Losing a single battle isn't really a big deal—he can always win it back later.
Right now, Satoshi's still in a growth stage. Once he gets his Mega Ring, Dynamax Band, and Z-Ring, with all these cheats strapped to him, even Mythical Pokémon can be defeated—he might even take down certain Legendaries, like Suicune.
Not to mention his Pokémon are rapidly getting stronger as well, so there's really no need to rush.
His opponents are indeed strong—but not overwhelmingly so.
Satoshi's mentality wasn't fragile enough to dwell on such trivial things. Rather, what concerned him more was Marshadow's behavior during the recent match. Although it sometimes listened to Tomori's commands, it didn't obey consistently.
It was like those moments in the game when your Pokémon's level got too high and your trainer's badge level couldn't keep up.
In reality, this probably meant Tomori's own personality and strength hadn't fully won Marshadow's trust, causing it to battle as it pleased—a situation that, in certain tournaments, would directly disqualify the trainer.
Occasionally, you'd hear about powerful families having Elite Four-level Pokémon, but their current family head was so incompetent that their Pokémon ignored commands during tournaments, leading to an embarrassing disqualification.
Such shameful news wasn't unheard of; it popped up every few years.
"It didn't listen to me again..."
Tomori was currently sitting alone on a bench in the training room, slipping into self-isolation. The victory just now brought her no joy—only a shadow cast upon her heart.
Today, it seemed like she'd hoped to make Marshadow obey her commands through battling Satoshi.
She wanted to join official competitions and help the team.
But Satoshi's thoughts on that were...
Absolutely not!
If you brought Marshadow into a match openly, you'd probably attract Team Rocket's attention. Not everyone had the skills of Pyramid King Brandon. If Team Rocket came calling without adequate strength, you'd only invite disaster.
Such was the rarity of Mythical Pokémon.
"It's okay, Tomori—Marshadow is your Pokémon, just spend time together. It's fine to be weak right now; as long as you grow stronger, it'll acknowledge you sooner or later."
Satoshi himself had no interest in capturing Marshadow.
Guys who used Legendaries were interesting opponents, sure—but he'd rather rely on his own strength and bonds with his Pokémon to beat those trainers instead.
Hot take: Charizard defeating Articuno is infinitely cooler than Articuno defeating Charizard!
Just as Satoshi was thinking this, he felt someone's small hand gently poking him at his side. Looking up, he saw Tomori, her cheeks flushed and her lower lip bitten nervously, apparently mustering up her courage.
"...Thank you, Satoshi-kun."
For some reason, Tomori's heart suddenly began racing, making even simple gratitude difficult to voice.
From the start, Satoshi had invited her into the team. Even when she'd said strange things, he hadn't minded—he'd accepted her warmly and happily.
And now, comforting her without hesitation, supporting her relationship with such a rare Pokémon.
Just from Satoshi's words alone, Tomori fully understood exactly how precious the Pokémon in her hands was.
She had initially obtained Marshadow purely by accident. Team Rocket had been trying to capture it, and she happened to take advantage of the chaos to rescue and catch it. After fleeing with Marshadow, she and her former teammates had fought off some Team Rocket members—that was how she came to own such a Pokémon.
With Team Rocket's strength rising rapidly now, Tomori urgently wanted to get stronger quickly to protect Marshadow.
"That's right, Tomori-chan, you don't need to worry about it so much~ After all, our team placed third! Ehehe~"
Anon, sitting next to her on the bench, comforted Tomori in her usual way—her vanity leading her to emit a somewhat silly laugh.
But Satoshi and Tomori were used to that already.
"Speaking of which, Tomori, how exactly did you capture Marshadow? It must have been really hard to catch such a powerful Pokémon, right?"
Satoshi couldn't help but become curious.
But hearing his question, Tomori's expression turned a bit sad.
"Back when my old team visited Rainbow Feather Mountain… we encountered Marshadow, badly wounded. Right after, Team Rocket appeared. Thankfully, Sakiko-chan was there, or it would've been dangerous."
"But Soyo-chan still got hurt. The Luxury Ball was also something Sakiko-chan gave me."
Recalling the past inevitably caused Tomori some heartache. After all, Togawa Sakiko was essentially the one who had set her on the path of becoming a Pokémon Trainer. Yet Sakiko had left the team without a word, causing the entire group to fall apart.
Even Marshadow...
Just what kind of monsters live on Rainbow Feather Mountain?!
Satoshi was silently snarking, lowering his head thoughtfully at the mention of "Sakiko-chan."
[What's the matter, Satodear~?]
So, Team Rocket was strong enough to seriously wound Marshadow. In that case, this "Sakiko-chan" must be pretty amazing.
Honestly, his battle maniac brain was kicking in again.
If she was that powerful, he really wanted daily battles with this "Sakiko-chan"!
"Achoo!" At this moment, Togawa Sakiko—currently working customer service at the EcoDome—sneezed lightly.
"Hmm? Is someone thinking about me... Could it be Satoshi-kun?"
Her cheeks faintly blushing, a hopeful sparkle flashed through Sakiko's eyes. Immediately after, she glanced down at the ring on her finger.
For some unknown reason, she'd put this ring back on after school.
She was clearly a high schooler, yet wearing such a thing—too embarrassing.
But her body had unconsciously slipped it back on. Wasn't this essentially declaring herself his wife?!
This was purely my body's doing! It has nothing to do with me!
All responsibility would be borne by her body, and certainly not by Sakiko herself, who firmly rejected such embarrassing ideas.
The customer-service-mode Sakiko comforted herself inwardly as she began greeting her next customer.
"Hello~ If you'd like to capture Water-type Pokémon, please proceed to the EcoDome's coastal area. The zone mainly consists of beaches, forests, mountains, and lakes..."
Even as these typically humble words left her lips, Sakiko's mind kept drifting back to Satoshi.
Speaking of which, Satoshi will visit the EcoDome in a few days. Maybe I should take some time off...
No—stop being so lovestruck, Sakiko...
If I take leave, how can I afford to feed six Pokémon?!
Burdened by the family's finances, customer-service Sakiko felt painfully squeezed by reality.
Although she'd received some sponsorship from the Afro Buffalo Cup and school, her good-for-nothing alcoholic father was truly unbearable.
Honestly, Sakiko wished that useless old man would drop some coins already!
At this rate… I, Sakiko…
Might really have no choice but to marry Satoshi and live off his money to support my Pokémon.
"No! Why am I thinking about something like that again?! ...Oh, my sincerest apologies, you wanted a Quagsire, right? Please go to the coastal area, pass through the Ember Maze, and you'll find a wetland where you can catch an adorable Quagsire."
Sakiko felt mentally exhausted.
This corporate-slave lifestyle had forced her to develop the habit of pushing through everything by sheer willpower.
At this rate, she might as well turn into Camel Sakiko.
It'd be great if she had a Meowth or a Persian...
Or, maybe, she could just follow her heart and marry Satoshi.
Unfortunately... Togawa Sakiko was someone who strongly disliked the idea of freeloading.
"Honestly, all I think about is myself."
With this thought, determination filled Sakiko's eyes. Resolutely, she took off the ring, promising herself not to entertain any more "lovestruck" fantasies.
But the moment she removed the ring, she slipped it right back on again.
"Oh well... I'll just wear it for one more day. Everyone's already seen it anyway."
"Tomorrow, I'll definitely take it off!"
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T/N: heh