Crescent Valley was filled with reasonably strong Pokémon, but none were powerful enough to pose a serious threat to Silas and his team.
The strongest Pokémon they encountered during the night was a level 45 Pidgeot.
They had apparently made camp in its perceived territory.
Silas was surprised because normally, this species of pokemon wouldn't attack unless provoked, unlike the Fearow line.
Unfortunately for Pidgeot, it had chosen Flygon as its opponent.
Flygon had a superior move pool and comparable physical attributes so Silas was not worried. He didn't even bother giving commands and allowed Flygon to fight freely.
Both Pokémon rose into the air with clear battle intent.
First, Pidgeot attempted to use Wing Attack but Flygon caught the attack by clasping both of Pidgeot's wings with its claws then he used Crunch.
Pidgeot screeched in pain and desperately struggled to get free before Flygon finally let go.
Flygon soon struck again using Dragon Rush. Pidgeot surprised them both by using Giga Impact but unfortunately, the spontaneously learned ultimate move was too weak in its first use to contend with Flygon's Dragon Rush.
The clash caused a deafening sound to ring out but it was obvious who had won.
Pidgeot's flock attempted to intervene after seeing their leader overwhelmed, but that only encouraged Silas to capture all of them.
Their loyalty inspired Silas to keep them together.
By the time everything settled, he had acquired an entire family of 12 Pokémon.
2 Pidgeot, 5 Pidgeotto, and 5 Pidgey.
Silas carefully scanned each one.
Nearly all possessed C- potential.
That wasn't amazing by his current standards, but it was more than acceptable.
Potential could be improved.
More importantly, Flying types like these could be bred with Swellow in the future.
That gave the entire family additional value beyond simply being reserve combat Pokémon.
The lead Pidgeot was initially furious about being captured.
Its attitude changed significantly after it realized something disturbing.
Silas himself was strong enough to hurt it.
Not one of the other Pokémon, the human.
Once that became apparent, Pidgeot's hostility became considerably more restrained.
Silas only gave the flock one real condition.
"If you don't want to fight, you don't have to."
Pidgeot stared at him suspiciously.
Silas shrugged.
"I'm not interested in forcing Pokémon who hate battle to become fighters."
That was unfortunately not a universal attitude among trainers.
Many Pokémon knew stories of trainers who captured naturally peaceful Pokémon and forced them into constant battles regardless of what they wanted.
Silas saw no benefit in that.
He wanted partners that desired strength.
Pokémon that actually wanted to train.
Forcing a pacifist Pokémon to battle would only waste both of their time.
If members of the Pidgeot family preferred breeding, transportation, scouting, or simply living peacefully on whatever land Silas eventually purchased, that was perfectly fine.
As the night continued, Silas found himself thinking about how far he had come.
A year ago, encountering an entire flock of pseudo advanced Pokémon would have been a legitimate crisis.
Now?
He had overwhelmed and captured all of them then continued his night as though nothing particularly important had happened.
The realization made Silas smile.
His growth sometimes felt slow because he constantly compared himself to increasingly powerful opponents.
But looking backward made the difference obvious.
His strength was respectable but he knew he wasn't yet invincible.
"Flygon, great work out there. Your aerial battle skills are definitely improving. I love the fact you took advantage of your arms to catch Pidgeot's attack and hold it in place. Good instincts."
Flygon nodded.
"Yeah, not bad but I think I'd have finished it quicker."
"Espeon, you just couldn't let him have a compliment without being slick huh."
"Boss, how about Espeon and I battle? I still have a lot in the tank after that battle."
Silas chuckled to himself.
His Flygon was a patient Pokémon but today he had none for the mischievous Espeon. At the same time, she needed to learn that running her mouth would sometimes have consequences.
"Sure, let's do it. I won't command either of you so it will be a fair 1 on 1."
"No fair! Let's make it a tournament and determine who's the strongest."
Silas looked at the smiling Electivire.
"No. Another time though, a team tournament is a good way to determine everyone's true strength relative to each other so I am for it but not now."
"Yeah let me handle this so called Dragon first."
Flygon stared intently at Espeon.
He landed in a clearing and beckoned her over, clearly no longer interested in talking.
Initially, Espeon seemed hesitant but her signature confident demeanor returned quickly.
Silas stood on the side like a judge and yelled begin!
Espeon surprisingly chose to close the distance using Quick Attack.
Flygon responded by firing Dragon Breath more than once but each time she avoided it.
Espeon arrived in front of Flygon and rammed into him.
The attack did push Flygon back a little bit but he didn't take damage.
Flygon flashed a sinister grin and charged metallic energy into his tail then spun and used it like whip.
The attack smashed into Espeon and sent her crashing through a few trees.
She reappeared above Flygon and used her own Iron Tail and smashed it into Flygon's head.
When he tried to retaliate using Dragon Claw, she used Teleport again but this time appeared back in her original spot at the start.
She began to use Calm Mind.
Flygon flapped his wings and shot a thin but dense wave of wind strengthened by flying type energy.
Espeon dodged gracefully and completed her boost.
"Oh yeah you are in trouble now."
Flygon was clearly annoyed but didn't take the bait.
He condensed a Dragon Pulse and shot it at Espeon. With her increased attack power, she used Psybeam to neutralize the attack.
Flygon did it again but this time, he used Iron Tail to smash into the attack like a bat hitting a ball and increase the attack speed.
Espeon had a hard time reacting and was caught off guard.
Flygon then used Quick Attack to close the distance and unleashed a deadly double Dragon Claw.
Espeon was sent crashing through the forest once again.
She used Teleport to return.
"It seems you are the one in trouble. Maybe you need another boost to help you bridge the power gap."
Silas felt a powerful psychic energy fluctuation as Espeon was using Stored Power and Psychic.
Stored Power usually showed as several orbs shooting at the target but Espeon was using her power to merge the smaller orbs into 1 dense larger orb.
Unfortunately, Flygon didn't wait for her to finish charging her new attack and mercilessly struck using Dragon Rush.
He crashed into Espeon, causing her to lose focus and the attack exploded violently and the shockwave struck both Pokémon.
With a final Aerial Ace and Quick Attack combination, Flygon defeated the cocky Espeon.
He stood nearby and roared triumphantly.
Although as both Pokémon's trainer, Silas had to be impartial technically, he was secretly pleased.
Espeon's attitude was a bit much at times so her suffering setbacks like this was necessary. She needed to know talk was cheap unless you could back it up.
Silas calmly walked over to the defeated Espeon.
"Espeon, do you know why you lost?"
"He got lucky."
Silas was now annoyed. This Pokémon lacked self reflection sometimes.
"No, you are both at similar power levels but the difference was your carelessness."
"How was I battling carelessly?"
"I think you've gotten too used to team battles so you forget that your opponents will never wait while you create a powerful attack. That combination at the end was impressive but your charge up time was far too much which led to your defeat."
"Next time, it will be faster."
"No, you are missing the point. You allowed Flygon to enrage you with his words. Don't think I didn't sense the shift in your demeanor right before you tried that combination."
"Okay, okay. I get it. It's my loss and Flygon took it fair and square. I still think there was some luck involved."
Silas laughed, this was progress at least.
Flygon came over and was a good sport about winning. He made sure to make fun of Espeon a little but he didn't go too far and she was a good sport too.
After the battle, the Pokémon all chatted among each other while Silas relaxed.
Silas was glad to see this. Their comradely was important. If they didn't have it, then they couldn't trust each other in team battles.
If they couldn't trust each other, they wouldn't be able to display their full combined strength.
The intense battle had shaken Crescent valley but no powerful Pokemon came looking for the group.
The intense battle had shaken Crescent valley but no powerful Pokemon came looking for the group.
The most eventful thing of the night for Silas was that once everyone fell asleep, he sensed that Espeon was training.
When he got up, he saw her practicing that same combination, trying to improve the speed of condensing.
She was in a clearing, gathering energy. Several blast marks were around her from previous attempts.
"Espeon, that move will take time to get down. I think it's better to use Stored Power as you have been already. You might need to advance another tier or a few levels before you have the strength to pull it off."
"Maybe. I have to try though. I don't like losing. I am not joking when I say I want to be the strongest."
Silas nodded.
"I have faith that you can do it and I will help you. Don't get too hung up on a single loss. I do think you need to reel in that cocky attitude. As you saw today, it can get you in trouble."
"Fair enough but I am who I am. I'd rather increase my strength to justify my attitude than change it."
Silas smiled knowingly. The individuals who reach the pinnacle are always like this. They are supremely confident long before reaching their peak.
He had no issue with this and would actually encourage this but there had to be a limit.
Silas helped Espeon with her training but they focused on the speed of her regular Stored Power. He explained it as the foundation for what she really wanted.
This made her train diligently.
After another hour of training, they both went to sleep with the rest of the group.