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Sato's sudden emergence—like a dragon crossing into enemy waters—especially in such an overwhelmingly forceful manner, left the many Psychic-type Pokémon by the lakeshore utterly stunned. Their gazes toward him were instantly filled with dread.
However, when they saw Sato commanding his Pokémon to collect the Wisdom Seed from the defeated Psychic-types, that fear quickly turned into seething resentment.
Although the Wisdom Lotus itself did not technically belong to them—it was a treasure of the Slowpoke clan—over the years, it had become a shared sacred item for all the Psychic-types living here.
No outsider was allowed to touch it unless they had resided here for three to five years.
More importantly, while the Wisdom Seed no longer enhanced their mental capacity, they were still critically useful—they could heal deep psychic trauma, the kind that was difficult to treat by any other means.
In fact, the very reason why Misty Fog Forest had attracted so many Psychic-type Pokémon to settle in it was because of the Wisdom Lotus cultivated by the Slowpoke clan.
Mental wounds are notoriously harder to heal than physical ones. Even with a Pokémon's natural recovery ability, the process can be painfully long—sometimes even lifelong.
Psychic-type Pokémon rely on their immense mental power to survive and battle. Injuries are inevitable, and while physical wounds can often be mended with moves like Recover, mental trauma is another matter entirely.
This type of damage usually occurred during intense psychic duels. The most commonly used move by Psychic-types—Psychic—was a brutally direct manifestation of their mental force.
Psychic-types, by nature, have an overwhelming desire for control. The Psychic move perfectly satisfied their urge to manipulate opponents at will.
They used their powerful minds to bind foes, controlling their actions like puppets. It gave them immense satisfaction.
However, while Psychic worked well on weaker Pokémon, using it on powerful opponents was asking for trouble.
Those strong Pokémon possessed a wide range of battle experience and tricks—many could easily break free of psychic restraints using Dark-type energy, for example.
And once a Psychic-type Pokémon's Psychic hold was forcibly broken, it often inflicted serious psychic backlash—deep trauma.
Just like humans have their youthful recklessness, Psychic-types—who are inherently proud and arrogant—experience multiple psychic injuries in their development.
Such stubborn mental scars are like psoriasis: unsightly, persistent, and notoriously difficult to heal. Even after apparent recovery, they could easily resurface with the slightest provocation, like an annoying PTSD.
For the Psychic-types living in Misty Fog Forest, the Wisdom Seed were akin to medicine that alleviated symptoms, if not the root cause. Just one seed could suppress their mental wounds for a while.
Of course, with long-term use, full recovery was possible. This was why so many Psychic-types flocked here each year to compete for the seeds.
Due to their limited supply—and the peculiar method by which the Wisdom Lotus produced them—there simply weren't enough to go around.
Even strong Psychic-types often couldn't secure more than three seeds per cycle.
And now, this outsider—Sato—had swept in and collected nine Wisdom Seed in one go. That was enough to make many longtime, powerful Psychic-type residents burn with envy.
Almost immediately, some of the more unbalanced and overly confident Psychic-types launched attacks on Sato. Among them was one that Sato had previously viewed quite favorably—
Yes, it was the Level 64 Alakazam who had previously shared a pleasant conversation with him.
This powerful Psychic-type abandoned his standoff with Slowking and, like the others, Teleported straight to Sato's side. Without hesitation, he unleashed a powerful mental wave, attempting to use Psychic to bind Sato.
Alakazam had only settled in Misty Fog Forest five years ago. Like most others, he had come in search of Wisdom Seed to heal his severe psychic trauma.
However, because of the scarcity, even with his strength, he had never secured more than five seeds at a time.
He had once sustained massive trauma in a battle against a formidable foe—an excruciating headache had haunted him for years. Only after finding the seeds did he start to feel some relief.
Still, at five seeds per year, it would take many more years to fully recover.
Sato's sudden appearance was an unexpected development—but one Alakazam welcomed. It gave him new hope that his wounds might heal sooner.
To Alakazam, Sato was just a trading partner—there was no emotional connection. So when he made his move, he didn't hesitate. He intended to crush Sato using overwhelming psychic force.
Unfortunately, dreams are one thing. Reality is another.
Just as Alakazam teleported next to Sato, he was struck by a wave of mortal danger.
Crobat suddenly burst from a tree behind Sato and appeared in front of him in a blink, launching a Taunt attack.
Immediately, Alakazam realized he could no longer use Teleport. A chill ran down his spine—he could feel the imminent threat. Without thinking, he fired a Psychic wave to drive Crobat back and turned to flee.
But he had only moved a short distance when a massive, blue figure blocked his path.
Before him loomed a huge fist—frost-covered and crackling with Ice Punch energy, radiating both Fighting- and Ground-type power.
"HRAAAAGH!!"
Swampert roared as he appeared, launching a crushing combo move: Ice Earth Hammer.
Alakazam, now panicked, let out a scream and unleashed his strongest Psychic move—Light Screen infused with all his remaining energy.
But to his despair, that seemingly solid psychic barrier couldn't even slow the oncoming blow.
Swampert's punch smashed through it like paper.
A second later, his icy fist struck Alakazam square in the face—sending him hurtling into the lake below.
BOOM!!!
A massive splash erupted from the lake's surface.
"Who's next?!!"
Sitting atop Arcanine, Sato crossed his arms and swept a cold gaze across the stunned crowd of Psychic-types. His voice echoed over the lakeshore—loud, domineering, and full of fury.