As Silas left the lab, he returned his pokemon to their pokeballs to rest. He walked through Pallet Town reminiscing about the years he spent here developing before ultimately leaving.
"I have grown." Silas felt good about his situation and had faith that somehow he would save Froakie."
As Silas was having a rare monet, it began to rain. He had to jog back to the orphanage to avoid getting soaked.
When he got inside, some of the orphans were playing board games together in the common area.
Noticing Silas, they all looked up. There were a few girls and several boys.
"Brother Silas can I see your pokemon?" One of the kids with yellow hair asked with a pleading look in his eyes.
Silas obliged, sending out Monferno and Elekid to play with the children. He held back Froakie for obvious reasons.
"How strong are they? Can they fly? Can they use Hyper Beam? Can they use Giga Impact?" All the kids were so excited they bombarded Silas with question after question.
Silas patiently answered all their questions, The pokemon were also surprisingly patient despite the tugging and poking on their bodies by the kids.
There was one incident with Elekid using Thunder Shock to teach one of them a lesson. If you are going to poke a pokemon in the eyes, then be prepared for some pain.
Eventually they settled down and watched a movie together about a man who woke up as a Riolu and had to save the world.
"If I had aura I'd beat up bad guys in 1 punch." One of the girls had fire in her eyes as she spoke this with conviction.
"Let me show you something cool." Silas got up and walked to the door. He gestured that they follow him.
When they got outside, he had Monferno demonstrate its Aura Sphere. Monferno enjoyed being the center of attention and put on a good show.
He made mini Aura Spheres and made them explode like fireworks.
"I can't help but feel Monferno had a natural talent for pokemon contests."
As Silas thought this, Monferno bowed for his little audience.
At some point Madam had silently arrived nearby on her Arcanine.
Arcanine — Level 63
Ability: Flash Fire
Potential: B+
Moves: Rank A Growl, Rank B Flamethrower, Rank B Protect, Rank B Reversal, Rank B Extreme Speed, Rank B Flame Wheel, Rank B Flare Blitz, Rank B Fire Blast, Rank B Fire Fang, Rank B Thunder Fang, Rank C Wild Charge, Rank C Morning Sun, Rank C Crunch, Rank C Double Team, Rank C Aerial Ace, Rank D Dragon Pulse, Rank D Teleport
Arcanine had gotten much stronger since that fateful day at the Research Auditorium on Oaks property. His potential improved too, the last time he was at B-.
To jump 2 levels of potential in a short time must have been some awesome opportunity.
"Big brother Silas fits you well right now. I am glad you haven't forgotten where you came from."
Silas felt as if the world had stopped. Was Madam joking with him? He quickly gathered himself.
"Actually Madam, I have something I need to discuss with you." Silas tried to remain serious.
Madam seemed to know exactly what he wanted to say. "What did Oak tell you?"
Silas explained everything in detail including the berries he needed and the potential dangers.
"So will you help me?"
"Yes I can help but you have to follow everything I say without question." Madam became extremely serious.
"Understood, you will be in charge."
Madam gave him a smile and walked away. She stopped after taking several steps and turned around.
"Take off all your shoes before coming inside." Typical Madam, always striving for perfection.
"Yes ma'am!" Silas and the children said this in unison as if they were well trained soldiers talking with their commander.
"Silas, when you come inside, meet me in my office space."
After washing up and changing into clean clothing, Silas went to find Madam. When he entered her office, she looked up from her computer.
"So a journey like this will call for supplies. Luckily we have a stockpile of berries but we still need escape ropes, repel, revives, and food supplies."
"Just make a list and I can gather it." Silas wanted to make sure he contributed because Madam was really doing him a favor by accompanying him.
"Good child, I know it is hard being a rookie trainer. I can cover these costs, we can discuss it later."
Silas was relieved to have Madam's help. Ever since the incident with Tangrowth, Madam has been different. She is far less robotic in her interactions, she actually connects now.
"Also your pokemon are much too weak, we have to bring them up to at least Intermediate."
Pokemon from level 30-39 are considered Intermediate class.
"I've actually heard that training at the base of Mount Silver could allow my pokemon to rapidly level up." Silas remembered Percy and that powerful Gliscor.
"Ok we can set out tomorrow afternoon on Arcanine. This will be good training for him."
"Sounds good, I will meet you back here tomorrow afternoon."
Early next morning, Silas made sure to do his training. It had been a few days since their last session and he didn't want to fall behind.
He led his pokemon in some stretches and then they did some exercises. Next up was move refinement.
Madam's Arcanine helped Monferno with its move refinement. This was a big help for Monferno as he didn't know any fire type moves besides Flame Wheel.
Instructions from a high level pokemon is invaluable. In just 1 hour, Monferno comprehended the basics of Flamethrower. He could now shoot a weak and inaccurate stream of fire.
When Silas scanned him, the comprehension was at F level. Monferno wasn't discouraged by his weak Flamethrower, it actually motivated him. He diligently practiced for the next few hours.
Madam had made an exception to delay the departure to give Monferno more time. He had entered a hyper focused state.
Slowly but surely his skill with Flamethrower visibly increased from F rank to D rank. He was almost at C rank but he needed real combat experience to break through.
During this time, Silas made sure to periodically check on Froakie and feed it berries.
Unfortunately because of its deteriorating condition, it couldn't spend much time outside the heal ball. It would only come out to eat and use the bathroom.
Elekid was also working hard but could not achieve similar results. Madam's Nidoqueen showed him how to use Ice Punch and Fire Punch.
These moves represented coverage Elekid desperately needed. He did work hard but only managed to get a basic understanding of both moves.
Elekid would have to keep practicing to fully learn the punching moves.
An hour after the training session ended, Madam and Silas set off. Arcanine was fitted with a 2 person saddle.
When Silas and Madam jumped on, they were wrapped around the legs by the saddle and locked in.
This felt uncomfortable to Silas. He hated feeling trapped or restricted.
"Can I take these restraints off?
"I will tell you what, if you still want to remove them in 15 minutes, you can."
Without waiting for a reply from Silas, Madam signaled Arcanine with a tap on its side and it took off running like the wind.
Silas understood now why the saddle was this way. Arcanine was much too fast, so someone could easily fall off.
"Arcanine, use Extreme Speed in bursts until we get to Viridian City."
Arcanine sped up again. This time Silas could not even get his bearings, they were going so fast.
It only took 2 hours to get to Viridian City on Arcanine.
"I have to catch a Growlithe." Silas thought this was a very convenient means of transportation and Arcanine could learn Teleport which would be extremely useful as well.
As they arrived at the Pokemon Center to book a room, Silas heard a sweet familiar voice.
"The illustrious Madam has graced us with her presence, I am truly honored."