Thunk. Thunk. Bang.
Inside the dim cave passage, Silas casually picked up a rock and tossed it ahead.
Fresh tunnels carved out by Onix usually wouldn't have any Pokémon living inside them yet.
Of course, that only lasted for two or three hours at most.
Once Diglett and Dugtrio heard about the new space, they would quickly move in and claim it as territory, driving away outsiders.
But at least for now, safety wasn't an issue.
"Come to think of it, we're heading north right now, aren't we?" Brock said thoughtfully while observing the rock wall.
Silas looked surprised.
"Probably. But how could you tell?"
In a pitch-black underground environment, losing one's sense of direction was completely normal.
Forget east, west, south, and north, most people would eventually lose track of up and down too, since everything looked exactly the same underground.
After enough time, dizziness and disorientation were inevitable.
Silas only managed because of his powerful memory, mentally constructing a map of the tunnels as they traveled.
Sometimes, he even relied on Blaziken's Aura and Gallade's psychic abilities just to distinguish vertical orientation.
Brock, however, didn't possess photographic memory.
Facing Silas's curious gaze, Brock explained
"That Onix told me.
Because Onix have magnets inside their brains, they can accurately determine direction even underground.
And because of that body structure, many Onix naturally prefer moving either directly north or directly south.
The third segment of that Onix's body rotated one hundred and eighty degrees earlier. That's a characteristic movement pattern when an Onix is traveling north.
Combined with the marks it left on the rock walls, I could roughly figure it out."
"…Impressive."
After hearing the explanation, Silas was genuinely amazed.
He also knew that Onix possessed that body structure and could rotate different sections of their bodies independently.
But honestly?
There was no way he could identify which specific rock segment had rotated.
That had nothing to do with experience raising an Onix.
Every Onix's body was composed of completely unique stones, how could a normal person possibly tell the difference?
Only someone with Brock's absurd observational skills could pull that off.
Never forget.
This guy could distinguish between Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy with the naked eye.
On that point alone, Silas considered Brock unbeatable.
After all, in sixteen or seventeen years of living in this world, Silas had never heard of anyone besides their own family members being able to tell them apart.
Brock was the only exception.
The two cautiously advanced through the tunnel while chatting continuously.
Neither of them was especially talkative by nature, but in the oppressive silence of the underground cave, conversation came naturally.
Otherwise, simply walking through the endless darkness felt mentally suffocating.
Rumor had it that many Trainers who spent too long alone inside Mt. Mortar's cave system ended up seeking psychological counseling from Psychic-type Pokémon after returning.
After all, talking one-sidedly to Pokémon couldn't completely erase the pressure of isolation.
As they continued speaking, the two eventually arrived at what looked like a cliff edge.
Without waiting for instructions, Blaziken jumped down first.
"Not too deep," it communicated to Silas through Aura. "About a twenty-to-thirty-meter drop."
Using the faint firelight from below, Brock was finally able to see the bottom clearly.
It was simply a large sinkhole caused by unstable geological structure.
The likely culprits?
A Diglett colony somewhere nearby.
Those little guys were excellent at loosening soil.
Silas casually took out Gallade's Luxury Ball.
A drop of twenty or thirty meters wasn't particularly dangerous for his physical condition, he could jump down himself if necessary.
But there was no reason to.
This was exactly where Psychic-types became incredibly useful.
Large Flying-type Pokémon weren't suited for carrying people in cramped cave systems like this unless they were something like Golbat.
"Gallade."
The moment Gallade appeared, it immediately used Psychic.
Blue-purple energy surrounded Silas and Brock, gently lifting them into the air before lowering them down safely.
The entire process took less than half a minute.
"Return, Gallade. Thanks for the help."
With a flash of red light, Gallade officially secured third place among Silas's "utility Pokémon."
First and second place still belonged to Ampharos and Blaziken.
Brock looked slightly envious.
"You're making me want to raise a Psychic-type too."
"Then raise one," Silas replied casually.
Psychic-types were indeed rare, but only for ordinary people.
Brock was definitely not ordinary.
Not to mention, Brock's grandfather owned a Solrock. Finding a compatible mate and obtaining offspring for Brock to raise would be completely normal.
"Or now that you've caught Ninetales," Silas added, "you could train its psychic abilities. Its Extrasensory should probably be capable of doing similar things."
It was actually a very solid suggestion.
Even though Ninetales wasn't a Psychic-type, both legends and modern research showed that it possessed unusually strong supernatural abilities.
Combined with that particular Ninetales's mysterious powers, Silas felt it could practically function as half a Psychic-type anyway.
"Makes sense," Brock nodded in agreement. "I just don't know if I can properly command Ninetales yet."
He looked somewhat worried.
Strictly speaking, Brock was still only an Advance-level Trainer.
At best, he was barely approaching pseudo–Elite level.
Meanwhile, Ninetales possessed Elite-level strength.
The enormous gap between them might prevent him from fully bringing out Ninetales's abilities.
But the more experienced Silas didn't think it was a problem.
"You'll understand once you battle with it. Since it already acknowledged you as its Trainer, something like that won't really happen."
Or rather there might be some influence, but it wouldn't matter much.
Ninetales were stubborn Pokémon by nature, but once they acknowledged someone as their Trainer, their intelligence led them to cooperate with the Trainer's strategies as much as possible instead of fighting purely on instinct.
They were practically the complete opposite of Charizard, the final evolution of Kanto's Fire-type starter Charmander.
Silas paused for a moment before continuing.
"And if that still doesn't work, then just work harder."
Trainer and Pokémon had always complemented one another.
If one side advanced ahead of the other, then the other simply had to strive to catch up.
Wasn't that what bonds were all about?
Rumble rumble~
A faint sound echoed through the tunnel.
The two of them could feel the moisture in the air growing heavier.
"An underground river?" Brock guessed.
Silas shook his head.
"No, that doesn't sound like a river. It sounds more like a waterfall."
The two exchanged glances, their interest immediately deepening.
According to the League's existing maps, there wasn't supposed to be an underground waterfall anywhere in this region.
Which meant it had probably only recently been opened up by Pokémon living underground.
That was excellent news.
Underground waterfalls like this were often accompanied by Pokémon with excellent potential and valuable held items.
As the first Trainers to discover this place, they were likely about to make a huge profit.
"Let's go!"
Even the usually steady Brock unconsciously quickened his pace.
After all, this was his first true wilderness adventure. Anyone would get excited in a situation like this.
Led by Blaziken, the two rapidly headed toward the source of the sound.
Speaking of underground waterfalls, one naturally had to mention their source.
Inside the vast cave systems of Mt. Mortar, underground waterfalls weren't particularly rare because of the terrain.
And all of them originated from a lake atop the northernmost cliffs of Johto.
Mirror Lake.
Mirror Lake sat in the center of Clear Cliff's summit, surrounded by sprawling forests that nourished countless wild Pokémon.
The spring water at its core was said to be some of the finest water on the Pokémon world, capable of rapidly restoring a Pokémon's vitality.
The various components within the spring existed in an extremely delicate balance.
If that balance was lost, living creatures would become unhealthy, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.
Because of this, Pokémon raised by the waters of Mirror Lake were exceptionally healthy, their bodies and minds existing in perfect harmony.
As for the lower currents that flowed downward through the mountain after passing through layer upon layer of terrain.
Though they weren't as miraculous as the original lake water, Pokémon living within them still tended to possess excellent natural talent.
This was a unique phenomenon found only in northern Johto.
Any farther away, and the water simply became ordinary lake water again.
The League never fully brought Mirror Lake under official management, only performing minimal regulation.
The reason was simple.
Clear Cliff's terrain was incredibly steep, making it extremely difficult for humans to climb, while the summit itself remained an untouched natural environment notorious for harsh weather.
Because of the terrain and airflow patterns, the weather around Clear Cliff was highly unstable.
Rainstorms often triggered mudslides, accompanied by winds reaching forty nautical miles per hour, with tornadoes occurring frequently as well.
Aside from a scheduled shuttle that stopped at the mountain's base once every week at noon, Trainers wanting to reach the summit had to rely entirely on their own abilities to climb.
At the same time, thanks to the special properties of Mirror Lake's waters, the wild Pokémon living there were extremely powerful.
Pseudo-Elite–level Pokémon that were normally rarely seen weren't uncommon there at all.
With both the dangerous weather and powerful wild Pokémon working against intruders, simply reaching the summit was already incredibly difficult, let alone finding Mirror Lake itself.
As a result, most people chose to search nearby lakes instead for their dream Pokémon.
At the very least, compared to ordinary rivers packed with endless Magikarp that couldn't evolve, the Pokémon around those lakes were considerably better.
Just as Silas and Brock were celebrating their discovery of a newly connected underground waterfall linked to Mirror Lake
Inside a rocky section of Clear Cliff.
A group of researchers in white lab coats were conducting experiments within a steel laboratory.
"Reduce Element No. 2 concentration to 3.2%. Increase Element No. 3 by 5%. Fine-tune Element No. 4 upward by 0.34%. Test subjects will be Individuals No. 8 and No. 22."
A doctor with two pale red mustaches, matching pale red eyebrows, and a balding hairstyle continuously called out experimental data.
The surrounding researchers worked diligently while listening to his instructions.
Without exception, every one of them wore uniforms marked with a large "R".
Members of Giovanni's Team Rocket.
"Professor Namba, we're back!"
A loud female voice rang out as the laboratory doors were pushed open without warning.
"Yamato, the professors are working right now! Isn't this a bad time?" another male voice pleaded helplessly.
"Oh, it's fine. Didn't Boss Giovanni send us here to assist Professor Sebastian anyway?" the red-haired woman replied indifferently.
If Silas had been present, he would've immediately recognized the pair.
They were none other than Cassidy and Butch, whom he had previously encountered once before.
As rivals—well, half-rivals to Team Rocket's famous trio, the two had been assigned under Professor Namba after their last mission by Giovanni himself.
Their job mostly involved capturing Pokémon.
"My name is Namba!"
The pale-red-haired doctor exploded in anger.
"And did you capture the Pokémon I asked for?"
"Yeah, yeah, we put them in the breeding room already."
Cassidy casually played with her crimson hair while sounding completely uninterested.
"Honestly, Professor, when are we finally getting out of here?"
At first, both she and Butch had been thrilled to arrive.
After all, not everyone got assigned directly under a professor immediately after joining Team Rocket.
But over time, they realized something was wrong.
This miserable place had nobody except Team Rocket members, and their daily tasks consisted entirely of catching all kinds of Pokémon.
How was that supposed to showcase their talents?
Cassidy could already imagine Jessie mocking her after hearing what she'd been doing.
"Oh ho ho ho~ So this is your amazing assignment, Cassidy? How pathetic."
—By Jessie, in an obnoxiously mocking tone.
Just imagining the scene made Cassidy's scalp tingle and her blood pressure rise.
"What do you know?!"
Professor Namba shot her a furious glare, his voice filled with fanaticism.
"The experiments we're conducting right now will overturn everyone's understanding of Pokémon! We'll elevate those Pokémon to unimaginable levels of strength!
And once that happens, Team Rocket ruling the world will become effortless!
So what if you spend some time underground? It's not like you'll die!"
Seeing Cassidy about to argue again, Professor Namba immediately cut her off.
"Agent Cassidy, your only duty is to follow orders. Now go to the breeding room and bring me Subject No. 16 immediately."
Cassidy's face shifted between red and pale.
But constrained by Team Rocket's internal rules, she didn't dare continue arguing and could only unwillingly leave with Butch pulling her away.
"Hmph."
Professor Namba snorted disdainfully.
If it weren't for Matori personally assigning those two idiots here, he would've replaced them long ago.
Fortunately, although they talked far too much, they at least handled their work competently enough, so the experiments hadn't fallen behind schedule.
"Increase concentration in Cultivation Chamber No. 3 by 23%. Add Special Compound No. 7."
Under his command, the laboratory quickly returned to orderly operation.
RUMBLE~
Clear water crashed downward from above, the surging spray growing faster and fiercer as it descended.
Like a white jade ribbon, the waterfall slammed heavily into the water below.
The violent spray splashed across the faces of the two Trainers who had entered this hidden place, while nearby Pokémon hid beneath the water or within the shadows of the rocks, silently observing them.
"…It's beautiful."
Silas couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Brock nodded deeply in agreement.
Blaziken merely clicked its tongue and stepped farther back.
All it found the waterfall to be was noisy.
...
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