Happy to be Mischievous

Having learned of Ursaring's cave, Sato didn't startle the bear. After memorizing the surrounding terrain, he quietly left.

The next day, Ursaring went out to search for food again. Though it was a bear, most of its diet consisted of berries and honey.

Honey, you say?

When a Beedrill brought its little brothers and flatteringly offered Ursaring honey as clear as watery gauze, Sato understood why the only Bug-type Pokémon in Ursaring's territory were Beedrill! Another day passed, and Sato discovered that aside from going out to forage, Ursaring always returned to its cave. Yet other than Ursaring itself, no Pokémon ever entered or left the cave.

"Was I wrong?"

Sato began to doubt his judgment. Perhaps this dominant Ursaring simply disliked humans.

Still, he had to go in.

On the third day, Sato tightened his belt and shoelaces, had Haunter turn invisible and follow him, then secretly slipped into the cave while Ursaring was making its routine patrol of the territory.

The cave was quite dim, and even carried the unpleasant body odor of a giant bear. It wasn't large either; after only a few steps, Sato had reached its deepest point.

At the center of a huge circular nest lay an orange-yellow little bear, quietly sprawled out. As Sato approached, the little fellow's nose curiously twitched, as though it had noticed something it had never seen before.

"Mi?"

Teddiursa woke up unsteadily, its bleary Little Eyes staring curiously at Sato from afar.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... One person and one Pokémon remained motionless, locked in a staring contest. In the end, however, Teddiursa's sudden little yawn broke the stalemate.

"Mi?"

Teddiursa stretched out its little Bear Paw and rubbed its Little Eyes, seemingly trying to wake itself up. Then it continued staring blankly and adorably at Sato.

Sato calmly looked away. Why the hell did Teddiursa think I was playing a game with it? "Miu~"

Perhaps it felt that it had worked so hard to wake up, only for the little companion opposite it to refuse to play along. Huge tears immediately streamed down its face as if they cost nothing, and it looked ready to burst into loud sobs.

A look!...

Sato maintained the staring posture. Not only could he not reveal any impatience, he also secretly communicated with Haunter through a series of hand gestures.

Target: take down that bratty bear!

Looking at the Teddiursa sleeping soundly, Sato closed his eyes to ease his fatigue. He had completely given up on his original idea.

This Teddiursa was nothing but a little cuter and a little more mischievous than other Teddiursa! After carefully searching the cave again, Sato found nothing of value besides a bundle of honey wrapped in leaves.

This treasure hunt had gotten off to a terrible start. He had wasted three days without gaining anything substantial, and as for the Teddiursa he had been most hopeful about...

Forget it...

Teddiursa was a Normal-type Pokémon, so Sato's Dark Power had no effect at all. He had wanted to see whether the descendant of a dominant Ursaring might also be dominant, but now that hope seemed slim.

In the future, he should focus on finding Pokémon that Dark Power could detect. Otherwise, even a mountain of gold and silver placed before him would be wasted!

Having made up his mind, Sato arrived at the cave entrance and turned his head. At the same moment, a pair of Dead Fish Eyes poked into the cave.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Sato and the suddenly returned Ursaring stared at each other for three seconds. Then Sato bolted madly into the cave, while Ursaring, in its rage, accidentally kicked a rock and fell into the cave entrance.

"Roar!"

Ursaring quickly stood up. At this moment, it couldn't care less about letting out an imposing roar. Dragging its mountain-like, brawny body behind it, it gave Mad Pursuit to Sato.

"Haunter, use Shadow Ball to disrupt it!"

"Jiejie~"

The fastest, Haunter, seemed quite accustomed to scenes like this. With a handsome spin, it sent nine small Shadow Balls flying at Ursaring in an irregular pattern. It had secretly learned this move from Larvitar, and it was even more flexible to use than Rock Slide.

Bang! Bang! Bang...! A string of explosions rang out. The Shadow Balls did not directly attack Ursaring, since attacking it would have been useless anyway. One after another, they smashed into the ground, filling the cave with dust and scattering shards of rock everywhere! Ursaring disregarded it all. Faced with such feeble interference, it charged deeper inside in huge strides. This was its home; it knew every corner of it perfectly and could reach the deepest part with its eyes closed.

And so, Ursaring ran to the deepest point with its eyes closed, following the sound until it found the frightened Teddiursa.

"Roar!"

The gap in strength was far too great, so Sato naturally wouldn't choose to fight head-on. The Shadow Balls had perfectly served their purpose as a distraction. Hearing the enraged roar behind him, Sato suddenly grinned.

Perhaps this was the joy of being a little mischievous.

After leaving Ursaring's territory, Sato knew that any Pokémon farther in would either be something too weak to be noticed, like Caterpie, or something even stronger than Ursaring.

Changing direction, Sato withdrew from the depths of the forest along the way he had come, returned to his planned route, and went to Violet City.

By the time Sato arrived in Violet City with his three exhausted little companions, dusk was approaching. He went to the Pokemon Center to have all of them fully treated and made sure there were no lingering issues.

Since he wasn't in the habit of staying overnight at the Pokemon Center, Sato chose to spend a little more on a more comfortable hotel, both for privacy and safety.

Early the Next Morning, Sato wandered around Violet City alone. When he passed Violet Gym, he lingered for a long time before ultimately choosing to leave.

Alliance Tournaments in each region had only become popular in recent years, and they had also fueled the growth of a new profession.

Pokémon Trainer! Traveling, Gym challenges, and Alliance Tournaments formed an interconnected chain. For the Alliance, this method allowed it to rapidly recruit elite talents from all over and strengthen itself.

For Trainers, it was a stage to showcase themselves, the beginning and end of their dreams.

But for Sato, excessive exposure was not a good thing. First of all, everyone knew how rare a pseudo-legendary larval form like Larvitar was. He didn't even dare bring it out casually in the city.

Then there was Zorua, a Pokémon that clearly wasn't from Kanto or the Johto Region. Sato had obtained it from the Ghost Ship Organization. If he exposed it too publicly, it would be no different from delivering himself to their doorstep.

Lastly, the Alliance Tournaments had already diverged from their original purpose. They were now filled with the influence of families, corporations, the Alliance, and even Underground Organizations, all using them to divide up the profits and keep one another in check.

Having lived a second life, Sato didn't care much about anything besides the companions at his side—at most, he also had the goal of becoming stronger.

Besides, Alliance Tournaments themselves were not the highest-level Pokémon competitions. They were only notable because they included the most passionate youths, the youngest generation, and the broadest influence.

Beyond them were the Regional Elite Tournament, the Regional Elite Four Tournament, and the Regional Team Championship. Those were the playgrounds of true experts! With that as his goal, Sato went to a shopping mall in the city center and signed up for the Million Voucher Competition!