"It moved again!"
Feeling the Dark Energy within his body start circulating once more, Sato was deeply shaken.
Although his absorption rate of Origin energy had slowed considerably compared to before, [Dark Energy] was undoubtedly a powerful catalyst.
In other words, Sato could periodically perform an "Origin Infusion" on his Dark-type Pokémon to enhance their potential!
Thinking of this, Sato didn't hesitate at all. He immediately released all seven Pokémon he had brought with him; Honchkrow was registered in the mount slot.
Several flashes of red light passed by. Zoroark, Gengar, Gardevoir, Honchkrow, Sharpedo, Tyranitar, and Hydreigon lined up across from Sato.
All the Pokémon looked around but didn't see any enemies. One by one, they exchanged puzzled glances, wondering why their leader had suddenly released everyone.
'Was… it time for an extra meal!!?'
"Everyone, try to feel it. Can you sense the Origin energy in the air? Try to absorb it!"
Without wasting any words, Sato spoke directly, and Zoroark excitedly explained something beside him in Pokémon language.
It could increase potential!
The team immediately became restless and began racking their brains, trying to sense whether there really was any Origin energy nearby.
"Voir!"
The first response came from Gardevoir. Based on Sato's Dark Energy perception, she had already begun actively absorbing the Origin energy in the air, though at a much slower pace than he could.
Soon, Gengar and Honchkrow also began to sense it, and eagerly started absorbing.
Seeing this, both Tyranitar and Hydreigon had their competitive spirits ignited!
They were fully-evolved pseudo-legendaries!
How could they possibly lose to their teammates?
Then, Sharpedo followed closely behind, sensing the Origin energy and quietly beginning to absorb it as well.
Tyranitar and Hydreigon exchanged glances…
Four faces full of confusion (°ー°〃)?
Sato ignored the last four troubled fellows and nodded in satisfaction to Gardevoir and the others.
'Woah~' As expected of his core team… not only did they already have excellent potential, but their comprehension abilities were also top-tier!
Among the seven, perhaps only Gengar had poor "starting" potential, but after going through one adventure after another, potential alone could no longer define it.
Was its Spatial Energy strong or not?
Was its Sage Chant impressive or not?
You could say that Gengar was the one with the most -and best- "fortuitous encounters" in Sato's entire team.
Even Hydreigon, who had preserved the independent consciousness of all three heads from the Village of Dragons, was, in Sato's eyes, barely comparable to just one of Gengar's adventures.
Another ten minutes passed… and Hydreigon and Tyranitar finally began to sense the Origin energy in the air one after another; but clearly, they weren't happy about it.
Pseudo-legendaries didn't need to be strong… but they absolutely needed to have pride!
At the same time, Sato also noticed that the Origin energy around them was slowly recovering, as if being "diluted" from somewhere else.
This instantly crushed his thought of staying in place to boost potential.
Looking into the distance, Sato quickly locked onto the first test subject…
"Over there's a High Ace level Ampharos. Who wants to solo it?"
"Tyran! Tar!"
Tyranitar responded immediately, dashing forward with big strides before anyone else had a chance.
Lefty, Righty, and Middy exchanged glances, then nodded at each other, they had a plan…
Next time there's a challenger, Lefty would answer first, Middy would launch the body forward, and Righty would interfere with the other teammates!
United as brothers, they refused to believe they couldn't outmatch that rocky brute!
Seeing how eager Tyranitar was, Sato simply let it go.
It was his first time entering the Origin Forest, starting with a one-on-one duel was the safest approach. A group battle could easily cause a large-scale disturbance, and it'd be bad if they attracted the attention of the local "bosses."
"You guys shouldn't be idle either. While watching, keep absorbing Origin energy. Little by little, it adds up."
"Zor!" "Gar~" "Gen~" "Krow" Shar!" "Hy!" "Drei~" "Goon!" 'Oh!' x6.
The Pokémon responded in unison and began trying to multitask.
Not far away, Ampharos was grooming itself by the water, making sure there wasn't a single strand of static-fluffed hair left on its body.
It smugly thought to itself that tonight, it was definitely going to seduce that Heliolisk next door!
Then, Ampharos stared in confusion at the suddenly approaching Tyranitar, wondering just how handsome it had to be to attract a pseudo-legendary…
'Wait a sec… WASN'T THAT THING A MALE?!'
"PHAROOOS!"
Ampharos waved its fists to warn the approaching Tyranitar to get out of its territory.
But Tyranitar didn't back off at all…
In fact, it eagerly waved it over, and the swirling Stone Edge surrounding it gleamed brightly.
'Let's have a man's duel!'
Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh…
Caught off guard by Tyranitar's sudden attack, Ampharos stumbled to dodge the first volley of Stone Edge and instantly flared up with rage, ready to counterattack.
Then, as its short tufts of hair began to spike up, its charge faltered… only to be struck by Tyranitar's second wave of Stone Edge.
Five minutes later, the fallen Ampharos had only one thought left!!
'Wife… gone.
Territory… gone.'
"TYRAAAN! TAAAR!"
Tyranitar roared in triumph and happily trotted back to Sato to claim credit~
…Only to find its teammates all still deeply focused on absorbing Origin energy. Their congratulations were half-hearted at best.
At that moment, everything felt dull to Tyranitar… even Sato's responsible praise didn't do much.
Seeing this, Sato didn't say much more. Tyranitar had simply been pent up for too long. More battles would fix that.
For now, the goal was to take the team to Ampharos's territory to see if the density of Origin energy in the air was any different.
"Just as I thought!"
Sato's eyes flashed. The distribution of Origin energy in the air was incredibly stable.
To absorb more energy and boost both his and his Pokémon's potential, he needed to constantly change locations.
And with changing locations would come inevitable conflicts with the wild Pokémon of the Origin Forest, perfect opportunities for training.
With that in mind, Sato quickly formed a preliminary plan.
But then he remembered he could only stay in the Origin Forest for one month, and immediately felt the time was far too short!
"No wonder it's a 10,000 fine for every second late…" Sato muttered. In a place like this, not a single second should go to waste.
Nearby, Ampharos had already regained consciousness. Upon seeing Tyranitar again, its face filled with ANGER, but in the end, it could only retreat silently…
One of them was already bad news. Why were there even more when it woke up?
Better to run than to die.
Meanwhile, Sato had already called Gardevoir over to him.
"Relax your body. Don't resist. Absorb with all your strength."
"Voir…"
Gardevoir closed her eyes, opened her arms, and blushed slightly as she waited for Sato's next move¹[1]…
Sato tugged at the corner of his mouth, thinking, 'I'm just channeling Origin energy into you… why are you closing your eyes?'
•
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¹.CHIIIIIIIL
[1] CHIIIIIIIL