"Sato, just wait and see. This year I'm going to win at the Silver Conference!" At the Gym entrance, Takeshin declared confidently as he prepared to leave.
"Work hard." While the chances of Takeshin actually winning the championship with his current overall strength were slim to none, Sato wasn't going to shut him down directly. After thinking for a moment, he took out a Badge.
"You're still a long way from beating me, but you've at least earned the Shadow Badge. Keep getting stronger, don't end up not even qualifying for the Silver Conference."
In truth, Sato thought: 'If I don't give it to you now, you'll just chase me down again later. And if I don't hold back, you still won't win.'
What a hassle.
"Really? I'll train even harder… thank you, Sato!" Takeshin accepted the Badge with overwhelming joy and carefully tucked it away.
"If you want more training, go check out the Intelligence Shop. There are plenty of missions there that can help you grow," Sato added a quick plug before they parted.
"Mhm, I will!"
---
After Takeshin's farewell, the Gym returned to its usual rhythm. Trainers continued to arrive for challenges. If Sina and the others could handle them, they did; otherwise, Sato stepped in.
Taking a rare moment of leisure, Sato grabbed a few Pokémon and slipped into the Forest of Shadows.
"Krow Krow!"
As soon as they entered, Murkrow flew over to Sato's side, chirping happily without pause.
"Alright, alright. I'll come play with you in the forest when I have time. And if I'm too busy, you can just come find me at the Gym," Sato said, stroking Murkrow's feathers and laughing as it snuggled into him with mock grievance.
"Krow~"
Murkrow shook its head. Compared to the noisy, crowded Gym, it much preferred "ruling" the forest with its crew.
After all, its mother was the dominant Pokémon of the area. No other Pokémon dared pick a fight with them. And anyone who did got thoroughly dealt with.
"So, how's your Night Slash training going from the other day? Your Ability, as I told you, is Super Luck. If you can use that properly, your power will skyrocket."
Aside from handling challengers at the Gym, most of Sato's time was spent on training and raising his Pokémon.
"Krow Krow!"
Murkrow flapped its wings and shouted twice at Sato, basically asking him to bring on a sparring partner so it could show off the results of its hard work.
"Cacturne, you're up."
A golden-shaded shiny Cacturne appeared before Sato. With a wave of its hands, a cloud of Cotton Spores floated around it.
Most of Sato's Pokémon were Dark-types, which meant some overlap was inevitable. Even if they were different species, their attack styles weren't that different.
After all, most Dark-types were high-attack, low-defense. Only a few, like Umbreon, leaned more into defensive capabilities.
So once things at the Gym had stabilized, Sato began developing individualized combat systems for each of his Pokémon.
And Cacturne's system was already showing results.
"Murkrow, go all out and attack Cacturne." Sato gave the signal, and Murkrow's wings immediately turned pitch-black as it shot toward Cacturne like a bolt.
But Cacturne didn't even look directly at Murkrow. With a slight shift of its body, it completely dodged Murkrow's Night Slash.
In the air, the flight currents generated by Murkrow caused the surrounding Cotton Spores to stabilize rapidly, evenly filling in the empty spaces.
Murkrow circled once in the air, then used its momentum to accelerate striking at Cacturne even faster than before.
"Cac!"
Cacturne calmly closed its eyes[1], but if one looked closely, every one of its spines was trembling slightly, receiving feedback from the movement of the surrounding Cotton Spores.
It slowly lifted its left foot -just as a dark shadow swept past- and dodged again!
"Krowkrow!"
Murkrow returned to the sky, staring down at the motionless Cacturne below with frustration in its eyes.
This wasn't the first time. It couldn't land a single hit on Cacturne. But compared to before, Cacturne now looked even calmer and more at ease.
On the other side, Sato was quietly nodding. Area control was a battle system he had specifically designed for Cacturne, whose speed wasn't great.
In the future, this could be developed further using moves like Sandstorm and the Ability Sand Veil.
Cacturne's other battle system was even more unique: its core was a mutated version of Water Absorb.
Combined with Drain Punch and a series of Grass-type healing moves, it allowed Cacturne to sustain itself indefinitely. Even standard attacks could draw a portion of the opponent's stamina back to itself.
It was downright broken.
"Murkrow, get your crew to join the attack."
"KROOOW!" Murkrow gave Sato a fierce glare… it now realized Sato had brought it here just to help train Cacturne.
But Murkrow didn't refuse. It immediately called over its "companions" and charged at Cacturne together.
Several Murkrow attacked at once. Cacturne had to dodge more dramatically, but thanks to the feedback from the Cotton Spores, it still managed to avoid the hits… barely.
Watching one dark silhouette after another flash past without landing a scratch, Sato was secretly delighted. Cacturne's new technique was clearly working.
"Alright, that's enough!"
A few minutes later, Sato called for the Pokémon to stop. During the entire time, Cacturne had only suffered two minor grazes. An excellent performance.
But looking at Cacturne gasping for breath, Sato realized that Area control consumed a lot of its stamina.
He made a note of this flaw, planning to research how best to address it later.
"Krow Krow!"
Murkrow flew in front of Sato and let out a string of protests. It only ever got called when something needed doing. It was starting to feel like some sort of emotional deadbeat.
"Umbree~" Umbreon at Sato's feet wasn't having it. It warned the big black bird not to go spouting nonsense just because it was young. Even if Sato was a 'scoundrel'… he was still a stylish one!
"Alright, alright. Have you seen any wild Pokémon lately that you want dealt with? I'll help you take care of it."
Sato didn't understand what the two Pokémon were bickering about, but he quickly stepped in to calm things down.
…If he had known what they were actually arguing about, he might have taken the time to give them a proper scolding.
Murkrow cast a smug glance at Umbreon, then happily pointed in a direction and led Sato that way.
Umbreon followed behind Sato, thinking to itself, 'Go ahead and strut around in this forest… but once we're back in the city, you know full well I'm the only one who gets to keep Sato to myself.'
Hmph ╯^╰
From inside the backpack, Ralts -who had been napping- suddenly opened its crimson eyes and looked straight toward Umbreon's direction.
"Ral~"
The corner of Ralts' mouth curled slightly, as if it had just thought of something fun. But soon, it closed its eyes again, pretending it knew nothing at all.
[1] HAKI?????