"Pssht~"
The sound of a soda can opening echoed as Silas took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh.
His face was full of exhaustion.
As expected, there was no need to have any illusions about training — aside from being tiring, it was just plain tiring.
It wasn't only the Pokémon who suffered; the Trainer who participated in every session wasn't doing any better.
It was both physical and mental torture.
Although this wasn't his first time going through such intensive training — and he wasn't exactly unwilling — it didn't stop either him or his Pokémon from occasionally complaining.
Still, the next few days would finally bring a bit of relaxation.
He had to travel to Viridian City to prepare for the Pokémon League Torch Relay.
A proper break was necessary.
Keeping one's nerves constantly tense would only harm performance later in the Indigo Plateau Conference, and Pokémon needed balance between exertion and recovery.
Today was February 4th, marking exactly three weeks since Silas arrived at the Pokémon League Village.
In three days, official registration for the Indigo Plateau Conference would begin.
And in six days, with the opening ceremony, the preliminary qualifiers also called the Selection Exam would start.
Unlike the Johto League, where the Selection Exam took place before the torch lighting to reduce the number of competitors, the Kanto League began its matches after the opening ceremony.
The Indigo Plateau Conference was also the only regional Pokémon League that allowed Trainers to qualify through multiple routes.
Besides collecting the standard eight Gym Badges, Trainers could also qualify by graduating from an accredited Pokémon research academy.
Additionally, since the end of last year, a new path had been announced — passing the Pokémon League Certification Exam.
Starting next season, anyone who passed with a qualifying score could enter the League.
But that wouldn't apply to this year; preparations for that new system still required about two months around the time this year's League would already be ending.
"Mm-hm, understood. Thank you very much."
Silas was speaking with a League staff member.
This time, when he returned from Viridian City to the Indigo Plateau, it would already be time for the opening ceremony.
Registration would have closed by then — and without confirmation, he wouldn't be able to compete.
Fortunately, being chosen as a Torch Runner by official appointment had its perks; such minor administrative matters were easily handled.
After a brief discussion, the staff helped him confirm his participant ID in advance, ensuring there would be no issues with his entry.
After hanging up, Silas thought for a moment, then dialed Yezo's number.
The two chatted casually.
Yezo said he was only missing one final Badge, he planned to challenge the Viridian Gym within the next few days.
According to League regulations, during the two weeks before the conference, every official Gym must remain open for challengers, and Gym Leaders were not permitted to close or leave without authorization.
While not strictly enforced, most Gyms still complied — if only for reputation's sake.
"When I arrive, you better treat me to a good meal, Silas. Don't think I forgot about that shiny marble you promised me!"
Yezo's teasing voice came through the phone — clearly referring to the Key Stone.
Silas smiled helplessly.
"Alright, alright. My treat — eat as much as you want."
He said that boldly, completely ignoring how his balance had been rapidly dropping after three weeks of nonstop training expenses.
Still, being a Torch Runner came with pay — and not a small amount either.
A full five million Poké Dollars.
Probably, among all the chosen runners, Silas was the only one motivated by the money.
The others were all either famous or wealthy enough to not care.
"Hmm, that 'All-You-Can-Eat' place run by Uncle Fat's got great food. As long as you don't bring a big eater like a Snorlax, it's only about 3,000 Poké Dollars per person, or 10,000 per Pokémon."
Silas calculated in his mind.
Why did Pokémon cost so much more?
Simply because they could eat unbelievable amounts.
Even an ordinary Pokémon could easily eat three to four times their body weight in food without issue — not for energy, just for taste and satisfaction.
If the restaurant didn't charge that much, the loss wouldn't just be financial — they might go bankrupt overnight.
Yezo hung up, clearly pleased, unaware of Silas's mental arithmetic.
He was just looking forward to the free meal.
Still, the cost was no small sum.
For reference, an ordinary person's meal usually cost 700–800 Poké Dollars at most.
Back before Silas began his journey — when he was scraping by in Viridian Forest — he could only afford to bring his then-Pidgeotto to eat out once a month.
He wondered whether Yezo would actually be satisfied.
Then again even if he wasn't, what could he do about it?
Silas smirked.
It wasn't like Yezo could beat him in a battle.
He returned to the training grounds.
Clap, clap!
Standing by the doorway, Silas clapped his hands.
The six Pokémon in training all turned to look at him then glanced at the clock on the wall.
Still early.
Not even dinner time yet.
What was going on?
"Training for this afternoon is over," Silas announced, pausing for a moment.
"Or rather… our special training ends here.
For the next week, we'll mostly rest — just keep up with our daily form routines."
Six pairs of eyes stared at him in disbelief.
"Ser~!"
While training its Solar Beam absorption and conversion, Serperior got distracted and accidentally let out a pained hiss as the sunlight burned too strong.
It wasn't alone — Pidgeot and Togetic, who had been rising in the air, tilted their heads mid-flight to look at Silas and smashed straight into the ceiling, dropping like rocks — right onto Blaziken, who didn't move fast enough to dodge.
The three landed in a heap, and then got "treated" to an electric jolt from an excited Flaaffy, who had accidentally discharged while startled.
The entire training field descended into chaos.
Silas's mouth twitched slightly.
"Was that really necessary?"
He turned to look at Gigalith — calm and unmoving as always, the picture of composure.
Well, except for the fact that its weight was making the ground tremble and everyone else was struggling to stay upright.
The Pokémon quickly calmed down.
After all, Silas had already explained what the end of special training meant — that it was almost time to test the results of their hard work.
Their eyes burned with determination.
Silas scanned the group, nodding with satisfaction.
"Good. That's the spirit I want to see."
"Alright, everyone — let's take this down together."
The team immediately got to work, dismantling the special setups and equipment.
Since Silas was returning to Viridian City, there was no more need for the rented training facility.
He had already arranged the lease cancellation with the League.
But the custom-built training zones he'd made for each Pokémon had to go those were personal secrets born of his hard work.
Even if others saw them, they wouldn't know their purpose but still, best to keep things confidential.
After another hour, the training grounds looked almost exactly as they had when he first arrived dusty, worn, but empty once again.
Checking the time on his watch, Silas quickly recalled all his Pokémon and rushed to the front gate of the League Village.
A small red-and-white League bus marked with the Poké Ball insignia was parked by the roadside.
A uniformed League staffer was waving frantically in his direction.
Passing Trainers turned their heads curiously.
The crowd's gaze gathered on Silas, making the scene uncomfortably conspicuous.
Silas sighed inwardly.
This is way too flashy.
Unlike when he first arrived when the League Village was nearly empty now, seven or eight thousand Trainers were gathered here.
At the entrance alone, with all the foot traffic, several hundred people were watching him climb aboard.
Silas jogged over calmly.
A little attention wasn't a big deal.
After all, once the Indigo League battles began, even the smaller division arenas would draw tens of thousands of live spectators.
If he couldn't handle a few hundred stares now, how would he stand on that stage?
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Silas said politely to the staffer once he reached the bus.
"Oh, not at all! You're right on time," the man replied quickly.
With that, Silas boarded the small League shuttle.
No sooner had he sat down than the driver whipped the steering wheel sharply — the bus spun around in a clean 360-degree drift turn, then accelerated full speed toward Viridian City.
As the scenery blurred past, Silas's expression grew mixed not from motion sickness, but from admiration.
Let's just say the bus driver's driving style was something he'd only seen in old videos from another life.
The kind of driving you'd expect from a mountain city taxi driver.
There were three other people on the bus — Silas's styling team, assigned by the Pokémon League. After all, he was representing the League's image, and during the final stage of the torch relay, almost everyone would be watching.
Not only members of the Kanto League, but also trainers from other nearby regional Leagues were paying close attention.
If Silas had to handle his own appearance, it probably wouldn't go very well.
As for other logistical personnel — that was Viridian City's responsibility.
To be honest, when Silas first learned about this, his initial reaction wasn't acceptance of the League's system… it was wanting to run away.
The reason? Naturally, because he knew too much.
The five of them talked along the way — mainly the other four explaining the process and everything he'd need to do.
The bumpy ride didn't affect their conversation at all.
Thankfully, only the first two hours were through mountain roads. The last hour and a half was almost flat terrain, and with this driver's skill, the ride was surprisingly smooth.
After rushing all the way, they finally arrived at the Viridian City reception area prepared for them at around 7 p.m.
After enjoying a grand meal made by the support staff, everyone immediately began their preparations.
Silas, numbed by the constant activity, only understood one thing: all he needed to do was run along the route behind the broadcast vehicle and the parade float, carrying the torch in his hand and with one of his Pokémon by his side.
That sounded simple enough, Silas thought optimistically. It was just that running continuously for two days with only brief rests would be exhausting. If not for his good physical condition, he probably wouldn't have the energy left to compete in the tournament preliminaries afterward.
"So, which Pokémon will you choose to accompany you for the torch relay? Will it be your discovered Leafeon?"
The staff member asked him.
All Pokémon used in the League Conference had to be registered — at least six Pokémon, though there was no upper limit. Even if some trainers only fought 3v3 or 1v1 battles, the rule still applied.
If anyone used an unregistered Pokémon, they'd be disqualified immediately, and that match would be counted as a loss.
Before each battle, the League would re-confirm whether the Pokémon truly belonged to the trainer and hadn't been switched.
After all, while Poké Balls are bound to their Pokémon, and bonds can't be faked, without re-checking, some shameless people might temporarily borrow another person's Pokémon to battle. By the time such things were discovered, it would be too late to stop the match.
The audience — both live and on TV — wanted to see genuine teamwork between trainers and their Pokémon, not some emergency farce. You couldn't just call time-out midway; that would look even worse.
Registering was simple: you only had to hand your Poké Balls to Nurse Joy, just like at Pokémon Centers.
Otherwise, with so many people coming for treatment every day, there'd be no way to tell which of the dozens of Caterpies belonged to which shorts-wearing kid.
Of course, the workload for the Joy family skyrocketed during the tournament preliminaries.
Other trainers could see your public registration info on the League's official site — just your name and the Pokémon species you registered. The League did a good job maintaining that confidentiality.
As for detailed info like battle performance or move sets, that had to be gathered manually through one's own effort, giving rise to many information brokers.
Silas registered eight Pokémon in total — six he carried with him, plus Rhydon and Leafeon, both at Advance level.
In terms of raw strength, Rhydon was even stronger than Togetic and Flaaffy, while Leafeon was about the same level as them.
But of course, bonds mattered more than strength.
Even if those two were slightly stronger, Silas would still choose Togetic and Flaaffy first.
Besides those two were about to grow even stronger soon.
The staff helping him register clearly knew his Pokémon lineup. While admiring how different Silas was from most trainers, they also thought Leafeon would make a fine choice it would perfectly showcase the Kanto League's research achievements. After all, this new evolution of Eevee had been discovered by a Kanto trainer, giving scientists new insight into Eevee's evolution lines.
"Blaziken," Silas said, giving what seemed like an obvious answer.
Just as he thought Rhydon and Leafeon weren't in his plans. He'd only registered them as a backup measure.
Among his other Pokémon, the one best suited for long-distance running was undoubtedly Blaziken, whose speed and endurance were exceptional.
Pidgeot, though his senior partner, was a Flying-type not suitable. Running all the way from Viridian City to the Indigo Plateau on those talons would be absurd.
Gigalith was too slow; Togetic and Flaaffy had short legs.
Serperior wasn't bad, but Silas had already asked it and the proud, showy Grass-type had no interest in carrying a flame. Naturally, Grass Pokémon didn't get excited over Fire-type activities.
The staff nodded. That was also a solid choice the second-best option, actually. And since Blaziken was powerful, if anyone tried to cause trouble during the relay, it could protect both Silas and the League's reputation.
Plus, it was a starter Pokémon, even if not from Kanto.
There weren't many Kanto Pokémon suited for long-distance runs anyway basically Dodrio, Arcanine, and Rapidash. But Arcanine wasn't realistic here, leaving just two. The regional starters couldn't really run like that either and as for Charizard, it could fly just fine, but asking it to run? That was just silly. Those huge wings weren't for show.
The group continued their discussions, while Silas listened half-dazed.
The next morning and afternoon passed the same way. His only real thought was how excellent the chefs' cooking was it suited his taste perfectly.
That night, he managed to spare some time to have dinner with Yezo, who had also arrived in Viridian City.
Of course, Leaf scoffed at his phrasing — "spare some time" and protested strongly when Silas treated him at the "Big Uncle's All-You-Can-Eat Buffet."
"Eat if you want. If not, don't," Silas replied flatly, stuffing another bite of meat into his mouth.
Yezo, resigned, channeled his frustration into his appetite and began eating furiously.
Silas didn't bother warning him about overeating after all, it wasn't Silas who'd suffer for it later.
When they left, though, Silas noticed that the restaurant owner whom he knew well — had a slightly strange expression.
The two walked under the moonlight along Viridian's streets.
Coincidentally, the guesthouse Silas stayed in and Yezo's hotel were in the same direction.
"So, you're planning to challenge the Viridian Gym tomorrow?"
Silas asked, repeating what Yezo had just said.
Yezo nodded. He took it seriously. His earlier talk about delaying until the 9th and registering on the 10th had been a joke.
Not that it made much difference now.
"Wish you failure,"
Silas said cheerfully — earning two rude hand gestures in response.
They chatted as they walked, parting ways at an intersection.
Another night passed.
On the third day after arriving in Viridian City — February 6th Silas received a furious message from Yezo.
"You jerk! You actually cursed me to fail, didn't you?! I swear I'll—"
Silas didn't finish reading. Laughing, he immediately called Yezo to tease him.
With that level of skill, losing a Gym battle was almost impressive. "Young trainers these days," Silas thought smugly.
But the news Yezo told him next wiped the smirk off his face.
According to Yezo, the reason he lost was because he was suddenly chosen to battle Giovanni, the Gym Leader himself who had just caught a new Pokémon and wanted to test its strength.
Yezo hadn't refused. Battling a Gym Leader wasn't about winning or losing anyway.
And with Giovanni being an Elite Four–level trainer, fighting him was a great learning opportunity.
Yezo had even brought Incineroar and Bisharp, hoping to experience the thrill of beating a near–Champion-level opponent.
But instead… he was the one crushed.
The Pokémon Giovanni used, as Yezo described it, was a bipedal, silver-white, feline-like creature with purple eyes and a long purple tail, wearing some kind of armor.
Its name, Giovanni said, was Mewtwo.
.....
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu