If there really is a protagonist, then in the future, Ash must have either initially participated in the two-year league format before switching to the unrestricted format, or the league itself eventually changed the format altogether.
Silas pondered this possibility.
Ash was probably still very young at this time. After all, Professor Oak frequently appeared on television giving lectures and didn't look as old as he would in the future.
From what Brock had mentioned, it seemed that today was also his first time challenging a Gym battle, which meant he was still far from being a mature trainer.
Silas shook his head. He was overthinking things.
For him, the primary goal was to perform well in the unrestricted format at the Johto League two years from now.
For now, he needed to consider how Pewter Gym viewed him.
His performance today should not have raised any alarms. On the surface, he appeared to be an ordinary trainer, except for the fact that he had exceptional talent in Pokémon breeding and a fair bit of luck.
Silas closed his eyes and reviewed the evening's conversation.
As long as he didn't expose Zero's ability to detect potential, his strength in breeding would only be attributed to natural talent. That meant the benefits of showing off his skills far outweighed the risks.
"The biggest takeaway today is that a Pokémon's potential can actually be improved over time."
Silas mused.
Yes, during the evening discussion, Brock had inadvertently revealed this information whether intentionally or not, Silas wasn't sure.
He had considered the possibility before, but no one had ever confirmed it, so it had always been just a theory.
After all, if Ho-Oh could supposedly revive three fallen Pokémon as the Legendary Beasts, then it wasn't too far-fetched to believe that some extremely rare resources or special methods could enhance a Pokémon's potential.
Brock had only confirmed Silas's speculation he hadn't revealed any specifics.
Silas could easily imagine how difficult these methods must be. If it were simple, powerful families wouldn't struggle so much to find high-potential Pokémon to raise.
"But as long as the method exists, that's enough. Zero can analyze the process and materials used, then find alternative solutions. Even if the effectiveness isn't as strong as the original, it will still be a great improvement."
Silas calculated his next steps.
"I can't have every single Pokémon I raise be exceptional from birth. I need to catch some ordinary Pokémon to maintain appearances."
Previously, he had worried that raising an average Pokémon would slow him down and waste resources since it wouldn't be viable for long-term training.
But now, with the ability to improve potential, he could select a useful Pokémon with average talent and gradually enhance it over time.
It would require much more investment than before, but that was unavoidable in the early stages.
As for catching a random Pokémon just for show and then abandoning it later?
He had considered it at first, but ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Truthfully, even in this world, many trainers took that approach.
If a Pokémon's potential was too low to keep up, trainers would either send it to a breeder's facility and pay a fee for its care or release it back into the wild before capturing a stronger one.
But after spending time raising his Pokémon and bonding with them, Silas gradually abandoned that mindset.
Maybe it was because he had hatched all his Pokémon from eggs himself, or perhaps it was because he was an orphan in this world.
Either way, Silas saw his Pokémon as his family and companions.
He couldn't imagine raising a Pokémon for two or three years or even longer only to release it or neglect it.
That was why he had always been extremely careful when choosing his Pokémon.
Brock's confirmation of this information today brought him a great sense of relief.
This meant he no longer had to worry about these issues.
As long as the method existed, Silas was confident that Zero could optimize it.
The biggest concern was if no method existed at all Zero wouldn't be able to create one from nothing. After all, increasing potential was a form of evolution, and Zero wasn't powerful enough to force such a breakthrough.
"So, does this mean I can start preparing for my third Pokémon?"
Silas scrolled through forums absentmindedly, his thoughts drifting.
"I'm short on money for now… Looks like I need to take on some bounty missions soon."
When he thought about his bank balance, a wave of sadness washed over him.
"Getting a third Pokémon feels so far away..."
Silas sighed. Earning money these days was really tough.
After finishing his daily planning, he collapsed onto his bed and immediately fell asleep.
Today had been exhausting both physically and mentally. His conversation with Brock had been a constant balancing act of revealing just enough ability while concealing other parts.
He couldn't let anyone know that he could determine a Pokémon egg's potential. At the same time, he had to find ways to extract information from Brock without making it obvious.
"This is ridiculously hard... Pure mental torture."
Silas lamented.
A once-innocent young man had been forced by life's struggles to become someone he never wanted to be.
The Next Morning
At dawn, after finishing his morning training, Silas walked out of Viridian Forest with his two Pokémon by his side.
As he walked, he casually tossed a Poké Ball in his hand, a grin spreading across his face.
"My luck is really turning around. I found a Pichu with such an interesting chest pattern, and it hasn't even evolved yet."
Silas was quite pleased. It seemed like ever since he started traveling, his luck had been significantly better.
But don't misunderstand he had no intention of raising a Pikachu like Ash's. That wasn't realistic.
Besides, even Raichu wasn't particularly powerful, and it required a Thunder Stone to evolve, making it not very worthwhile.
The key factor was that Pichu was incredibly adorable and highly sought after by wealthy women as pets.
And the one he had just caught had an unusually unique marking on its chest.
Normally, a Pichu's chest fur had a jagged black pattern, unevenly spread.
But this Pichu's chest fur formed an inverted heart shape.
In Viridian Forest, Pikachu lived in large family groups, making them rare to find alone.
And since Pichu evolved through high friendship levels, they typically evolved quickly under the care of their parents, siblings, and extended family.
Because of this, wild Pichu were almost never seen among Pikachu groups.
Unique markings like this were extremely rare, and once a Pichu evolved into Pikachu, those markings would disappear, making them indistinguishable from any other Pikachu.
Even breeding wouldn't guarantee a Pichu with the same unique pattern. If someone tried trimming a Pikachu's fur into that shape, it would grow back to normal quickly.
And high-society women loved to keep rare Pokémon with distinct features as pets.
Bringing one of these to a social event wasn't just cute it was a massive status symbol.
That meant, on the black market, a normal Pichu might only be slightly more expensive than other Pokémon, but a uniquely marked Pichu like this? Its price would be astronomically higher.
"Unbelievable. I was just thinking about needing money, and a golden opportunity lands right in my lap. Am I actually the protagonist here?"
Silas chuckled to himself as he walked down the road, thoroughly enjoying his good fortune..
....
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