An hour later, the results were announced right on schedule.
As expected, Silas won this year's Bug-Catching Contest with his Speed Boost Yanma.
Standing atop the awards podium, he looked completely composed.
Beside him, narrowly losing and taking second place was Reggie. He had captured an extremely rare wild Scizor at the Advance level.
Under normal circumstances, Reggie's result would have easily secured the championship. Even Yanmega couldn't compare to Scizor in terms of rarity and raw battle strength.
However, the score bonus from Yanma's Speed Boost Ability was simply too high.
Moreover, the official judges had concluded that this Yanma likely possessed Elite–level potential.
Reggie's expression darkened in clear frustration.
Third place went to a bystander who had caught a Wormadam (Sandy Cloak Form).
Wormadam, evolved from Burmy, has three forms:
Plant Cloak (Bug/Grass)
Sandy Cloak (Bug/Ground)
Trash Cloak (Bug/Steel)
Finding a Sandy Cloak Wormadam inside a forest environment like the National Park was incredibly lucky.
After all, Burmy evolves based on surrounding materials. In a forest filled almost entirely with leaves, evolving into the Sandy Cloak form was extremely unlikely.
Combined with its rarity in Johto, third place was well deserved.
After receiving the largely symbolic trophy, Silas headed backstage. This was where the real prizes were awarded.
"The champion of this year's Bug-Catching Contest will receive a Sun Stone (quality 80). Please accept it. Additionally, you may choose one of the Pokémon you captured to keep. The rest will be released back into the National Park."
The staff member politely handed Silas a wooden box along with the three marked Park Balls.
Silas glanced at them and pointed.
"I'll take that one."
The staff member, who had been about to pick up Yanma's Park Ball, froze.
"Are you sure you want that one instead of this one?"
"Yes." Silas nodded with a smile.
The staff member quickly apologized and handed it over.
Internally, he was stunned.
This was the first time in the history of the contest that a participant didn't choose the Pokémon used for judging.
After all, contestants usually submit their strongest catch for evaluation since they can't know their competitors' scores.
Could it be that, in this Trainer's eyes, that Pokémon was even more valuable than a Speed Boost Yanma?
It was hard to imagine.
This Yanma with Elite–level potential was arguably the best Pokémon seen at the Bug-Catching Contest in twenty years.
If strict regulations hadn't existed since the park's founding, staff members might have captured it themselves long ago.
Yes, the National Park authorities were fully aware of Yanma's existence.
They just hadn't expected anyone to catch it so soon, years earlier than anticipated.
After all, Speed Boost isn't easily identified through casual observation. Most Trainers would prioritize Yanmega instead.
A Yanmega that knew Ancient Power was an excellent Flying-type and quite strong among Bug-types.
The organizers had assumed someone would only catch Yanma after it evolved into Yanmega.
They had already prepared themselves to "lose" that valuable asset eventually.
But instead, Silas walked away with the Pokémon.
"You're saying, he took the Karrablast?"
The middle-aged man in the office frowned.
"Yes, sir," the staff member replied respectfully.
"I see. Don't spread this for now, I have other plans. Release the other two Pokémon back into the park. This could become excellent publicity later."
"Understood."
After the staff member left, the man tapped his desk thoughtfully.
A Karrablast from Unova was valuable, but certainly less so than that Yanma.
"When we signed the cooperation agreement with Unova, where did this batch of Karrablast and Shelmet come from again? Was it confiscated during an operation against Team Plasma?"
He rubbed his temples.
He was getting older; memory wasn't what it used to be. But it sounded about right.
Regardless, this was still a good outcome.
"Better report to the boss, maybe we should make contact and build a relationship."
He picked up the phone.
On the Road Back to Goldenrod City
Mary said excitedly, "Congratulations! Winning the Bug-Catching Contest so easily isn't simple at all. By the way, can I see your Yanma? I think it's really cute when it's small."
"I didn't choose Yanma," Silas replied casually.
"…What?" Mary blinked. "Then you didn't take a Pokémon?"
Silas smiled mysteriously.
"I did."
He held up a locked Poké Ball.
Since his carrying limit had been reached, he couldn't open it.
Until his Pokédex system updated, he'd need to use a Pokémon Center transfer system.
"It's a Karrablast from Unova. It suits me better."
"Karrablast?" Mary frowned.
"I remember it evolves into Escavalier, right? Very knightly. But it requires a Shelmet of equal or better quality to evolve properly.
Compared to Yanma, a single Karrablast seems less impressive. And does it even have Elite–level potential?"
She genuinely meant well.
Silas laughed it off.
"It's fine. I know what I'm doing."
Mary didn't press further. Everyone has secrets.
Silas asked, "Mary, is there a way to increase the number of Pokémon I can carry?"
He preferred keeping his Pokémon with him rather than sending them away.
"How many are you carrying now?"
"Eight. With this one nine."
Mary looked surprised.
"Seems you did pretty well in Kanto."
Silas grinned.
"There is a way. And for you, it's simple."
He stared at her with exaggerated curiosity.
Mary sighed in defeat.
"Fine. As an Honorary Citizen of Goldenrod City, you can apply to the Johto League.
I believe they can raise your regional carry limit to twelve Pokémon. That's the maximum, unless you become a regional Champion. After that, you can apply for cross-regional recognition, allowing twelve Pokémon in each region."
She was incredibly knowledgeable.
Few people thought of this method.
Usually, someone strong enough to earn Honorary Citizen status was already a Champion-level Trainer and could carry twelve Pokémon without needing special status.
In short:
Strong Trainers don't need it. Weak Trainers can't qualify for it. Silas happened to be the rare exception.
He smacked his forehead.
"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"
With this, future captures wouldn't be an issue.
As for training expenses? Was that even a problem? That Sun Stone alone was worth tens of millions.
At Silas's current level, making money was easy.
He just disliked the hidden costs that often came with "fast" or "big" money.
Fortunately, he had already seen several capable Bug-type specialists promoting a certain capture net, likely early marketing.
Soon enough, he'd proudly call himself a multi-millionaire. A double-digit one at that.
After parting ways with Mary, Silas returned to the Pokémon Center.
He informed Pidgeot, then used the transfer machine in a corner.
Karrablast's Poké Ball unlocked; Pidgeot's Luxury Ball became locked.
After healing Ampharos and Karrablast with Nurse Joy, Silas rushed back to his hotel's training facility and rented a private room.
"Blaziken, come out."
He set up protective measures first.
Then he released Karrablast.
This was absolutely necessary.
After all, he hadn't captured Karrablast through entirely conventional means.
There was a high chance it would attack him the moment it was released. But to Silas's surprise, Karrablast did not assume a defensive posture after coming out.
"Hello?" Silas tried greeting it.
Curled up in the corner, Karrablast hesitated before nodding slightly in response.
Silas roughly understood the reason.
Karrablast must not have completely lost consciousness back in Yanma's nest. It had retained some awareness.
It likely regarded him as its savior.
That wasn't wrong. After all, Silas truly had pulled it back from the brink of death. If it had remained in Yanma's nest, Karrablast would have ended up as food.
Silas was quite pleased.
This would make earning its trust much easier.
"You're feeling a bit better, right? Though you're probably still hungry. How about eating something first?"
Silas gently took out several Pecha Berries.
Seeing the berries, each nearly half its own body size, Karrablast swallowed instinctively.
It couldn't even remember the last time it had eaten a Berry.
Maybe two months ago?
Karrablast had never imagined its life would change so drastically.
It once lived in a cold region with a large colony. Their leader, Escavalier, was the strongest presence in the surrounding area.
Their group controlled many Berry trees and occasionally raided nearby Shelmet for food. Only Shelmet's leader, Accelgor, was troublesome.
After every raid, Accelgor would harass them. But it wasn't a real problem.
Their Escavalier leader was far stronger.
Even though Accelgor could always escape using its speed, it was still the loser.
Then one day, humans arrived.
Everything changed.
The Escavalier Karrablast had once thought invincible had its armor shattered in a single strike by a Pokémon called Bisharp.
The other Escavalier charged together for revenge.
It was useless. With just one more slash, all the Escavalier were killed.
The Karrablast colony became captives. With almost no combat ability, they couldn't resist. Karrablast soon lost consciousness.
When it awoke, it saw a ceiling white as snow. It had learned the words "snow" and "ceiling" by listening to human speech.
It finally understood that the cold white substance covering its homeland was called snow.
Karrablast and its companions were confined in a cramped cage, each given barely enough space to move.
At least the food was plentiful. Berries were provided endlessly. There was no Shelmet to eat, but Karrablast gradually grew used to the life.
Safety and guaranteed food made it obedient.
But soon, it noticed its living space growing larger And its companions growing fewer.
Those taken away never returned.
Karrablast understood what that meant.
Death.
Just like in the wild.
It began biting frantically at the cage bars. When that failed, it spat acidic liquid to corrode them.
It was useless.
Instead, it drew attention.
"What's this one doing? Trying to escape?"
"Don't joke. This is a specialized Bug-type cage. How could a Karrablast break it?"
"Anyway, the Professor said materials are running low. We need more. There aren't many Karrablast left nearby. Can't we switch to Shelmet?"
They spoke openly, not caring at all.
Karrablast felt despair.
It didn't want to die.
A human in white entered.
Everyone bowed.
"Professor."
The man nodded and glanced at the cage.
"This specimen has good vitality. We'll use it today. Hopefully it lasts a few more days."
Without further instruction, someone dragged Karrablast out. It bit the Pokémon holding it, But its teeth ached painfully.
The Pokémon, similar to Bisharp, had an incredibly hard body.
Karrablast blacked out again.
When it awoke next, half its body felt numb, half burning hot.
White-coated humans surrounded it.
"Specimen conscious. No rejection symptoms."
"Dual-resistance data rising. Molting observed."
"Cartridge compatibility at 90%. Normal-type embedding complete."
Their words were incomprehensible.
A wave of excruciating pain struck.
Darkness.
This cycle repeated for days, perhaps longer.
Awake. Pain. Unconscious.
Its only thought:
Don't die.
Avenge the leader.
Eventually, It grew tired.
"This Karrablast is special. It's lasted this long. Isn't that good? If it survives all experiments, we can finally rest."
Suddenly, A piercing alarm sounded.
"Specimen vitals declining. Possible rejection reaction. Relocate storage site from head horn to forelimbs. Rejection weakening, but unknown factors damaging the body. Vitals still dropping."
"Add Fire-type cartridge material. Energy resistance shifting. Vitals stabilizing."
In its haze, Karrablast felt its body torn apart and stitched back together.
Darkness swallowed it again.
"Arcanine, use Flamethrower!"
Through the fog, Karrablast heard a righteous voice.
Explosions roared.
"Hurry! There's a Pokémon test subject here! Get it to Nurse Joy immediately!"
That voice sounded worried.
Time passed.
Its wounded body felt warmth again.
Burning?
No.
This was different.
Its body was recovering.
Karrablast opened its eyes.
A white ceiling.
But this time, A large, round Pokémon smiled at it.
Chansey.
"So you're finally awake. Looks like you've recovered nicely. What a lucky child."
A gentle female human stood beside Chansey. Different from the righteous voice, But just as kind.
"This is the last Karrablast, right? The others recovered?"
"Yes. But are we really sending both colonies away?"
"Their original territory has new rulers now. Without Escavalier and Accelgor, they can't survive there. The National Park will be a good sanctuary."
More incomprehensible words.
But one word stood out, Shelmet.
Can it be eaten?
That was the important question in Karrablast's mind.
..
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