Chapter 81: Reaching the Summit

"Huu, huu, huu..."

Heavy breathing filled the air, and slowly, two figures emerged amidst the increasingly heavy snowfall.

These two figures were extremely weary, yet they moved towards the summit at a remarkably steady pace.

"Thud!"

With a heavy step into the gently sloping snow, the two halted, staring blankly at the volcanic crater completely covered in snow.

"Covered in snow? What about the lava lake we saw before?"

"It should be intentional."

Ace's face was flushed red from the cold, and a considerable amount of snow had accumulated on his eyelashes and eyebrows, turning them white.

"Side Quest (Summit Mt. Silver) completed. Quest Rating: S. Quest Reward: 50,000 Gold, 50 Quest Points. Legal Property Deed generated. Host can stake out land up to 700 square meters anywhere."

"Gift package has been issued. Please check."

With the system's prompt, Ace knew that this side quest, which was supposed to take two years to complete, had been finished in the fastest possible time with Cynthia's help!

Recalling the journey, Ace gave a wry smile. The two years the system had given really weren't that much.

He had taken a shortcut this time, climbing Mt. Silver with Cynthia. It was precisely because of this that Ace didn't have to worry about attacks from behind.

If he had climbed Mt. Silver alone, he would have had to deal with the Pokémon in front of him and also guard against sneak attacks from behind.

In that scenario, almost every battle would have required Ace's full effort to deal with, and he might not even have been able to win.

After all, it would be a multiple-on-one situation, and in terms of numbers, Ace would not have the advantage.

Unlike now, in less than a month, Ace and Cynthia had successfully reached the summit of Mt. Silver.

As the blizzard gradually subsided, standing at the summit of Mt. Silver, Ace gazed across the entire Kanto and Johto regions. With a surge of emotion, he looked at his gains from the past month.

Ace: Level 27

Golbat: Level 42

Victreebel: Level 42

Lapras: Level 41

Aerodactyl: Level 43

Gastly: Level 32

Happiny: Level 39

Squirtle: Level 30

Gold: 67800

Quest Points: 167

Without hesitation, Ace spent one hundred Quest Points to upgrade Golbat's aptitude.

"Almost done, Ace."

Cynthia, after admiring the beautiful scenery, also looked at Ace.

Ace smiled, then took out three Poké Balls. When opened, Gastly, Happiny, and Squirtle appeared beside him.

Seeing this, Cynthia also smiled and opened three Poké Balls.

Gible, Riolu, and Budew also appeared beside Cynthia.

"Having reached the summit of Mt. Silver, then, it's time."

Ace and Cynthia looked at their Pokémon, smiling as they said, "No need to hold back anymore, evolve!"

As Ace and Cynthia's voices fell, streaks of evolutionary light burst forth from the six Pokémon.

Happiny could have evolved much earlier, but it lacked the crucial evolution item, the Oval Stone, which was why it hadn't evolved until now.

Now that Ace had supplied it, Happiny's evolution was a matter of course.

The six evolutionary lights merged, almost forming a single pillar of light that shot straight into the sky.

Ace and Cynthia were both somewhat dumbfounded, never having imagined that the simultaneous evolution of six Pokémon, suppressed for so long, would be so grand!

The light gradually faded. Gastly had evolved into Haunter, Happiny into Chansey, and Squirtle had evolved into Wartortle.

On Cynthia's side, Gible had evolved into Gabite, Riolu into Lucario, and Budew into Roselia.

The six Pokémon observed each other, then began to inspect their new bodies.

Having been suppressed for so long, they were now exhilarated by the surge of power they felt after evolving.

After all their hard work, this was finally their moment to reap the fruits of victory.

"Finally evolved."

Ace looked at his Pokémon, then said in a voice only he could hear, "It's time."

Glancing at the excited Cynthia, Ace spoke, "Cynthia, I plan to go to Saffron City next. Are you coming?"

Hearing Ace's words, Cynthia snapped out of her excitement.

After a brief thought, Cynthia shook her head at Ace. "I'm sorry, Ace, I won't be accompanying you to Saffron City. Something came up at home, and I plan to fly back to Sinnoh to check on it right away."

"I see."

Ace nodded. "I won't stop you, but thank you for accompanying me to the summit of Mt. Silver. I owe you a favor. If you ever need anything, call me. I'll do whatever I can within my means without hesitation."

"Then I'll look forward to it."

Cynthia smiled, then pushed back her hood, revealing her long golden hair. She recalled her three Pokémon and released Dragonair.

With a light leap, she sat on Dragonair's back. Cynthia waved to Ace. "Well then, may we meet again, Ace."

With that, Dragonair flapped its wings, swiftly carrying Cynthia towards the Indigo Plateau.

Ace watched Cynthia leave, then sighed, softly murmuring, "Then, next, let's battle with our lives on the line!"

Having said that, Ace recalled Haunter and the others. Opening a Poké Ball, Aerodactyl gripped Ace's shoulders with its talons, flapped its wings forcefully, and swiftly flew towards Saffron City.

"What? There are no flights to Sinnoh?"

At the Indigo Plateau League airport, Cynthia slammed her hand on the counter, roaring at the staff, "Why can't I go to Sinnoh?!"

"I apologize, something has happened in Sinnoh. Currently, there are no flights to Sinnoh."

The staff member patiently explained to Cynthia, but in reality, there was a flight to Sinnoh in ten minutes.

However, due to the interference of Cynthia's grandmother, Bertha, the League would not allow Cynthia to return to Sinnoh in the short term.

"Damn it."

Cynthia suppressed her anger. "Then, are there any ferries that can go there?"

"I'm not sure about that, but because of the situation in Sinnoh, it's difficult to guarantee that any ferries can go to Sinnoh."

The staff member's expression remained unchanged, still wearing a full smile as he slowly delivered the rather cruel facts to Cynthia.

Cynthia walked out of the Indigo Airport, then without hesitation, got on Dragonair and flew towards Vermilion City.

"If ferries also don't work, then I'll just have to try having Dragonair fly me to Sinnoh."

Cynthia frowned slightly, looking at Dragonair. "The biggest problem, though, is that there's no way to navigate at sea. Once we fly off course, it'll be very difficult to find the original route again."

After some internal debate, Cynthia finally sighed, not daring to take that risk.

After all, her parents had already had an accident. If something happened to her too, she could hardly imagine how worried her grandmother would be.