Stadium Two.
Two immense and overwhelming auras shot into the sky.
Dragonite and Metagross unleashed their power like bottomless abysses, their energies surging crazily upward and out, stretching to the heavens and sweeping over every corner of the stadium. Right in the center of this gathering storm, Silas and Conrad both looked a little pale; Conrad was even retching uncontrollably, still dry-heaving long after his stomach was empty, unable to stop.
This was hardly surprising. Silas's Trainer rank was only at Champion Tier, while Conrad was just at Elite Four. There was a long, long way to go before either of them could reach the threshold of a Legendary Trainer. In the presence of a battle bordering on demi-god tier, their bodies simply could not cope.
Silas's discomfort should have been even worse, but after so much time living side by side with his Legendary-level Pokémon, he'd gotten at least somewhat used to this level of pressure—so at least he wasn't throwing up.
"You feeling any better?" Instead of taking advantage while Conrad was doubled over, Silas waited until he stopped gagging before calmly asking.
"Way better," Conrad managed, nodding. "Thanks for not—"
"Dragonite!" As soon as Conrad replied, Silas didn't bother with small talk but issued a crisp order: "Dragon Rage."
'Dragonite~'
Dragonite immediately opened his mouth and roared out a golden Dragon Rage.
Normally, Dragon Rage is fueled by a Dragon Pokémon's anger—the greater the rage, the deadlier the blast.
But Dragonite's Dragon Rage was different. It didn't carry any emotional fury at all, just pure, boundless dragon element—a force among the most dominant in all creation. Unleashing Dragon Rage this way made it terrifyingly powerful.
"Metagross." As the overwhelming Dragon Rage roared his way, Conrad, still weak, called out: "Agility!"
'Metagross!'
Metagross acted instantly, leaving behind a blurry afterimage as it teleported to another spot in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
At nearly the same instant, Dragon Rage crashed into the spot Metagross had just left. The explosion rocked the entire stadium.
"Metagross!" Conrad ignored the quake, shouting his next command: "Flash Cannon!"
'Metagross!'
The metallic X emblazoned on Metagross's body glowed instantly with blue light…
In a heartbeat, the huge X looked like it was turning into a magnet, drawing in blue-and-white light from all around. The gathered light formed a shimmering sphere, and then—a piercing blue beam tore from the sphere, firing straight for Dragonite.
The energy surged forward, crackling with unstoppable Steel-type force, making Dragonite's eyes narrow in concentration.
"Send it back," Silas ordered in an unhurried tone. "Hyper Beam!"
Boom!
Dragonite's mouth flared with brilliant purple, a Hyper Beam colliding against the incoming Flash Cannon. Purple and blue beams met midair with a heavy blast, kicking up a storm of dust and instantly shrouding both Pokémon.
So fast!
Watching the cloud burst before him, Conrad couldn't hide his surprise.
From Silas's command until now, barely three seconds. In just three seconds, Dragonite pulled off a Hyper Beam on par with Flash Cannon—utterly unbelievable.
"Giga Impact."
As Conrad stared in awe, Silas's voice drifted through the haze.
'Dragonite~'
A golden flare split the dust, dazzling enough to force people to avert their eyes—almost taboo to behold directly. It shot upward like a pillar, as if to pierce the very sky!
At the sight of the soaring golden light, Conrad panicked. He shouted at Metagross, "Metagross, high jump!"
'Metagross!'
Metagross immediately tried to rise into the air, desperate to evade.
But it was too late. The golden strike shot forward at an insane speed, too quick to believe. Within the golden light, Dragonite's outline flickered, wrapped in pure power as he barrelled into Metagross.
The moment Dragonite struck Metagross, a massive explosion erupted.
The booming echo swept clear across Indigo Plateau.
The blast was so intense, even the shops outside the stadium were shaken up, their windows rattling in the shockwave.
By the time the smoke cleared, Metagross had crashed somewhere onto the stadium floor. Still conscious, but struggling even to float—leaving Conrad to leap from his platform, barely caring about his own safety as he ran to his Pokémon's side, worry etched all over his face: "Are you okay? How bad is it?"
"Metagross is going to be fine."
But the answer came not from Metagross, but from Silas.
Riding Dragonite, Silas landed in front of Conrad and Metagross, and—clearly puzzled—asked Metagross directly: "Why? You could have dodged Dragonite's Giga Impact with a bunch of different moves, but instead you followed Conrad's command to flee upwards? Didn't you already know how that would turn out?"
"It's called 'obeying orders.'" Metagross's reply earned Silas's true respect. With a weak but steady gaze at Conrad, Metagross explained, "That kid may not be my Trainer just yet, but he's interesting. Maybe his future won't be as bright as yours, but I guarantee he'll go further than Steven ever will. I want to fight at his side, to become his Pokémon. And if I'm going to be his Pokémon, then following orders comes with the territory, right?"
"Metagross!"
Hearing that, Conrad's eyes instantly filled with tears.
...
6:00 PM.
Indigo Grand Hotel.
With the finals scheduled for tomorrow, Professor Oak had gathered everyone together for a party celebrating Silas's advancement to the championship match.
When Silas arrived with Suzie, the private room was already buzzing—Professor Oak, Gary, Ash and his crew, Oak Yukinari, and most of the Elite Four were there. Pretty much everyone with a connection to Silas had turned up.
"Hey!" As soon as the duo stepped into the room, a rakish voice chimed out—Lance, smiling mischievously: "There you are! Cutting it close, huh? You two kept us waiting—don't tell me you were out on a date?"
A date!!!
That one word made Professor Oak and Agatha's eyes light up as they immediately stared Silas and Suzie up and down. Sure, they knew Silas's age made it impossible for him to give them any great-grandkids just yet, but seeing a possible future granddaughter-in-law was always good news.
Gary shot Silas an envious look—he might've had a bunch of "girlfriends," but none of them came close to Suzie; even his best ones couldn't compare. The rest of the Elite Four and Shingen Oak exchanged playful glances too—after all, Silas was Kanto's next Champion, and choosing his future wife was big news.
Flushed red by all the attention, Suzie dropped her gaze.
"Heh…" Silas tugged at his lips, then, utterly deadpan, shot back at Lance: "Whether we were or not is none of your business, old man. You're pushing thirty and still can't get a girlfriend—all you do is mess around. You got time to pester me, maybe spend it figuring out how not to be single your whole life."
"Oh, come on!" Lance sputtered, caught off guard. "Mess around? Me?! Who says? It's not that I can't find a wife—it's that I don't want one! If I wanted to settle down, women would line up from Indigo Plateau all the way to Mt. Silver!"
"Impressive." Silas deadpanned, prompting Lance to smirk triumphantly—but the smile faded just as fast as Silas added, "But you're still single, aren't you?"
"You—" Lance stared at Silas in disbelief, as if he'd just swallowed a mouthful of bugs. Desperate, he turned to Shingen Oak, who was watching the banter with a smile: "Shingen, aren't you going to rein in your son?"
"Nope." Shingen shook his head without missing a beat. "This is between you two; don't drag me in."
"He's your kid!" Lance protested, raising his voice.
"Yup." Shingen Oak nodded, then grinned slyly. "And since he's my son, of course I can't help an outsider bully my own boy. Maybe I should team up with Silas and pick on you."
"You…" Lance was totally dumbstruck. These two were both incorrigible!
"Alright, enough." Professor Oak finally stepped in, still smiling. "Knock it off, everyone—it's time to eat."
"Sure." Silas nodded cheerfully, ignoring Lance's glare, and led Suzie to sit between Professor Oak and Agatha.
Once everyone was seated, Professor Oak raised his glass. "Come on, let's have a toast! To the great results achieved by Pallet Town's bright new generation—to Kanto, as it turns a new page!"
With a chorus of laughter and cheers, everyone picked up their glasses.
"Cheers!"
"Drink up!"
"To Silas!"
They downed their drinks in one go and dove into lively conversation and feasting.
"Silas," Shingen Oak said with a half-joking sigh. "Could you go a little easier on the stadiums during your matches?"
"Why?" Silas looked up, confused, fork halfway to his mouth. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No," Shingen Oak chuckled wryly, "but with you leveling a stadium every match, the maintenance work alone is a nightmare. Now, people are starting to accuse us of shoddy construction, and the complaint letters have pushed our support staff to the brink. Especially today—the protest crowd filled the whole reception hall."
"…" Silas hadn't thought of that. "I'll be careful," he said, a bit embarrassed.
"Good." Shingen Oak nodded with relief, then added, "But don't let it bother you too much. Give it your all in the match—losing because you held back would be the real problem."
"You seriously think that's likely?" Silas smiled faintly.
"…Fair point," Shingen Oak grinned after a moment.
While father and son chatted, Agatha and Professor Oak were deep in conversation with Suzie.
"Suzie, dear," Agatha said, trying her hardest to sound gentle, "we really appreciate everything you've done."
"It wasn't any trouble." Suzie shook her head quickly, smiling. "Silas is a lot more mature than most kids his age, so we looked out for each other. It was honestly more fun than hard."
"Oh?" Agatha asked, eyes twinkling. "Is my Silas really that great?"
"Mhm." Suzie nodded, ticking off Silas's strengths. "He might be a little reserved, but he's thoughtful and really looks after people. He's mature, good with others, and obviously really strong as a Trainer. Traveling with him was a blast."
"I see…" Agatha shared a look and a secret smile with Professor Oak, then leaned back toward Suzie. "Well then, we'll be counting on you to keep an eye on Silas in the future. If he does anything that upsets you or gives you trouble, tell us—we'll sort him right out for you!"
"Deal."
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