"Sable!"
Sableye tilted its head in confusion. Hadn't it already lost the battle just now? If they were going to catch it, why wait until now? Playing hard to get?
Sableye took another two steps back. It had always lived freely, and with its powerful strength, it actually controlled a modest territory on Mt. Pyre.
If it weren't for these two reckless intruders before it, it wouldn't have been injured so badly.
Thinking of this, Sableye became irritated and bared its sharp teeth at Sato before turning and diving into the bushes, disappearing in an instant.
Sato let out a sigh. Even though Mega Gengar's Ability had changed to Shadow Tag, Ghost-types were naturally immune to it. Otherwise, he might've been able to chat a bit more… maybe even coax it back.
"Geng?"
Gengar tilted its head, puzzled as to why Sato had changed his mind so easily. Sableye's future was already set in stone, its odds of reaching Low Pseudo-Elite Four level were minuscule.
"Forget it. We weren't meant to be." Sato didn't want to explain further.
In his team, only Gengar and Ariados weren't Dark-type Pokémon, so they couldn't benefit from his Dark Energy: blood-nourishment training.
While that method of training seemed troublesome and weak, and didn't show results in the short term, consistent long-term effort could help a Pokémon enhance its potential.
As a result, all of Sato's Dark-types at least had a shot at breaking through to the Elite Four level.
Ariados already possessed Elite Four-level Poison-type potential, and it had even formed an energy crystal inside its body. For now, Sato wasn't too worried about it.
But Gengar was the exception. Its Poison + Ghost dual-type Pseudo-Elite Four potential might seem impressive to others, but compared to his other teammates, it always fell just a bit short.
Sableye, aside from its weaker potential, had performed exceptionally well in every other regard. Whether it was due to some lucky encounter or pure hard work, it had still impressed Sato.
And let's not forget… Sato could obtain Potential Enhancement Serum from the Joy family. Helping it reach Low Pseudo-Elite Four stage wouldn't be too difficult.
On top of that, Sableye was a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, which was already a huge bonus in itself.
As for Gengar -without Mega Evolution- it was still far from reaching Elite Four level. Sato naturally didn't want to bring this up and demoralize it too soon.
Besides, didn't it still have him as its Trainer? Maybe by then, he'd have a solution.
A few minutes later, Gengar, having adapted to its new body, deactivated its Mega Evolution on its own.
Its aura dropped, but rather than falling back to Mid Elite, it smoothly progressed to Peak Elite level!
Sato was delighted. For Gengar, this counted as a double blessing: successful Mega Evolution and a breakthrough to Peak Elite.
Sato felt that this trip to Mt. Pyre had been a huge success. This place was practically the perfect wild training ground.
"You just broke through. Take a good rest." Sato recalled Gengar to its Poké Ball, then immediately sent out Sharpedo to continue the training.
Since this place was ideal for grinding, how could he let Gengar be the only one?
Sharpedo was still a bit behind Gengar, but it did have a certain resistance to Ghost-type moves, which gave it an advantage.
Sato didn't climb further up the mountain. Instead, he stayed around the mid-slope, circling the area and searching for opponents with Sharpedo.
By 5 PM, Sato returned punctually to Madame Kaori's inn.
Joseph was still cheerfully tagging along behind Madame Kaori every day, eagerly asking her all sorts of questions about Pokémon breeding.
Although no one knew why such a top Pokémon Breeder would open an inn by herself on the edge of Mt. Pyre… nor why she was blind.
But Madame Kaori's care for them during this time wasn't insincere. Especially toward Joseph, to whom she had already shown signs of wanting to take as an apprentince.
In contrast, Mark had been bored out of his mind these past two days. Aside from the initial joy and bonding after "capturing" Lapras, he barely had anyone to talk to.
Other than during meal prep, when Joseph might chat with him briefly, the rest of the time was spent entirely orbiting Madame Kaori.
And the topics they discussed -deep breeding knowledge- were far too advanced for him. He couldn't understand a thing, let alone chime in.
The gentle Lapras had easily accepted Mark as its Trainer, but that only made things dull for him.
Shouldn't a Pokémon captured outside the usual methods respond with a triple rejection: "No way," "Not happening," "I don't agree"?
Then Mark could have shamelessly begged and pleaded, overcome eighty-one obstacles, and finally won Lapras's approval and then slowly deepened their bond?
Mark wanted to force some drama for himself, but unfortunately, he'd met a gentle and understanding Lapras, leaving this drama king no stage to perform on at all.
"I've decided… tomorrow I'm going to Mt. Pyre with Sato!"
During dinner, Mark slammed the table and declared solemnly and seriously.
"Watch it! If you break it, you're paying." Madame Kaori roared.
"Sorry, sorry! I won't do it again" Mark immediately backed down, then gave Sato a look that said 'wait for me tomorrow', and slinked back to his room.
Joseph and Sato stifled their laughter. After finishing dinner with Madame Kaori, they returned to their rooms in good spirits to rest.
---
The next morning, Sato got up early and did warm-up training with his Pokémon in the open area near the inn while waiting for the morning fog on Mt. Pyre to clear.
Around 8 a.m., Mark rushed out of the inn still pulling on his shirt, glancing around anxiously.
"Sato! I thought you left me behind."
"...Say that again."
"Ahem, boss… I'm ready! When are we heading out?"
Sato glanced at Mark -who was still in slippers, hadn't buckled his battle belt, and had his jacket on backward- and let out a small sigh.
"You've got thirty minutes to get ready. The fog won't clear until nine."
"Mhm, got it!" Mark scratched his bedhead and ran back into the inn.
Half an hour later, Sato and Mark each rode Sharpedo and Lapras respectively to Mt. Pyre.
With practiced ease, Sato led Mark to the outer area of the mountain. The clear weather made Mark, who feared ghosts, a little less afraid. With boldness and high spirits, he sent out Arbok, ready to go "wild".
Sato sent out Cacturne. Having completed its phase of training, Gengar once again returned to Sato's shadow to guard against unexpected events.
Sato had a decent understanding of Mark's strength and knew that Arbok could handle the Pokémon at the base of the mountain without much trouble.
So he led them directly up the mountain. Since Sato had fought his way through the area previously, even though he passed through those Pokémon's territories again, none dared to attack him rashly.
They were nearing the area where Sableye had its territory; this was also the highest point Sato had reached so far.
"Let's clear the path horizontally from here. Actually… you better just stick with me," Sato added, recalling Mark's ability to get lost, and deciding not to let him train solo.
Boom Boom-boom
Just then, the sound of battle suddenly erupted in the distance!