Pokémon: Above the Top

Sato hurried back to the Pokémon Center. The alarms had already stopped, and workers were already replacing the broken doors and windows.

He recalled Zoroark and Gengar, then stepped through the entrance.

"Sato!"

Joy Lily was the first to notice him, instinctively raising her voice—but realizing it was unladylike, she quickly blushed and glared at him instead.

"Where did you disappear to all of a sudden? Did you run into any danger?"

Sato shook his head at the worried Joy, then turned his gaze toward the two men standing beside her.

Elite Four Sen and Pryce!

However, Elite Four Sen's right arm was wrapped in bandages, indicating that he had sustained injuries during the assassination attempt.

"Mr. Sen, Mr. Pryce."

Sato nodded lightly as a gesture of respect.

"So, you're the young trainer under the Joy Family's care? Work hard—the future belongs to you youngsters."

Sen's tone was warm and encouraging before he politely bid farewell to Lily and left the Pokémon Center.

Pryce, as always, remained silent. He nodded briefly at Lily before following Sen out, never sparing Sato a single glance.

"Sis Lily, my Pokémon are injured. Please take care of them."

"Oh, now you remember to ask for my help? But earlier, you just ran off on your own!"

Lily was clearly upset, but she still took his Poké Balls and turned away with a huff.

Sato glanced at the clock. It was nearly dawn.

The sounds of repair work echoed through the chaotic, overcrowded lobby filled with injured trainers and Pokémon. Getting proper rest here was impossible.

Exhausted, Sato decided to relocate. After notifying Lily, he contacted Wester, who arranged a hotel room for him.

And then—he crashed into bed.

After waking up fully rested, Sato finished his meal at the Pokémon Center while listening to Wester's gathered intel. Most of it, he already knew, but there were some new details.

This time, the League had eliminated 32 assassins and captured two, though both captives were insignificant—no real value. The real masterminds had either escaped or died.

Elite Four Sen was ambushed by two pseudo-Elite Four-level assassins. Though prepared, he still suffered a minor injury.

The League officials and participants in the tournament also suffered heavy losses.

40 League officials were assassinated, and 8 elite-level trainers, all of whom had performed exceptionally well in the tournament, were killed.

Wester, thanks to his influential background and the presence of a pseudo-Elite Four-level bodyguard, remained unharmed.

In response, the League was enraged, ordering a full-scale crackdown on all criminal elements in the city. Even low-level thugs were rounded up for interrogation.

At the same time, the planned Elite Tournaments in Olivine City and Violet City were officially canceled.

But the most shocking revelation—the investigation ultimately pointed to Team Rocket as the mastermind behind the assassinations.

Sato narrowed his eyes.

Was Team Rocket taking the fall to shield the real culprits—like the Ghost Ship? It wouldn't be surprising. When you already have enough dirt on you, one more crime doesn't matter.

Shaking off those thoughts, Sato reminded himself that this was far beyond his scope.

Even if he revealed the truth, no one would believe him.

After retrieving his fully recovered Pokémon from Lily, Sato took out his scanner and checked Pupitar's latest stats.

Pupitar

Gender: Male

Strength: Elite Junior

Potential: Rock (Elite Four?) + Ground (Pseudo-Elite Four)

Ability: Shed Skin

Moves Learned Naturally: Leer, Bite, Sandstorm, Screech, Payback, Rock Slide, Scary Face, Thrash, Stone Edge, Dark Pulse.

Egg Move: Dragon Dance.

TMs: Brick Break, Rock Polish, Protect.

Sato nodded to himself. Aside from Stone Edge, Pupitar had gained two new moves upon evolving—Thrash and Dark Pulse. As expected, its strength had reached Elite Junior.

With that, his time in Mahogany Town had come to an end.

His objectives were mostly completed—Elite Four Sen had not been assassinated, and his dead-eyed master had been successfully stalled, preventing him from walking into certain death.

Sato knew well that in this timeline, his connection with his former master was meaningless.

From the assassin's perspective, his actions probably seemed like nothing more than reckless youthful arrogance, leading him away.

But to Sato, this was just his way of letting go of a past obsession.

If that man had not been there, illuminating the only light in the darkness, then Sato might not have existed as he was now.

And besides, if he had never intervened in the Ghost Ship's assassination attempt, his former master wouldn't have been in any danger in the first place.

It was simply following his heart.

Sato ran his fingers over Pupitar's hard armor, lost in thought.

The next time they met—would they be allies or enemies? That, he would leave to Arceus.

Sato had no home—not in his past life, nor in this one. But he had grown accustomed to it, carrying his backpack and traveling freely with his Pokémon by his side.

Watching his partners grow stronger over time, perhaps even making a few more friends like Wester—people who would check in on him, share meals, and have conversations.

And then there were his two unaccounted-for Pokémon. If his estimations were correct, one of them should have already started living independently.

He looked forward to their reunion. To him, Zoroark, Gengar, and the others weren't just Pokémon.

They were family. And soon, that family would only continue to grow.

Heading eastward, he would pass through Lake of Rage, eventually arriving in Blackthorn City.

Despite its ancient appearance, Blackthorn City was anything but outdated.

After all, it was home to one of Johto's oldest and most powerful families—the Dragon Tamer Clan1.

Nearly every generation of Johto's Elite Four had at least one member from the Dragon Clan, and for a good reason—Dragon Aura.

Unlike Sato's Dark Energy, which he had accidentally stumbled upon, Dragon Aura could be inherited and awakened—a defining factor in their overwhelming strength.

Sato was interested in learning more about Dragon Aura, hoping it might provide insight into further developing his own Dark Energy.

Unfortunately, the only person he knew in Blackthorn City was Nurse Joy.

No—rather, only Nurse Joy knew of him.

-----------

Spending a week in Blackthorn, he could feel the depth and history of the city embedded in its very atmosphere.

For these past few days, he had refrained from intensive training, focusing instead on basic conditioning.

A moment of rest between battles.

And in this stillness, he could sense a change in his Pokémon. The restlessness, the tension—all of it slowly faded away.

This too was a form of growth.

Now, with everything packed and prepared, he set out toward his final destination in Johto—

Mount Silver.