"Mr. Mime, use Barrier!"
Zorua's Taunt was faster.
Mr. Mime was instantly provoked, completely forgetting about its wall-based defensive techniques. All it wanted now was to rush forward and teach Zorua a lesson.
Unable to use Barrier, Mr. Mime hesitated for a moment before finally releasing a Psybeam. But the attack was weak and easily dodged by Zorua.
Suddenly, the sky darkened.
A giant, singular eye silently opened behind Mr. Mime, staring at it.
The cautious Mr. Mime, now sensing something watching it, actually started to calm down.
"Sucker Punch! Shadow Ball!"
"Mr. Mime, use Substitute to block it, finish Haunter with Psychic. Pinsir, use Brick Break!"
Seeing Sato attack without hesitation, the middle-aged man rushed to counter. His eyes turned sharp, filled with ruthlessness, as he released a Pinsir.
But once again, Mr. Mime ignored its trainer's command.
Instead of using Substitute, it skipped straight to Psychic.
Zorua had already sidestepped, rushing to its flank, and slammed into it with Dark-type energy.
Haunter, having carefully avoided the deadly Psychic attack, stealthily floated behind Mr. Mime. Sucker Punch and Shadow Ball hit simultaneously!
Mr. Mime, having been completely shut down from using any barrier techniques, took both attacks head-on. Instantly on the verge of collapse, it struggled to even stand back up.
'A Fairy-type and a Bug-type?'
As a Dark Energy user, unless it was one of his own Pokémon, there was no way he could have any fondness for them.
Pinsir, seeing a mere ten-year-old standing before it, didn't hesitate, it attacked immediately.
Clearly, this wasn't the first time it had been commanded to go after a human. Which meant its trainer's intentions were far more than just stealing Jigglypuff.
A faint glint of black light flashed across Sato's eyes.
For once, he got serious.
Pinsir was far stronger than he could withstand head-on, but agility and speed were a killer's greatest strengths.
Sato easily dodged the Brick Break, his right hand gripping his dagger tightly, feigning an attack to Pinsir's back.
Just as his blade was about to land, he abruptly retracted it; pivoting off his left foot, twisting mid-air, and hurling the dagger directly at the middle-aged man instead!
The razor-sharp blade pierced straight through the man's throat.
Blood gushed out violently.
His wide, horrified eyes filled with disbelief as his body collapsed to the ground.
Pinsir, instinctively reacting, turned to attack Sato again. But upon seeing its trainer's lifeless body, it froze in place.
Pinsir and Mr. Mime completely ignored Sato and his Pokémon, their eyes showing a hint of relief before glancing at Sato, who was still surrounded by lingering Dark Energy, with a complicated expression.
Pinsir rummaged through the fallen middle-aged man's belongings, pulling out two Poké Balls, then violently stomped on them, destroying them completely.
Seeing this, Mr. Mime nodded lightly at Pinsir, then dragged its heavily injured body away into the forest.
Pinsir stared blankly at its lifeless trainer for a long moment before finally turning its fierce gaze toward Sato.
But instead of attacking, it turned around and disappeared into the forest as well.
Zorua, still young and naive, was completely confused by the situation.
Weren't they supposed to fight to the death?
"Some humans don't understand that they're not the main characters of this world. Eventually, they pay the price."
Sato didn't bother to explain further. He simply stepped forward and began searching the man's body, while also ordering Haunter to retrieve Jigglypuff's Poké Ball.
Soon, a small pile of miscellaneous items was laid out on the ground.
Haunter hurriedly tossed the Poké Ball to Sato, then immediately turned around and grabbed a piece of parchment from the ground.
Sato glanced up and instantly recognized it: a Spell Tag, a Ghost-type item that enhanced Ghost-type moves.
Haunter floated up to Sato, attempting to butter him up. Its ghostly hands hovered over his shoulders, offering a playful massage.
"Take it. It's not anything too rare."
Haunter cheerfully flew off with the Spell Tag, while Sato continued sorting through the loot, and the more he examined, the more shocked he became.
"Special Poké Balls, high-grade energy cubes... a Dusk Stone—now this is good!"
Sato tucked the Dusk Stone away immediately.
With his affinity for Dark-type Pokémon, it was only a matter of time before he needed it, as many Dark-types required a Dusk Stone to evolve.
"So this guy really was an underground hunter... and a reckless one at that."
Sato muttered to himself as he picked up two Pokédexes, both from the Johto region.
New trainers who received a Pokédex typically had decent backgrounds or strong family connections.
Those who operated in gray areas generally preferred not to provoke them.
Underground hunters, however, were a different breed.
Neither the black market nor law enforcement had much tolerance for them. They were like scavenging hyenas, sniffing out opportunities wherever they could, without principles or loyalty.
It was highly likely that Pinsir and Mr. Mime weren't even captured legally; which explained why they felt no obligation to avenge their trainer.
Too bad for him, though. He had run into the wrong opponent.
The hunter hadn't even had the chance to fight back before Sato had taken him out in a single move.
Sato then turned to his battle belt, where he found three more Poké Balls.
Taking out his Pokémon Scanner, he ran a quick scan over them and three sets of data immediately appeared.
Two Pokémon were low Elite-level, specifically Sandslash and Victreebel. The third was a Peak Ordinary-level Fearow.
Considering Pinsir and Mr. Mime, this team's overall strength was actually quite decent.
"Larvitar, dig a hole."
Without hesitation, Sato dumped the underground hunter's body, along with everything that couldn't be converted into resources, into the pit.
Then, he had Larvitar bury it completely.
With Jigglypuff secured and an unexpected haul from the underground hunter, Sato wasted no more time. He headed straight through the forest to his next destination.
Cherrygrove City. A city with special regulations.
For example, trainers were strictly prohibited from capturing Quagsire within city limits.
Sato first visited the Pokémon Center to restore his team's strength, then contacted the mission client and transferred Jigglypuff over.
After confirming that the Jigglypuff wasn't a lifeless black-market Pokémon, the client transferred the mission payment to Sato.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Sato. My daughter finally has a wonderful partner."
Sato didn't bother engaging in small talk. The moment he received the payment, he hung up.
Near the city outskirts, he found a quiet hotel and checked in.
Then, using a special website, he searched for information on Cherrygrove's underground trade network.
Apart from the Dusk Stone and Spell Tag, everything else he had taken from the underground hunter would need to be dealt with.
Held items were safe to use, but man-made objects like Pokédexes and specialized Poké Balls carried potential risks.
Since Sato wasn't familiar enough with their origins, he wouldn't use anything suspicious until he was absolutely certain of their legitimacy.