"Hey, Silas, wait at the Pokémon Center in Fuchsia City for a bit. Someone will be coming to meet you," Bruno said after finishing a call with one of his friends, then called Silas again to inform him.
"Uh, Senior Bruno, isn't this a bit too much?" Silas replied, still not quite understanding the full picture.
On the other end of the line, Bruno could tell his junior still hadn't fully adapted to his new position or status.
Nearby, Gary, who had been eavesdropping, curled his lips in disdain. He had heard the whole conversation—what was all this fuss about…
"Gurgle… Sensei, you…" Gary began to interject.
Without hesitation Bruno shoved Gary's head back into the bucket of ice water. Adults are talking—kids shouldn't be eavesdropping. Just focus on your training.
Hearing the sounds on the other end of the call, Silas realized that his senior was once again teaching Gary a "lesson."
He had been surprised when he first learned about this, especially the fact that he was technically Gary's martial uncle in terms of seniority. That title carried some real weight.
Bruno organized his thoughts and said, "Silas, you haven't really understood the bigger picture here.
First off, the actions of the Safari Zone staff violated the League's regulations. Even if you had directly captured that Trapinch at the time, it wouldn't have been a big deal.
In the Safari Zone, Pokémon have always been captured on a first-come, first-served basis, and staff members are not allowed to interfere.
If those guys had jumped out to stop you, like you were worried they would, then the compensation owed to you wouldn't have been so simple. It would've been a much more serious matter.
I can understand your thinking, but you need to realize that your identity is different now.
You've got Professor Oak, Professor Rowan, me, the Pewter Gym, and even the Joy family behind you. Unless you're the one violating League rules, there's basically no one in the entire League who can touch you.
Now let's talk about the compensation.
If you didn't want that Trapinch, then fine. Sure, it's rare and valuable due to its Dragon typing, but Flygon isn't exactly an irreplaceable powerhouse.
The issue is that what you got in exchange was far too little. At most, it matches the market value of that Trapinch. But what about your reputation? Our collective standing? Shouldn't the Safari Zone be held accountable?
They even sent a Warden to block you that's outright provocation."
As Bruno continued, Gary nodded approvingly. Then, grinning at his teacher, he dunked his own head back into the ice bucket.
No need to trouble you, sensei—I got this.
"Anyway, that's the gist of it. You took too little, but it's fine. I've got a friend nearby. I'll send him to negotiate for you. All you need to do is collect the goods."
With those final words, Bruno hung up.
Inside the Fuchsia City Pokémon Center, Silas rubbed his fingers together thoughtfully. He had to admit, Senior Bruno made some very solid points. He really could start using his status to his advantage.
Still, why did it sound like, in their eyes, these kinds of resources were just peanuts? This was already the biggest haul he had ever received.
He sat waiting, somewhat bored, for Bruno's friend to arrive.
After a while, a man with a slightly menacing look and sharp, triangular eyes entered the Pokémon Center. He wore a flight goggle on his forehead and scanned the area before walking straight toward Silas.
"Hello, Gym Leader Falkner," Silas said, recognizing the man and quickly standing up to greet him respectfully. From the way the man carried himself and his appearance, Silas could guess that this was Bruno's friend. He was surprised, but didn't let it show.
"Yo, you must be Silas. Nice to meet you I'm Falkner, Gym Leader of the Violet City Gym in Johto. I'm also a friend of your senior, Bruno.
I've been filled in on the situation. You young folks are too soft-hearted. Come on, let's go."
Falkner's tone matched his appearance—cocky and direct. He turned and led Silas out of the Pokémon Center.
Outside, a sleek silver avian Pokémon stood at the entrance like a knight clad in armor. Its wings had a red interior, and it bore sharp talons and beak.
It was none other than Skarmory, a Steel/Flying-type Pokémon.
Its flying speed could reach up to 300 kilometers per hour, and its feathers were sharp enough to be used as blades.
"You've got a flying-type, right?"Falkner asked Silas.
Silas nodded, "Yeah, but flying inside the city…"
"No worries. I've already talked to Koga. As for you… never mind. Skarmory, grab him!"
Before Silas could react, Falkner had already climbed onto Skarmory's back and strapped on his goggles.
Skarmory swooped down, grabbed Silas with its talons, and took off into the sky.
"Wha—!?"
The next moment, they landed in front of the Safari Zone entrance.
Skarmory descended swiftly, landing with pinpoint precision.
Falkner dismounted, turning to look at Silas, whose face was pale and legs were shaking. "What's wrong with you?"
"N-Nothing. Your Skarmory is just really strong… and really fast," Silas forced a smile.
Skarmory and Falkner nodded in agreement. That much was true.
"Alright! Let me help you get some payback." Falkner recalled Skarmory and dialed a number as they stood at the entrance.
Silas looked at him, starting to get the feeling that this guy might not be the most upstanding person…
"Yo, Baoba, it's Falkner. Open the gate."
Inside his office, Warden Baoba was enjoying a cup of tea and humming a tune when he suddenly got the call from Falkner, the Flying-type Gym Leader from Johto. A sense of dread washed over him.
There was also a Safari Zone in Johto, so what was he doing here?
But this was a Gym Leader, and a strong one at that—he couldn't afford to be disrespectful.
Baoba quickly made his way to the gate. When he saw the two people standing there, his heart sank.
Clearly, some higher-ups weren't happy with the previous compensation. This was going to cost him big time.
While his heart bled, he still greeted them with a big smile.
"Well, if it isn't Johto's Flying Master, Falkner! What brings you to my humble Safari Zone?
And Silas, my dear friend! It's been too long—hahaha! Welcome, welcome!"
Silas's eyes widened so this was the adult world. He gave a polite nod in return.
Falkner chuckled as he chatted with Baoba, and the three of them made their way into the Safari Zone's meeting room.
Over the next hour, even with the room's excellent soundproofing, some Safari Zone staff could faintly hear a few shouted protests from their Warden through the walls:
"No…!"
Then silence.
If they didn't know there was a Gym Leader inside, they might've thought Baoba had been murdered.
Another hour later, the three men emerged from the room, each with very different expressions.
Silas's eyes looked a little dazed, almost disbelieving.
Falkner wore a proud, unruly grin as he continued chatting with Baoba.
Baoba, on the other hand, was visibly turning pale. He forced a smile and a cheery tone as he kept up with Falkner's conversation.
Calling over a staff member, Director Baoba gave an instruction:
"Escort these two honorable guests out for me, please. I'm not feeling too well—old age, you know. I need to go rest."
"Of course, Baoba. Take care of your health," Falkner said with exaggerated concern.
Baoba's hand trembled slightly, but he managed to maintain his smiling facade as he bid farewell to Falkner and Silas. Then, he slowly walked back to his office.
Unlike before, this time all of the compensation had come out of his own pocket.
"Um, sirs..." The staff member looked a bit anxious.
"No worries. We'll see ourselves out. Just keep doing your job." Falkner waved it off casually, motioning for the staff not to worry. He then led Silas away from the Safari Zone.
At the main gate:
"Alright, I'll head off now. Still got exploring to do. You can collect the compensation later at Professor Oak's lab."
Falkner released his Skarmory, said his goodbyes to Silas, and took off.
"Thank you, Mr. Falkner!"
"No problem! Next time, try being more assertive!"
Falkner's voice echoed from above as his Skarmory disappeared into the sky.
Silas shrugged. It's not that I'm not assertive… I just don't have the imagination that comes with being filthy rich.
Truth be told, Falkner had completely overwhelmed Baoba during their nearly two-hour negotiation. What Silas had initially thought was already a generous offer had now been nearly doubled.
In addition to the original compensation package, Baoba had also thrown in:
One King's Rock
30 million Pokédollars
And a Leaf Stone of 95% purity
With that, Silas had finally gathered all the training materials he needed for both of the young Pokémon he was raising.
Silas was still in a daze.
He never imagined he could get this much.
A Pokémon like Trapinch, which evolves into a Dragon-type final form, isn't quite as expensive as pseudo-legendaries, but even in the black market, it sells for just over 10 million Pokédollars.
Part of the reason is rarity. Trapinch live deep in deserts and are incredibly hard to find due to both environment and behavior. Not to mention the dangers of searching for them.
They also have a notoriously low egg-laying rate enough to make breeders cry.
But the biggest factor is power. By the time a Trapinch evolves into Flygon, it's already bordering on Elite Four-tier strength.
As for quality, most Dragon-types are born at least with Elite-level potential. That's why they're always in such high demand.
Meaning: evolution into a powerful final form is practically guaranteed.
Only a few extremely unlucky individuals turn out to be underdeveloped, and from what Silas saw, that Trapinch was not one of them.
So, based on the base black market value of 10 million, Silas had initially aimed for compensation worth around 15 million.
He thought he was being ruthless.
Turns out, he was still too young.
The King's Rock wasn't even the highlight. Since its role in combination evolution hadn't been discovered yet, it was still mostly used to increase flinch chances, and wasn't considered all that valuable.
The cash? Also a minor point. Silas now viewed that 30 million as just a "nice bonus."
The real prize… was that 95-purity Leaf Stone.
In short: he came to the Safari Zone just hoping to explore and maybe catch something cool.
He ended up catching a powerful Pokémon, solved his financial crisis, and practically walked away as a rich man.
At least by everyday standards, he was now a bona fide wealthy Trainer.
Silas scratched his head. Am I just… way too lucky?
Back at the Pokémon Center, Silas handed over his newly caught Togepi to Nurse Joy for a quick checkup.
"Trainer Silas Alaric, your Togepi has finished its health check. It's a very healthy little one!"
Not long after, Nurse Joy returned with the cheerful Togepi in her arms.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy."
Silas took the Togepi and lifted it up high.
"Togepi~!"
"Congratulations! You're lucky to find such a rare little one at the Safari Zone."
Nurse Joy smiled warmly as she congratulated Silas.
"Wait… Nurse Joy, you already knew about that?"
"Of course! The Safari Zone's official site already posted a photo of you and Togepi together!"
She enthusiastically pulled up the website on her computer and showed Silas the page.
"Look—there are already over 3,000 comments. Thanks to you and your adorable Togepi, our Fuchsia Safari Zone is now more popular than the other two combined!"
Silas stared at the screen in deep thought.
Do you think I should be charging them image rights for this? Like… an advertising fee or something?
Without a word, he quietly sent a text to his senior brother.
Then, Silas began making appointments for his upcoming Gym Challenge.
.....
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu