Calm

"Xiaoyan, come down and eat!"

"Coming."

Sato's right hand was wrapped in bandages as he made his way down the creaking wooden stairs. Below, an old grandma nearing seventy was deftly setting out the bowls and chopsticks.

In the small living room, a white-bearded old man with pursed lips was watching highlights from last year's Johto Region League tournament with great interest.

"Still watching? Come eat already. You're old enough..." Grandma Takenō said in a completely different tone from the one she used with Sato. She pointed at the old man and muttered under her breath, complaining about something or other.

Sato obediently sat in his seat and waited for the meal to begin. After quite a while, the white-bearded old man finally wandered into the dining room, less than ten meters from the living room.

"Xiaoyan, I think among the Johto Region's Starter Pokemon, Feraligatr..."

Bang!

"Eat!" Grandma Takenō slammed a bowl down in front of the old man and shot him a fierce glare before gently placing the second bowl of rice in front of Sato.

"Thank you, Grandma Takenō."

"Ah, I cooked fish today. Eat plenty."

"Mm."

The old man across from him opened his mouth, yet not a word came out. He could only silently pick up his rice, viciously shovel down a few mouthfuls, then casually take some side dishes. As for the fish in the middle, he did not touch it at all. "Here!" Takenō personally picked out a piece of fish without fine bones for the old man. She did not urge him, merely ate by herself.

"Add more chili next time," the old man said after taking a deliberately picky bite, smacking his lips as he gave his assessment.

"You'll cook next time?"

"Haha, I think it tastes pretty good. Xiaoyan, don't you think?" Defeated, the old man found himself a way down.

"Mm, it's delicious!"

Sato smiled faintly. The old couple's idea of fun was bickering, trading one line after another like two children.

Grandma's name was Takenō. She was a native fruit farmer of Spirit Fruit Town, mainly cultivating widely circulated and extremely common berries such as Oran Berries and Pecha Berries.

The white-bearded old man was named Masayoshi, also a local of Spirit Fruit Town. However, when he was young, he had left home to travel as a trainer for a time. At his strongest, his main Pokemon had been a Pseudo-Elite Four Heracross.

When he realized that his dream was growing ever more distant while reality gradually closed in, he could only return to Spirit Fruit Town in resignation. Normally, he helped the local villagers deal with problems such as Pokemon stealing berries, living a fairly leisurely life.

Sato quietly listened to their family chatter, and his heart slowly calmed as well.

After eating, Sato headed outside. Takenō and Masayoshi both knew he was a capable trainer, so after reminding him to come back on time for dinner, they left him alone.

Ever since leaving the Ghost Ship Organization, Sato had constantly felt a sense of crisis. He felt that his strength was insufficient, so he had packed his training schedule nearly full.

Naturally, greater training volumes allowed Pokemon to improve faster, but they also brought no small number of hidden problems.

First was skill proficiency. Apart from the few attacking moves they used frequently, their other moves remained at a level where they merely knew how to use them. They were practically useless in actual combat.

Zoroark had Dark Burst to hold up the front, so the issue was not very obvious. Haunter was different. Aside from Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb, its other moves were fairly underwhelming.

Second, after reaching Elite Level, the most important thing was not to raise their levels quickly, but to bring out their own abilities as much as possible—such as Pokemon-specific traits, the combat bonuses granted by their natures, proficiency with moves, deeper move development, and so on.

"Zoroark's Illusion ability needs to start training. In battles of 3V3 or more, using Illusion for coordinated defense and Sucker Punch is almost guaranteed to work every time!"

As Sato spoke, he wrote the key points into his notebook. At that moment, a furtive gaze fell upon him.

Sato, whose senses were sharp, immediately noticed it. Glancing over, he saw a somewhat dark-skinned little boy cautiously hiding behind a large tree, his eyes full of curiosity.

Whoosh!

Apparently realizing he had been discovered, the little boy hurriedly ducked behind the tree and did not dare show himself for a long while.

Sato looked at Spinarak, which was being teased into angry embarrassment by Haunter nearby. These two should have been what caught the little boy's attention.

Not paying it much mind, Sato continued lowering his head to make training plans—first for Zoroark, then Haunter, Larvitar, and Spinarak.

After sorting out each of their training plans, Sato took Spinarak and Haunter deeper into the forest before releasing the remaining Zoroark and Larvitar.

For several days in a row, Sato lived such a quiet life. The Pokemon's training volume was not particularly high; more of their time was spent becoming familiar with the abilities they possessed.

The little boy also showed up on time every day. However, he always hid behind the tree, quietly watching Sato train without stepping forward to disturb him.

Sato did not mind. Outside the forest, he would not release Larvitar, so the little boy only ever saw Zoroark and the others.

As the saying went, injuries to the muscles and bones took a hundred days to heal. Though Sato's Physical Quality was far better than an ordinary person's, he could not fully recover from his injuries in just a few days.

Besides, Spirit Fruit Town was exceptionally peaceful. Other than the boss who came to collect berries every half month, hardly anyone else ever visited.

Finally, after the little boy had persistently watched in secret for a week, Sato walked toward him with some interest.

The first thing that came into view was a dark bowl cut, followed by wheat-colored arms tanned under the sun.

Though Sato was not very old either, he had been shooting up in height during This Period of Time and was already nearly one meter fifty-six tall.

"Do you need something?" It had been a long time since he had spoken to someone from above, and for a time, Sato felt a little more favorably toward the little boy.

"N-No, I'm just watching..." The child, who was mischievous among his friends, frantically shook his head before Sato as though he were being bullied.

"Really?"

"...Really."

"Then don't come disturb me anymore." Sato kept a blank expression, but inwardly, he suddenly said it with a hint of Little Devil mischief.

"Huh? I-I-I..." The little boy's cheeks flushed red, and he looked both angry and despairing.

"Take care."

"I... I do have something!" The little boy called out to Sato, who had turned to leave.

"Then say it. What is it?" Sato picked up Spinarak, which was playfully tugging at his pant leg, and asked indifferently.

"I want to become a Pokemon trainer!" Though the little boy felt Sato was somewhat different from what he had imagined, he still voiced the thought in his heart.

"And then?"

"And then? What do you mean, and then?" The little boy looked a little dazed as he answered Sato with a rhetorical question.

"Then why did you look for me?"

"I..."

The little boy was somewhat lost. What had he come to Sato for? He had merely heard some time ago that a Pokemon trainer had arrived in town, and he had impatiently run over to see what the trainer he admired was like.

But something seemed a little off. Were trainers all like this? He did not believe it!

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