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"Joe..., huh? Here's what happened: I found something at the Pallet Town harbor…"
Sato relented and pressed the call button. Once he got through to Joe Kondo, he began explaining in detail everything that had happened at the Pallet Town harbor and the incident with the underwater black market.
Ten-odd minutes later, Sato hung up the call with a satisfied smile on his face.
In truth, things had gone even more smoothly than he expected. This Joe Kondo—rumored to be a disciple of Giovanni and a member of Team Rocket—possessed an unrivaled passion for Key Stones and Mega Stones.
As soon as Joe heard about the Key Stone and the Mega Stone from Sato, he agreed to Sato's request without a moment's hesitation. He also promised Sato that he would report the matter directly to Giovanni.
Moreover, he solemnly swore that even if Giovanni refused to provide reinforcements, he would personally arrive at Pallet Town's harbor before 11 p.m. to support him.
"Looks like Joe really values Key Stones and Mega Stones. Well, makes sense… This is the power of Mega Evolution, after all. With it, the vast gap between true Elites and near-Elite trainers practically vanishes."
Putting away the communicator, Sato once again looked toward the brightly lit harbor in the distance. The heavy look on his face was gone, replaced with an expression like a predator eyeing its prey.
From the moment Joe agreed to help, Sato knew this operation was already a success. As someone capable of managing the Viridian Gym in Giovanni's absence, Kondo was clearly one of Giovanni's most trusted men.
Which meant he had direct access to Giovanni. And Sato knew Giovanni well—he absolutely would not tolerate any act of provocation from the weak toward Team Rocket.
So, as long as Joe reached Giovanni, reinforcements were guaranteed.
With Giovanni's authority within Team Rocket, and Team Rocket's strength in the Kanto region, rallying an elite force to the Pallet Town harbor was practically a trivial matter.
All Sato had to do now was to wait quietly at the harbor for support to arrive.
As the one who initiated this operation, Sato might not get to lay his hands on the Key Stone and Mega Evolution Stone himself. But as long as Team Rocket obtained them, his reward was guaranteed.
Tens of billions of PokeDollars? That was unrealistic. But a payout of seven to eight hundred million? That seemed entirely plausible.
"If a single tip can earn me seven or eight hundred million PokeDollars, then that's one hell of a deal."
Just imagining the potential reward was enough to make Sato feel elated.
He'd get a generous reward, solve the immediate crisis, and escape Pallet Town safely. No matter how he looked at it, this was a win-win-win situation.
Just as Sato continued toward the Pallet Town harbor, indulging in these pleasant thoughts, the unusual stirrings of his Golbat on his shoulder snapped him back to reality.
"Chi-chi-chi~~~!"
At that moment, Golbat began to emit a flickering white light from its body, and it let out sharp, anxious cries, its eyes glowing with a faint crimson light.
Sato had spent so much time with Golbat that he instantly understood what the Pokémon was trying to tell him—especially when he saw that bloodthirsty look of intense craving in its eyes.
Without hesitation, Sato pulled out a large plastic container with a sealed white lid from his pack and quickly pried it open.
The moment the lid came off, a thick, iron-like scent filled the air.
Yes—inside the white plastic bucket was blood. And not just any blood—highly nutritious deer blood. Sato had collected it from the numerous wild stags in Viridian Forest.
Although Golbat's usual diet consisted of high-grade Pokémon food, it was still a bat-type Pokémon—one that couldn't go a full day without blood without feeling agitated.
So, Sato usually kept several buckets of blood with him to satisfy Golbat's cravings.
Now flashing with erratic evolutionary light, Golbat caught sight of the fresh blood in the bucket, and its crimson eyes flared with intensity. It folded its wings and dove straight into the container.
In mere seconds, the level of blood in the bucket dropped rapidly. Within ten seconds, Golbat had drained all ten-plus liters of it.
Yet even with a full belly, Golbat didn't seem satisfied. Its eyes were still red with hunger. And Sato noticed something odd—the blood in its belly was being rapidly digested and absorbed, causing its once-bloated form to shrink quickly.
At the same time, the flickering light of evolution on its body began flashing more rapidly.
A flash of blue passed through Sato's eyes as he activated the system's scan function. He quickly discovered that Golbat had already reached level 42.
At this point, he was certain—Golbat was truly about to evolve. It just needed enough energy to complete the transformation. And that energy came from blood—precisely what Golbat craved most right now.
"Swampert, go fetch a few big fish from the sea!"
Sato didn't hesitate. He pulled out the last bucket of blood he had and handed it to Golbat, then immediately instructed his Swampert to dive into the ocean to hunt.
Swampert nodded and leapt into the nearby sea to look for prey.
The moment Golbat spotted the new bucket of blood, it dove in again without hesitation. Within moments, it had drained the five to six liters inside.
At this point, Golbat's digestive abilities were likely at their peak. The blood, rich in life energy, was rapidly converted into evolutionary fuel inside its body. The bloated form quickly began to shrink once more.
Meanwhile, the glow of evolution radiating from Golbat's body grew increasingly intense. However, as Golbat continued to shrink, the light started to dim again.
Luckily, Swampert returned just in time—dragging a massive great white shark behind him.
This shark, at least three meters long, looked like a rag doll in Swampert's hand. There was a huge dent in its head, and blood poured from its gaping maw—it was clearly beyond saving.
Swampert tossed the shark in front of Golbat. Seeing the bloodied creature still faintly twitching, Golbat's eyes erupted with scarlet light once more. It lunged forward, sinking its fangs into the beast.
Within seconds, the shark's body began shriveling at a visible pace. In contrast, Golbat's previously shrunken frame began to inflate like a balloon.
Seconds later, Golbat released the now shriveled shark corpse. With a powerful flap of its wings, it kicked up a gust of wind.
Then, it soared into the sky. With the crimson-tinged moon behind it, its entire body erupted with an intense glow of evolution.