After learning from Piplup about the origin of the scale, Silas had already formed some guesses in his mind.
"Has the research already moved to Clear Cliff…?"
He lowered his gaze slightly as he thought.
Mt. Mortar was impossible, it was heavily controlled by the Pokémon League, with frequent traffic and far too many people. There was no way to hide anything here.
Following the trail back, only Clear Cliff matched the requirements of a Team Rocket research base.
From both geography and population density, Clear Cliff was an excellent place to conceal activity. The variety and number of wild Pokémon nearby were also abundant.
More importantly, the southern region of Clear Cliff directly connected to the future home of the Red Gyarados, the Lake of Rage. Everything matched perfectly.
No wonder Lance found nothing after searching around the Lake of Rage and eventually had to move west to continue his investigation in the Cliff Cave region.
Even someone as strong as Lance would avoid searching Clear Cliff unless absolutely necessary, the effort required was simply too great.
The real question was: where exactly in Clear Cliff was Team Rocket hiding?
The area was neither too large nor too small, more than enough to conceal a laboratory.
And it was highly likely that the facility was buried deep within cliffs or underground.
With such terrain, finding it would be extremely difficult.
Moreover, with Team Rocket's capabilities, any large-scale investigation would likely alert them immediately and allow for a quick evacuation.
After all, although it originated in Kanto, Giovanni's publicly established Rocket Corporation had first gone public in Johto before expanding back into Kanto.
Its influence in Johto was by no means weak.
This was Giovanni's creation, after all.
Silas would never underestimate the boss of Team Rocket widely regarded as one of the most dangerous villains in the Pokémon world. In fact, he only ever overestimated him.
"Forget it. I'll just leave this headache to Lance later."
Rubbing his temples, Silas decided to hand the matter off to Lance.
Lance had already been investigating Team Rocket recently anyway. Following the clues back to Clear Cliff would make sense.
While Silas felt confident he could handle even an Executive-level Team Rocket member or escape if necessary, as long as Giovanni himself didn't appear, unnecessary trouble was best avoided.
By his rough estimate, he had already disrupted several major Team Rocket operations.
If this continued, Giovanni himself might eventually take an interest in him.
"Is something wrong?" Brock asked, noticing Silas's silence.
Ever since obtaining the scale, his behavior had been unusual.
Silas didn't hide it. "During the Vermilion City Gyarados incident, I also found a very similar scale."
Half truth, half concealment.
He simply didn't feel like explaining why he had been able to identify a Red Gyarados scale from a fishing trip.
The result was what mattered anyway, it was all Team Rocket's doing.
Brock's expression immediately turned serious.
As the successor of Pewter Gym, he was well aware of the internal details of the Vermilion City incident.
"So there really is a secret Team Rocket lab here?" he immediately concluded.
Then he shook his head. "No it should be further north."
His reasoning matched Silas's exactly.
"Anyway, this is beyond what we can handle. Once we get out, I'll contact Lance directly."
Silas said as he put the red scale away.
Brock nodded. "If necessary, we'll say the information came from me. I'll report it to the League."
It wasn't about credit.
Compared to Silas, Brock was far less worried about retaliation from Team Rocket.
Unless they attacked Pewter City directly, he would be relatively safe staying there.
His father and grandfather were not to be taken lightly.
Silas, however, was constantly traveling. That made things different.
Brock continued silently worrying about his friend.
Silas, of course, understood what he meant. "Don't worry. I'll talk to Lance. It'll be handled discreetly."
As for the possibility of Brock secretly tipping off Team Rocket, that was obviously just a joke.
Brock didn't say anything further.
"Pip!"
With the discussion over, Piplup finished packing its belongings and returned to the resting area, carrying its bag proudly.
It wanted to see just what smelled so good.
"You want a drink?" Gallade asked, communicating through telepathy as it noticed Piplup staring at the coffee.
"Pi… pip!"
Piplup jumped in shock.
It had never encountered a Psychic-type Pokémon before.
Then it realized the voice came from the powerful Pokémon in front of it.
It opened its mouth in surprise.
"Want a sip?" Gallade asked again.
"Pip! Pip-pip!"
Piplup nodded excitedly.
Gallade's eyes flashed blue-purple. A stream of dark-brown liquid floated out from the cup.
Piplup instinctively opened its mouth.
The liquid flowed in precisely under Gallade's control.
The next moment.
"Pip—!!"
Piplup's face turned pale instantly.
It was bitter. Extremely bitter.
Even the worst wild berries it had ever eaten those rough, green, horrible-tasting one were better than this.
"Ha!"
Blaziken laughed heartily from the side.
A fan of spicy food, it had completely rejected coffee after tasting it once.
In fact, it had been eagerly waiting for Piplup's reaction ever since it suggested trying it.
Gallade tilted its head. "Is it not to your taste?"
It could sense the strong rejection deep within Piplup's emotions.
Piplup shook its head violently. This stuff was simply undrinkable.
Why on earth would you like something like this? Piplup looked at Gallade with even more suspicion.
Gallade calmly took another sip of coffee. No, it was fine quite good, in fact. It would be even better without sugar.
With a single sip, it felt its mind becoming unusually alert.
For Psychic-type Pokémon, it was a rather pleasant sensation.
Silas and Brock exchanged glances.
"It can only be because your brewing skills are too good," Silas said with a smile.
Brock sighed helplessly and took out another cup of coffee from somewhere. "Then try this one instead. You should like this better."
Seeing the familiar brown liquid again, Piplup instinctively took a step back.
Silas, meanwhile, took out a Water-type–specialized Nanab Berry from his bag.
"If coffee doesn't work, try this. This should definitely suit your taste."
Piplup hesitated for a moment, then carefully accepted the blue-yellow Nanab Berry.
It took a small bite.
A dry texture and a surge of Water energy instantly filled its senses and Piplup immediately fell in love with it.
Its verdict: even better than the Aspear Berries it used to eat.
Compared to Nanab Berry, Aspear Berry was lower grade and far worse in taste, even if more expensive.
"Seriously, just try this cup. You'll definitely like it."
Brock still wasn't willing to give up, holding the coffee toward Piplup.
As a Pokémon Breeder, this was a matter of pride.
Piplup stiffened while holding the Nanab Berry and subconsciously looked toward Silas for help.
Silas quickly stepped in and pulled Brock aside with a laugh. "Alright, alright. Most Pokémon don't really drink coffee anyway."
Most Pokémon didn't enjoy human food; they preferred Berries or nutritional energy food because it helped them grow stronger.
However, under Silas's influence, his own partners had gradually developed a liking for human food, an uncommon situation.
Brock froze in place in frustration.
The group of two Trainers and three Pokémon rested by the waterfall for a while before continuing their journey through the underground cave.
Compared to before, Piplup was now perched on Silas's left shoulder, carrying a small bag and holding a cup of coffee.
"Pip~"
It took a sip of coffee and let out a satisfied breath.
The reason was simple: Brock's first brew had been so strong that it was purely bitter with no astringency at all.
But the second cup prepared later had a mild sourness with very little bitterness, which suited Water-types much better.
With Silas's encouragement earlier, Piplup had cautiously tried it and surprisingly found it acceptable.
Blaziken, leading the way, looked completely confused.
It could not understand why Piplup's reaction kept changing so dramatically.
It was like Piplup watching it eat spicy Tamato Berries like watching a warrior.
Water-types and Fire-types really were fundamentally different.
However, once it evolved into Empoleon, Piplup's taste would gradually shift toward spicy flavors.
That was because its Steel typing would eventually make spice one of the few things strong enough to stimulate it.
But compared to Fire-types, the spiciness would still only be mild.
After Blaziken took over from Ampharos as the light source, the frequency of wild Pokémon attacks in Mt. Mortar's underground significantly decreased.
After more than an hour of travel, they only encountered two groups of wild Pokémon.
One of them was caused by Piplup accidentally using Water Gun and hitting a sleeping Graveler hanging from stalactites, enraging the entire Rock-type group.
"Pip-pip…"
Feeling guilty, Piplup stayed obediently on Silas's shoulder without moving.
It hadn't expected so many strong wild Pokémon living underground in groups.
"It's fine. Small issue," Silas reassured it.
After all, that incident had been caused partly by his curiosity in testing Piplup's Water-type control.
Who would have expected a Graveler sleeping upside down like that?
"Someone's ahead."
Blaziken suddenly stopped, issuing a warning through Aura.
The group immediately became alert.
In a place like this, one never knew whether they would encounter ordinary Trainers or criminals hiding in the shadows.
"Step… step… step…"
Footsteps approached cautiously.
However, upon seeing Silas's group, the newcomer clearly jumped in surprise.
After noticing Blaziken and the Piplup on Silas's shoulder, his pupils narrowed slightly.
Two starter Pokémon already said a lot.
He forced a stiff smile. "H-hello there."
"Hello."
Silas and Brock replied politely.
But beneath the friendly exchange, both sides remained wary.
"I'm Reki, from New Bark City in Johto."
"Silas, from Viridian City, Kanto."
"Brock, from Pewter City, Kanto."
After a brief exchange of identities, the atmosphere eased slightly.
Reki explained that he was returning from deeper inside the cave.
"Why not go straight through?" Silas frowned.
Reki shook his head. "Something's been off lately. The wild Pokémon here have become much more aggressive. My partner was injured, so I decided to retreat and recover first."
As an underground explorer, Reki survived by being extremely cautious.
If there was even a slight risk, he would not proceed.
Although his income was lower than others, it was far safer.
Silas and Brock both respected his cautious approach.
"Be careful yourselves," Reki advised before leaving. "If you can't handle it, run immediately. The Pokémon here usually don't chase too far."
After he left, Silas and Brock exchanged a look.
"Team Rocket?"
"Not necessarily, they'd be more careful about hiding."
"We still need to go deeper and investigate the aggressive Pokémon."
"Yeah, but without proper detection tools, we'll have to proceed step by step."
With that, their figures disappeared into the darkness, led by Blaziken.
The sounds of Pokémon cries, clashes of attacks, and collapsing rock echoed continuously throughout the underground cave.
...
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