"Steven, why did you run? Let's have a battle."
"You… if you have the guts, don't use Diancie."
Silas only smiled without answering. He adjusted the camera angle and pointed it straight at Diancie.
He picked up a small cake and personally fed it to Diancie. She opened her mouth and took a bite, then picked up another piece and gently fed it back to him.
On the other end of the screen, Steven clutched his chest, overwhelmed with jealousy and envy. With a sharp smack, he hung up the call, choosing to spare himself further suffering.
Was it really necessary to show off like this just because he had flaunted his golden Skarmory earlier?
After hanging up, Steven immediately made another call, asking about the progress of the other two Legendary Titans.
"Young master, we have confirmed the locations of the sealed ruins of Regirock and Regice. One is in the desert along Route 111, and the other is in the sea near Dewford Town."
"Keep me updated with any new developments. If we finish this within the year, your year-end bonuses will be doubled."
In order to surpass Silas, Steven once again activated his overwhelming financial power.
The research team under the Devon Corporation already had high salaries, and now they were being doubled. It was hard to even imagine.
On the other end, the team leader hurriedly promised they would accelerate the excavation at all costs.
After finishing work, Steven happily opened his drawer, took out the freshly washed high-definition photos, and began sorting through them one by one, selecting the ten most beautiful shots to keep as treasured items.
Just as he was about to place them in his collection room, the president of Devon Corporation and several executives walked into his office to handle work handover.
By the time Steven finished dealing with everything, over an hour had passed. When he reached for the photos again, the desk was empty.
They were gone.
"Metagross, where are my photos?"
"Meta…"
The next moment, an angry shout erupted from the top-floor CEO office. His old man had taken every single photo and left him none.
…
Meanwhile, back in Kalos.
Silas returned to the ranch with a full harvest.
The moment he landed, Cinccino raised the trophy high above its head, eager to show it off to its companions and bask in their praise.
Brionne and Jigglypuff followed closely behind. They were not about to let Cinccino enjoy all the glory alone.
"Greninja, we're back at the ranch."
The Dive Ball at his waist opened, and Greninja appeared beside him, calmly observing its new surroundings.
Very quickly, its attention was drawn elsewhere. Its pupils shrank, and its body tensed.
"Nin!!"
A strong sense of danger enveloped it. There were two Pokémon here that were clearly stronger than it.
"Kangaskhan, Dragonite."
Silas waved toward them. Dragonite rushed forward immediately, turning into a hugging machine, pressing its big head forward for affection.
Kangaskhan, on the other hand, looked Greninja up and down, her gaze filled with vigilance as one hand instinctively protected the baby in her pouch.
"Kang Kang?"
"Kangaskhan… this is our… new partner. Its name is Greninja."
Speaking in broken phrases, Silas struggled to free himself from Dragonite's embrace, gasping for fresh air.
Facing Pokémon stronger than itself, Greninja behaved with rare humility.
It even bowed at a full ninety degrees and muttered something in its native tongue.
"Nin nin…"
Everyone got acquainted, and soon after, Greninja turned toward what it thought was the weaker opponent and issued a challenge to Dragonite.
That was right. Compared to Kangaskhan, Dragonite looked smaller, so it must be weaker.
As expected, things did not go as planned.
Dragonite unleashed a barrage of punches, seven strikes in a single second, each one landing solidly.
Greninja was beaten so thoroughly that it cried out for mercy, immediately retreating to sit obediently with the Chikorita group.
After a hearty lunch, Greninja fully recovered and decided to challenge the Mudsdale trio next.
With type advantage, how could it possibly lose?
The Mudsdale trio said nothing. They simply used High Horsepower combined with Heavy Slam over and over again.
"Cin~" (Wow! Greninja can fly so high!)
"Morpeko…" (How many times do you think it can fly?)
"Meowth!" (Five!)
"Crem~" (Doesn't that hurt a lot?)
The little ones lay on the grass, counting how many times Greninja was launched into the air.
It lasted fifteen times.
After that, Greninja limped back, treating its wounds with Max Potions.
Its status dropped again.
Under Cinccino's guidance, Meganium stepped forward and gently used Heal Pulse to restore Greninja.
Fully healed once more, Greninja issued another challenge.
This time, it chose the Noivern trio.
One hour later, Carbink carried the unconscious Greninja back on a stretcher.
Its status dropped once again.
After losing to Dragonite, then Mudsdale, then Noivern, Greninja's standing fell again and again, and it voluntarily became the leader of the second team.
It was definitely not because it could not make it into the first team.
Silas did not interfere with these challenges. It was normal for Pokémon to establish their roles through battle.
Cyclizar, Dragonite, and Noivern often fought as well, creating a form of internal competition.
He simply asked Kangaskhan to keep an eye on things to prevent accidents. As for the rest, they could fight freely. After all, they had plenty of medicine at home.
Meanwhile, Silas worked in the kitchen together with the Indeedee siblings, recreating Lava Cookies.
The steamed rice was pounded repeatedly into a sticky dough. The Indeedee siblings controlled four hammers each, striking rhythmically.
Before Silas could even prepare the other ingredients, the rice dough was already finished.
He wet his hands slightly, tore off a piece of dough, placed it on plastic wrap, and flattened it into a rice cake. Then he used molds to shape it.
For his first attempt, he chose a simple round shape.
The rice cakes were placed into a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius and baked for eight minutes to set their form.
Afterward, he brushed them with a honey glaze. One batch was left plain, one was sweetened further, and one was made spicy.
After coating both sides, they were baked again until the edges were slightly crisp and the surface gleamed with oil.
Once cooled, the Lava Cookies were complete.
At the same time, a detailed cooking panel appeared before Silas's eyes.
[Lava Cookie (C-): A specialty dish from Lavaridge Town, rich in regional flavor and widely loved.
Dish Effect: Ground- and Fire-type Pokémon that consume it will experience a significant increase in energy recovery speed for 60 minutes.
Special Effect (Spicy / Sweet&Spicy): When consumed by Charcadet, the power of Fire-type moves increases slightly, with a small chance to double for 30 minutes. Long-term consumption may also increase the probability of learning Fire-type moves.]
The effect seemed decent, but in reality, it was quite limited.
It only worked on Ground- and Fire-type Pokémon. At most, it gave the Mudsdale trio an extra snack, perhaps even synergizing with mud biscuits.
However, the special effect was extremely useful for Charcadet, accelerating their growth.
Silas broke off a piece and tasted it himself. Compared to authentic Lava Cookies, it was still lacking.
It was probably due to environmental differences.
There was nothing he could do about that unless he went to Lavaridge Town to make them.
He brought out three flavors for the Pokémon to try.
Morpeko crunched away happily.
Cinccino and Alcremie were not interested and shook their heads.
The two Charcadet, however, loved them.
Shiny Charcadet quickly finished one piece, and the Fire-type energy within its body surged, releasing a strange flame from its hand.
(End of Chapter)