The two walked along the road, their conversation flowing naturally.
After all, Silas had accomplished quite a lot over the past year. Although Kiyo had mostly stayed inside the Fighting Dojo, he had kept close track of the latest news.
"Seriously in the blink of an eye, your strength is almost catching up to mine. You geniuses are really discouraging," he sighed helplessly.
But truthfully, which Elite-level Trainer wasn't a genius?
The only difference was that in every era, there were always monsters who surpassed even geniuses.
That was unavoidable.
Silas smiled but said nothing.
Whether he was truly a genius was debatable.
He had simply been lucky to have a "cheat," and lucky to meet so many good partners.
Compared to those legendary transmigrators who, within a year or two, were already battling Legendary Pokémon and stepping on Lance. His achievements could practically be called mediocre.
Kiyo wisely changed the topic.
He had no intention of depressing himself further.
"This Karrablast of yours looks incredibly energetic."
Silas nodded.
"This kid was rescued from a Team Plasma laboratory in Unova. Its body is a bit different because of that."
"Those disgusting scum doing illegal experiments on Pokémon again," Kiyo said angrily, clenching his fist. "I've taken down who knows how many of them. They don't deserve to exist in this world."
Silas believed him.
In fact, he was fairly certain Kiyo didn't always use Pokémon to deal with them.
"So what's special about it?" Kiyo asked.
Silas briefly explained Karrablast's condition.
Kiyo's eyes widened.
"I think I should stop talking to you."
His voice was filled with envy.
In all his years, he had never encountered such a unique Pokémon. Of course, that was actually a good thing. It meant dark organizations hadn't made major moves.
But from another angle, poor Kiyo had never even seen a Shiny Pokémon in his life.
Which was normal.
Yet compared to his junior Silas he was starting to feel mentally crushed.
Silas added lightly, "I also caught an Alolan Vulpix and a Kirlia."
Crack.
Kiyo could practically hear his own heart shattering.
The two continued chatting and laughing as they traveled through the dangerous wilderness. Only powerful Trainers had the confidence to behave so casually in the wild.
Most Trainers kept their heads down in forested areas, wild Pokémon rarely adhered to "honorable one-on-one battles."
Soon, they exited the forest and arrived before a wilderness dojo. It looked even more dilapidated than Silas had imagined.
If not for the relatively clean signboard, he would have thought it abandoned.
"Is Kenzo's dojo really this miserable?" Silas asked while looking at the sign.
Compared to Chuck the Gym Leader of Cianwood City, this so-called "archrival" looked underwhelming.
Kiyo shrugged.
"Times have changed. Back then, various Fighting-type techniques weren't public knowledge. That's how they could compete with us.
"But now? Everyone knows those techniques. Physical conditioning methods are what matter and even if you publish those, they're useless. Every Pokémon is different."
Silas nodded.
In other words, they had been left behind by the times. Once techniques became widespread, exclusive secrets lost most of their advantage.
Unless those techniques were customized like training regimens, decline was inevitable.
And if they were truly powerful, they would at least hold official Gym status. But this place was nothing more than a roadside dojo.
Knock, knock.
Kiyo stepped forward and pounded heavily on the door.
"Black Belt Kiyo is here to pay a visit!"
Silas scratched his nose.
Using titles like that did sound kind of cool.
Maybe he was losing it.
The door opened quickly.
Silas noticed a brief flurry of panic inside.
Clearly, they hadn't expected Kiyo to show up so directly. Perhaps proper etiquette required sending a formal notice first.
Kiyo grabbed Silas by the arm.
"Come on. Let them see what a real genius looks like."
"Oh. Right."
Silas followed automatically.
So much for reaching Ecruteak City tonight.
Ignoring the apprentices, Kiyo strode straight into the dojo's backyard courtyard.
"Old Master Kenzo! I heard you've made some new breakthrough recently. Care to give this junior some guidance?"
Silas suddenly felt like they were here to challenge the dojo. An elderly man with long white mustaches and gray robes snorted.
"Kiyo, you are as rude as ever."
As head of Dojo, the man who had taken the name Kenzo himself looked displeased.
In his view, Chuck should have come personally.
"Let's skip the pleasantries, old master. Same rules as always."
The "old rules" referred to how martial schools had determined superiority for centuries.
In the past, it meant human combat.
Now, it meant Pokémon battles.
Silas felt a bad premonition.
It had proven correct many times before.
Sure enough, Kiyo pointed at him.
"I know you wouldn't deign to battle someone of my generation. So I brought my junior grand-uncle. Same seniority as you. No bullying the young, right?"
He deliberately emphasized "wouldn't deign."
Silas' smile froze.
While Kenzo examined him, Kiyo sidled over. Which was pointless given his massive build.
"Relax. The old man doesn't even have a single Elite-level Pokémon. Just a few high-level Machamp that are strong for their tier.
"With your Blaziken, you'll crush him easily."
Silas rolled his eyes.
Fine.
If it's a battle, it's a battle.
He would win anyway.
He vaguely remembered the storyline involving this dojo. They really did resemble dojo challengers, just earlier than expected.
Kenzo had clearly recognized Silas but did not believe he could lose.
His information was outdated.
"Blaziken, Blaze Kick."
Silas lazily gave the command from his end of the battlefield.
Compared to this morning's confrontation with Charizard, this felt like child's play.
The only interesting part was that Kenzo's Machamp was still wearing a Machoke-style power belt.
Though honestly wasn't that belt meant for physical training?
Silas found it amusing.
In his opinion, for Fighting-type Pokémon—especially Machamp, focusing on technique before reaching physical limits was misguided.
Machamp was one of the strongest physical powerhouses among Pokémon.
It wasn't that technique was useless, But raw strength alone could overwhelm most same-tier opponents.
Take Bruno's Machamp, for example.
The techniques it developed later were enhancements, not necessities. By contrast, lighter Pokémon like Blaziken relied more heavily on technique.
Machamp crossed its four arms defensively, struggling to block Blaze Kick.
"Machamp, release the restraints!" Kenzo shouted.
Machamp roared, took another Blaze Kick head-on, and tore off the weighted belt.
Silas yawned.
"Blaziken, Fire Punch."
Boom.
Machamp's vision went black for a split second, then came searing pain.
Its instincts weren't wrong.
Blaziken's flaming fists had slammed directly into both of its eyes.
At that moment, Machamp looked exactly like a muscular panda with smoke rising from its face.
"Stick close. Finish it with Brick Break."
At Silas' final command, Blaziken lowered its stance and slipped into Machamp's guard.
The spectators barely saw what happened.
Machamp was sent flying backward, crashing into the dojo's wall. Its eyes spun in circles.
There was no need for further explanation.
Whether by being unable to battle or by being knocked out of bounds, Old Master Kenzo had lost.
An awkward silence followed.
The surrounding apprentices looked at one another.
Kiyo cleared his throat loudly.
"If you ever get the chance, come visit the Cianwood Gym in Cianwood City! We warmly welcome Trainers who love Fighting-type Pokémon!"
Recruitment after a dojo challenge, A classic finishing move.
Kenzo, unsurprisingly, did not look pleased.
His entire body trembled.
He raised a hand as if to speak, but no words came out. Silas couldn't quite bear watching the old man like that.
He tugged on Kiyo's training uniform, signaling that it was enough.
Kiyo stopped.
Besides, none of the apprentices seemed particularly outstanding.
Just as they were about to leave. A youthful voice rang out from one of the dojo rooms.
"Just wait! Once I train my Tyrogue's Hitmontop form to its absolute limit, you won't stand a chance!"
Silas and Kiyo turned.
A girl of about ten stood there.
Most likely Kenzo's granddaughter.
Silas tilted his head.
"Then do your best~"
He swore he wasn't mocking her.
If he remembered correctly, her name was Chigusa. A "little genius" who had somehow managed to train Hitmontop into something closer to Hitmonlee instead.
If not for Ash's protagonist aura in the original storyline, she might have lost the dojo's reputation entirely.
"Oh, by the way," Silas added casually, "the evolution method for Hitmontop was strongly promoted by Brother Kiyo. So when you succeed, don't forget to have your grandfather send him a thank-you letter."
With that, ignoring the colorful expressions behind him, Silas walked away with Kiyo.
Compared to the "Kick Demon" Hitmonlee and the "Three-Minute True Man" Hitmonchan.
Hitmontop, with balanced Attack and Defense, was better suited for a technical style. Its unparalleled balance allowed it to launch attacks from inverted angles.
If trained properly, Hitmontop was indeed very strong.
That was Kiyo's professional opinion.
As a Fighting-type specialist who owned every Tyrogue evolution line, he had considerable authority on the matter.
At a fork in the road, Silas stood still, recalling Kiyo's departing words.
"Even though Kenzo's dojo has declined, they still have some followers. Be careful they might cause you trouble.
"Don't worry. They won't be very strong. Think of it as training."
Silas narrowed his eyes.
He felt like he had been set up.
If Kiyo's destination was Mt. Mortar, he could have easily traveled with Silas through Ecruteak City and then headed there.
Instead, he had deliberately detoured earlier.
Though Kiyo claimed he had prepared everything in advance. Silas didn't believe it for a second.
"Was that some kind of strength test from senior brother?" Silas muttered.
It wasn't hard to guess.
This had Chuck written all over it.
Apparently, his senior brother's estimation of his strength had been slightly off.
Far away, sprinting at full speed to widen the distance. Kiyo made a phone call.
"Master… I think we might've overprepared."
On the other end, Chuck rubbed his temples.
He had difficulty believing the level of strength Kiyo described.
So, Blaziken was already close to breaking through to Elite–level strength?
Chuck knew that Silas' Pidgeot had progressed even faster than Blaziken.
That was unbelievably quick.
He let out a helpless laugh.
Had he known this, he wouldn't have embarrassed himself asking a few Trainer acquaintances to apply pressure on Silas.
After all, For a Pokémon stuck at a bottleneck, evenly matched battles were the best catalyst.
Sometimes, a single intense clash could trigger a breakthrough.
He hadn't expected Blaziken to improve this quickly.
"Forget it. I'll call them and explain the situation."
Chuck quickly made his decision, laughing despite himself.
Breaking into Elite level sooner was a good thing.
The faster Silas advanced, the prouder he could be.
Compared to that a little teasing from friends meant nothing.
..
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