The next day.
Morning.
As soon as Silas woke up, he went straight to find Blaine. "Hey Blaine, old man, let's do the Gym battle now!"
"Huh?" Blaine stared at Silas in disbelief, then snapped, "You nuts? A Gym match first thing in the morning? At least wait for lunch! We can start in the afternoon, all right? And your companions aren't even up yet!"
"No." Silas shook his head, speaking calmly, "I'm not waiting for them. They went a little too wild last night—bet they won't wake before noon. Besides, Cinnabar Island is my last stop in the Kanto region. Once I'm done here, Lorelei and Giselle will be going their own ways, so I want to get the Gym over with quick, then spend some good time with them."
Even though Silas hid his feelings well, a clever old fox like Blaine could see right through him. He could tell Silas didn't really want to say goodbye, but he didn't call him out on it. After all, goodbyes always come with a touch of sorrow. Blaine pretended to grumble, "Fine, fine! But let's get something straight—just 'cause we're close doesn't mean I'm going easy on you!"
"Heh…" Silas smirked, tossing out four words: "Washed-up Elite Four!"
"You—!" Now that got to Blaine—all his sore spots in one hit. He huffed, "You just wait, kid—you're not getting the Volcano Badge today!"
"Heh…"
...
Cinnabar Gym
"Gym" was a generous description; it was really just a battered old battle arena—and the whole thing was set inside a volcano!
Standing over the bubbling lava, blast furnace heat radiating from below, Silas silently promised: First thing I do as Champion, I'm appointing someone else as Cinnabar's Gym Leader. If Blaine keeps running this place, someone's gonna get killed—one slip into that lava, and you're toast!
Once both trainers stood ready, Blaine announced, "Battle rules are two-on-two. You can swap your Pokémon whenever you want—I can't switch mine. Fair enough?"
"No problem." Silas nodded right away.
Getting the green light from Silas, Blaine grabbed a Poké Ball.
The second he did, Blaine's whole vibe changed—the playful, dodgy old man vanished, replaced by grim focus. Blaine's eyes sparkled. "Silas, I've been hearing about you for months. Now let me see how strong you've really gotten!"
"Let's do it!" Silas pulled out a Master Ball.
And then—both of them tossed out a ball at the same time, voices echoing: "Go, Charizard!"
"Charizard!"
Blaine and Silas had both chosen Charizard. Both dragons roared as they stomped into battle!
But the two Charizards couldn't have looked more different. Blaine's Charizard stood tall and proud at his trainer's side—meanwhile, Silas's Charizard flopped on the ground, barely awake and totally uninterested.
Eyeing Blaine's Charizard, Silas nodded silently in approval. The thing was impressively trained—much taller than most, pushing three meters, nearly one and a half times the size of an average Charizard. But what really surprised Silas was the aura—this thing was radiating a Champion's presence. It was nearly across that threshold.
But as Silas checked out Blaine's Charizard, Blaine was sizing up Silas's too.
Looking at Silas's five-meter-tall monster with platinum fire flaring from its tail, Blaine couldn't help shouting internally: Freaking monster! Now he really understood why Silas had rocked the League's world in just three months.
Once both trainers had finished sizing up the opposition, the battle was about to explode.
"Nasha!" Blaine swept his hand out, pointing at Silas's Charizard. "Flamethrower—give 'em a hot welcome!"
(Note: For clarity, Blaine's Charizard will be called "Nasha" from here on out)
"Charizard!"
At the command, Nasha unleashed a torrent of flame!
"Charge in! Get up close and brawl!"
With Nasha's fire rocketing in, Silas barked his own command.
Like flipping a switch, his half-asleep Charizard snapped to attention, opening its eyes wide.
It flapped its massive wings, launching into the air, and dove headlong straight through Nasha's flaming breath, barreling straight for the other Charizard!
Blaine couldn't help nodding inwardly—Silas made the right call: attack, not dodge. Charizard were made for fire—no way would a little flame slow them down. Even if there was some damage, it barely mattered.
But admiration is one thing—Blaine wasn't about to let anyone take down his Nasha. He ordered, "Nasha, fly up!"
At the order, Nasha rocketed upward, Silas's Charizard missing the lunge by a mile.
Think you can run?
Locking eyes with Nasha overhead, Silas's gaze sharpened. "Flamethrower!"
"Charizard!"
With a furious roar, Charizard spat a sacred, searing jet of fire straight at Nasha!
"Dragon Rage!"
Blaine countered instantly. Nasha unleashed Dragon Rage—no need for prep. She met the blazing Flamethrower head on, aiming to overpower and break through!
Flamethrower vs. Dragon Rage!
Normally, Dragon Rage would win—it's a signature move, after all. But Silas's Charizard wasn't breathing normal fire—this was Sacred Fire, the same kind that could even hurt Legendary Pokémon. No way Dragon Rage could win that clash.
So, the instant the two attacks met, Charizard's Flamethrower crushed Nasha's Dragon Rage and plowed straight for her!
Monster.
Even with an ordinary Flamethrower, Silas's Charizard steamrolled Blaine's best attack. Blaine could only sigh, then bark another command: "Nasha, charge through the flames! Hit Charizard with Dragon Tail!"
"Rooaarr!"
Nasha roared, wings snapping as she dove right into the raging flames!
A holy, blistering fire erupted skyward—a Charizard's outline roared through the inferno.
And then—
"RRAAAAWR!"
CRASH!
A scream of pain echoed out from the Sacred Fire, and, just like that, Nasha plummeted from the sky. She landed motionless, covered in black scorch marks, heat still radiating from her body. If not for the tiny flame still burning on her tail, you might think she was already out for good.
"No way!" Blaine watched in shock. He knew how strong his ace was—a half-step Champion! For someone that strong to get flattened by a casual attack from Silas's Charizard… that meant Silas's had to be… Blaine's breath caught. "Legendary Pokémon level?!"
"Yeah." Silas nodded with a calm, matter-of-fact tone. "That fire a second ago was Sacred Fire. It's weaker than Ho-Oh's divine flame, but it can seriously injure even Legendary Pokémon. As for your Charizard…"
Silas trailed off. What he didn't say: your Charizard was merely peak Elite Four, half a step into Champion. It's lucky not to have been burned to ash.
Blaine was no fool—he got the message loud and clear. He withdrew Nasha, glared at Silas, and grumbled, "You… you set me up, huh?"
"Yup."
Silas didn't deny a thing—he nodded right back.
From the start, having his Charizard charge into Nasha's flame was an act, just to get Blaine to have Nasha rush into Sacred Fire. If they'd started with a head-on Flamethrower duel, maybe the old Fire-type master would've gotten suspicious about the move. Then things would've gotten messy.
"Damn!" Blaine muttered, watching Silas own up. "Guess that serves me right! After a lifetime of outsmarting everyone else, now that I'm retired, I get played by a kid!"
"Heh…" Silas smirked, asking, "So, what's your next Pokémon?"
"Next, your head!" Blaine rolled his eyes, grumbling. "Nope, I forfeit! The badge is yours. I'm getting my Charizard to the Pokémon Center, right now!"
"Chickening out?" Silas grinned at him. "Want me to go easy on you?"
Blaine's eye-roll nearly turned into a backflip. "Spare me, kid! My best was that Charizard. I came in hoping to at least take out one of your Pokémon, but if your Charizard is already Legendary level, it doesn't matter how much you hold back—none of the rest are a match."
With that, Blaine spun on his heel and ran. His reputation may have gone down the drain, but when it came to passion for Pokémon, he was just like Lance—if he knew he couldn't win, he'd never let his Pokémon get hurt for nothing. Admitting defeat was fine by him, especially when his opponent had a Legendary-level powerhouse.
...
Noon.
Lunch time.
Blaine was in the Pokémon Center, watching over his Charizard, when the three girls finally showed up.
"He-ey." Silas greeted them with a mouthful of food. "You guys show up just in time for lunch. Are you, like, part pig or something?"
"You're the pig!" Giselle rolled her eyes, sliding into a seat. "We just stayed up late last night, that's all. So we slept in. No big deal."
"Heh." Silas chuckled, then urged, "Hurry up and eat! Once we're done, let's go out and have some fun."
His words froze the girls in their tracks. They stared, jaw-dropped, Suzie even asked with concern, "Silas, are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"What's wrong with me?" Silas asked blankly.
"Why are you coming out with us?" Giselle stared at him in disbelief. "You always said hanging out with us was too much hassle, too exhausting—you never wanted to come along for shopping or sightseeing, right?"
"…"
Silas was momentarily speechless. But, thinking it over, it was true—except when they traveled, he was always busy, always caught up with something. He managed a wry smile: "Eh, I just kept getting sidetracked with stuff. How about this—I'll spend a whole week with you on Cinnabar Island. Deal?"
"You're not going to train Pokémon?"
"Taking a vacation!"
"You're not challenging the Gym?"
"Already did!"
"You sure you won't back out?"
"Totally sure!"
Silas answered every question without hesitation. Seeing that, both Giselle and Suzie broke into delighted grins. Giselle grabbed Suzie's hand and squealed, "C'mon, Sister Suzie! Since Silas is finally willing to play pack mule for a week, let's get to planning our fun!"
"Maybe finish lunch first?" Suzie tried.
But Giselle ignored her, dragging her away. "There's so many local treats outside! If we stuff ourselves now, how will we fit all those snacks later? C'mon—we'll plan as we go!"
And just like that, Giselle had dashed off with Suzie, leaving Lorelei and Silas behind.
Watching the two girls go, Silas felt a pang of guilt. Even if it wasn't him who had begged Suzie and Giselle to travel with him, they'd still helped him so much on their journey. And now, just agreeing to hang out for a while made them this happy. How could he not feel a little guilty?
While Silas was lost in thought, Lorelei's voice sounded beside him, a touch of sadness in her tone. "So... your Kanto journey is coming to an end?"
When Silas heard that, the faint smile on his lips faded. He was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "Yeah."
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