Wilma's scheme to manipulate Sato had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, so she didn't question his sudden request to stay.
And with her approval, while the villagers of the Village of Dragons were a bit surprised and uncomfortable, no one stepped forward to stop it.
As the chief of the village, Wilma's word was final; naturally, Sato couldn't live with her directly.
But when she suggested he stay with the man who had mistaken him for "someone else" -Mark-, Sato immediately rejected it in his heart.
"Wilma, for the sake of training hard, I don't mind staying in the tent I brought myself," Sato replied "firmly".
"You're a guest. How could the Village of Dragons let a guest sleep in a tent?"
Wilma responded in confusion.
But Sato's tone remained resolute. He kept "politely" refusing, even showing a touch of hesitation on his face for effect.
"You don't want to stay at Gale's place? Then how about I arrange somewhere else for you?"
This time, Sato didn't refuse. He just stayed quiet, looking uncertain.
Seeing this, Wilma got the hint and quickly changed her suggestion: "Then stay at Mass's place. It's close to mine, so it'll be convenient for your training."
"Thank you, Wilma!"
Sato immediately agreed with "gratitude". As long as it wasn't that forgetful man's house, anywhere else would do.
More importantly, that forgetful Gale lived too far from the center of the village, which would make Sato's future investigations much more inconvenient.
And so, Sato settled openly into the Village of Dragons.
Mass turned out to be quite kind. Not only did he clean up a room for Sato, but on the first night, he also invited several neighbors and friends over for a small welcome barbecue in Sato's honor.
Though Sato was carefully plotting against Wilma, he could still tell that most of the villagers were simple and kind-hearted.
'If I really have to make a move… I'll try to keep the damage to a minimum,' Sato thought as he chewed on the grilled meat Mass had served him.
That was how the first day in the Village of Dragons passed. That night, Sato didn't release any of his Pokémon, so as not to raise suspicions.
The next morning, right after breakfast, Sato headed straight for Wilma's place, putting on a display of urgency to improve his strength.
After a night of reflection, Wilma seemed to realize that if she didn't give Sato some real knowledge, he wouldn't be willing to walk into the Giant Chasm on his own.
She had no doubt about Kyurem's power. Even if Sato had Elite Four level strength, he wouldn't survive a single Glaciate.
So… why not teach him more?
Besides, the stronger Sato appeared, the more accomplished Wilma would feel in manipulating him.
But for Sato, this was a rare opportunity to deepen his understanding of Dark Energy.
As the previous wielder, Wilma had accumulated a vast amount of experience and techniques over her long life.
Even if she kept much of it hidden, Sato could piece things together through comparison and reflection, gaining deep insight into Dark Energy.
After one week, Sato successfully mastered a new extended ability of Dark Energy.
[Energy Deprivation]
And when Sato finally pulled it off, Wilma's expression turned momentarily unpleasant, but only for a second. She quickly returned to normal and forced a pleased smile.
"…Sato, you really didn't let me down. To grasp Energy Deprivation so quickly… you're already on par with how I was back then."
Sato understood perfectly. If she had to say it like that, then clearly she had never been as good as him back in the day.
"Wilma, you are truly extraordinary. I only managed to learn [Energy Deprivation] thanks to your guidance."
Sato praised her with a smile, then immediately turned and sent out Zoroark and Honchkrow.
"Wilma, we haven't had our battle today. Let's begin now!"
Seeing the energetic Sato eager for another battle, Wilma couldn't help but feel another headache coming on.
Since she had agreed to train Sato, she couldn't just send out some old partner to end the battle in a couple of moves.
But she hadn't raised any new Pokémon in a long time. The only ones she had on hand were a Druddigon and an Altaria, both limited by their talent, stuck at the Peak Ace level.
And Sato's command skills weren't bad. Every time she used Druddigon and Altaria, it took a real effort to barely "defeat" Zoroark and Weavile.
For Wilma, who never had any intention of training Sato seriously, this was truly exhausting.
Let's not forget… she was still an old woman!
Sato naturally sensed Wilma's reluctance. A week had already passed, so now was a good time to bring it up.
With that in mind, and under Wilma's surprised and confused gaze, he sent out Tyranitar and Sharpedo.
"Wilma, I truly appreciate you holding back by only using Druddigon and Altaria. But that's too taxing for you. I think it's better if you go ahead and use your Elite Four Pokémon. I'll add two more to my team as well. That way I can improve even more, and you won't have to exhaust yourself."
Sato's "considerate" words left Wilma stunned. Looking at the "sincerity" in his eyes, she felt a flicker of regret.
But that flicker was quickly pushed aside as she hardened her heart again, convincing herself that Sato was simply too naive.
'I'm really getting old… but since you insist, I'll let my old partner take it easy on you.'
Wilma put on a tired expression, then casually tossed out a new Poké Ball without hesitation.
"Haxorus, go help the young ones train."
A flash of red light, and a calm, imposing, two-meter-tall, yellow-green Haxorus appeared before Sato.
'High Elite Four!'
Sato let out a theatrical gasp, then shot a grateful look at Wilma.
"Haxorus, I'll be in your care!"
"RUUUUS!"
Haxorus roared toward the sky. Its eyes showed neither arrogance nor disdain, only calm focus as it readied itself for battle, waiting for Sato to command Zoroark and the others.
"Zoroark, Night Daze! Weavile, Blizzard!..."
As Sato issued commands and stepped back, he also began reorganizing all the info he had on Wilma.
Peak Ace, Altaria.
Peak Ace, Druddigon.
Mid Elite Four, Exeggutor.
High Elite Four, Haxorus.
Unknown level, Hydreigon.
••○••○••○••○••○••○••
The Village of Dragons was Wilma's stronghold. It was very likely that all her surviving partners lived here and could be summoned at any time.
Sato had never intended to fight her head-on, but just from what she had already revealed, her power made him suck in a sharp breath.
Still, until he confirmed exactly where the Domain in the Village of Dragons was located, he wouldn't recklessly make a move.
Until then, all he needed to do was fully take advantage of this Elite Four level sparring partner, and use her to sharpen his own strength.