Since it was just a sparring match, Pikachu had technically lost, but wasn't actually injured.
On the contrary, Drapion, who won the battle, had taken both an Electroweb and an Iron Tail head-on and was far more seriously hurt.
Thankfully, Sato had prepared in advance. Right after the match, he immediately stepped in to treat Drapion's wounds.
Then, he sent out Umbreon, who had some support moves, and gave a command.
"Umbreon, use Wish on Drapion."
Wish restores half a Pokémon's health/stamina, and in most cases, it can only be used on oneself. But as long as they weren't in the middle of a battle, all it took was switching Umbreon and Drapion's positions for the effect of Wish to take hold.
At that moment, Sato suddenly glanced toward little Absol, who had been watching from the sidelines, and sure enough, it was staring intently in their direction.
"Sol!"
When Absol realized Sato was looking at it, it instinctively turned its head away, pretending not to care.
Sato stifled a laugh, then walked over to little Absol.
"Ab…"
The small Absol immediately stood up. While it didn't show clear signs of fear or resistance, Sato could sense that its body had tensed slightly.
"Do you remember the promise we made?" Sato crouched down, looking little Absol in the eyes.
Absol blinked, unsure what Sato was about to pull this time. After hesitating a moment, it slowly nodded.
"Sure, eating well and living comfortably can help you grow… but without tough training and lots of real battles, even all that strength will be hard to use properly. So, are you willing to start training with everyone now?"
Ever since arriving in Celadon City, Sato hadn't stopped training. But during that time, he had never once invited Absol to join in, even deliberately keeping it on the sidelines.
Forget about Zoroark and the others being leagues ahead of it, even Drapion's strength had become a repeated source of pressure for little Absol.
The things we can't have always weigh on us.
Absol had always remembered its promise with Sato. But precisely because of that, it didn't feel like it had the right to ask to join the training.
'I help you grow strong… just so you can leave me?'
Pokémon are still far too pure. And Sato -"cunning and pragmatic"- understood that perfectly, which is why he had left little Absol alone for a few days on purpose.
And now… he extended the invitation.
"Sol!"
On the surface, little Absol remained calm, but it stepped forward without hesitation. Its answer couldn't be clearer.
"Don't worry. I'll put together a training plan tailored just for you. And of course, our promise still holds," Sato said with a smile.
Soon, Sato's life settled into a steady and regular rhythm again. Morning training at 6 AM, breakfast at 8:30, then sitting in on lectures of his choice starting at 9.
As a special auditing student, Sato's student account gave him access to the full course schedule across the entire university, including instructor profiles, teaching styles, lecture topics, and more.
From morning till 5 PM, Sato spent nearly every hour in the classroom, just like a dried-up Cacturne absorbing precious rain.
But what Sato didn't anticipate was that after his first public lecture, the students' curiosity about him hadn't decreased at all… it had only grown stronger.
At first, it was only the students from the Trainer Academy who were frantically chasing Sato's shadow across campus.
But eventually, it subtly turned into a topic of discussion throughout the entire university.
[Today, whose class did Teacher Sato sit in on?]
There were even several posts on the forums reporting that teachers who used to always show up late or slack off in class had now completely changed their behavior.
Not only were they showing up in full suits every day, they were teaching seriously, and even asking students for feedback after class…
Clearly, they were worried. If Sato, the special auditing student, suddenly dropped in on their class, they couldn't afford to lose "face" in front of the students, right?
As for the crowds of students constantly watching him, Sato ultimately decided not to bring Ralts over.
Though he had considered using Teleport to check in right on time for each class, that would've seemed too arrogant.
…And would only draw more resentment.
Even the most explosive trending topics are eventually forgotten by time. After all, Sato was only the "Ace Tournament Champion", not the League Champion.
Sure enough, after being watched like a pseudo-Legendary Dragonite for a few days, the crowds attending his classes dropped off drastically.
Aside from classmates occasionally looking back at him, the classroom door was no longer blocked wall to wall by onlookers.
Every night after dinner, Sato devoted the rest of his time to training his Pokémon, with little Absol as the top priority.
Foundational training was something Sato had long since mastered. But precisely because it was basic, it was extremely important for a young Absol.
Absol's base stats were average, but the moves it could learn suited its talents well.
Night Slash, Psycho Cut, Slash, Swords Dance… all these matched perfectly with Absol's sharp crescent horn, enabling powerful, cutting moves.
And with Mega Evolution in Absol's future, Sato's expectations for it were even higher.
Fortunately, Absol wasn't afraid of battle because of the poaching incident. In fact, it had developed an obsession with becoming stronger, never once complaining during training.
That relentless attitude also had a ripple effect on Drapion and Pikachu. Drapion didn't want to go back to being the sidekick.
And Pikachu didn't want to be overtaken again. 'I was here first, you know!'
As for the rest of Sato's Ace level Pokémon, foundational training was still ongoing, but the focus had clearly shifted toward Drapion and the others.
Progression beyond Ace was limited not just by talent, but by deeper insight and mental fortitude. Conventional training only helped a little at that stage.
So lately, Sato had been rotating through Zoroark and the rest, watching their recorded matches with them and carefully analyzing mistakes and growth opportunities.
After participating in the Ace Tournament, Zoroark and the others had all made notable progress.
Day by day, time flew by. When Saturday came again, the news that Sato would be holding his second "public" lecture lit up the campus forums once more.
And this time, the lecture was scheduled in the Gymnasium, instantly tipping off many sharp students that it would likely be a live combat demonstration.
Suddenly, not just students from the Trainer Academy, but also from the Breeder Academy and the Observatory Academy, all flooded the forums, begging for a ticket to the class.
.
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250 PS - CH