving at Brock's personal kitchen, Silas saw that Brock had already finished preparing their meal and was waiting for him.
After releasing his three Pokémon, Silas placed their pre-planned meals into their respective bowls. He even prepared an extra portion for Brock's Geodude.
As for Onix, it was simply too large to fit inside the room. Brock had already set aside its food in its designated living area outside.
Yes, Brock usually didn't recall Onix into its Poké Ball. After all, with its massive length of over nine meters, no matter how spacious a Luxury Ball was, it would never be as comfortable as the outside world.
Silas could only sigh good thing the area behind the Gym was spacious. The benefits of being well-off really showed.
As they sat down to eat, Brock suddenly remembered a question he hadn't finished asking earlier that afternoon.
"So, when are you planning to leave?"
"I'll be heading out in ten days," Silas answered, his mouth full of synthetic beef, making his words slightly muffled.
After taking a sip of his drink, he continued, "By then,Roggenrola should have reached the Standard rank. According to what you said, it should be able to gain some battle experience."
Brock nodded. "That sounds about right. This year, most of the Gym Leader heirs participating in the Kanto region's competition are freshly 16 years old, and most of them only have two Pokémon each.
"The ones who competed in previous years were mostly their older siblings, but they've all aged out this year."
"There aren't many whose starter Pokémon have broken into the Advance rank either. Most competitors either have two Standard-rank Pokémon or One Standard-rank starter paired with a Begginer-level Pokémon."
"Then what's the point of making the semifinals and finals 3v3?" Silas quickly caught the oddity in the setup.
"That's because the competitors can also be backed by sponsored Trainers," Brock said, slightly exasperated. "And besides, it's not like every participant is exactly 16 years old."
"Of course, this is also kind of an unspoken rule. Generally, only the eight major Gyms in Kanto get to send Trainers like you."
"Usually, the substitutes they send are around 17 or 18 years old. They wouldn't pick someone right at the cusp of 20—that wouldn't make sense. But those participants generally have at least three Pokémon."
"So, has there ever been a case where the semifinals or finals had one side with only two Pokémon or even just one?" Silas asked, not giving up as he continued to question Brock while eating.
"Of course. When that happens, they just change the format to a 2v2," Brock replied casually.
"Huh?"
"What 'huh'? It's not like this is some super formal tournament. What's the big deal?" Brock shot Silas a glance.
"Then why can't you just say that I only have two Pokémon?" Silas immediately found another loophole to exploit.
Brock sighed, feeling exhausted by Silas's persistence. "How does your brain even work? Sure, it's not a strict competition, but before the tournament, all Trainers must submit their Pokémon count and levels. If someone finds inconsistencies, it's our Pewter Gym's reputation on the line."
Silas pouted. "Fine, if you put it that way, what choice do I have?"
Brock rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Silas could be exhausting at times.
"At the time of the tournament, you'll receive the profiles of your opponents the other 31 participants from the different Gyms. Take some time to study them over the next few days."
"Thirty-one? Only official Gym representatives?" Silas wiped his mouth, having almost finished eating. Sipping his drink, he asked curiously like an eager child.
"Yeah. The other Gyms don't qualify," Brock replied matter-of-factly.
Silas had no argument against that. After all, Pewter Gym had the strength and standing to make such statements.
Only the eight major Gyms in Kanto had the privilege of freely substituting their heirs with sponsored Trainers, whereas the other official Gyms could only do so if they truly had no one else available.
It was also evident from the fact that heirs from these other official Gyms, upon turning 16, were required to participate in this tournament while Brock, also 16, could simply delegate the responsibility to Silas.
As for whether Gyms had that many heirs, the answer was obvious. In this world, people had naturally strong constitutions, and there were no strict one-spouse policies. Though most people still preferred monogamy, Gym Leader heirs weren't always direct descendants; nieces, nephews, and even cousins could inherit the Gym. So, the number of heirs was usually quite high.
Pewter Gym was one of the few exceptions. Brock was the eldest sibling, with a ten-year age gap over his younger brothers and sisters. This made him the undisputed heir of the Gym.
"Your Pidgeot's energy level is likely much higher than others of the same age group, so you'll have a strong advantage there.
"As for Combusken, it won't fall behind in level and has better potential overall. As one of the starter Pokémon, it's naturally a strong battler.
"On top of that, for us heirs, our elders won't spend the resources to hire top-tier breeders to raise our Pokémon unless we reach at least the Advance or Pseudo-Elite level as Trainers. We have to raise them ourselves, which also helps build a stronger bond with our Pokémon.
"So, your training methods already give you an edge," Brock said as he efficiently cleaned up the table, continuing his analysis.
Silas sipped his drink and said bluntly, "No need for all this analysis. Just put it this way you're considered strong in this tournament, but you couldn't beat me, so they won't be able to either. That's all there is to it."
Brock's face darkened.
It was true. Over the past month, they had battled multiple times in private, but Brock had never won once.
His still-developing Geodude wasn't even worth mentioning. It was understandable that his Onix couldn't handle Pidgeot's aerial attacks and got kited to defeat. But even his Onix, when battling Combusken, couldn't secure a win.
Brock estimated that Silas's Combusken had near-Champion potential. After all, his own Onix had Elite-level talent, yet even with its level advantage, it could only fight Combusken to a standstill.
Although Combusken's Fighting-type gave it an advantage over Onix, having the type advantage alone wouldn't be enough if it lacked the talent and training.
It was precisely because Silas's strength was clearly superior and significantly so that Brock felt reassured letting him participate in his place after reviewing the profiles of the other competitors.
If he had thought Silas wasn't strong enough, his grandfather would never forgive him for bringing shame to their Gym.
...
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