Standing atop Tropius, Silas left the base.
The large Flying type carried him steadily through the air, her broad wings cutting through the wind as the base below gradually disappeared into the distance.
Silas had been looking forward to getting out again.
After spending nearly 3 months unconscious and several more weeks recovering, traveling atop Tropius like this was refreshing.
The mountain air was cool against his face, and for once, he wasn't confined to a hospital room or training facility.
Something about flight just made one feel true freedom as if nowhere is inaccessible.
Several minutes into the flight, however, Silas sensed something behind him.
His expression changed slightly.
There was someone following him.
Naturally, Silas decided to confront this issue head on. He was close enough to the base so if it was real danger, he could retreat or get support easily.
Silas turned around with an air of dominance.
"You can come out now. If you don't show yourself, I will attack." As he spoke, Silas stared straight at a seemingly empty space.
His senses told him the person was in that general vicinity.
For a moment, there was no response but then a familiar voice hurriedly answered.
"Wait, , wait! It's just me. No need for all that bravado."
A girl with bright red hair suddenly appeared out of thin air riding on a Swellow.
Silas blinked in surprise. A moment ago, he had been ready to engage in a fierce battle but it turned out to be a false alarm.
"Andra? Why are you following me?"
She smiled at him but didn't respond right away.
"How did you even do that? I could tell you were there but I couldn't see you." Silas was incredulous, whatever she did almost made him doubt his own senses.
She had a mischievous look to her as if the current look on his face was her goal all along.
"Haha, pretty cool, right? If let me tag along, I can let you in on the secret."
Silas looked at her for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and sighed in defeat.
There was no use arguing with this girl. His curiosity would bother him for a while if he didn't figure out that invisibility trick.
Andra happily moved closer and began explaining.
She had been using one of the new camouflage devices issued to surveillance officers.
The technology was impressive. It could conceal a person visually, making them extremely difficult to notice through ordinary observation.
Unfortunately, it wasn't perfect. The device couldn't completely erase someone's presence.
Psychics and aura users could still lock onto the energy signatures of whatever was hidden. They might not know exactly who or what they were sensing, but they would know that something was there.
Once perfected, this tool would make Team Rocket the most powerful espionage organization in the world. If a ninja like Koga was armed with this technology, Silas shuddered at the possibility.
It wss already inconspicuous as it could be hidden as a piece of jewelry. Andra's was an earring.
Silas was now fully satisfied, he understood exactly how it worked. Now that he'd encountered it once, it would be hard for someone to catch him off guard in the near future.
Even if the technology was perfected, there was no way to avoid being caught by energy echo location unless the user themselves was a power user and could mask their own presence.
Silas offered his hand to Andra. "You can ride on Tropius with me. That way, you can conserve your Swellow's stamina for an emergency."
Andra didn't need to be asked twice. She moved over and coquettishly took his hand after she jumped towards Tropius.
Once she settled into the makeshift saddle, she immediately looked around with obvious appreciation.
"Wow, it's so comfortable in here. You are lucky to have this Tropius."
Silas smiled.
"Yeah, she's the ideal flyer. With her being a grass type, she can travel almost endlessly once the sun in the sky. The best part is she's powerful too and can battle certain opponents with us aboard."
At this moment, Silas sensed the massive pride swelling within Tropius.
Andra ran her hand along Tropius' back.
"I'm actually from Hoenn. Maybe I should catch one too."
"I mean, nobody is stopping you. One would be a great addition to your team in my opinion."
Andra gave him a look. "We both know that a quality Tropius is hard to find."
"Hahaha, fair enough." Silas shot her a bragging smirk. "Mine was actually a reward from my superior a while back. I doubt I'd have found such a specimen on my own. Just a product of my supreme talent being recognized."
"Yeah, whatever. Maybe I'll get a Salamence. It can be about as big and I think it might be stronger too."
"You clearly haven't seen my Tropius in action. She's a dragon in her own right too."
He affectionately rubbed Tropius as he spoke.
The Pokémon continued flying steadily, clearly pleased by the attention.
The 2 spent several hours traveling together.
Sometimes they talked and other times they simply sat in silence.
Silas didn't mind either. The silence gave him time to properly gameplan for the future.
Andra was easy to talk to, and the journey was long enough that neither of them felt the need to fill every moment with conversation.
Tropius' unique abilities as a grass type made the trip considerably easier than it would have been on most Flying types.
Despite the distance, they reached the cave site in under a day.
As they approached, Silas glanced toward Andra. She had fallen asleep in the makeshift saddle. She looked adorable sleeping peacefully.
Silas gently shook her shoulder.
"Wake up. We are arriving shortly. Be on your guard."
Andra slowly opened her eyes.
"Hm?"
She looked around before remembering where they were.
Then she straightened.
"Right, give me a minute."
As if the universe wanted to prove Silas correct, several shapes suddenly appeared in the air around them.
Silas frowned when he recognized his mortal enemy. It was a Beedrill swarm
Dozens of them were clearly targeting his group.
What Silas hated most about Beedrill was their tendency to always jump their targets, they rarely fought with comparable numbers.
The vicious bee Pokémon rapidly spread out and surrounded Tropius.
Silas immediately activated his scanner.
His expression became slightly unimpressed when he saw the results.
The strongest Beedrill was only level 46
For the current Silas, this group was hardly a challenge.
"Tropius, use Air Slash and Air Cutter."
Tropius immediately responded.
The wind surged as Tropius gathered flying type energy around her wings and struck out.
Blades of compressed air tore through the surrounding Beedrill.
The Beedrill still approached from all directions and Tropius expertly controlled the blades of wind. The attacks were powerful and precise.
Beedrill began falling from the sky one after another.
A few did manage to get close enough to threaten the riders but Silas dealt with those personally.
His aura enhanced strikes were far too fast for them to handle. All he had to do was target the weak points on their bodies .
Any Beedrill that approached was quickly cut down.
The entire encounter ended almost as quickly as it began.
Andra stared at him in disbelief.
"Wow, Odin. You can contend with pseudo advanced Pokémon personally. That's amazing. Can you teach me?"
Silas shook his head.
"I wield aura. That's why I can do what I do. Unfortunately, unless you have it too, I can't really help you."
Andra looked slightly dejected.
For a moment, she had clearly hoped there might be some kind of training method she could learn.
However, her mood quickly recovered as the cave entrance came into view.
They dismounted Tropius and headed inside.
Neither of them noticed the 3 cloaked men who appeared after they entered.
The men watched the cave entrance carefully.
"It seems we have a problem. That guy dispatched the Beedrill without even breaking a sweat. Benny will need to take him out by the looks of things."
The other 2 figures sounded shocked.
"Can he really be that strong? Benny is one of our more powerful operatives."
The first man looked at them.
"Did you see what happened to those Beedrill? That Tropius dismantled them without being serious, and it's his freaking flying mount!"
He gestured toward the cave.
"He will have several stronger Pokémon on hand, so yes, I think so."
The other 2 men nodded in understanding.
There was no point underestimating someone who could casually dispatch a group of Pokémon like that.
Unbeknownst to Silas, he had already alerted the enemy to his presence.
Inside the cave, Silas was focused on something else.
He had to admit that his system was truly overpowered. Because of Hermes, Silas sometimes seemed like someone with perfect recall.
In reality, his memory wasn't nearly that impressive.
Hermes simply reviewed Silas' recorded memories whenever he needed to remember something.
The difference was enormous.
Silas didn't need to rely on vague impressions of where he had gone during his previous visit. He could simply have Hermes review the route. With that assistance, Silas quickly retraced his steps through the cave.
Before long, they reached the site of the mural.
Silas looked around.
The damage from his previous visit was still obvious. Large sections of the interior had been buried beneath rubble.
He remembered exactly what had happened here. This was where he had first encountered a member of the Luminary Court.
The man had been a suicide bomber. The resulting explosion had buried much of the interior cave.
Silas looked toward Excadrill.
"Can you make us a safe tunnel through here."
He nodded and immediately went to work.
Excadrill's claws tore through the rubble, gradually clearing a passage large enough for Silas and Andra to move through safely.
Silas watched the progress while remembering how dangerous that first encounter had been.
At the time, he had been far weaker, barely able to protect himself. He only reminisced for a few moments before focusing on the task at hand.
Once they passed the ruined section, Silas had Excadrill continue digging.
They moved deeper into the mountain.
Eventually, approximately a thousand feet from the original site in the direction opposite the entrance, Excadrill broke through into another cavern.
Silas stepped inside and noticed that this one was far more spacious.
The walls stretched farther apart, and the chamber opened into a much larger underground area.
Andra immediately noticed something strange.
"Odin, look at that pitch-black wall!"
Silas turned and indeed the entire wall had been blackened as if burned by flames.