Pokémon: Above the Top

In the end, the Rainbow Feather was quietly placed in the innermost section of Sato's backpack.

After bidding farewell to Mingguang and the young monk, Sato and White didn't immediately take a ride back to Silver Town. Instead, they headed to the Pokémon Center in Ecruteak City.

Although the Joy family had always treated Sato with kindness, the one he had interacted with the most, and who he had the best relationship with, was Nurse Joy of Ecruteak City.

Back when Sato trained at Ecruteak Gym to help Haunter evolve, he had spent a long time there, and during that period, Nurse Joy had taken great care of him.

Even during the Kabuki family incident, she had been the first to step in and help after hearing about it.

If not for her, Officer Jenny might have dragged Sato to the police station for another four or five hours of questioning.

Sato felt it was only right to say goodbye before leaving. Additionally, he had other matters to handle at the Pokémon Center.

"Sato, you're here! Is this your new partner? What a cute little Eevee!"

Nurse Joy greeted him warmly, skillfully scratching Eevee's belly with practiced ease.

"Vee~" How strange… Why do these people all know how to scratch me so perfectly?

Eevee closed its eyes in pleasure, lost in thought as it enjoyed the treatment.

"Thank you, Sis Joy," Sato said earnestly, despite knowing she didn't mind helping. Sato cherished the people who were kind to him.

"It's nothing at all," Joy waved it off as if it were no big deal.

"By the way, this is my adventure team partner, White."

"Ah, White! Hello there! Thank you for always looking after our Sato… oh, and little Rose!"

"Nice to meet you, Nurse Joy!"

Despite his usual personality, White suddenly seemed shy in front of someone as mature and reliable as Nurse Joy.

Sly kid, he's really putting on an act!

"Sato, this should be your seventh Pokémon, right? You'll have to make a choice, who will you send back?"

"…Yeah."

Hearing this, Sato felt a little troubled. In his previous life, he never captured too many Pokémon, so he had never faced this kind of problem before.

He had already considered this possibility, but now that the moment had arrived, he realized it wasn't an easy decision.

And in the future, when he captured even more Pokémon, this issue would keep coming up.

"I suggest you store Pupitar," Nurse Joy said as she reluctantly pulled her hand away from Eevee, then offered her serious advice.

"First of all, you just caught Eevee, so there's no way you're sending it back. This is the best time to build trust and raise its friendship level!"

"I know."

"As for the others, the best option to store is Pupitar, since it requires a long accumulation period!"

"As a future pseudo-legendary, Pupitar's energy-gathering phase takes far longer than you can imagine."

Sato listened in silence, not interrupting her reasoning.

Of course, he already knew how long it took for Pupitar to develop.

In his previous life, his Pupitar remained in that form for fifteen years.

But the day it finally evolved into a Tyranitar, its strength skyrocketed, it reached Pseudo-Elite Four Peack Level immediately!

From a long-term perspective, storing Pupitar really was the most logical choice.

"Besides, you're one of the few Trainers fully supported by the Joy family, and you've provided invaluable resources like the Potential Enhancement Serum."

"We Joys will definitely take care of you, for example, we have access to high-level simulated training environments!"

"High-level simulated training environments!"

White, who had remained silent this entire time, suddenly exclaimed in shock!

Sato wasn't as dramatic, but his eyes still lit up with excitement!

Simulated environments were designed to replicate wild habitats, with adjustable internal settings tailored to different Pokémon.

They were commonly used for breeding, training, and breakthroughs, minimizing environmental limitations and even enhancing growth rates!

The Kabuki family's simulated garden was a very basic version, only providing a suitable living space for certain Pokémon.

But a high-level simulated environment was on a completely different scale.

It could be used to accelerate Pokémon growth, boost accumulation efficiency, and significantly reduce development time!

The core function of these advanced facilities was to extract pure elemental energy from items like Mystic Water, Miracle Seed, and Charcoal, then distribute it throughout the training space, allowing Pokémon to absorb and utilize it as needed.

However, the cost of such high-level simulated environments was astronomical, and the consumption of elemental items was something that most people couldn't afford.

Even a wealthy guy like White couldn't help but cry out in shock!

"So… I can use a high-level simulated environment, is that right?" Sato didn't hesitate or act reserved, he directly asked Big Sis Joy.

"Yes, actually, we've discussed your rewards for quite some time. We didn't bring it up before since you didn't need it yet, but now it's a great surprise, isn't it?"

"Whenever you decided this, it's a huge surprise!" Sato shook his head. A high-level simulated environment!

With a second chance at life, everything before Pseudo-Elite Four would no longer be an obstacle for him.

In less than a year, his Pokémon had all reached Elite level. Their levels weren't exceptionally high, but they were still among the best of their class.

And Sato could confidently say that before the end of the first year, Carvanha would definitely break through as well!

Under the current circumstances, if Pupitar truly needed fifteen years to evolve into Tyranitar, it could very well end up being a burden.

Sato would wait, but that didn't mean Pupitar would be willing to!

"Hold on, don't get ahead of yourself. You can use the high-level simulated environment, but we're not covering the entire cost of the elemental items. You'll have to provide at least half of the required materials."

"No problem!" Sato readily agreed.

With his current capabilities, supplying some elemental items was hardly a burden.

"But… can I substitute them with other items of equal value?"

"Of course!" Nurse Joy nodded just as quickly.

In reality, whether they fully covered the costs or only partially subsidized them didn't make a difference to the wealthy and resourceful Joy family.

But this arrangement would help maintain their long-term relationship with Sato.

Every month, Sato would supply elemental items to the Joy family, ensuring that he would always remember the support they provided for his Pupitar.

Relationships required constant communication to strengthen bonds.

Did Sato not realize this? Of course, he did, but he was more than happy to comply.

Afterward, Sato headed alone to the Pokémon Center's backyard, where he released all of his Pokémon.

At first, Eevee felt a little out of place, but it was quickly accepted by the rest of the team.

Sitting together, one Trainer and seven Pokémon, they talked for a long, long time.

Neither Nurse Joy nor White interrupted them.

No one knew what they discussed, but in the end, Sato smiled and handed Pupitar's Poké Ball to Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy, this Mystic Water will serve as the first month's payment."

"We don't even know how well Pupitar will absorb it yet. If it runs out, one of my sisters or I will reach out to you."

"Alright, no problem!"