[After taking a day of rest, Mark once again entered the Forest of Shadows alone, this time with Reuniclus.
You know the forest is a paradise for Dark-type Pokémon. If you only bring one Peak Elite Psychic-type with you, your life might not even be guaranteed. But Mark still stubbornly charged in.
Left with no choice, I could only instruct Lucario to secretly follow him and not to intervene unless it was absolutely necessary.
Three days later, Mark came back on Lucario's back… and his Reuniclus had successfully broken through.
Honestly, Mark could've gotten by on luck alone, but he insisted on working this hard to grow stronger. It's not hard to imagine how much pressure you've put on him.
As for me, I've also hit a wall. And it's clear that if I stay in the Gym, my growth will slow down… or even come to a complete stop.
If even Mark is working this hard, what excuse do I have not to grow?
So this trip back to Kalos isn't just about facing all the things I once ran away from. It's also so I can one day stand beside you again.
So give me some time. Don't come looking for me on purpose. I'll be "home" in no more than half a year.
-Joseph]
--
Reading the letter in silence, Sato let out a quiet breath.
Joseph's words might have been calm, but his determination was clear.
A Breeder's breakthrough wasn't as straightforward as a Trainer's. And after spending these years together, Sato had long realized Joseph couldn't have come from just an ordinary background.
Still, Sato couldn't help but to think… what kind of difficulties would Joseph face when he said he was going back to "face everything"?
"…Fine, I'll give you six months. When the time comes, I'll take a trip to Kalos. That doesn't count as 'on purpose,' right?" Sato muttered to himself, then looked over at Mark, who was still struggling with the display cabinet lock.
Sato walked up behind him and suddenly said, "What are you doing?"
"AAAAH!" Mark jumped in fright, clutching his chest and whining, "Boss! You won't even let me see the trophy, and now you scare me in the middle of the night? You know how exhausting it is guarding the place?"
"You wanna see the trophy? Go ahead." Sato pointed at the display case, looking completely innocent.
"…Boss, you're bullying me!" Mark fumed, but didn't dare actually strike back… he knew he couldn't win.
"Alright, it's late. Go back to sleep. I'll show you tomorrow."
After teasing Mark, Sato felt much better. He waved his hand casually to dismiss him again.
"You better remember, Boss! Tomorrow I don't just want to see it… I want to touch it!"
"Sure… We'll talk tomorrow."
"…"
---
The night passed without further incident.
The next morning, driven by his obsession, Mark actually got up unusually early. Still wearing his Togepi pajamas, he sat waiting at Sato's bedroom door.
But Mark's version of "early" clearly wasn't the same as Sato's. After knocking on the door for a while with no response, he suddenly realized!
'The boss… already left for morning training?'
---
Shadownight Gym, Advanced Mimicry Space.
Morning training had just ended, but Sato hadn't dismissed the Pokémon yet. Instead, he took out a special Luxury Ball right in front of them.
"Let me introduce a new companion. It's still young, so I'll need all of you to take care of it."
"Skorskorskor!"
The most excited one was Skorupi. Being the "junior" of the group had never been fun, and now that Sato had finally caught a new Pokémon, Skorupi -who had been the "little brother" for a long time- was thrilled.
"It's Absol. It holds deep resentment toward human Trainers. The rest… well, we'll see if you can help open it heart."
All the Pokémon nodded in understanding when they heard that. 'So it's just helping a younger one open up? That's easy enough.'
"Of course, this little guy is a bit special. To avoid any unnecessary accidents, I've also called in Togekiss from next door."
Sato continued, then waved to the Togekiss flying overhead. Togekiss responded by landing beside him.
But to Sato's team, this scene carried a different meaning…
'Boss doesn't trust us to handle the newbie, huh? Even brought in outside help!'
They glanced at the unopened Luxury Ball and came to a silent agreement.
'We're gonna show it who's boss!'
"Kiss~"
Togekiss landed beside Sato, calmly grooming its pristine white feathers. It looked like it was just there to observe, not to interfere.
But Sato had already briefed Togekiss in advance about Absol's situation, its disaster-sensing ability and the way it could potentially use that power.
Among Sato's many Pokémon, Ralts also remained uninvolved. Her crimson eyes watched the scene with great interest, clearly waiting for the others to make fools of themselves.
"For now, just help it get used to being at home. Once it accepts you all, I'll slowly try to get it to accept humans too."
The other Pokémon all nodded in agreement, eager to meet the newcomer.
"Absol, come on out!"
A flash of red light, and a small Absol about knee-high to Sato appeared in front of the group.
Its snow-white fur was silky smooth, its crescent-shaped horn sleek and curved, and its claws -though not yet sharp- were already showing early signs of power.
No doubt about it…
The little Absol looked incredibly cool!
"Sol~"
With a soft cry, the newly-released Absol didn't even glance at the "intimidating" older Pokémon around it. It turned and leapt straight toward Sato.
Quick Attack!
Sato stopped his other Pokémon from stepping in and directly caught Absol by the back of its crescent horn.
Even though Quick Attack had priority, given Absol's young age, it was clearly no threat to Sato.
With a flick, Sato tossed Absol back, then simply gave his Pokémon a look before turning around and walking away.
Absol shook its head and looked up to launch another attack on the human!
But only caught a glimpse of Sato's back as he walked away.
The next second, Zoroark, Tyranitar, Ariados and the others had already surrounded it.
Each Pokémon lowered its head, trying hard to show what they thought was the "friendliest" smile.
Absol's eyes widened. Its body arched. Its white fur puffed out in all directions. Faced with all those weird, creepy faces, it nearly peed itself in fear.
'I'm still just a kid, you know!'
---
Meanwhile, outside the Mimicry Space, Sato had no idea what was going on inside.
From his perspective, getting Absol to accept him would clearly be a long and difficult process.
So it was better to let Absol get used to Zoroark and the others first. Once it had adjusted to its surroundings, Sato could take his time bonding with it.
What he didn't know was that, thanks to the "intimidation tactics" of Tyranitar and the others, Absol's psychological endurance had just leveled up significantly.
With something to compare to… even the human it hated suddenly seemed kind of cute.