After the trip to Iron Island, Sato's Pupitar evolved, Krookodile broke through, Mark's Lucario also reached Ace level, and even Joseph received a new Pokémon egg.
And their newly acquainted Riley got sothing quite rare too: a Squirtle that inherited Aura Sphere.
'Wait a second…'
"Boss, where did your Squirtle co from?" Mark noticed sothing was off. How did the boss suddenly pull out a new Pokémon while the four of them were just chatting? And co on, Squirtle was one of the Kanto starters!
While not exactly rare, it could use Aura Sphere!
Sato glanced at the questioning Mark, and also at Joseph who had turned his head in interest, and didn't hide anything.
"I t with Riley alone last night to ask if he could pair Clawitzer with a suitable mate. Turned out his Clawitzer had already laid an egg, and he agreed right away to give it to Joseph. Since he was so generous, I didn't want to owe him anything, so I contacted the ever-resourceful Nurse Joy, and well, she sent a Squirtle."
Sato explained briefly. Just then, Nurse Joy walked over. "Sato, how do you like the Squirtle? Headquarters just called, there's also a promising Togepi available. After it evolves, it can learn Aura Sphere too!"
"Thank you, Nurse Joy. I'm very happy with the Squirtle," Sato replied smoothly.
He didn't ntion that the Squirtle wasn't even with him anymore. After all, when he asked Nurse Joy for help, he never said he was going to raise it himself.
Besides, the Squirtle's potential was only Elite level. Its value wasn't anything outrageous.
At the end of the day, what mattered was that Sato helped Joseph get a pretty good Pokémon egg. The rest didn't matter.
Of course, this whole affair also revealed the Joy family's increasing attention toward Sato, and the kind of influence backing them.
Now that Sato had seven Ace level Pokémon, he had enough confidence and no longer needed to act like before… when things were presented as "equal" cooperation, but always felt like charity.
Only now did Joseph realize where the Pokémon egg in his hand ca from. He wanted to say thank you, but after thinking it over, he figured it wasn't necessary.
"It's about ti we head to the next destination. Any ideas where?" Joseph asked, changing the subject.
"Lake Verity," Sato answered. "Among Sinnoh's three major lakes, only Lake Valor has seen so human developnt. The other two still have pristine ecological environnts, so there should be many powerful wild Pokémon around Lake Verity."
Sato wanted to visit all three of Sinnoh's lakes and finish the journey by crossing Mt. Coronet, that would make this trip complete.
"…Powerful wild Pokémon?" Mark's eyes lit up. Then, full of bravado, he said, "Perfect! They'll be stepping stones for my Pokémon!"
Joseph was in a good mood and didn't bother refuting him. He simply smiled and said, "I'll need half a day to prepare supplies. Then we can depart."
"No problem!"
"Mm."
The three of them then went their separate ways to handle their tasks. Mark, for example, imdiately called ho and proudly reported that he had an Ace level Pokémon.
Joseph, of course, went out to gather supplies, sothing Sato and Mark never had to worry about.
So responsible…
Sato also contacted Amber at the Gym to make a few adjustnts to his Pokémon lineup.
Then he found the all-capable Nurse Joy again and asked for the latest wild Pokémon distribution map for Lake Verity, just to be prepared for the journey ahead.
…The night passed uneventfully…
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast, the three left Canalave City and headed straight south.
Canalave City was already located in the southwestern part of the Sinnoh region, and Lake Verity lay even farther south, in a place rarely visited by people.
They had spent quite so ti at sea before. Now, stepping into the forest again, breathing the moist morning air, and feeling the coolness in their chests, their moods naturally lifted.
"Umbre~"
Umbreon rubbed affectionately against Sato's leg, then leapt up onto the nearby trees to begin its own exploration.
Skorupi looked longingly at the agile Umbreon, then down at its own stubby legs… In the end, it gave up on the idea of keeping up and slumped in defeat.
Following Mark was his long-neglected Arbok.
Arbok: Do you think I didn't want screen ti? It's that heartless traitor… found a new fla and forgot the old love.
Back to business.
Mark released it as soon as they entered the forest. Perhaps he wanted Arbok to gain more battle experience and achieve Ace level sooner.
Joseph carried the Egg Incubator, with his gentle and thoughtful Bayleef walking at his side, an image of pure wholesoness.
It was said that exposing Pokémon eggs to various environnts helped with hatching, so Joseph carried it diligently the whole way.
As the three walked through the forest, a black shadow occasionally darted through the trees.
It was Umbreon, playing while acting as a scout.
They had just entered the forest, so the Peak Elite Umbreon was still quite effective at keeping the area under control. No wild Pokémon dared to attack them.
That is, until they ca across a very rare Durin Berry grove.
According to Joseph, Durin Berries were among the very few that could promote IQ developnt in newborn Pokémon and make them smarter.
No question. Harvest!
Under the angry but silent glares of a group of Aipom, Sato and the others casually picked over a dozen ripe Durin Berries.
They also left behind so Oran Berries and Pecha Berries -beer money- to keep the Aipom from starving too quickly.
Still, Sato and the others clearly saw the scorn and dissatisfaction flash in the Aipom's eyes.
"These really must be good stuff. Look, those Aipom are actually rolling their eyes!" Mark said in wonder, completely unaware he was the target of ridicule…
Soon after, the three moved on, but not long after, Umbreon returned with a warning. It had been attacked!
Sato and the others rushed over and found Umbreon facing off against two Ambipom working together in perfect sync.
Their four tails were whipping through the air. Not only were they not tangled up, their dizzying chain attacks had Umbreon temporarily on the defensive.
"Umbreon, Double Team!" Sato's command rang out, and with renewed focus, Umbreon imdiately ford dozens of clones.
Though Double Team could be countered by many moves or abilities, it was undeniably helpful for throwing off an opponent's rhythm and setting up a counter.
"Ambi!" "Pom!"
The two Ambipom glanced at each other and also created a dozen clones. Together, they almost matched Umbreon's numbers.
"Not that easy. Umbreon, use Attract."
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