Early the next morning the moment Silas woke up, he immediately noticed that a white cloth-like item had appeared on the table in his room.
"Never-Melt Ice Silk, huh."
A smile appeared on his face.
An Ice-type item that suddenly appeared while bypassing both his and his partners' senses could only have been delivered by Articuno.
Looks like there's no need to make another trip to Snowcap Mountain later on.
Silas got out of bed and picked up the white translucent fabric-like item.
A wave of cold air instantly cleared away the remnants of sleepiness.
Although it looked like woven cloth, the item was actually formed entirely from ice and snow. Its unique energy structure prevented it from melting easily.
Its effect was to help Ice-type Pokémon improve their control over Ice-type energy.
Simply put, it boosted an Ice-type Pokémon's Special Attack and Special Defense.
Articuno had been quite generous. Silas could tell at a glance that the quality of this Never-Melt Ice Silk was exceptionally high, so its effects definitely wouldn't be poor.
Still, the fact that Articuno had secretly sneaked in during the middle of the night just to leave a gift somehow felt oddly cute.
Was this some kind of tsundere behavior unique to Legendary Pokémon?
Silas couldn't help laughing at the thought.
After washing up in the bathroom and waking the few sleepyheads still lounging around before recalling them into their Poké Balls, he quickly headed down to the front desk.
"Please help me send this Never-Melt Ice to the headmaster of the Pokémon Ninja Academy."
Silas took out the Never-Melt Ice from his backpack.
Even though it hadn't really played much of a role, the headmaster would probably still be very happy to receive it.
After thinking for a moment, he placed a blue feather on top of the Never-Melt Ice.
Yesterday's battle had been so intense that blue feathers had rained down from the summit of Snowcap Mountain afterward, and Silas had taken the opportunity to gather some amid the chaos.
The amount of Articuno's power contained within them was negligible, but as souvenirs they were still quite valuable.
After all, they were technically parts shed from a Legendary Pokémon.
Silas wasn't lacking money right now. He planned to make a folding fan out of the feathers later. It would probably feel amazing to use during summer.
Nearby, another early-rising Trainer nearly drooled at the sight of the Never-Melt Ice.
People came to Snowcap Mountain for two reasons:
Either to gamble on the chance of seeing Articuno or to catch a strong Ice-type Pokémon and obtain valuable items.
Never-Melt Ice, which increased the power of Ice-type moves when held, was extremely popular on the market.
And judging from the cold aura it emitted, this one was definitely a complete, high-quality piece.
"Uh… brother," the bearded mountain climber asked through gritted teeth after looking at Silas's face, "where exactly did you find that Never-Melt Ice?"
Making money wasn't embarrassing.
Silas gave him a strange look.
"At the summit."
He swore he wasn't lying.
Articuno really was at the summit, and this Never-Melt Ice really had been given by Articuno.
The light in the mountaineer's eyes instantly dimmed.
"Right… right…" he muttered to himself.
The Pokémon living on Snowcap Mountain grew progressively stronger from the base to the summit.
With the mountaineer's strength, reaching the halfway point was already pushing his limits. Going any farther could very well cost him his life.
Rare items like Never-Melt Ice generally only formed under the extreme conditions near the summit. Anything below halfway was purely a matter of luck.
And today, Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center had also officially announced that no one would be allowed above the halfway point of Snowcap Mountain for the next five years.
Supposedly due to dangerously unstable weather conditions.
That completely crushed the mountaineer's ambitions.
If the mountain wasn't sealed off, emergency rescue calls might still save someone in danger.
But once the restriction was in place, getting into trouble up there meant truly being beyond help.
The League had no obligation to protect Trainers deliberately seeking death—especially after a lockdown order from Nurse Joy.
The mountaineer didn't find it strange.
Historically, Snowcap Mountain had been sealed off over a dozen times already.
Some lockdowns lasted only a month or two, others a year or two.
This time was simply longer than usual.
Compared to the past, when the entire mountain had sometimes been forbidden, restricting only the upper half was already fairly lenient.
At least it wouldn't drastically reduce everyone's income opportunities.
"Oh crap."
The mountaineer suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly ran out of the Pokémon Center.
He hadn't even remembered to ask what the blue feather was.
The surrounding Trainers, who had been listening intently, also lost interest and dispersed.
Their strength levels were roughly similar to the mountaineer's. Whatever luck Silas had encountered was simply beyond their reach.
Nurse Joy smiled as she carefully packed away the Never-Melt Ice and feather.
"Of course. The Ninja Academy is fairly close by, and there's a transport caravan arriving around noon. I'll ask them to deliver it to the headmaster."
Naturally, she knew where both items came from.
But as everyone knew this was a Nurse Joy.
An ordinary Trainer might be tempted by greed.
A Joy never would.
You could always trust Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny.
Unless they'd been controlled by something.
"Thank you very much."
After thanking Nurse Joy, Silas headed to the Pokémon Center cafeteria to eat breakfast.
Now that the mission was complete, he didn't plan to stay around Snowcap Mountain much longer.
This place really wasn't friendly to most of his Pokémon.
Just from last night's sleep alone, it was obvious, aside from two or three exceptions, the rest had all chosen to remain inside their Poké Balls.
Northern Johto's terrain was extremely complex.
Forests, mountains, grasslands, inland lakes, the landscape changed dramatically every short distance.
Of course, that also made the Pokémon ecosystem incredibly rich.
It could be said that nearly every Pokémon species discovered across Johto and Kanto could be found somewhere in northern Johto.
And southeast of Snowcap Mountain, beyond roughly two forests and a lake, stood another mountain.
Mt. Mortar or more accurately, the Mt. Mortar Caverns.
From the outside, Mt. Mortar appeared to be an ordinary mountain range.
But beneath its foothills lay a vast natural cavern system stretching endlessly underground.
All kinds of Pokémon lived there, and all kinds of rare treasures were born there as well.
If Snowcap Mountain attracted Trainers because of the legend of Articuno.
Then Mt. Mortar drew people through its abundant resources.
It was also famously associated with the Electabuzz Baseball Team.
Rumor even claimed that Tyranitar, the Johto region's pseudo-legendary Pokémon had once been sighted there.
Most people scoffed at that rumor.
After all, considering Tyranitar's appetite, if one really lived in Mt. Mortar, the entire cave system would probably have collapsed from being eaten already.
Even so, countless Trainers still ventured into Mt. Mortar because of the rumor.
A Tyranitar probably didn't exist there.
After all, raising a pseudo-legendary to its final evolution in the wild was incredibly difficult.
But Larvitar?
That was entirely possible.
Of course, none of them considered whether they could actually catch one or whether they could afford to raise it afterward.
Compared to the expenses of raising a pseudo-legendary, even Snorlax barely counted as a glutton.
At least Snorlax wasn't picky, it just ate a lot.
And today, Mt. Mortar welcomed yet another Trainer visitor.
"What thick fog."
Silas looked around at the dense mist and sighed.
"Bwoo."
Ampharos, currently serving as a walking light bulb, nodded in agreement.
Even the glow from its tail could only illuminate about a hundred meters ahead in this fog.
Though saying that sounded a little absurdly luxurious.
After all, not everyone could casually use a pseudo-Elite-level shiny Ampharos for lighting.
Walking through the mist-covered mountain forest, Silas's ears suddenly twitched.
"Ampharos, do you hear some kind of strange sound?"
"Ampharos?"
Ampharos tilted its glowing tail in confusion. Nope.
"You really do have sharp senses, sir."
A woman accompanied by a Ninetales suddenly appeared beneath a nearby tree.
"Bwooh!"
The pink skin on Ampharos's body rippled instantly. Good grief, a ghost?!
To its senses, the appearance of the woman and Pokémon had come completely without warning.
It instinctively stepped in front of Silas in a battle stance.
"There's no need to be nervous. I mean no harm," the woman in traditional clothing said with a smile, covering her mouth.
A trace of cold sweat slid down Ampharos's forehead.
Its electromagnetic detection was telling it that this woman did not exist at all, so how was she speaking?
"Mii~"
The Ninetales beside the woman let out a soft cry.
"Ah, I almost forgot." The woman bowed apologetically. "I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Lokoko, and this is Ninetales. We live in these mountains."
"Hello."
Silas patted Ampharos, signaling for it not to be so tense, and returned the greeting politely.
He still had some impression of this woman and Pokémon or rather, only the Pokémon.
If he remembered correctly, the woman called Lokoko was merely an illusion created by the Ninetales using its own powers.
As for its Trainer, they had disappeared during an expedition two hundred years ago and never returned.
That's right, this was a Ninetales that had lived for a full two centuries.
Although rumors in the Pokémon world had long claimed that Ninetales could live for a thousand years, no one had ever witnessed it personally.
Then again, probably no human could live alongside one for a thousand years either.
Silas felt that the majestic creature before him was excellent proof of those legends.
Its long lifespan had granted it tremendous power, something evident from the nearly flawless illusion.
Zero's status panel evaluated the Ninetales as Elite-level.
And that was exactly why Silas wasn't nervous in the slightest.
If the opponent had been Champion-level or even just near that level, he would have turned around and fled immediately, even if they truly meant no harm.
But merely Elite-level?
That wasn't enough to intimidate him anymore.
"So, what is it you wanted from me?" Silas asked curiously.
He remembered that this Ninetales's original owner supposedly resembled Brock quite a bit, and later Brock had "saved" it.
"Lokoko" gave another bow.
"I can sense the powerful aura surrounding you. Would you be willing to free me?"
Humans and Pokémon ultimately thought very differently.
Even after creating a human illusion, the Ninetales still spoke in a very Pokémon-like, direct manner.
Silas raised an eyebrow.
"I can. But what do I get out of it?"
He was equally direct.
Cases of Pokémon being trapped because their Trainers died unexpectedly were recorded many times in League history. Usually, all it took was destroying the Poké Ball that bound them.
The handcrafted Poké Balls of the past weren't nearly as durable as modern ones.
The real problem was that Pokémon usually wouldn't destroy their own "home," leaving them helpless.
But Silas didn't consider himself some selfless saint.
Besides, why should he casually release an Elite-level Ninetales proficient in illusion techniques? That didn't necessarily sound like a good idea.
"Lokoko" fell silent.
"In other words," Silas continued with interest, "what do you plan to do after you're free?"
"I…" It hesitated. "I want to search for my master again."
Even though it had realized a hundred years ago that its master was most likely dead, there was always the possibility of "what if."
It still clung to a faint sliver of hope.
"Then would you mind telling me where your illusion powers came from?"
Silas's train of thought jumped abruptly.
"Lokoko" froze for a moment.
"I don't know either. About one hundred and fifty years after my master disappeared, I suddenly gained this strange ability."
Both Silas and the intelligent Ninetales understood clearly that ordinary psychic power alone could never create illusions this realistic.
Some other force had to be involved.
Thoughtfully, Silas looked toward the Ninetales's fluffy nine tails.
The most likely possibility was that the power resided within its tails. Unfortunately, the Ninetales only knew how to use the power, not its source.
After all, it no longer had a Trainer to guide it.
"Mii…"
The Ninetales lowered itself slightly, its crimson eyes looking pitiful.
Silas tilted his head, thought for a moment, then pulled a photograph from his spatial backpack.
The Ninetales's tails spread open instantly.
Its entire aura surged upward, and scarlet light burst from its eyes.
"That's my master! Tell me where my master is!"
Its respectful tone from before vanished completely.
"Blaziken."
Silas simply called out his ace Pokémon.
"Sha!"
Blaziken had already been unable to hold itself back and burst out of its Luxury Ball immediately.
It released its own Elite-level aura as well.
"Calm down and look carefully. That's not your master."
Silas had no intention of fighting the Ninetales and simply tossed the photo over.
The Ninetales calmed slightly and used Psychic to levitate the picture before itself.
"Lokoko" appeared once more.
"You're right this isn't my master. I apologize for losing control."
"It's fine." A sly smile appeared on Silas's lips. "But I can introduce you to the person in the photo."
That's right.
The photo he had thrown out was a picture of Brock.
...
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