Bugsy was confused.
He had clearly discovered them first.
He clearly had connections. So why hadn't a Ralts come to him asking to be captured?
If not Ralts, then Abra would have been fine too.
Even though he specialized in Bug-type Pokémon, it wasn't possible that Bugsy didn't covet Psychic-types.
Putting battle performance aside, Psychic-type Pokémon were an absolute godsend to any Trainer.
From small tasks like organizing daily affairs, to life-or-death moments, Psychic-types could meet virtually any need or expectation a Trainer had.
They were simply too versatile.
On the other side, Gardevoir quietly watched Silas, waiting for his reply.
"I'd be honored."
Silas snapped back to his senses and agreed without hesitation.
For now, he didn't care about the reason.
He didn't care about the Ralts' potential either.
He just liked it.
That was enough.
"Then, please take care of me."
The small Ralts stepped forward from Gardevoir's side and politely greeted Silas.
The red horn on its head trembled ever so slightly.
Silas's pupils contracted.
That did it.
He liked it even more.
"Alright then, Blaziken, I choose you!"
With a flick of his waist, a black-and-gold Luxury Ball expanded in his hand.
A flash of red light accompanied by a powerful cry, and Blaziken appeared majestically in the forest.
"Blaze—"
Then it turned its head toward its Trainer.
Wait.
This opponent…
Blaziken bent its head down as far as it could.
Wasn't this, a little short?
To be fair, considering Ralts stood under half a meter tall, while Blaziken was nearly two meters with long legs.
The scene looked exactly like one of those
"jump up and punch the knee" memes.
Silas's expression remained unchanged.
Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, there could be no mistakes.
So what if a peak Pesudo-Elite Pokémon was fighting a basic-stage Pokémon?
Setting facts aside, did that mean Ralts had zero chance?
Besides, its parent was right there and hadn't objected.
"Then, the battle begins."
A faint red glow flickered in Gardevoir's eyes.
She floated into the air, calmly assuming the role of referee.
Ralts naturally took the first move.
Silas might be shameless enough to fight above his weight class, but he wasn't about to deny first turn.
More importantly, a capture battle was about mutual evaluation, not simple victory.
He wanted to see what this Ralts could really do.
"Ralts~"
A strange, melodic tune flowed from Ralts' mouth.
"Sound-based Hypnosis? Interesting—creative application."
In response to the opening move, Silas calmly pulled out earplugs and sealed his ears.
Blaziken, however, was completely unaffected.
Partly due to the overwhelming power gap, and partly because as a Fighting-type, its willpower was exceptionally strong.
Hypnosis relying on inducing drowsiness through suggestion was unlikely to work on it.
"This needs adjustment," Silas mentally noted. "Using sound-based Hypnosis works better for Pokémon like Jigglypuff. The Ralts line should rely on raw Psychic power."
He was already planning Ralts' future training.
Yes.
Even though it wasn't officially captured yet, in his eyes, Ralts was already his partner.
"Blaze—"
Blaziken suddenly let out a low grunt.
It had taken damage.
Silas froze, then his eyes lit up.
"Well done! So you combined Disarming Voice with Hypnosis. That explains why you used a method that doesn't suit your species."
"Blaze—"
Blaziken called out again, reminding its Trainer.
I'm the one getting hit here. Maybe issue some commands?
"Not yet. Let's watch a bit longer."
Silas chuckled and reassured his old partner.
Blaziken sighed helplessly.
Of course.
Whenever it got sent out, trouble followed.
Honestly, couldn't Silas have used that giant rock monster instead? That thing was way better at soaking hits.
Silas replied internally: if Gigalith had been used, Ralts' attacks might not even register.
That would defeat the purpose of a capture battle.
After thinking it through, Silas finally issued a command:
"Blaziken, use Ember."
He had seen Ralts' offense. Now he wanted to see its defense.
"Blaze—"
Despite its complaints, Blaziken obediently spat out several small flames.
Although it hadn't used Ember much since evolving into Combusken, its mastery and raw power pushed the flames far beyond the level of an ordinary Pokémon.
"Whoosh."
A ripple in space flashed.
Before Blaziken's attack even launched, Ralts had already sensed Silas's intent and moved first.
"Blaze?"
Blaziken tilted its head, raised an arm and grabbed Ralts, which had somehow appeared behind it.
"Ralts!"
Ralts cried out in surprise.
Its combat ability was impressive, but it was still an unevolved child.
Caught off-guard by the unexpected outcome, it clearly lacked a follow-up plan.
Silas nodded silently.
This was already excellent.
The speed and precision of Teleport were near flawless.
Its parents had clearly played a major role in its upbringing.
Even among Pokémon, family education mattered.
Still, something about Ralts' fighting style felt… unusual.
"Let it go, Blaziken."
Lost in thought, Silas gave the command.
With a flick of its arm, Blaziken tossed Ralts away.
Gardevoir watched calmly.
She wanted her child to understand—
This was what a real battle looked like, not the playful sparring it shared with friends.
If it chose to grow by following a human Trainer, it had to accept the consequences of that choice.
Ralts propped itself up with its slender arms and stood back up, wincing.
It didn't yet understand why Teleport, so effective during play, had failed so easily.
But that only reinforced its belief:
Its choice was the right one.
"Ralts!"
Ralts gathered itself and cried out again.
This time, shimmering, prismatic psychic light burst from its body and shot toward Blaziken.
"Strong will."
Silas praised softly.
He liked this Ralts more and more.
Potential mattered, but mindset was just as crucial.
If a Pokémon lacked the desire to grow stronger, even the highest potential meant little in the end.
At first, Silas admitted that his reason for accepting the capture battle was largely due to his longing for a Psychic-type Pokémon.
But after just a few minutes and a handful of exchanges.
He genuinely wanted this Ralts.
That was the true purpose of a capture battle.
Not only for the Pokémon to judge the Trainer's strength, but for the Trainer to understand the Pokémon's personality and resolve.
"Blaziken, Fire Punch. Control the power."
Having made up his mind, Silas stopped dragging things out and moved to end the vastly uneven fight.
"Blaze."
Blaziken nodded.
It kicked off the ground, circling around the Psybeam fired by Ralts.
Scorching flames wrapped around its right claw.
Thud.
With only moderate force, Ralts was sent flying. A patch of its white body was scorched black.
"Go, Poké Ball."
Seeing Ralts spinning in circles with dazed eyes, Silas tossed out a spare Luxury Ball.
Click. Click—
After two brief shakes, a red flash appeared.
Ralts had been successfully captured by Silas.
"Then, from now on, I'll be counting on you to take good care of this child."
Gardevoir slowly descended to the ground and nodded toward Silas.
"I promise I will," Silas replied solemnly.
Gardevoir felt even more satisfied.
With her ability to sense emotional fluctuations, she could clearly feel the sincerity in the human before her.
Her child had truly found a good Trainer.
"However, before that let the child out first."
Gardevoir "smiled."
Silas immediately released the injured, unconscious Ralts from the Luxury Ball.
Gardevoir raised her green arm.
A blue mist brimming with vitality enveloped the young Ralts.
The burn marks and injuries gradually faded away.
Silas watched the scene with interest.
Life Dew, a recovery move mastered by only a very small number of Pokémon.
This was his first time seeing it in action.
Still, as Ralts continued to grow, he would surely see it more often.
After all, this was one of the signature techniques of its evolutionary line.
"Ralts…"
Under Gardevoir's treatment, Ralts quickly regained consciousness.
While absorbing the energy flowing from its parent, it looked toward Silas.
"From now on, please take care of me."
Ralts politely greeted its future Trainer.
"Likewise."
Silas smiled and gently patted its head.
Smooth. Very comfortable.
Nearby, Bugsy, who had been ignored for quite some time, had eyes practically glowing red.
Grit—grit—
His teeth clacked together with excitement.
Silas suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
But when he turned around, Bugsy was still smiling warmly.
"Was that just my imagination?"
Silas found it strange.
Bugsy waved his bug-catching net indignantly.
He had decided.
This afternoon—no, definitely this afternoon.
He was going to challenge this guy to a Gym Battle, a semi-instructional one at that.
Otherwise, he'd never vent the frustration building in his chest.
"You jerk."
Silas glared fiercely at Bugsy while stuffing food into his mouth.
Bugsy whistled cheerfully, clearly in a great mood.
"I never would've guessed, someone who looks so upright would be full of such wicked thoughts."
Silas felt he'd been far too naïve.
Earlier that day, after capturing Ralts—
Since Gardevoir needed to explain a few final things to her child, and Ralts wanted to say goodbye to its friends, Silas generously allowed it to remain in Ilex Forest, planning to return the next day.
After that, Bugsy suggested heading back.
"After all, our original goal was to test the bug-catching net. I think we've done enough."
That was what Bugsy said.
Silas naturally agreed with both hands and feet.
The gains from today were already enormous, his luck needed a cooldown.
Once they returned to Azalea Town, Bugsy casually suggested having a Gym Battle with Silas ahead of schedule.
Silas thought it over.
That sounded great, at least he wouldn't need to make another trip tomorrow.
So, young and foolish, he eagerly agreed.
Who would've thought Bugsy would fight so dishonorably?
As a Gym Leader, he actually sent out his second team.
The result was predictable.
Silas lost badly.
Even a second team was still the second team of an Elite Four–level Trainer.
Under 3-on-3 rules, and considering that Pidgeot was currently breaking through and unsuitable for intense combat, Silas chose:
Blaziken, Gigalith, and Togekiss.
On paper, the type matchup was extremely favorable.
Reality, however, was cruel.
After a "thoroughly satisfying" battle, Silas and his partners' best achievement was taking down just one of Bugsy's Pokémon.
"Give me a break."
Bugsy stopped whistling and rolled his eyes.
He still found it absurd.
Silas's three peak quasi-Elite Pokémon had forcefully traded for one Elite-level Pokémon.
Unbelievable.
Sure, that Ariados was the weakest member of his second team and already quite old—but still.
All he could say was that Silas's Pokémon were terrifyingly strong for their level.
Bugsy felt even more confident about their partnership.
After all, the stronger his partner was, the greater the chance of making serious money.
Silas toyed with the Hive Badge, shaped like a ladybug with only three black spots.
If Gym Battles were always like this, he thought, it wouldn't be so bad.
He'd learned quite a bit from the match.
Yes—despite losing, Silas still received the badge.
As always, the Pokémon League never judged Gym Badges based purely on victory or defeat, but on whether a Trainer demonstrated the necessary qualities and abilities during battle.
In that regard, Silas had never fallen short.
Besides, if Bugsy had refused—
Silas could've just reported him.
Gym Leaders couldn't arbitrarily send out Pokémon against challengers. That would cause chaos.
"So today, I gained both Ralts and the Hive Badge!"
Silas thought happily.
"By the way, have you heard?"
Bugsy suddenly asked.
...
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Btth: Ascend to Pinnacle (30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: My Martial is Tyranitar (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu