Silas listened quietly from the side, secretly surprised.
These four Chikorita were indeed exceptional. Each one possessed its own unique strengths.
If an ordinary trainer obtained even one of them, reaching the Elite Trainer level in the future would likely only be a matter of time.
"Ugh… this is so hard."
Selene squatted on the ground, gently stroking the two bolder Chikorita. The leaf on top of their heads released a faint, sweet fragrance that refreshed the mind.
Silas offered some suggestions and calmly analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the four candidates.
Chikorita's final evolution, Meganium, was actually a rather awkward Pokémon in terms of design.
Its base stat total is 525, which is lower than its fellow Johto starters:
Typhlosion – 534
Feraligatr – 530
The biggest issue was its stat distribution.
Meganium's stats were very balanced, with its highest being Defense and Special Defense at 100 each. Because of this, Meganium was usually played as a support Pokémon.
Fortunately, it could learn many support moves, such as:
Reflect
Light Screen
Safeguard
Synthesis
Aromatherapy
After some hesitation, Selene finally chose the Chikorita that inherited the move Grassy Terrain.
This Chikorita appeared rather timid and had been hiding in the corner the entire time.
Even when Selene picked it up, it still looked nervous.
"Chiko~!"
The leaf on its head gently rotated, releasing a sweet fragrance.
The staff member beside them immediately smiled enthusiastically.
"Dear customer, Chikorita enjoys basking in sunlight. You should take her out to play on the lawn often."
Seeing Selene spend the money without hesitation, the employee's attitude became even more enthusiastic.
After all, this sale would earn him a generous commission.
Silas sighed inwardly.
'This is truly the life of a rich young lady…'
Nearly four million PokéDollars spent without blinking.
Yes.
The Chikorita with the inherited move Grassy Terrain cost 4 million PokéDollars.
Normally, a starter Pokémon without inherited moves costs around 2 million PokéDollars.
With proper training, such starters can easily reach Level 40 and Elite level. But Grassy Terrain was one of the rarer field moves, making it extremely valuable.
Even the move disc alone could cost over one million PokéDollars, if you could find one at all.
....
And this Chikorita also had excellent overall potential.
After buying the Chikorita, Silas and Selene didn't immediately leave the Breeding House.
Instead, they walked around to observe other Pokémon.
Silas saw many species that only existed in other regions.
They even saw a Noibat, a Dragon-type Pokémon native to the Kalos region.
While wandering around, they passed a room where a public Pokémon knowledge lecture was taking place.
The classroom was small but packed with people.
Most of the audience consisted of beginner trainers like Bug Catchers or Youngsters.
Standing at the podium was a girl wearing glasses.
She looked youthful and energetic.
Holding a pointer stick, she explained various Pokémon concepts fluently.
Even complicated professional terminology became simple and easy to understand in her explanation.
Many people were taking notes carefully.
In truth, the content she was teaching was quite basic:
Type advantages and disadvantages
Basic Pokémon identification
Essentially the knowledge expected of a novice trainer.
Even so, such knowledge was difficult for ordinary people to obtain.
.....
Just as Silas and Selene were about to leave the Breeding House, they ran into someone entering through the door.
"Silas?!"
"Steven?!"
The man had short silver-white hair, wore a blue suit jacket, and a white bow tie.
His elegant and noble aura was unmistakable.
It was Steven Stone, whom Silas had previously met in the desert.
"I didn't expect you to also-"
Before the two could finish speaking, Selene suddenly covered her mouth in surprise.
"Cousin Steven?!"
Silas froze in shock.
Steven looked equally surprised.
"Selene? What are you doing here? And you even know Silas?"
The three of them stared at each other in disbelief.
Eventually, they decided to go to a nearby café to sit down and talk.
....
"I see… so the Devon family and the Solans family have a marriage alliance."
Silas sighed.
Selene and Steven both nodded.
In fact, large noble families like theirs often had very complicated intermarriage networks.Sometimes you might not even know someone, yet still share distant family ties.
The Devon Corporation family was a giant in the business world.
Meanwhile, the Solans family was a centuries-old powerhouse in scientific research.
Because of their cooperation in fossil Pokémon resurrection projects, marriage alliances naturally developed between them.
Selene looked curiously at Steven.
"Cousin Steven, how did you and Brother Silas meet?"
Steven laughed awkwardly.
"That's a long story… it started back in the desert."
He began recounting their first encounter.
When he mentioned Silas being injured back then, Selene looked shocked.
Then her expression quickly changed to worry as she looked toward Silas.
Only after Silas gave her a subtle look did she relax slightly.
Steven narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Hmmm… the way you two look at each other… don't tell me…"
Although Steven was inexperienced with romance, he could still read expressions.
Selene immediately changed the topic.
"By the way, Cousin Steven, did you come to Fallarbor Town for cooperation between our families?"
Steven shook his head.
"Actually… I came here to obtain my fourth Pokémon."
"I heard the research on reviving the Claw Fossil is almost complete."
Once Steven mentioned serious matters, his tone immediately became serious.
After all, it concerned both family cooperation and his future Pokémon team.
Selene suddenly realized.
"Oh! Then you came at the perfect time!"
"My father finished the research just a few days ago!"
Originally, Selene's father planned to conduct the fossil resurrection at Devon Corporation in Rustboro City. But since Steven had come personally, that trouble could now be avoided.
After all, the fossil resurrection machine was enormous.
Transporting it over long distances would be extremely difficult.
Silas quietly sipped his coffee while listening.
Inside, he was already thinking.
'The Claw Fossil… that should be Anorith.'
Its evolution, Armaldo, would become one of Steven's future main Pokémon.
As the future Champion of the Hoenn Region, Steven's team specialized mainly in:
Steel
Rock
Ground
Among them were two ancient fossil Pokémon:
Cradily
Armaldo
<><><><><><>
(End of chapter)