Inside Pryce's villa.
The atmosphere was far less cheerful than an ordinary family's New Year's Eve dinner.
After the meal…
Pryce got straight to the point and said, "Tetsuya, you really helped me a great deal this time and also helped the Johto League regain some respect. What are your plans for the future?"
Tetsuya naturally knew what Pryce wanted to say next. Although he had wavered before, Raine at Ecruteak Gym was someone he could not relax his guard against in the slightest!
Every enemy must not be allowed the opportunity to grow stronger. Even if there was no chance to eliminate them, they had to be firmly controlled, and once an opportunity appeared, they must be dealt with decisively. He could never be given a chance to harm him.
"I am already an official pupil of Ecruteak Gym. I cannot bring myself to betray my Leader!"
Tetsuya spoke "righteously", leaving Pryce momentarily speechless.
Pryce nodded and said, "That is true. You have already received much of my true teachings and can be considered half my student. Staying at Ecruteak Gym is also good. Matsuba is a righteous person and at least will not lead you astray.
When you work at the League in the future, be sure to come find me. With your level, you will definitely be able to help the Johto League rise again!"
"Thank you, Elite Four Pryce," Tetsuya nodded. Such a beautiful wish should remain in your heart. In his previous life, he had dealt with the Johto League for many years and understood its current situation better than anyone. It was already rotten from within. To change it would require a complete overhaul from top to bottom, which was clearly not something that could be achieved by individual ability.
"Oh, right! There is another very important matter." Pryce suddenly seemed to remember something, and Tetsuya looked at him with a surprised expression.
"During your battle with Caitlin today, Piloswine was actually able to directly absorb the cold energy of Freeze-Dry. Logically, it should not have such an ability. Only my Delibird and my previous Piloswine had such an ability, and that was because they had licked Eternal Ice.
Your Piloswine has never come into contact with Eternal Ice, so how could it have such an ability…? Also, what Sheila previously told me, that your Piloswine can almost be immune to Ice-type moves. Such an ability truly surprises me. After some time, you should lend me Piloswine for research. Perhaps we can discover a new breeding path."
As Pryce spoke, Tetsuya could not help but take in a sharp breath.
He could only respond with an "Mm."
He had originally planned to leave Mt. Silver after Piloswine had fully recovered, but now he could not wait to leave this place. With Pryce's ability, having researched Ice-type Pokémon his entire life, how could he fail to discover the Eternal Ice energy within Piloswine? That was only a secondary concern.
The key issue was that the energy of this Eternal Ice was too high. The piece of Eternal Ice in his possession had only left a mark on Piloswine's tongue even now. Who knew how long it would take to fully consume it.
Pryce could not possibly be unaware of such things. Once he discovered the presence of Eternal Ice energy within Piloswine, he would certainly become suspicious. How could Piloswine have such a high concentration of Eternal Ice energy in such a short period of time? At that point, even if he brought out his own piece of Eternal Ice, he would not be able to explain it away, because it was impossible to achieve such a result in just a month or so.
At that time, he would have no way to defend himself.
If Pryce were able to discover the connection between the cold energy within his Piloswine and that of his own Piloswine, then he would truly have no way out. With the bond between Pryce and his Piloswine, he would definitely seek revenge for it.
The more Tetsuya thought about it, the more frightened he became. The only solution now was to leave this place as soon as possible, leave Pryce, and return to Ecruteak Gym. At that time, he could keep making excuses.
With Pryce's status, it would be impossible for him to forcefully take Piloswine, and Matsuba would also stand in front of him. After all, Pryce, as an Elite Four, still needed Matsuba's support.
Seeing Tetsuya's somewhat uneasy expression.
Pryce laughed and said, "Prahaha! Don't worry, I already gave Piloswine to you, so it is your Pokémon. I only want to study it, and I will return it to you very soon."
"Tehaha…"
Tetsuya smiled awkwardly. If things were really as simple as Pryce said, he would not be worried. Fortunately, he had the advantage of being young, and Pryce could only think of this level. Otherwise, the fluctuation in his emotions just now would have caused him a lot of trouble…
---◓---
After leaving Pryce's villa, Tetsuya went straight to the Pokémon Center. Pryce had already booked a room for him, and he had also made up his mind to leave Mt. Silver early tomorrow morning and head to Ecruteak City.
Leaving without saying goodbye would definitely make Pryce suspicious. He would think that Tetsuya had quietly left because he was afraid that Pryce would take back his Piloswine.
In that case, the situation might still have a turning point.
After returning to the Pokémon Center, the first thing Tetsuya did was call Sheila. He had to transfer his Haunter now. He could refuse to let Pryce study Piloswine, but Sheila might also refuse by saying that Haunter was still training at the glacier falls. Therefore, he had to take the initiative.
Moreover, the journey from Mt. Silver to Ecruteak City was long. Ditto needed to transform into Rapidash, which consumed a great deal of stamina and energy every day. Golett was in a three-month immobile period, and Piloswine was injured and also needed time to recover. In this way, he did not have a single usable combat force with him. If he encountered danger, he would be completely helpless. Therefore, he had to rely on Haunter to protect him along the way.
After exchanging a few polite words with Sheila, he simply said that he wanted to check Haunter's training results. Sheila did not suspect much and went to the glacier falls to recall Haunter and transferred it to Tetsuya.
After receiving Haunter's Poké Ball, Tetsuya was eager to see the results of Haunter's training over the past half month, but this place was indeed not suitable. Of course, as long as he had enough Pokédollars to compensate for the damage to the facilities.
Returning to the dormitory, Tetsuya released Haunter.
After not seeing each other for half a month, Haunter could hardly wait to show Tetsuya the results of its training, but it was quickly stopped by Tetsuya.
From Haunter's mental state, it was clear that this half month had not been wasted.
"Haunter, tomorrow when we reach the wilderness, we will test the results of your special training. Over the past half month, Ditto and Piloswine have also made great progress. You will definitely not disappoint me!"
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Haunter made a very confident gesture.
"Tomorrow we will prepare to return to Ecruteak City. You should stay hidden in my shadow, and if an unexpected situation arises, you can come out and battle immediately."
In order to have a good mental state for tomorrow, Tetsuya also went to rest early.
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