Pokémon: Above the Top

"Mr. Wallace, Mr. Sato and the others are currently relaxing with massages in the lounge on the eighteenth floor. Shall I prepare something for you as well?"

In the lobby of the seven-star hotel, Wallace's exclusive butler approached and bowed respectfully as he asked.

"Alright, thank you!" Wallace replied with a smile and, under the butler's guidance, headed straight to the eighteenth floor.

Knock knock~

"Come~"

A lazy, laid-back voice answered from inside. Wallace instantly recognized who it was and began gather his thoughts.

Soon, the door opened, and Wallace walked in wearing a "flawless" smile.

…But before he could say what he had prepared, he was completely stunned by what he saw.

Inside the not-so-large lounge, more than a dozen massage chairs of various sizes had been set up. Every single Pokémon -except for Gengar- was paired with its own massage therapist.

Strange, exaggerated cries echoed nonstop, but no matter how odd they sounded, they were clearly filled with pleasure.

Sato tilted his head and lazily greeted Wallace, snapping him out of his daze.

"Tch tch I've never seen a scene like this before. You guys… really know how to enjoy yourselves."

Even Wallace, the "king" of slick words, didn't know how to describe what he was feeling in that moment.

"Yeah, seven-star hotels are amazing. These additional services are really something. You should try it too." Sato didn't mention the competition at all and instead invited Wallace to join them.

"…Alright, I'll give it a shot too!"

Gritting his teeth, Wallace agreed on the spot. He still needed to talk with Sato about what happened during the day, so for now, he had to go along with it.

This really felt like entertaining a client!

Wallace instructed the staff to move a massage chair next to Sato's, then sat down and halfheartedly enjoyed the massage while glancing over at Sato, who had his eyes closed and was completely ignoring him.

'This isn't the right time to bring it up, is it?'

Thinking that, Wallace had no choice but to hold back and try to enjoy this rare moment of relaxation.

Then, the lounge fell into silence again, except for the occasional bizarre cry that made every passerby turn their heads in surprise.

---

Time flowed like water. After another half hour, Sato and the others finally recalled all the Pokémon that had enjoyed their massages.

"So sleepy… A massage really makes you want to pass out." Mark yawned lazily, eyes hazy, clearly on the verge of dozing off.

"It's getting late. Wallace, if there's nothing else, we'll head back and rest now." Sato nodded and turned to look at Wallace, who still looked a bit dazed.

Clearly, the massage had been very enjoyable.

"Mm… Huh? Yes! Yes, I do have something!" Wallace had just been about to nod and agree when he suddenly remembered why he had come. He instantly snapped back to attention.

"What is it? Go ahead." Sato crossed his arms and wore an expression that screamed, 'Alright, begin your act.'

"Ahem! So, recently I received a Skorupi from a friend… one with exceptional potential. But I've never trained this kind of Pokémon before, and I'm worried I won't be able to unlock its full potential, so I wanted to find a Trainer I could entrust it to."

As Wallace spoke, he pulled out a blue Net Ball.

"And…?" Sato raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly as he responded.

"Skorupi starts off as a Poison/Bug-type, but once it evolves, it becomes Poison/Dark. And I know you're well-versed in all three of those types, Sato. So I wanted to entrust it to you for training."

A flash of red light revealed a shiny Skorupi with a crimson body at their feet. Its distinct color immediately caught the attention of all three.

At the same time, [Dark Energy: Energy Detection] activated, relaying back Skorupi's Bug-type potential.

Pseudo-Elite Four.

And with Wallace himself praising its potential, given his current status and insight, its Poison-type potential likely wasn't below Pseudo-Elite Four level either.

What made it even rarer was its shiny form, its crimson body looked incredibly cool. One could imagine how striking its evolved form, Drapion, would be.

But this "peace" offering… was a bit much!

Sato had expected Wallace might offer some kind of compensation, but he hadn't expected it to be such an exceptional Skorupi!

If he accepted it, he'd owe Wallace something in return… and that was not his intention.

More importantly, Wallace had never once actually apologized. He just assumed handing over a Skorupi would make the issue go away.

"Skorupi's great, but it doesn't belong to me." Sato looked at Wallace and gave a dry chuckle as he pushed the Net Ball back toward him.

Wallace stared at the scene in shock. His hand clenched subconsciously, and for the first time, his "elegant" eyebrows furrowed tightly.

It had been a long time, hadn't it? Since someone had rejected him so directly. Couldn't he tell how talented this Skorupi was?

Did he understand what he had just turned down?

Wallace was a master at smiling. Even now, he managed to keep a smile on his face.

…But to Sato and the others, it was the ugliest smile they had ever seen.

In the end, Wallace slowly lowered the hand holding the Net Ball. But inside, his mind was in a daze. 'I've already gone this far to ask for forgiveness… and you still won't accept it? Fine then. Don't accept it.'

But Wallace had forgotten: who was the first to praise his battle style? Who encouraged him to set out on his journey? Who agreed to compete the moment he was invited?

…Maybe being surrounded by sycophants for too long had made Wallace believe he was truly untouchable now.

To show weakness and offer a gift. That was already the highest form of apology he could imagine.

"Wallace, are you free tomorrow?"

"Huh? I think so, why?" Wallace blinked, confused, but still nodded.

"Then let's have a Pokémon battle. If we do, I won't bring up what happened earlier."

"You sure? Right now, I…"

"I'm sure. What, you scared~?" Sato cut him off directly, voice filled with provocation.

"…Alright, you said it."

"Get some rest. See you at the battlefield tomorrow morning." Sato smiled, then led Mark and Joseph past Wallace, heading straight for his room.

"That's it? Boss, you really don't want that shiny Skorupi?" Mark asked impatiently, looking like they'd just taken a major loss.

"I'm not in the mood to raise new Pokémon right now. What matters most is helping Zoroark and the others advance as soon as possible."

"So you challenged him to a battle. Can you even beat him?" Joseph suddenly spoke up, genuine concern in his tone.

They all knew Wallace was a terrifying Trainer, one of those slow-burn types who had built up his strength over years and was now exploding with power.

Even if Wallace brought out an Elite Four-level Pokémon tomorrow, Joseph wouldn't be surprised.

"Whether I can or not, I won't know until I try. But Wallace right now… he doesn't seem like…" Sato trailed off as his voice grew quieter.

..

.

.

150 PS = Chap

Patr-eon/Romeloff