"Very good, Greninja," Silas praised, while also not forgetting to pat the Cyclizar beneath him. "You did great too, dodging many of Mega Pyroar's attacks."
"Cyc!"
The faint jealousy that had just surfaced instantly disappeared under Silas's praise. Cyclizar grinned widely, letting out a silly laugh as it happily bounced around in place while walking, clearly overjoyed.
Silas shifted his gaze forward, focusing on the battlefield ahead.
After an intense exchange of blows, both Pokémon had their moments of advantage.
However, overall, Mega Greninja still held the upper hand.
Relying on its type advantage, Mega Greninja suppressed Mega Pyroar, and it still maintained a mid-level health condition.
In contrast, Mega Pyroar was nearly out of stamina. The battle with Mega Greninja had drained it tremendously.
Mega Pyroar shook its dizzy head, bracing itself on its forelegs to barely steady its body. Its eyes regained clarity, though they were filled with deep exhaustion.
"Roar…"
A tired growl squeezed out from its throat as the light of Mega Evolution faded from its body, returning it to its normal Pyroar form.
The female Pyroar, who had been anxiously waiting nearby, immediately rushed forward and supported it with her body, gently pressing her head against it while letting out soft, comforting whimpers.
"Let me check."
Silas quickly stepped forward, pried open Pyroar's mouth, and stuffed a Revival Herb inside.
Revival Herb was one of the main ingredients used to make Max Potions. Its taste was extremely bitter, and most Pokémon found it difficult to swallow.
But there was no time to worry about that now. Silas stuffed four or five pieces in succession before Pyroar finally frowned and regained consciousness.
It cast Silas a sideways glance, as if saying, "Couldn't you use something else? MooMoo Milk would work too."
"The MooMoo Milk was already drunk by your kids, and this helps you recover faster."
Pyroar silently accepted this explanation and gently licked the female Pyroar with its large tongue, the two pressing their heads together.
"Alright, you two," Silas spoke, drawing their attention. "What exactly happened? Pyroar, how did you suddenly Mega Evolve on your own?"
This was the root of the issue. Both Pyroar and Manectric had gone berserk because of it.
If it could not be resolved, more Pokémon might lose control in the future.
"Roar, roar!"
Pyroar shook its head and growled. Even it could not explain the reason.
Soon, Silas gave up.
"Forget it. I'll leave it to Professor Sycamore to study. I won't waste brain cells on it."
Silas decisively gave up. Let professionals handle professional matters.
After recovering some strength, Pyroar stood up and let out a soft growl.
"Hm?" Silas raised an eyebrow. "You're saying you didn't completely lose control because of the hot pot you ate earlier today, and it left you with a trace of rationality?"
Pyroar nodded. Otherwise, with the destructive power of a berserk overlord-level Mega Pokémon, it would not have merely burned half a grassland.
Silas recalled the panel information about the extra spicy hot pot base he had seen earlier, something he had not paid attention to before but now seemed like the most likely cause.
Hot Pot Base, Extra Spicy Version (B-): One of the essential ingredients for making Century Soup, Spicy.
It was very likely because of this, the spicy Century Soup.
Salty flavors granted Pokémon exclusive enhancements, sweet flavors calmed shadow Pokémon, so it was not impossible that spicy flavors were connected to Mega Evolution.
It seemed he needed to pay more attention to this area and produce the spicy Century Soup as soon as possible.
"Roar!"
While Silas and Pyroar were talking, the female Pyroar led a group of Linoone over.
They timidly hid behind her, clearly frightened by their leader's earlier outburst.
"Don't be afraid. Pyroar has already recovered."
Silas softened his voice and gently patted Pyroar's foreleg.
Understanding, Pyroar lazily lay down and let out a low call toward the Linoone.
Seeing their leader back to normal, the Linoone surrounded it, chattering endlessly, expressing their concern.
"Roar…"
With a single command, the Linoone scattered.
A few minutes later, they returned with berries and placed them in front of Pyroar, who began devouring them hungrily to fill its stomach.
Silas casually picked up a Pecha Berry and handed it to the little Phione, whose stomach had been growling.
He observed Pyroar for a while and saw no abnormalities. Just to be safe, he decided to have Nurse Joy check it later.
For now, Silas scanned his surroundings.
"Greninja, Cyclizar, where did that green dog Pokémon go?"
"Nin!" "Cyc!" (No idea!)
They shook their heads. It seemed that after the fight started, they had not seen it again.
"So it ran away after all."
Silas felt a bit regretful. Zygarde clearly knew something; otherwise, it would not have appeared so quickly.
Finding Zygarde could be both easy and difficult.
Easy because it existed everywhere in Kalos, even more numerous than stray Pikachu.
Difficult because most of the time, Zygarde was invisible. Even if found, one would still need to distinguish between its cells and its core.
The cells were merely tools, while the core was the true entity, and only the core could communicate.
As long as he stayed in the Kalos region, he would encounter Zygarde again sooner or later. It would not be too late to ask then.
After confirming that Pyroar would not go berserk again, Silas recalled Greninja and returned to report.
After handing over the mission and waiting a while, Silas came back again, this time with several Nurse Joys.
They conducted a full-body examination on the male Pyroar right there on the spot.
When Silas received the report, his expression turned strange, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, it condensed into a single sentence.
"Everything else is fine, but for the next three months, don't sleep together your mate."
"Roar!"
In the end, Silas was chased away by Pyroar, who had become embarrassed and angry.
With the sudden issue of Pyroar's berserk state resolved, the remaining matters would be handled by specialists sent by the League.
What should have been calm and controlled had instead turned into a rushed affair.
After saying goodbye to Gym Leader Ramos, Silas yawned as he headed back.
As soon as he returned to the ranch, he was immediately hugged by Kangaskhan, who acted spoiled and expressed her concern.
"It's okay," Silas said, gently patting her shoulder armor. "With Cyclizar and Greninja around, who could hurt me?"
The two Pokémon puffed out their chests proudly. Of course.
"Cyclizar, Greninja, you protected big brother, so here, you can have my drumstick!"
Serena popped her head out and handed over the drumstick she could not finish to the two Pokémon.
"Serena…" Silas signaled Kangaskhan to put him down and then pinched the little bun on Serena's head. "You have to finish your own food."
"Morpeko!" (I can eat it too, I don't mind more!)
Morpeko, who had long been eyeing the two drumsticks greedily, jumped out and interrupted, asking for them.
"Really?"
"Thump! Thump!"
Two quick knocks landed, and both the girl and the little mouse covered their heads in grievance.
After having dinner together with the Pokémon, Silas recounted the entire incident of the night, easing their worries.
"Kangaskhan, Morpeko, you guys go out and play. I'm going to catch up on sleep."
"Kang…"
Kangaskhan agreed and led the group of Pokémon toward the berry orchard.
Silas took a quick wash, changed into his pajamas, then pulled Rowlet out from the wardrobe and hugged it like a pillow. Before long, both of them drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
(End of Chapter)