Watching Yanmega and Yanma dash inside with practiced familiarity, Silas calmly pulled down his gas mask and entered the cave with Ampharos.
The cave was only about a dozen cubic meters in size, so it quickly felt cramped.
Yanmega glanced at Silas, hesitated for a moment, then walked to a corner and began digging at the soil with its legs.
Silas raised an eyebrow.
It actually hid treasure?
That was fairly rare.
Most Pokémon simply piled up whatever they collected inside their nests.
For them, many items were brought back merely because they sensed energy fluctuations. In reality, only a small portion of those items were actually useful.
Wild Pokémon collected things mostly out of instinct or habit rather than necessity.
Weedle stingers, Caterpie silk, Pineco shells, All sorts of Pokémon parts were tossed out by Yanmega. It seemed it had been living quite well in the National Park.
Silas carefully selected through the pile.
At first glance, nothing seemed particularly valuable, but even small gains added up.
He pocketed several moderately valuable materials. Then two shell-like objects caught his eye.
Silas let out a surprised sound, his face lighting up as he picked them up. One shell was yellow, resembling the hollowed tail of a snake.
The other looked like a helmet, with three blue-black markings near its opening and a counterclockwise spiral pattern.
He first placed the yellow one into his spatial pack.
That was a Shed Shell.
As a held item, it allows a Pokémon to switch out freely, even when affected by trapping moves or conditions such as being unable to escape, being bound, or being rooted.
Somewhat niche, but in certain situations, extremely useful. Its market value easily reached seven figures. That alone made this trip worthwhile.
However, compared to that, the helmet-like shell was what truly caught Silas's attention.
"Where did you get this?" he asked, holding it up.
Yanmega tilted its head and mimicked an eating motion.
Just as Silas suspected, this was what remained after it had eaten a small Bug-type Pokémon.
Silas continued, "Did you find any other prey near this one? The kind you usually eat."
Yanmega shook its head.
"That's strange. There should've been," Silas frowned.
He stood up and stopped sorting through the spoils.
"Take me to where you caught this Pokémon."
He began walking outside.
"Yanma! Yanma!"
At that moment, Yanma cried out. It seemed to understand what Silas meant. Yanma flapped its wings and flew toward another corner.
Not long after, under the watchful eyes of Silas and the others, it returned carrying a small blue Pokémon in its six legs.
The tiny Pokémon had a blue outer shell. Its front side revealed a face and belly; the face resembled a mask and had two sharp fangs.
The top of its head looked like a fork, and its arms and legs were very small.
Its eyes were tightly shut, and it looked extremely weak.
Silas's eyes lit up.
Yes, this was it.
"Ampharos."
Ampharos stepped forward and carefully took the Pokémon.
"I didn't expect the National Park to have such a diverse range of Pokémon species."
Silas couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
At the same time, he threw his final Park Ball and captured the unlucky little fellow that Yanma had hidden away as emergency rations.
The ball shook briefly before locking shut.
Silas took out a Cheri Berry and tossed it toward Yanma.
Yanma's eyes gleamed as it caught the berry in its mouth, ignoring its mother's nagging.
Yanmega sighed.
It hadn't even known its child had developed the habit of storing backup food. Still, that wasn't necessarily bad, though it would've preferred being told in advance.
"You get one too."
Silas's voice sounded as he tossed a more effective Bug-type berry toward Yanmega.
Yanmega looked at him, then naturally began eating it.
It seemed to have accepted its temporary status as a captive.
Silas kept his word and didn't bother with the remaining pile of materials, heading straight out of the cave.
Yanmega glanced at Silas, then at its belongings, and forcefully dragged Yanma outside.
Those things weren't edible anyway.
The dark berry tasted far better.
It knew the difference.
Yanma happily munched on the Cheri Berry.
In the National Park, because there were simply too many Bug-type Pokémon, even common berries weren't available every day.
More often than not, Caterpie and similar Pokémon were their staple diet. Yanma and its mother frequently fought other predators over scraps of food.
"All right. Return for now."
Silas took out the Park Balls.
Yanmega instinctively took a step back, clearly resistant to the device.
Yanma, on the other hand, flew about carefree in the air.
"Relax. I said I'll release you," Silas spoke calmly.
Yanmega lowered its head.
Two beams of red light shot out.
When the light faded, only Silas and Ampharos remained in the forest.
Silas stretched lazily. "Looks like my luck wasn't too bad today. Now I can focus on finishing the program properly."
Earlier, when he was searching through the loot, he had cut the connection entirely and left Mary to hold the broadcast together alone. He wasn't sure how well she had managed.
Turning his headset back on, Mary's voice came through:
"The young caller just now has a wonderful dream of becoming a Trainer. But remember one thing, only when you give your Pokémon sincerity will they return it in kind.
So catching a whole group and then choosing one afterward isn't exactly a good approach. Many Trainers don't support that practice. And now, our special guest has returned. Let's hear what he gained."
"Gains? Not much," Silas replied as he walked through the forest. "But I do have some thoughts about that question. I know Trainers who use that method, but without exception, none of them are particularly strong. As everyone knows, in Pokémon battles, a Pokémon's raw strength isn't the only deciding factor."
He continued sharing his perspective while moving through the woods.
Time passed, and the Bug-Catching Contest gradually neared its end.
After circling the forest along the designated route, Silas's mouth was nearly dry.
Since he had no capture opportunities left, he had essentially been talking nonstop for the remainder of the event.
"And that concludes this special program. Thank you for listening, see you next time!"
Mary's closing remarks marked the true end of the assignment, and Silas let out a breath of relief.
Through the headset, Mary said, "You worked hard. You did really well, I didn't expect such great results on the first try."
Goldenrod Radio Station reported that the program's listener ratings had steadily climbed.
Much of that was thanks to Silas's detailed commentary later on.
Silas joked, "As long as you remember to transfer the payment."
"That's not happening. I bet the station would love to book you for several more episodes!" Mary laughed.
After a few more words, Silas ended the call and returned to the plaza where the contest had begun.
It was lively again, just like in the morning.
But everyone's expressions differed.
Some wore bright smiles, they had caught Pokémon they felt confident about.
Some looked worried, they had caught something, but perhaps not something satisfactory. Others looked dejected, clearly those who had returned empty-handed.
After all, not everyone could roam the National Park as freely as Silas with powerful Pokémon backing him.
If it had been someone else, encountering a swarm of Beedrill might have resulted in immediate rescue and forced withdrawal by the organizers.
While Pokémon above the Pesudo–Elite tier were nearly nonexistent in the National Park, Advance-level Bug-types were everywhere. Even Silas and Ampharos had nearly found themselves in serious trouble earlier.
Those Pineco had been especially troublesome. Most Trainers now in the plaza hadn't lasted the full morning like Silas had.
Glancing around, Silas had complete confidence in Yanma and Yanmega.
If he remembered correctly, Ash had once won the Bug-Catching Contest with a single Beedrill, and the prize had been a Sun Stone.
Although that likely involved some protagonist luck, Silas believed his Speed Boost Yanma, with outstanding potential was at least two tiers stronger than a Beedrill.
Even if that Beedrill had been at Advance-peak or near Pesudo–Elite strength.
"Contestants, please submit your Park Balls. We will label and record them. If you captured more than one Pokémon, please specify which one is to be judged."
A staff member shouted through a megaphone in the distance.
Silas headed over.
"This time, victory will definitely be mine."
A familiar voice came from behind.
Silas turned and looked. "Oh? If it isn't Reggie. Long time no see."
Reggie clenched his fists. "We met just the day before yesterday."
"Did we? I don't recall," Silas replied innocently. "Sorry, I'm not great with memory."
Reggie gritted his teeth.
Silas smiled, ignored him, and handed over his three Park Balls at the registration point.
He briefly described Yanmega and Yanma to the staff.
Naturally, they didn't dare take it lightly.
Silas's identity had already been reported to the National Park authorities. If his description was accurate, then the championship was likely his.
The experienced contest staff had a very clear judging standard.
"Due to the high number of participants, the results of this competition will be announced in one hour. We have prepared a variety of food for contestants. If you wish, please proceed to the designated area and enjoy."
The announcement repeated continuously over the plaza loudspeakers.
..
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