"No need."
Silas raised the food in his hand, indicating that he had prepared some as well.
The two of them sat on the ground in silence and began eating.
"I've always lacked a sense of security by nature, so I keep food in my backpack year-round.
My wife is always nagging me about it, saying I waste money replacing it every month for no reason. But see? It finally came in handy. Once we get out, I'll make sure to tell her properly.
To be honest, when I first ran into the flood, I was completely scared stiff. No wonder Falkner seals off the Dark Cave passages every single day. There were rumors saying there were treasures down here before.
Turns out there are no treasures, just piles of dead people.
Luckily, this godforsaken place still has quite a few spots to hide. They're a bit cramped, but I think surviving is already a good thing."
The middle-aged man, who introduced himself as Elio, rambled on nonstop while eating.
Perhaps because he had narrowly escaped death, his speech was inevitably a little disordered.
Silas listened quietly.
From Elio's words, Silas learned that he was indeed the first Trainer reported missing. He had been trapped in this cursed maze for nearly twenty full days.
If it weren't for constantly thinking about his family outsideband for having his Pokémon partners by his side, he might have already gone insane in this pitch-dark underground where survival seemed impossible.
"Those damned Trapinch brats."
Elio tore into a piece of synthetic jerky and spoke viciously.
After all, he was an Advanced-level Trainer, yet he had stumbled in a place like this.
And to think it was caused by Trapinch—Pokémon universally acknowledged to have pitiful combat power.
"By the way, how do you manage to tell directions down here?" he asked Silas curiously.
He had clearly seen how Silas located the safe point earlier—that calm, practiced manner was simply unbelievable to him.
He himself also had a Pokémon that knew Flash, but even with light illuminating the path, Elio admitted that after wandering around in circles, he completely lost his sense of direction.
If he hadn't been cautious enough to have his Pokémon leave markings at the original safe point and barely make his way back, he might not have found a second safe location before the next flood arrived.
At that point, Silas wouldn't have been rescuing him, he'd probably be fishing out scraps of clothing at best.
"Just Pokémon assistance. If you'd prepared earlier, you wouldn't have gotten lost either," Silas replied.
It was a universal excuse, and he couldn't be bothered to explain that it was due to his own abilities.
"True enough."
As expected, Elio nodded in agreement.
Methods like using Grass-type Pokémon seeds for positioning could accomplish this quite easily, and Pokémon of other types all had their own ways.
There were very few things Pokémon couldn't do in this world, unless they simply weren't strong enough.
Towering torrents of water roared wildly not far from the two of them, splashing cold spray into the air. Elio subconsciously moved closer to Blaziken for warmth.
"Blazi-Ken."
Blaziken glanced at him but didn't react further, allowing him to warm himself.
"Tch… that's a high-end Silph Co. exploration suit, isn't it? Really nice."
Seeing that Silas was completely unaffected, a trace of envy flashed through Elio's eyes.
Comparing people really could drive one mad.
Here he was in his thirties, wearing an exploration suit inferior to that of a Trainer who had debuted not long ago.
Elio subconsciously forgot the gap in strength between the two of them.
After all, Silas was just too young.
Even though Silas was already extremely famous across both Kanto and Johto, and Elio recognized him, it was still hard to adjust his perception immediately after seeing him in person.
"Oh, right—my kids are big fans of yours. Would you mind giving me an autograph?"
Seeing Silas remain silent, Elio suddenly made the request.
"Come to think of it, we're practically half-neighbors. My house is in New Bark Town, north of Viridian City. Once we get out, feel free to visit if you ever have time."
He said it with a cheerful smile.
"It was nothing more than lending a hand," Silas shook his head. "As for the autograph, let's do it after we get out. I don't really have anything suitable on me right now."
Names weren't something to sign casually—neither in his previous life nor in this one. If something went wrong, it could become a real hassle.
"I do."
As Elio spoke, he pulled Silas's poster out of his backpack.
Silas looked up, utterly dumbfounded.
…No, seriously, why are you carrying my poster around with you? Are you some kind of weirdo?
That said, he had to admit, the poster looked pretty good. It showed him and Blaziken passing the Sacred Flame, and the him in the photo was probably about one-thousandth as handsome as the real him.
"My kids insisted I bring it. They said the Sacred Flame would bless me. Looks like they weren't wrong."
Elio explained.
The man trapped in the maze had been rescued by the Sacred Flame runner on the poster, calling it a coincidence really wasn't wrong.
"Then I'll write a blessing instead. What are your kids' names?"
Silas took the poster and prepared to sign it.
"Monica, Tuscany, Wesley, Arthur, Frieda, Santos, Sunny"
The names Elio rattled off instantly left Silas stunned again.
"…Wait, no—are all of those your children?" Silas asked stiffly.
"That's right. Monica, Tuscany and Wesley are girls. Arthur, Frieda, Santos and Sunny are boys. I have seven children in total."
Elio smiled warmly, clearly delighted whenever he spoke of his children.
Good grief.
Silas twitched the corner of his mouth.
Although the Pokémon world did encourage having more children, families with this many were still rare, most had at most two or three.
Aside from Brock's father Flint, who had ten children, Elio was the person Silas had met so far with the most kids.
And those names perfectly corresponded to the seven days of the week.
An impressive guy, by every possible definition.
Writing out all the names individually clearly wasn't practical. After a moment of thought, Silas picked up the pen and wrote a short message instead.
"May the Week Siblings be forever blessed with good fortune on the road to pursuing their dreams, Silas Alaric."
"Thank you very much."
Elio looked genuinely delighted when he saw Silas's autograph.
At least now those seven little demons probably won't give me trouble over my disappearance,
Elio thought to himself.
As the lowest-ranking member of the family hierarchy, that was his honest assessment.
"By the way, are all of your children planning to become Trainers like you?"
With nothing else to do and the flood showing no signs of receding anytime soon, Silas struck up a conversation with Elio.
Elio scratched his head in distress.
"If that's what they want, I won't stop them. But honestly… money is the biggest problem."
His thinking was practically the same as that of most parents in the Pokémon world.
No one was unwilling to let their children strive for greater things, but the cost of that ambition was something many families simply couldn't afford.
Even though the Pokémon League's welfare system and starter Pokémon provisions were close to perfect, this problem still existed.
That was also one of the reasons people were reluctant to have too many children. Much like Silas's previous world, the main issue was simple: it was expensive.
If Flint hadn't possessed the Pewter Gym as a family asset, he wouldn't have been wealthy enough to raise ten children and let every single one of them become a Trainer.
A Champion-level Trainer alone required an enormous amount of funding every year.
"But after this incident, I've finally figured things out," Elio said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "I don't plan on continuing to go out adventuring for money anymore."
"Over the years, I've raised three partners to the Advance level. Combined with the friends I've made, running a small business will be more than enough.
Even if I can't become stronger myself, those little ones at home will definitely surpass me one day."
He was filled with hope for the future.
"That's a good choice,"
Silas said, giving his evaluation.
This kind of path was a reflection of most people in the Pokémon world, working hard so that both they and the next generation could live better lives.
Elio was already fairly fortunate. Despite being born a commoner, he still possessed respectable strength among Advanced Trainers.
Most people were nowhere near his level.
Elio carefully rolled up the poster and placed it back into his spatial backpack. Then he pulled out a strange black object.
"Hm?"
Seeing Elio hand the black object toward him, Silas let out a puzzled sound.
"Consider this a small token of gratitude to my lifesaver. I hope you'll accept it,"
Elio said sincerely.
"No need. I was simply carrying out a commissioned task," Silas shook his head and refused.
If he had come to rescue Elio of his own volition, he would have accepted the reward without hesitation. But taking a job commission was a different matter altogether.
This was the professional code of a bounty hunter.
Otherwise, killing the rescued person, looting their belongings, and reporting that they had died wouldn't be impossible—plenty of scum without any moral bottom line had done exactly that.
Abandoning one's principles was the fastest way to make money, but also the most despised.
"Take it. Once I get out, I won't be a Trainer anymore. This thing has no use for me,"
Elio insisted.
Seeing that Silas still refused, he thought for a moment and changed his approach.
"You know what Blackthorn City is most famous for, right?"
Even though Silas knew he was being baited, he still nodded.
"I do. Dragon's Den."
Those two simple words were explanation enough.
The reason Blackthorn City was famous across the world and why Trainers born there were overwhelmingly skilled in using Dragon-type Pokémon, was entirely due to the existence of Dragon's Den.
Including the current head of the Kanto Elite Four, Lance.
....
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