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Sato arrived at the Pokémon Center ten minutes early. By the time he got there, Wattson and a group of Trainers had already gathered at the entrance.
He did a quick count—thirty-two people in total, himself included. Quite a few of them carried an imposing presence, the kind that made it obvious at a glance that they weren't weak.
"Wahahaha~! Brother Tyler, you're finally here! You were the only one missing. Here—this is your rubber suit and your Rhyhorn. You'll need to put in plenty of work later!"
The moment Wattson saw Sato striding over from the street, he hurried forward and handed him a specially made rubber suit emblazoned with a lightning symbol, along with a League-issued Poké Ball.
After parting ways with Sato earlier, Wattson had deliberately looked up Tyler's records. The moment he saw the 92% mission completion rate in the League database, he was overjoyed—it was proof that Sato truly had real ability.
"You're flattering me too much, Mr. Wattson. You should be the one commanding this mission. I'll just offer some suggestions."
Hearing Wattson's words, Sato shook his head. He glanced at the Trainers eyeing him sideways and replied with a smile.
He had only just joined the team. If he tried to seize command now, that would be pure wishful thinking. Even if Wattson agreed, the Trainers who were meeting him for the first time certainly wouldn't.
So if Sato wanted to help complete the mission, he had to rely on Wattson's authority within the team—offer advice behind the scenes and let Wattson issue the orders.
"Wahahaha~! Fine then. When the time comes, this old man will listen to you."
Seeing how tactful Sato was, Wattson's old face lit up even more. He patted Sato's shoulder with his chubby hand and laughed heartily.
This incident in Mauville City was far too serious. As the Mauville Gym Leader, Wattson couldn't escape responsibility. If this mission failed, he might lose his position before he even had time to warm the seat.
So although he said he'd listen to Sato, there was no way he'd actually give up command—the biggest source of credit—under any circumstances.
"Mr. Wattson, have you already drafted a battle plan? Why don't you explain it to us now?"
Sato didn't continue dwelling on the issue of command. Once he got Wattson's assurance, he immediately shifted the topic to the mission itself, directly asking the most critical question—the plan.
Wattson might be an engineer, but most of his skill points were invested in machinery, design, and training Electric-type Pokémon. Strategic planning that required juggling numerous variables was not his strong suit.
"Well, uh… how should I put this… Ah! Aina, why don't you explain the operation plan to Tyler."
Faced with Sato's question, Wattson's head instantly started aching. He quickly called over one of his sharper subordinates to explain the plan his lover had helped design.
"Hello, Mr. Tyler. I'm Aina. Please take a look at this blueprint—this is the power plant's structural layout.
"From the map, you can see that the power plant has only one main entrance and exit. However, the Galvantula have heavily fortified that area, so breaking in head-on would be extremely difficult. To avoid their strength, we plan to enter the plant through the sewer system.
"As you know, Hoenn has heavy rainfall. Mauville's power plant relies on tidal power, so to prevent flooding, the sewer network is extremely extensive. There are more than a dozen sewer outlets that connect directly to the interior of the plant.
"Right now, the power plant itself is still operating. Mauville City's power shortage is mainly because most of the electricity is being absorbed by the Galvantula occupying the plant. Their webbing wrapped around the plant is also siphoning off a large amount of electricity.
"Our plan is to infiltrate the plant through the sewers and shut down four emergency power cutoff switches inside. This will drastically weaken the Galvantula' combat power."
As she spoke, Aina stepped forward, took out a blueprint from her storage equipment, and carefully explained the entire operation.
To be fair, the person who designed this plan had thought things through very thoroughly. The plan was highly feasible. If the power supply could be cut, the Galvantula' combat effectiveness would drop by at least half.
Without webbing charged with high-voltage electricity, even if they could still move quickly along it, they would struggle to compete with well-trained Pokémon.
"The plan itself is excellent," Sato said after listening, nodding slightly. "But there's one crucial point that needs confirmation—are the sewers leading into the power plant actually safe right now?"
"This…"
Aina hesitated immediately. Even the team members who had been ready to challenge Sato's opinion fell silent.
Seeing their expressions, Sato instantly realized that none of them had considered this issue. He couldn't help but complain inwardly about how rudimentary their intelligence-gathering had been.
Before executing any plan, the terrain should at least be surveyed in advance. That was the only way to minimize uncertainty and ensure success.
"The sewers absolutely must be scouted first. You all know how extensive the power plant's sewer system is. If we don't run through it a few times beforehand, it'll be very easy to get lost."
"If that happens during the mission, we can basically declare it a failure. And according to the blueprint, the four emergency switches that shut down the plant are located in the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest sections of the interior. Accurately finding the sewer routes closest to each switch will be extremely difficult."
"So before we act, we must memorize the sewer routes. Otherwise, the entire operation could collapse."
As soon as Sato realized that Wattson and the others were planning a head-on operation that very night, he laid out his concerns, his expression serious.
Wattson and the others weren't fools—they had simply been too lazy to think that far ahead. Hearing Sato's analysis, cold sweat immediately broke out on their backs.
"Wahahaha~! Tyler's absolutely right. Looks like we really do need to conduct an on-site survey first. Let's postpone the operation for now and thoroughly investigate the underground sewer system. If anyone has objections, speak up now."
Breaking the silence, Wattson stepped forward and said cheerfully.
At this point, anyone who objected would clearly have something wrong with their head. Very quickly, everyone unanimously approved Sato's proposal.
"Alright, let's move out."
Seeing that there were no objections, Wattson threw a punch toward the direction of the power plant, officially declaring the start of the action.
"OH~~!"
In the next instant, everyone except Sato copied Wattson's gesture, punching toward the power plant in unison and shouting together.
"…"
Seeing this, Sato and Pikachu both had a huge sweat drop appear on their heads.