Haunter's flawless counterattack left the three Pokémon momentarily dumbfounded. They had all agreed to be simple-minded fools together 'so when did Haunter secretly level up its intelligence?'
Zoroark took this seriously. It wasn't about dinner, it was about its pride as the leader! It refused to be outplayed.
Affected by Taunt, Haunter, usually carefree and mischievous, now found itself seething with frustration.
When it instinctively tried to use Protect again to block the incoming Poison Sting and Rock Slide, it suddenly realized something was interfering with its actions.
Forced to change tactics, Haunter hastily used the unfamiliar Psychic move to deflect the attacks, narrowly dodging.
Just as Haunter was about to gloat about its clever evasion, Zoroark's Dark Pulse slammed into it, shutting it up instantly.
Sato watched with great interest from the sidelines, while even the hard-working Carvanha had been distracted from its training, eyes glimmering with excitement and anticipation.
"Train well," Sato chuckled. "Soon, you'll be able to join in."
Five minutes later, Haunter lay sprawled on the ground, tongue hanging out, completely wiped.
It had managed to outplay the others at first, but once Zoroark got serious, the trio had quickly turned the tables on it.
The result... was obvious.
"A bet's a bet. Haunter, half portions for dinner."
Spinarak scuttled over to Haunter, chirping loudly in mockery.
Larvitar patted its belly... 'at least its dinner was safe.' But it still hadn't landed the most hits... If only it could get an extra portion!
"Zoroark had the most successful hits," Sato declared. "Dinner bonus!"
Zoroark shook its head and pointed at Spinarak and Larvitar, making its intention clear, it didn't need the extra meal. 'Let the two little ones have it.'
Sato understood immediately. Zoroark was far stronger than the rest, and as the leader, how could it take advantage of its underlings?
Spinarak felt like today was its lucky day, 'it had "beaten up" Haunter, and now it was getting extra food. This was the best!'
Larvitar hesitated. Should it accept? 'A pseudo-legendary couldn't just accept handouts, could it? But... eating more would help it evolve faster!'
Sato poked at Haunter, who was still lying dramatically on the ground, playing dead. "Dead already? Then I guess you don't need dinner."
Haunter immediately floated back up, full of energy, ready to fight another three hundred rounds.
"Alright, back to training," Sato instructed. "And stop bullying Spinarak. I taught you all those moves for a reason, not so you could use Confuse Ray like it's Leer or Thunderbolt like it's Thundershock."
Haunter drooped its hands. Why couldn't it just get stronger the easy way?
In truth, Haunter didn't mind training. It knew training made it stronger. But this was just its nature, Sato had yet to find a way to change that.
'Heading towards Ecruteak City might be necessary.' Sato made a mental note, planning to let Haunter evolve along the way. However, for now, his focus remained on phase-based training.
Larvitar's training was as diligent as ever. Unlike Carvanha's obedient nature, Larvitar had grown up under the shadow of Tyranitar, giving it a clearer perception of strength than even Zoroark.
It knew it was weak. It also knew that if it wanted to grow stronger, it had to put in effort, relentless, self-driven training.
Additionally, Sato's deliberate restraint in showcasing Larvitar's potential had stirred something within the perceptive Pokémon. Either it would remain weak and dormant, or it would grow strong and retaliate.
As for Spinarak, Sato still felt like he was navigating blindly when it came to its training. Bug-types were the easiest to raise... but also the hardest to raise well.
While their lifespans weren't as long as Grass-types or Dragon-types, the actual difference between Bug-types and Pokémon like Water, Fire, or Flying-types wasn't as drastic as most believed.
The reason Bug-types were often considered short-lived was due to their inherent weakness.
To survive and propagate their species, they would forcibly accelerate their maturity, sacrificing both lifespan and potential in exchange for rapid growth.
The most obvious example was the Butterfree line. Within a single week, a Caterpie could evolve into a Butterfree. But such Butterfree were usually weak, barely capable of holding their own in battle.
In contrast, Beedrill colonies lived four to five times longer than Butterfree.
Their advantage? Unity. Even if an individual wasn't strong, the colony could create a relatively safer environment for their young, allowing them to mature without as many sacrifices to lifespan and potential.
For a while, Sato had been puzzled over why Spinarak hadn't evolved quickly. But after acquiring a wealth of data from Team Rocket's Pokémon research and combining it with the Pokémon League's Pokédex, he finally understood.
With that realization, he adjusted Spinarak's training regimen. There was no need to rush its growth anymore.
Team Rocket had an undeniable preference for Poison-types. Koffing and Ekans had the most extensive training documentation in the files.
Of course, Zubat, Spinarak, and the Nidoran lines were also highly favored by them. Among these, Sato had found exactly what he needed: Spinarak's optimized training methods.
Seven distinct training approaches for Spinarak were listed. After thoroughly reviewing them, Sato was particularly drawn to two:
The Toxic Elimination strategy revolved around Toxic, Toxic Spikes, Venoshock, and Poison Trap as its core moves. It specialized in creating a poisoned battlefield, once an enemy was poisoned, they wouldn't last long.
The key prerequisite? Spinarak needed to have inherited Toxic Spikes.
The files also detailed different venom types Spinarak could develop based on various attack mediums: insect venom, plant-based poison, blood toxins, and even neurotoxins.
The subtle differences in these venoms ,and their combined effects ,made Sato's skin crawl, but at the same time, he was intrigued.
There was serious potential here.
And fortunately, his Spinarak had inherited Toxic Spikes.
The Sniper Precision approach described how one in every hundred Spinarak exhibited an exceptional ability to track movement, naturally adept at targeting weak points and striking vital areas.
With Swords Dance, Poison Jab, Night Slash, and X-Scissor, this method specialized in exploiting weak points for lethal strikes.
Sato knew what this meant. The so-called natural ability to find weak spots was really just the Sniper hidden ability.
And his Spinarak had it.
The remaining five strategies included an Overpowering Striker method based on Swords Dance and Megahorn, a Support Relay strategy focusing on Swords Dance and Baton Pass, a Trap Setter build utilizing Sticky Web, Electroweb, and Poison Spikes, among others.
Sato had never realized how diverse Bug-type training could be until now.
But considering Spinarak's Pseudo-Elite Four-level Poison potential and its Sniper ability, he ultimately decided on a hybrid approach: Toxic Elimination + Sniper Precision.
Sato didn't need to impose any training restrictions.
Because it didn't need them.