Dense Origin energy surged from Sato's palm and quickly channeled into Gardevoir's body.
Unlike Zoroark, Gardevoir was highly proactive in absorbing the Origin energy right from the start, so the gain she received was significantly greater than his.
Once the "infusion" ended, Sato looked at the excess energy lingering around Gardevoir with a touch of heartache. But Origin energy that had already been filtered once through Dark Energy clearly couldn't be absorbed again.
And Sato couldn't control the speed of infusion either, it was like a cork: either fully opened or completely shut, no in-between.
"Forget it. Can't be too greedy…" Sato murmured to himself.
Other people who entered the Origin Forest could only let their Pokémon absorb slowly on their own. But with the catalyzing and accelerating effects of Dark Energy, Sato's gains had skyrocketed by who knows how many times.
He then glanced around the area, searching for his next target.
Before long, three Pinsir, still wrestling enthusiastically, caught Sato's attention; completely unaware they were being watched like prey.
"Toto, I think my level block is starting to loosen!"
Just then, Gardevoir finally awakened. And her words brought Sato tremendous surprise.
A loosened level block!
Gardevoir, already a High Elite Four level Pokémon thanks to recent battles, had nearly reached her full growth potential. Since joining Sato, she had "always" held the position of ace.
To be fair, most of Sato's opponents had an average strength of Ace level, so Gardevoir's improvements had been minimal…
But now, she saw hope for going even further!
Potential: that was the unbridgeable gap hard work could never cross, the abyss that only deepened as growth progressed.
But now, a method to boost potential had appeared right before Sato's eyes. And on top of that, he had Dark Energy, a bug-like catalyst ability.
Looking at the Origin Forest around him, Sato's eyes burned even brighter with excitement!
"Over there, three Pinsir. Who-"
"Hy!!!"
"Dreeeeei~" 💨Wooosh~💨
"GOOOOON!"
Before Sato even finished speaking, Hydreigon had already charged out. Righty even turned back and shouted at everyone: "Don't… don't… DON'T COME OVER!"
All the Pokémon: ( 'д')...
Sato was speechless as well. Hydreigon's personality really was hard to deal with…
Fortunately, the three heads didn't need friends, they had each other!
Yeah, loneliness wasn't possible.
That was simply the nature of Hydreigon. They had already shown a great deal of restraint in front of Sato, so he didn't push them further.
One versus three!
Hydreigon clearly didn't like sharing opponents; especially since all three heads had independent consciousness.
The three Pinsir brothers fought with impressive teamwork, and each had Mid Ace level strength.
…But no matter how good the coordination, it couldn't compare to Lefty, Middy, and Righty. Three minds perfectly sharing one body.
Hyper Voice to "clear" the mind, Scary Face to shake the heart, and Fire Blast to strike the fatal blow!
Very quickly, the three Pinsir brothers collapsed one after another. And just before they lost consciousness, they all had the exact same thought…
'That's a pseudo-legendary!'
'…And it's cheating!'
No words needed. Sato immediately led the team to a new area, and the absorption of Dark Energy accelerated again.
The three Pinsir brothers huddled fearfully off to the side, silently begging Sato's group to move on… 'Just go, PLEASE GO!'
---◓---
Even in a place as wild as the Apex Mimicry Zone's Origin Forest, Sato still managed to live by a disciplined routine.
Every day at exactly 7 a.m., Sato would get up on time. After washing up, he'd set off with his Pokémon to begin the day's journey: absorbing Origin energy to enhance their potential while gradually exploring deeper into the Origin Forest.
Every so often, he would rotate through his Dark-type Pokémon for an "infusion," accelerating their potential growth.
Only when night fell would Sato call it a day. After dinner, he would gather his Pokémon to sit in a circle and share their insights from the day.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. During this time, Sharpedo's Dark-type potential had jumped from Elite Four to Champion level.
With that, Sharpedo officially became a powerhouse with Champion level potential!
Of course, while the other Pokémon hadn't reached a breakthrough point, their progress was still significant.
After half a month of intense training, both Sato and his team had gained a new edge of wildness, their eyes noticeably sharper.
And now, Sato's aggressive gaze, together with his Pokémon, was fixed on their newest target…
A Girafarig herd!
After repeatedly "deploying" only one or two Pokémon at a time while the rest just stood by watching, Sato realized that it was a complete waste of everyone's time.
So he had finally made up his mind.
To start going after tougher Pokémon groups!
Maybe the Girafarig's Psychic capabilities had allowed them to foresee danger, because even though Sato hadn't launched an attack yet, the entire herd had already grown vigilant…
Their two pairs of eyes scanned the surroundings nonstop!
"Hy…"
Hydreigon, who always preferred head-on battles, let out a dissatisfied grunt. If they already knew we were here, what was the point in hiding?
Sato calmed Hydreigon down, but his own thoughts weren't far off either. 'A whole bunch of Psychic Pokémon who couldn't even Teleport…? What was there to fear!?'
"Gengar, Mean Look."
"…Gen~"
With just a soft sigh from Gengar, the sky visible to the Girafarig suddenly turned pitch-black with a violet hue.
Then, pairs upon pairs of golden eyes appeared in the sky; so densely packed, they were impossible to look at directly.
This sudden change immediately triggered a panicked reaction from the Girafarig herd.
But just as they thought about running, a deep instinct told them that fleeing would only lead to something even more terrifying…
Move activated ◓⃙ Mean Look was in effect!
The next moment, Zoroark, Hydreigon, and Sharpedo charged forward like Dragon-types into a flock of sheep, tearing open a gap in the Girafarig formation.
Immediately after, a flurry of Tyranitar's Stone Edge came roaring in, specially aimed at finishing off those already on the verge of collapse.
"GI~GIRA!!"
The Girafarig leader finally reacted, shouting loudly in an attempt to rally the herd to fight back!
"Target the Ace level Girafarig first. Make sure to work together."
Sato continued giving commands from within the bushes, staying out of the fray while Gengar remained at his side for protection. The rest of the Pokémon had already charged out.
Hydreigon was still doing its own thing, loving nothing more than overwhelming many with few. Its three heads blasted out wave after wave of Dark Pulse like machine guns.
Zoroark and Gardevoir had teamed up temporarily. The former focused on taking down opponents, while the latter specialized in pulling enemies into Zoroark's path.
As for Honchkrow and Sharpedo, they fought side by side, not cooperating so much as competing to see who was faster. The number of enemies each had taken down was neck and neck.
As for Tyranitar… it just grinned and unleashed countless Stone Edge attacks, fully embracing its role as the dedicated finisher.