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Under the faintly crimson moonlight, Golbat was bathed in the glow of evolution as it began its transformation, little by little. Naturally, the first and most noticeable change was that enormous mouth that once dominated its entire body.
Now, that gaping maw—which had practically taken up Golbat's entire body—began to shrink. At the same time, the main torso expanded rapidly, filling out the space left behind.
Golbat's massive mouth ultimately shrank by nearly 90%, while its body became more solid and three-dimensional in shape.
Next, its wide bat wings began to transform. Unnecessary portions were trimmed away, making the wings more slender and streamlined—far better suited for flight.
Meanwhile, Golbat's legs also began to change. The once stubby feet were now replaced by a smaller, more slender pair of wings.
Following that, Golbat's ears stretched back and grew longer, losing the dainty compactness they once had.
Finally, beneath its newly solid torso, a pair of small feet with three toes each grew out.
The evolution lasted around two minutes. Once the glow of evolution scattered into shimmering light particles, a four-winged Crobat appeared before Sato.
In fact, once evolution was complete, Crobat's previously massive size had actually decreased a bit instead of increasing. The most significant difference was the dramatic reduction of its once-gargantuan mouth. Since the torso hadn't grown proportionally, the illusion was that Crobat had shrunk a bit.
However, while the torso seemed smaller, Crobat's wings were far longer than they had been when it was a Golbat.
Even with this increase in length, the wings felt lighter and more agile than before—there was no sense of burden or clumsiness at all.
"Congratulations, Crobat. You've finally evolved."
Sato extended his left arm, and Crobat obediently landed on it. With his right hand, Sato gently patted Crobat's head, smiling brightly as he offered his blessing.
"Swamp!"
"Bello~"
Swampert and Bellossom, who had been standing nearby, also stepped forward to offer their congratulations when they saw Crobat successfully evolve.
"Chii chi~"
Crobat, now almost entirely purple, chirped affectionately, clearly enjoying Sato's touch. It nodded respectfully to Swampert and Bellossom in thanks.
Then, with a gentle flap of its four wings, Crobat took off into the air. It circled Sato once at high speed before landing again—this time placing its feet on both of Sato's shoulders. With another firm beat of its wings—
In the next second, Crobat effortlessly lifted Sato into the air. After Sato recalled Swampert and Bellossom into their PokeBalls, Crobat flew swiftly with Sato in tow.
In just two to three minutes, Crobat had covered what would have been a three-to-four-kilometer journey with ease, showing off its incredible speed.
Thanks to its two pairs of long, flight-optimized wings, Crobat flew almost soundlessly.
Hidden under the veil of night, Crobat carried Sato silently through the skies above Pallet Town's port, landing quietly on the rooftop of an unoccupied building.
It was already past 7:00 PM, yet the Pallet Town harbor was still bustling with activity. Numerous ships had arrived that night, and the docks were filled with busy workers and sailors.
However, behind this lively facade, Sato felt a strange and unsettling atmosphere.
Through careful observation, he noticed that the dock workers and sailors seemed too quiet—nothing like the typically rowdy, boastful sort one would expect in this line of work.
Even more suspicious was the sheer number of them carrying PokeBalls.
"Looks like things won't be going smoothly tonight. These workers and sailors are probably in disguise… I wonder if the other Rocket members have noticed. If not, and we end up fighting each other during the boarding chaos, that would be a disaster."
Realizing the abnormality among the workers and sailors, Sato's mood soured.
He glanced around and saw most of the other Rocket members eyeing one another warily, too focused on each other to notice the strange behavior on the docks. This only deepened Sato's concern.
Right now, tensions among the Rocket members were high due to the limited number of boarding passes. If he were to bring up the Key Stones and Mega Stones now, it would likely backfire.
Worse yet, he might not even make it out alive.
With that sobering thought, Sato quickly stopped considering these "Rocket comrades"—strangers to him, after all—as allies.
In fact, some of them were likely to be his opponents in the upcoming newcomer battle. If a few got eliminated here, it might even work in his favor.
With that in mind, Sato made his way toward the luxurious restaurant he had visited earlier that day. Before the storm hit, he needed to properly rest and recover with his team.
Welcomed warmly by the restaurant owner, Sato entered the VIP room.
Meanwhile, in an unremarkable hotel near the Pallet Town harbor, a faint blue light suddenly flared inside a modest guest room. A blonde woman in a black dress appeared with the aid of a Natu.
Just then, a sharp slicing noise broke the silence in the dark room. A black object shot through the open window, aiming straight for the blonde woman's head.
However, before the object could strike, the Natu perched on her shoulder reacted. Its eyes glowed with a blue light, and the kunai-like projectile was frozen in midair by psychic power.
But the sneak attack was merely a prelude.
Moments later, a dozen more black darts sliced through the window, flying toward the blonde woman.
A surprising scene unfolded next. The blonde woman's eyes also lit up with a blue glow, and she extended her pale hand forward.
In the next instant, the darts halted midair as if hitting an invisible barrier, then clattered harmlessly to the floor.
As the last dart hit the ground, a masked girl in a ninja outfit had silently appeared, seated on the window frame. A Spinarak perched on her shoulder.
She slowly unsheathed a ninja blade with her left hand, eyes sharp and filled with killing intent as she locked gazes with the blonde girl inside the room.