Mauville City lies at the very center of the Hoenn region, a large city where the past and present intertwine.
It is known as "the dazzling city of joy."
This city is one of the most important transportation hubs in the entire Hoenn region.
To the north lies Route 111,
to the south Route 110,
to the west Route 117,
and to the east Route 118.
Because of this network of routes, Mauville City is regarded as the true center of Hoenn.
"Wow… they actually covered the entire city."
Silas looked up at the enormous canopy above him.
It was said that the redesign of Mauville City was inspired by Lumiose City in the Kalos region.
The whole city had been transformed into a massive indoor street district, enclosed by a ring-shaped structure. At the very center stood a large park.
"And the Cornerstone Tower is said to be modeled after Lumiose City's Prism Tower, symbolizing the friendship between the two cities."
Standing in the middle of the park, Silas looked up at the towering structure that stretched toward the sky.
"Ding—ding—"
Silas pulled a folding off-roadbicycle from his spatial backpack.
Because Mauville City's roads were extremely well-connected and transportation was highly developed, bicycles were actually more popular than cars here.
"The technology here is incredible… No wonder Gym Leader Wattson's reconstruction proposal passed unanimously."
If Rustboro City represented heavy industry, then Mauville City was the futuristic metropolis Silas had only imagined in his previous life.
However, powering such a massive city required an enormous amount of electricity.
Silas suddenly recalled something from his memories ,the underground power plant beneath Mauville City.
Shaking off the stray thought, Silas rode his bicycle straight to the Pokémon Center and checked in.
Inside the room, he arranged resting areas for his Pokémon.
There was a portable water pool for Crawdaunt and Sharpedo, and a heated sand patch for Sandile.
A suitable environment allowed Pokémon to rest better and recover from training fatigue.
After quickly feeding the Pokémon lunch, Silas left the Pokémon Center and hailed a taxi heading toward Mauville Game Corner.
....
Mauville Game Corner was one of the six famous game corners in the Pokémon world.
Alongside:
Celadon Game Corner
Goldenrod Game Corner
Veilstone Game Corner
Hearthome Game Corner
and another famous one in the Unova region.
It was among the most well-known gambling establishments in the world.
Horse racing.
Slot machines.
Roulette.
Card games.
Every day, stories of rags-to-richesand complete ruin played out here.
The reason places like this attracted trainers like Silas was simple.
The exchange counter.
The game coins won inside could be exchanged for various Pokémon items, resources, and even Pokémon eggs or baby Pokémon.
The fact that Pokémon could be traded openly here meant only one thing:
The Pokémon League allowed it behind the scenes.
.....
"Welcome!"
Silas stepped through the high-tech entrance gate.
The greeting startled him slightly because there was no receptionist present.
"So it's an automatic recognition system… with voice functionality."
He watched for a moment.
When another person entered, the same automated greeting sounded again.
Every aspect of Mauville City felt incredibly futuristic, creating a stark contrast with other cities.
Silas couldn't help but feel curious about Gym Leader Wattson, the man who had proposed the reconstruction plan.
.....
At the service desk in the lobby, Silas exchanged 2000 PokéDollars for 100 game coins.
Looking at the scrolling prize list on the large electronic screen, Silas raised an eyebrow.
"Even starter Pokémon are on the exchange list… This reward pool is almost comparable to Team Rocket's."
Of course, the game corner would never operate at a loss.
Silas suspected the odds of many games were secretly manipulated.
Most players probably knew it as well.But no one talked about it.
It was simply an unspoken rule.
Even so, countless people continued coming here.
After all, greed was human nature.
.....
The game corner was divided into several different sections.
Apart from the noisy main hall, guards stood at the entrance of each gambling area.
They used special scanners to check everyone entering.
A large sign nearby read:
"Psychic Pokémon and psychics are prohibited."
As the saying goes, every rule exists because someone once broke it.
Silas could easily guess the reason.
Psychics could manipulate probability and perception to win huge amounts of game coins without triggering the machines' detection systems.
Silas walked in calmly.
Although he possessed some items left behind by the psychic Rocket member he had replaced, they were all stored inside his spatial backpack.
More importantly, he wasn't emitting any psychic energy.
Naturally, the scanners detected nothing.
.....
The section he entered was the card gambling area, where various card games were played.
The moment he stepped inside, a wave of noise hit him.
The air was filled with unpleasant smells,cigarette smoke,sweat, and the scents of various Pokémon.
Silas wrinkled his nose, resisting the urge to sneeze.
Even though it was lunchtime, almost no one had any intention of leaving.
Everyone was completely absorbed in gambling.
Some winners shouted with excitement, proudly showing off their winnings.
Others slammed their machines in anger after losing.
When their last coin disappeared, they left the machine in despair for the next player.
Overall, most people lost.
Very few walked out of the game corner smiling.
Losers believed they could win their money back.
Winners believed their luck would continue.But in reality, only a tiny number of players ever earned enough coins to exchange for rare prizes.
The true secret behind the game corner's enduring success was simple:
It exploited human greed and unwillingness to give up.
...
Silas's arrival attracted no attention.
Everyone was immersed in their own gambling world.
"Living in drunken illusion…"
Silas muttered quietly.
Around the room stood staff members wearing suits.
Each had a fierce Pokémon beside them and wore wireless headsets.
Behind their sunglasses, sharp eyes constantly monitored the crowd.
Anyone attempting to cheat would quickly be discovered. And there were always people willing to take risks for profit.
When caught, the result was always the same.
Black-clad security guards dragged them into a small dark room.
As for what happened afterward
No one knew.
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(End of chapter)