Chapter 158: The Silph tour

Chapter 158: The Silph tour

I lowered the podiums and marched towards Gertrude. Itd been fun fighting her, and I wouldnt mind picking her brain over some items regarding Ace trainer quirks that I had started to notice.

I was also planning to try and boost her up a bit more. For all that I defeated her to climb the ranks, I still clung to the idea that I could make her stronger and see her rise up the ranks. Which, as a fellow Pewter Trainer, was always nice.

I reached out and offered up my hand.

She slapped her hand into mine and grinned. That was a good match, Gym Leader! she said. Thanks for setting things up with my sponsors like you did. I imagine youve got a lot of people knocking on your doors offering sponsorships these days.

I chuckled. Yeah they have been, but I dont really need them as Im well set up, I said with a shrug. Also Im not controlled by any contractual obligations, so I think it works out best. Thats not something many can say, I said as I waved a hand at the promotions that featured her sponsors name.

Hmmm, so do you still give out advice to trainers that face you? she said with a smirk. Lots of Ace trainers that initially challenged you got rather amused by that until they realised it was actually good advice.

I huffed. You make it sound like I would give bad advice.

Eh, in the Ace circuit, youre supposed to be competitive, and its not unusual to fake someone out, cause its not like you cant end up facing them in another month or two. Or during tournaments where competitors will be paying a lot more attention to what does and doesnt work.

I nodded and then bobbed my head from side to side. Hmmm, Ill have to keep that in mind, I said rubbing my chin.

As for some advice, I grimaced, I hate to say it, knowing how things went down for you, but diversity in your pokemon would be a great feature. You made great use of the pokemon that you had. I think you need a bigger pool of pokemon.

She nodded. Yeah Im working on it. I attended your auction to see how much some of the rare pokemon are going for, and it was too rich for me.

I hummed. No need to go rare; just depth is important enough. There's nothing wrong with a Raticate, Pidgeot, Fearow, Clefairy, or such. Id recommend having a trip to the Safari Zone, or maybe even applying for a permit to the Silver Range.

Gertrude laced her hands behind her head. I did hear that Erikas crew of girls had finished up revitalising the area. Not sure what that means for when the silver Range will be open again, however.

I grimaced. Yeah. That last one might not be the best option. Maybe look into some psychic or fighting type pokemon otherwise?

Gertrude nodded her head. Fair enough. Also, can I point out something Ive noticed?

I raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to do so.

She coughed. So, dont take this the wrong way, but Ive noticed that you attach a lot of pride to your starter.

Titan, whod been standing next to me waving at the crowd, turned his head.

Gertrude raised her own hands. Thats not to say youre not a pokemon not to be proud of! You are! Its just that you could be sent out earlier to shake things up. You dominate a lot of the fights you get into when he comes out; entire strategies will be dedicated to countering him! she said hurriedly.

I had a few myself, but those strategies can be meaningless or too expensive at the end of the day if you send him out early and dictate the pace early, she said, her eyes flicking between Titan and I, gauging how we were taking her advice.

I tilted my head. Im too predictable with sending him out, is that what youre saying?

She wobbled her hand in a so-so manner. If you get the right type matching laid out before you, things can go very quickly in your favour. While it was an exhibition match against Lance, your Golem? Perfect pokemon to send out first.

She waved a hand at Titan. Im just saying something Ive noticed. Dont get so hung up on the idea that youre honouring your foe by sending out your starter. He will always be worth a lot to take down, but you can really make it expensive if you want to. I know the old way of thinking is to keep back your King but theres a lot of debate about also getting the most out of them.

I nodded along. I think I can understand what youre saying. Ill have to consider it, I said, giving Titan a look. What are your thoughts? Want to come out earlier?

Titan crossed his arms and huffed out a breath. I chuckled at his nonchalance. His slowly wagging tail gave away his interest.

I looked back to Gertrude. Well take it under advisement. I then turned towards the waiting stands. I believe we have the home crowd to show some love to, no?

Gertrude nodded. Yeah! And dont forget, were doing the press conference together! she said.

I huffed; Rachel had snuck that in as an additional benefit for Gertrude but I couldnt fault it, beyond it being annoying.

If Id had my way, it would have been a very short discussion, but I suspected it would be a bit longer. When I was done talking with the crowd and taking pictures with some locals, I joined Gertrude in a room that wed made into a proper press room.

I understood she was starting to run Missy through mock post-match conferences with various scenarios in preparation for when Missy joined the Ace Circuit proper. Missy was taking to it rather well according to what Rachel was reporting.

My own press conference started with the question Id been anticipating.

Gym Leader Brock! How do you think your girlfriend and fellow Gym Leader, Sabrina, will go against Will?

Id be surprised by anything less than a total victory on her part, I said flatly.

From there, a number of other questions were targeted at me, and I had to drag some of the reporters to include Gertrude. When I hinted at and discussed the upcoming matches, I made sure to have some back and-forth with her rather than just speaking myself.

She proved rather insightful.

Some of the upcoming generalists, have some tricks that can make them tough, but I think Brock has shown that he has the resilience to push through those matches. I was expecting a much closer match, but if anything, Brock was very ready for everything I had. It was almost formulaic. Which you dont see very often.

Gertrude shook her head. I have to admit to being surprised as Brock and his team are stronger than I anticipated, she said to one reporter.

What will you both be doing now? asked another report.

I gestured for Gertrude to go first. I think Im going to look into the idea of a hiatus for a few weeks; I feel like Im hitting a ceiling with what I can currently achieve. Which is frustrating, and it is something that I have discussed with my pokemon and myself. Ill be talking with my sponsors first, however, as I want to go higher and I think I can, but I currently dont have as much depth in my pokemon roster to commit to more matches than two a week and not suffer burnout or put forth pokemon teams that are highly predictable. If I want to take part in tournaments and do well, I need more.

As the reporters turned towards me, I adjusted and took a sip from the milk bottle that Mary-Sue Lonlon had sent in.

Gertrude has highlighted one of the significant issues that a lot of trainers face; in order to rise up the Ace rankings, you need to be fighting a lot, I said, making sure to speak clearly.

Now, obviously, winning helps a lot, but there needs to be a frequency of fighting each week. Going forward, I have a number of slots free throughout the week where I will be facing Ace trainers. I need to be fighting three times a week, and if I want to be making the midseason invitational, then I need to be winning those matches or going two out of three at the very least so that I am stepping up. I was quietly confident of winning all of the matches honestly, I had a solid number of the trainers up until the fifteenth ranked reviewed with plans in mind. Things became a bit harder after number fifteen.

Brock, youve yet to lose an actual match! At what point will you be happy? one reporter asked.

I hummed. I think I should be aiming for the top ten, whether this is something that I only do for this circuit will depend on a lot of different factors but I think its something I will take into consideration. Its been pointed out that Pewter stands as the first big challenge many trainers will face and Im toying with the idea of setting my ranking to a high enough position that it is true for those looking to use the Ace circuit.

A number of people hurriedly wrote or tapped this out on computers. This was the first time Id announced my idea of forming Pewter into a barrier for the Ace circuit.

I tapped the table. Otherwise, until next week, I will be training my team as well as attending Sabrinas upcoming match against Will. I think it will be an interesting event for all, I said with a smirk.

Does Sabrina have any pokemon that shes not revealed to the public?! cried out someone in the back.

I hummed playfully, my own mind going to Stantler and how it might have evolved into Wyrdeer by now. Sabrina had had it for a while now. I hadnt heard anything from her regarding that but then again I wouldnt put anything past her; shes amazing like that, I said.

Rachel gave me a thumbs-up for that comment.

I merely smiled and waited for the next question. When the reporters once again tried to sideline Gertrude, I turned to her and started asking about her dream pokemon team or which coastal city she thought of as the best holiday destination, taking on the role of reporter myself.

She seemed very appreciative of the media attention being brought back to her, and when we were all wrapped up, she shook my hand with both of hers. She then trotted towards her Sponsors Rep with a megawatt grin.

I turned to my own employees and waved for us to move into the back as the reporters departed with their scoop. I claimed a chair at the front and sighed explosively as I lay back.

Alright, short debrief, then well see if we can talk some of the higher-ranked Ace trainers into a battle. I accepted a burrito wrap from Yolanda with a quick thanks. Is it wrong that I miss braggarts like Gavin Gumshoe? I said before taking a bite of my meal.

Everyone tilted their heads before Rachel laughed. You mean Gavin Glady?

Yeah, him, I said as I toggled my email app on my transceiver and saw a host of emails and messages from various Ace trainers. I began flicking through them only for a scowl to form. Most of them had rejected my offer. I huffed in annoyance, nothing had changed since I last looked. He was easy to draw into a match. Some of these ace trainers are being downright skittish.

I rubbed my chin. This is going to seriously delay me from reaching the top sixteen for the midseason tournament.

You should join a smaller tournament, Missy chimed in.

I sighed. That would take me away from the Gym for at least a few days

Alexa and Rachel shared a look. So, just do it? my assistant said. We can reschedule things or go onto a longer day format for the rest of the week to allow things to not impact people too much.

Rachel nodded. Yeah! Youre going to have to go to them! For if the trainers will not come to Brock! Brock must go to the trainers! she said with a voice that she must have thought was wise. I grunted and nodded, only to pause as I realised the quote she was mangling.

That was bad and you should feel bad, I said as I waved my burrito at her threateningly. I took a bite out of it. But not wrong, I said.

Yolanda perked up. Oh! You could do what Walker is doing and go in a mask! Then you can face everyone without them knowing who you are!

Alexa, Rachel, Dennis, Rocko, and Missy all gained looks ranging from thoughtful to amused.

What sort of mask? A.J. said.

I took another slow bite out of my lunch. Why was it, of late, that all my problems seemed to have solutions with me wearing a mask?

I dont think a mask is quite the right way to go about things? I said carefully.

So you dont think the Masked Hero group is doing the right thing? Yolanda said, all too quickly.

I narrowed my eyes at her. Did she know? No, shed have teased me more if she did. Or was she being sly? I considered her and finished my lunch while trying to gauge what her angle was.

I think they are, and I think that Lance is being very sharp with the power hes entrusted with them, but certain measures need to be put in place for them and to stoprandom people from copying them, I said carefully.

Yolanda nodded seriously. Good, but still, the point stands you need to be able to get these people to meet you for fights, and theyre not! I think it stinks like a Muk-ridden junkyard, she said.

I raised an eyebrow. What do you mean?

I mean the whole thing of so many people being slow or not accepting matches. You need to fight people that are higher ranked than you to rise up the ranks, Yolanda pointed out.

I nodded. I might have to increase the pot for them if they win against me.

Dennis and Rocko snorted, and I shot them an amused look.

Yolanda, however, had a faraway look, as though she was working on a particularly troubling puzzle. You challenge them only for them to reject you. She twitched, her hands moving as though she was shifting pieces into place in her minds eye.

But meanwhile, Will is still advancing He must be using up some of the challenges that the people are willing to extend, but it doesnt make sense. Yolanda squinted at the whiteboard in thought.

That had me sitting up and loading up Wills profile. She was right. Everyone in the room now sat up as they realised that Yolanda was on to something.

Yolanda nodded as she focused on the screen. Youve reached Twenty-ninth with todays match, but hes reached nineteenth in the same time frame with the trainers accepting his challenges! I think hes up to something! she shouted, crossing her arms.

I blinked as I felt it click into place. That makes a lot of sense, I said. It wasn't as if Will was worried about scruples, and with my vocal demands for a rematch and pointedly rising up the rankings to force the issue, he had to face the fact that it was more than likely that the rematch would happen. But only if it became inevitable.

Hed need to pay them off or make it worth their time to not accept a challenge against me, I said. I opened up the trainer list to see who was ahead of me. He only had to get ten people to reject me. Not everyone. It wasnt like I could

Missy, whats stopping me from challenging the current number one to a match? I said in consideration.

Missy whistled. Theres a lot of prestige for the top of the Ace rankings sir. They are mostly able to hold their position thanks to tournament wins as those award more points than straight head-to-head matches. They also dont have the same acceptance ratio that others have if the challenger is above tenth on the rankings. They wont entertain anyone seriously below twentieth from what Ive researched! The best way to climb is through tournaments, which can lock in fights with other trainers.

I hummed. I wonder if I could force it by putting some pressure on Lance to make Bruce accept a challenge from me. Regulations be damned. I paused. Potentially I could also force Masked Owl to accept as well

The idea alone left a bad taste in my mouth, so I shook my head. Too much like what Will would do.

Anyway, it wasnt like others wouldnt know that Bruce was there for Lances sake. It would have to be an open secret by this point. Urgh, now I'm thinking like a villain. I felt scummy considering these options.

Is that true for all of the top five? What if I challenged number five? When I reached twenty-fifth??

Corey? Missy prompted.

I blinked. What happened to Walker? Then I coughed. Sorry! Masked Owl, I said with a sarcastic drawl.

Board member Arashi! What a pleasant surprise! said Howard with a clipped tone.

Howard, running errands as always, I see? said the man with a dismissive nod.

He then turned to us and smiled. Well, Erika told me her friend would be coming around here, and with my work seeing me coming around, I thought Id come to say hello in person to Gym Leader Brock! said Arashi.

Oh? Erika knows you and talked to you about us? I said. And just like that I suddenly noticed how similar Erika and Arashis facial features were. It had to be the chin and the eyes that had clued me in.

Ha! Im her uncle! Her fathers older brother, of course! So yes! You could say I know her! he said, teasingly.

I nodded and glanced at the oddly sweating Howard who was eyeing me and Arashi nervously. Are you alright, Howard? I asked, deciding to play up the clueless man routine.

Instead of Howard answering, Arashi barked a laugh. Ha! Hes just sweating cause Im flouncing around in the company my brother and I founded years back! When Takeshi passed because of his bad heart. a strange buyout took place, causing me and him to lose a good deal of the stock we owned through some very interesting circumstances, Arashi said pointedly.

He smiled a smile that had far too many teeth to it. Course Howard here wasnt nothing but an intern back then, and the board of directors wed had at the time were a different pack of Sharpedo, but hey! A lot can change in fifteen years!

Howard nodded and coughed. Hows the acquisition of stock going, sir?

Arashi shot Howard a sharp look. Thats private, and its going, he said, giving Howard a much more assessing look before nodding his head once.

He shot me another nod. Well, Ive said more than I planned to, and I dont want you and your little brother here missing out on the marvels of Silph Co. so Ill see myself off.

I nodded in farewell, and Salvadore mimicked me. Salvadore then tilted his head and looked around. Whered Annie and Jane go? he said. Howard and I both blinked in surprise, only now realising that they were missing.

I frowned. HadJanine been here when Erikas uncle walked up? Had she departed due to his chances of recognising her? Or was it a useful distraction shed made the most of?

Or had she set something like this up earlier?

Howard coughed. Ill have some secretaries go looking for them; the poor girls must be lost, he said.

I nodded, barely holding in a snort of disbelief. Oh, you sweet innocent child, I could only think to myself as Howard instructed a group of men and women to look for his missing guests.

couldnt have gotten far, he said as he sent them off. He then turned back, his handkerchief now thoroughly drenched as he dabbed at his forehead.

Shall we take a break while they find our friends?

I shrugged. I think they were most likely looking a touch bored. Perhaps we should continue? I prompted.

Salvadore nodded seriously while flicking me a confused glance. He must have been expecting me to wait up, but then again, he knew Janine, so he might possibly have an inkling of something else going on here.

I shot him a wink, and he nodded slowly.

Whats your best pokeball! he said, throwing himself back into the avid kid with a hundred questions routine.

Howard smiled widely and led us to the back of the facility, where he had to slip a keycard into a reader and scan his fingerprint and retina to be allowed entrance. I mentally noted that the walls in this area had extremely thick black cables running around and through the walls. I could feel the dark energy pulsing through them. When we entered I noticed that in each corner, a bunker was built into the walls, with the cords branching out of them.

Howard noticed my gaze. Oh! Those are our high-capacity dark emitters! We need to have four Houndoom in house constantly to run them, but they are a state of the art feature for any big business to avoid corporate espionage from Psychics! he said. I hummed, wondering if it would be worth it, or humane, to try and install a similar system at home.

I eyed the room we were in and discarded it. If it took four Houndoom to protect a space this small, I didnt want to know what it would take to protect the Gym and my house.

The room itself still had another room within that was clear glass. A pair of Alakazam worked with another pair of researchers as they worked on a table with a lot of tiny little parts all laid out.

Those are parts of a pokeball? I said.

Salvadore nodded. I can see the pins, the reflecting arrays, what might be an energy source I what are they made of? Theyre so different than normal pokeballs?

Howard perked up. Oh! Those are trade secrets, Im afraid. I dont even know myself. The two researchers have to do three-day shifts before allowing themselves to have their memories cleansed by a specialised drowzee before they are allowed to leave the building! he said.

Salvadore blinked. Thats I dont think I could ever do that. I like knowing things too much.

They are appropriately compensated for their work, Howard said.

I hummed and decided not to comment on that. So, this is it, then? Your best pokeball?

Yes, this is the best pokeball that we have and possibly will ever create. It will have a perfect capture rate unlike so many other pokeballs that have come before. With this, the taming of legendaries will be possible! This is the Masterball! Howard declared proudly.

I hummed. The capture? Perhaps. The taming? I made a dismissive noise. That, Im far less confident in and where people might come unstuck. There are plenty of pokemon out there that simply dont want to be with humans, I said as I observed the group assemble the Masterball before my eyes.

It felt strangely momentous to watch as the Masterball was assembled before my eyes.

In the games, this had been such a big deal when you first gained it. Even as a child, Id known that I couldnt use this on just any pokemon. It made me weigh up which Legendary I wanted to be guaranteed on my playthrough.

Sure, the concept of trading pokemon made that rather meaningless in the end, but still.

This was it.

The Masterball.

Seeing it in real life stirred desires and thoughts of power in my mind.

Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos Mewtwo all of them from the first games alone. With one throw of a pokeball.

This world wasnt like that game. This world was so much bigger, and a person with the Masterball would have a much greater array of choices.

Terrible and great choices...

We watched it being put together for ten minutes without uttering a word.

I grunted and tore my gaze away from the assembly process, noticing how Salvadore and Howard had also been drawn into the hypnotic lull of the siren song that the Masterball seemed to cause.

We should find Annie and Jane, I said.

Hmmm, said Salvadore and Howard together, their eyes still glued on the assembly process.

I coughed, and they stirred. Howard glanced around. Oh, sorry! I was rather mesmerised there! Its just so interesting watching them put it together, no? he said.

Indicating the masterball as the technicians trialled different arrangements for the ball only to inspect a readout on the computers to the side.

Yeeeeeeaaaah, said Salvadore as he was dragged back into the trance.

I clapped him on the shoulder. Right, thats enough. I dragged the group out and noted that the exit procedure was much quicker. With the line of sight broken, Howard and Salvadore both seemed to fully return to themselves.

I gave them both considering looks before giving the room a final glance, my eyes tracking the pair of Alakazam that assisted.

It occurred to me that it might not be just the resources that went into the Masterball that made it special, but also the way it was made.

Right, right your friends. My assistants should have said Howard only to look around and find a group of rather flustered men and women sprinting around the building.

I decided to have mercy on them. Has anyone looked on the roof? I prompted.

Howard laughed. Dont be silly, of course, they couldnt be on the roof, he said.

I merely smiled as a shadow seemed to flit out of a corner and towards the stairs. When an assistant headed up there and returned with Annie and Jane, I merely chuckled.

Got lost? I said.

Jane stomped her foot petulantly. Its not funny! I just got distracted and then turned around! she whined. The men who had been looking for her scoffed while the women all stepped in to comfort her, causing me to merely shake my head in wonder.

I decided that was enough for today. When we reached the reception once again, I gave Howard a handshake. Thanks for the interesting tour, it was way more than I was expecting, and I think Salvadore learned a lot. I could only imagine that Janine had learned more.

Howard grinned magnanimously at us. Not at all! Not at all I was glad to give it. Here, please take our latest product that were going to be putting to market soon! He handed each of us a small box

Salvadore ripped the gift wrap off and stared. The Xtransciever? he said.

Indeed, the latest model! Were going for a cool new marketing method by using a different numeric! Howard said.

Janine and I shared a look while Salvadore tilted his head. But the latest transciever is only up to the sixth generation? he said.

Howard coughed. Well, thats just how good it is! chimed Howard.

I snorted and thanked the man for the new phone/watch/piece of equipment. I was pleased to see that it had a lot of new features and an updated and even easier user interface. It certainly looked good.

When we got outside Janine narrowed her eyes. Dont use this for anything sensitive just yet, I will have some experts look this over, she said firmly. She then bowed to Salvadore and I. thank you for access to Silph Tower. It was very informative! she said.

I chuckled and departed with Salvadore for home myself.

Later, after Id settled in for the night, Janine and I spoke with the other Guardians about her discoveries.

It turned out that her assessment of their security wasnt very high. a clever use of a Ditto and some light fingers would get you entrance into the lab, which would negate most of the security features they have. The keycards are the most important aspect of it all but there are in fact two keycards in existence, with the President and the Vice President having them.

Agatha scoffed. They obviously havent had anyone actually test the system!

Karen chuckled. Might be a job for a ninja girlie? she said. Janine huffed, and Karen chuckled.

How was it? The Masterball? Koga prompted me, causing the banter to fall away.

I considered what to say and eventually settled on one word. Dangerous.

This got some serious nods from Koga, Agatha, and Lucy.

The conversation then turned to setting Koga up on the top of Silph Tower as the best vantage point of Saffron City while others swept the other skyscrapers of Saffron that had a direct line of sight of Sabrinas gym. Janine had also plugged us into the rooftop cameras.

Agatha then addressed Sabrina, who was leaning against me. Are you ready for your match?

I am, Sabrina said confidently. I have little doubt of my success in a match against Will. I, however, cannot see any other method but outside interference for Will to defeat me. I will be relying on all of you, she said, locking eyes with each of the other guardians. I dont want to allow Will even the smallest excuse to claim the high ground and avoid another match.

Agatha nodded. Put your faith in us and focus as much as you can on your match against Will; we will deny him any interference!

When things wrapped up, everyone seemed confident. That didnt stop Sabrina from staying over and cuddling up to me.

Think youre going to be alright? I asked.

I will be, she said, locking eyes with me. I completed it, she said.

I blinked and had to think for a moment to realise what she could mean. You and Alakazam? she nodded, and I laughed. Youre incredible, and I am so envious of your success.

Will really had no chance.

I kissed her, and grinned, feeling a weight come off my mind. If anything, Sabrina was that much more guaranteed to win. What was it like? I asked.

It was powerful and slightly disorientating. It is strange to be so close, I think I will need to use it wisely, lest it backfire on me. I have acquired it in lab settings and will practise a little more. She shifted in my arms. I wont be able to come camping with you tomorrow night,

Thats fine. Want me to test you before I go hiking, or I can cancel with my I started to say only for Sabrina to shake her head.

No, if there are any violent reactions like those written about in the reports we have, I want them pointed at an acceptable target Not that I think such will occur. It was simply staggering how much more I could sense while linked with Alakazam.

Ill have to work hard with Jormungandr to catch up, I said, knowing right away what I was going to train tomorrow morning. Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.