Pokémon: Above the Top

To participate in the Gym Trainer Qualification Tournament, the first thing Sato needed to do was capture another Dark-type Pokémon!

However, Dark-type Pokémon were already rare, and with limited transportation options and little time, his search was restricted to Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn.

Murkrow, Sneasel, Mightyena, Shiftry, Sableye, Crawdaunt, and Absol... none were available!

Sato frowned. This was giving him a serious headache.

According to his original plan, he wasn't supposed to capture Pokémon so quickly.

He had intended to wait until his first group of Pokémon reached a stable phase before adding new members.

However, with back-to-back Young Elite Tournaments and the sudden Gym Leader Qualification Tournament, he was forced to accelerate his growth rate.

Even so, he refused to settle for just any Pokémon!

His minimum capture criteria remained unchanged:

*A strong desire to grow stronger.

*A stage level of at least Pseudo-Elite Four potential.

These two requirements eliminated most Pokémon from consideration!

One by one, he went through his options.

Sato listed all potential Pokémon on paper.

Based on his current team composition and strategy, he determined that his best choices were: *Murkrow

*Sneasel

*Sableye

*Absol

The other options conflicted with his team synergy, so he crossed them out.

Murkrow could be found in multiple regions, but it always appeared in small, scattered groups. Sato had encountered them several times during his travels, but they had all been ordinary Pokémon.

Murkrow was a species that was widespread but had low population density. Next to Murkrow, Sato wrote: "Leave it to fate!"

Sneasel, on the other hand, could likely be found at Seafoam Islands in Kanto, which was home to many Ice-type Pokémon.

Finding one with high potential seemed realistic. Marked for search!

As for Sableye and Absol, they were already rare in the wild. Encountering even one would be considered lucky, and finding one with great potential was an even bigger challenge.

After considering it carefully, Sato crossed out Sableye and Absol for now. Perhaps he could search for them later, but there wasn't enough time right now.

At this point, Sneasel seemed like the most reliable option!

Sato circled Sneasel's name heavily on the paper.

It was time to go back!

Sato hadn't expected his first journey through Hoenn to end so soon.

There were still so many places he hadn't explored. If he were lucky, he might have encountered an Absol or Sableye with incredible potential.

However, since he had set his sights on becoming a Gym Leader, he needed to give it his all!

A laid-back journey was enjoyable, but a life with a clear goal was far more exciting!

But the reality was... returning to Kanto wouldn't be easy.

The only way back was through Hoenn's central hub, Mauville City, which had the best transportation network.

From Mauville City, he could only take a flight to Kanto's Saffron City.

Then, from Saffron City, he would need to take a train to Vermilion City's port, where he could finally board a ship to Seafoam Islands.

He would have to travel by air, land, and sea just to reach his final destination!

----

Taking a different route back, Sato focused on training Cacnea and Eevee while traveling as quickly as possible.

It took him four days to reach Mauville City, where he immediately booked a flight for the next day.

After a brief rest at Mauville City, Sato quickly boarded his flight and departed.

Meanwhile, in a hotel room in Mauville City, three individuals, each radiating an intimidating aura, had gathered.

Suddenly, a Natu teleported onto one of their arms, chirping rapidly as it relayed a message.

"The target is gone!"

"Hmm?"

A young man with dead-fish eyes turned to look at Natu, causing the small Pokémon to flinch and retreat into its Trainer's chest.

"The target returned to Mauville City last night, but left by plane early this morning."

"Where did he go?"

"Kanto!"

"What's our next move?" A slender woman spoke in an icy tone, her gaze fixed on the dead-eyed man.

"What else? We go to Kanto."

The dead-eyed man stood up, heading toward his room to pack.

"Should I inform our Kanto division ahead of time so they can assist us?" the woman asked.

The dead-eyed man paused for a moment before giving a quiet nod, then continued on his way.

In the back of the room, the woman wore a dark expression.

They had arrived in Hoenn over half a month ago.

This time, the organization had sent three Blue-badge assassins with a single mission: To eliminate Sato, the traitor who had repeatedly disrupted their operations and killed numerous assassins in retaliation.

Yet, by sheer bad luck, on the very day they arrived, Sato had entered the desert.

Chasing him into the desert was out of the question, so they had no choice but to station operatives in the surrounding cities, hoping to catch him when he emerged.

Last night, when Sato returned to Mauville City, they had rushed over immediately.

However, their leader, the dead-eyed man, had been too far away at the time. By the time he arrived, morning had already broken.

They had missed their best chance for an ambush, and now, the Natu watching Sato had reported that he had already left Hoenn.

This string of unfortunate coincidences and delays made the female assassin anxious. At the same time, a sense of unease crept into her mind.

The Natu's Trainer, a burly man with golden hair, soothed the small Pokémon before silently returning to his room to pack.

---

"Click."

The sound of the door closing echoed as the dead-eyed man slowly sat down on his bed, leaning back on his hands and closing his eyes to rest.

His mind kept replaying the battle he had fought against Sato in Cagire Town.

Through careful investigation, they had gathered and analyzed all the information they could find on Sato.

Cautious, decisive, ruthless in combat, highly aware of counter-surveillance, and an exceptionally talented Pokémon Trainer.

Someone like that... why would he say something as foolish as, "Your plan has already been exposed. Surrender now!" during their battle?

It was that very sentence that had saved his life.

Because of those words, he had hesitated to return to the Pokémon Center rendezvous point, which ultimately allowed him to evade the League's ambush. He had been the only assassin to survive that operation.

Looking back now, the dead-eyed man had a nagging feeling that Sato had intentionally lured him away from the encirclement.

With so many lingering doubts, even though he had accepted the mission to assassinate Sato, he had deliberately delayed their confrontation using his authority as team leader.

What he truly wanted... was a chance to shake off his subordinates and confront Sato face-to-face!

Was it possible that he and Sato had met before? That he had even helped him once, and that was why Sato had secretly saved him in return?

The dead-eyed man didn't consider himself a good person, but before being forced into the life of an assassin, he had once been a man with a kind heart, who had acted on that kindness.

---

Meanwhile, completely unaware that he was about to reunite with his former mentor, Sato had only one thing on his mind: Reaching Seafoam Islands as soon as possible and capturing a Sneasel!