Trial Begins

With Sato's current physical quality, Alakazam's Teleport no longer made him dizzy, but several consecutive Teleports still left him somewhat overwhelmed.

When the final Teleport ended, Sato found himself in a patch of bushes. The occasional chirping of insects and birds came from around him, but there was not another soul in sight.

"Zorua, transform into Gastly and follow behind me. Gastly, turn invisible!"

"Kuso!"

"Jiejie~"

A strange glow emerged from Zorua's body, and it quickly transformed into Gastly's appearance. However, aside from its appearance, it possessed none of Gastly's abilities.

Without the Levitate Ability, the Gastly Zorua had transformed into could only sit on Sato's shoulder, while the real Gastly was already hidden in the shadows.

After briefly surveying his surroundings, Sato quickly found an obvious trace of activity. Without hesitation, he leaped forward several times and ran over.

Beneath the cover of short grass, a small tree hole that had clearly been dug by hand entered Sato's view. Reaching inside, he pulled out a rolled-up map.

"So this is where I am?"

Leaning against a large tree, Sato studied the map to determine his location. At that moment, an unusual fluctuation of energy caught his attention.

"Zorua, prepare Scary Face! Gastly, prepare Shadow Ball!"

The energy fluctuation rapidly approached from behind, yet neither the chirping of insects and birds nor the earthy scent of grass changed in the slightest. Such camouflage and concealment could not belong to a rookie! Whoosh!

A gust of wind swept past as a Bright Blue Air Slash sliced past Sato's Right Hand shoulder, its primary target being Zorua, disguised as Gastly!

"Ku...so!"

Sato ducked beneath the attack. Zorua sprang upward, evading the Air Slash as it jumped onto a low branch. Scary Face!

"Eek!"

A shrill, rat-like cry and the sound of fluttering wings reached him. Sato immediately identified the ambusher as either a Golbat or a Zubat!

By then, Zorua's Scary Face had already taken effect, drastically reducing its opponent's speed!

"Strike over, Surprise Attack!"

Sato swiftly changed positions. Once he confirmed it was a Golbat, rather than hiding himself as much as he had during training, he boldly Walked Out and directed Zorua in battle like a Trainer.

"Kuso!"

No longer skin and bones, Zorua exerted itself fiercely and vanished from in front of Golbat in the Blink of an Eye. By the time Golbat reacted, Zorua's red-glowing eyes were already behind it, delivering a brutal blow to its back! "Golbat, Gust! Houndoom, Fire Fang!" Commands with an Echoed Voice rang out around Sato. Enduring the pain, Golbat rapidly flapped its wings, sending a violent gale toward the landing Zorua.

On the Other Side, Houndoom Shot Out from behind Sato. Its massive flaming jaws bit directly toward the Back of the Neck! "Zorua, Fake Tears! Gastly, Toxic!"

As he Issued Commands, Sato quickly sidestepped and ran toward a certain direction. Houndoom's attack missed, and Gastly abruptly Appeared In Front Of it, shoving a cloud of purple poison mist right into Houndoom's face!

The person Hidden Beneath the shadows suddenly tensed. Seeing That Sato was running directly toward where he was hiding, was it a coincidence? Or had he been discovered? "Awooo!"

The Toxic entered Houndoom's body through its nose and mouth. With its extremely sensitive nose, Houndoom was instantly incapacitated! This was not a turn-based exchange of moves. Targeting Houndoom, Sato had long since devised a strategy and made Zorua and Gastly practice it over and over! "Zorua, Dark Pulse! Gastly, Shadow Ball! Take out Golbat first!"

Sato suddenly turned around. It seemed as though he had escaped Houndoom's attack and So Without Hesitation turned back to issue commands, completely exposing his vulnerable back to the other person's view! "Eek, eek!" Golbat had taken a Scary Face and Fake Tears, greatly lowering both its speed and Special Defense. Its owner had failed to issue commands in time, and seeing Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball about to hit it, Golbat actually folded its wings together, trying to block the attacks that way!

Boom!

The collision of energy caused a minor explosion. Under Zorua and Gastly's combined assault, Golbat was instantly Incapacitated.

Its owner had just focused all his attention on the approaching Sato. In that brief moment of distraction, Golbat had already Fell To The Ground.

"Damn it! Houndoom, Flamethrower! Weezing, Double Hit!"

"Gastly, rapid-fire Shadow Ball! Zorua, Scary Face!"

Houndoom now hated Gastly with a passion. Its sensitive nose felt As If Being gnawed by countless ants. It vaguely heard its owner's commands, but could not focus at all! Gastly was Extremely Fast. With a Flash, it arrived before the newly appeared Weezing. Six small Shadow Balls formed a line and went Whooshing toward it!

Meanwhile, Zorua had already returned to its original form for easier movement. While Weezing was suppressed by the barrage, it ran over and activated Scary Face! "Weezing~"

Weezing was Repelled by the Shadow Balls. Unfortunately, their power was too weak to cause much damage. Then Zorua's Scary Face connected, making the already slow Weezing even more sluggish.

Whoosh!

A faint scraping sound rang out, and Sato immediately noticed signs that his opponent was fleeing. He was even willing to abandon his Pokémon—how decisive! "Gastly, rush over and use Lick! Zorua, aim Dark Pulse at Weezing's smallest head!"

"Jiejie~"

Seemingly having found something amusing, Gastly quickly turned invisible and caught up with the fleeing person in the Blink of an Eye.

Zorua swiftly condensed a Dark Pulse. Without its owner's commands, the already dull Weezing simply stood there and took the Dark Pulse head-on.

Like Golbat, Weezing's ability to attack independently was outrageously poor.

As for Houndoom, which should have been the strongest, it was being tormented half to death by Gastly's Toxic. Without hesitation, Sato directly ordered Zorua to finish it off.

When he caught up to Gastly, it was teasing the "old acquaintance" lying on the ground, licking him From Time To Time to ensure the paralysis remained effective.

"Gastly, Hypnosis!"

"Damn it!"

Hearing Sato's command, the other person immediately Jumped Up. With a dagger in hand, he swung it at Sato.

Sato did not move at all, not even blinking, because Zorua and Gastly had already acted. Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse hit simultaneously, directly knocking the man to the ground.

Sato walked over and looked down at him from above.

"You're quite patient. You didn't make a move against me until now. Did you ever consider the possibility of failure?"

Sato removed the man's red nameplate, then bent back his Right Hand thumb to unlock the fingerprint lock on it. He then walked away To Himself with the nameplate and the man's Spatial Backpack.

From beginning to end, Sato had no interest in learning the man's name. Zorua quickly followed him, while Gastly, already aware of Sato's arrangements, stayed behind.

Thank you for your support!