The Murkrow leader hadn't even responded yet, but Sato's Murkrow was already flapping its wings excitedly. It clearly wanted to battle too.
Now at Low Elite level, Murkrow had advanced quite a bit. In terms of potential, Murkrow was the second highest among all of Sato's Pokémon.
'A pseudo Champion-level potential…' Just thinking about it made Sato feel great!
Seeing its child so eager, the Murkrow leader agreed without hesitation.
It was fully aware of its own child's potential and growth. If this human lost, what right would he have to keep training its kid?
"You want to challenge me too? Of course! But I won't be standing still. Everyone, come out!"
Sato tossed out five Poké Balls. Houndoom, Cacturne, Sandile, Zweilous, and Pupitar appeared beside him one after another.
Upon returning, Sato had immediately transferred all his Pokémon to Shadownight Town, and naturally made some changes to his team lineup.
"Sandile's still young, the rest are fair game. Pick whoever you want to battle," Sato said with a "sweep" of his hand, letting Murkrow choose.
Murkrow's eyes spun around as it scanned the group.
Cacturne was weak to it, not satisfying. Pupitar had the type advantage… not ideal if it lost.
Zoroark was the leader, so it skipped that one. That left Houndoom and Zweilous.
"Krow!" Murkrow pointed its wing at Zweilous. Houndoom looked too "calm and composed", probably not easy to beat…
'Better to pick the weaker one.' This was its first fight in front of Sato, and Murkrow didn't want to lose.
"Zwee!" "Zwe!"
Zweilous, having been chosen, realized it was being underestimated. Lefty and Righty both looked unhappy and were determined to teach the ugly bird a lesson.
"For fairness, I won't give you two any commands during the battle. But if I say stop, you stop. Got it?"
"Kroow!"
"Zwee~" "Zwe~"
"Then… battle start!"
Murkrow flapped its wings and soared into the sky, circling Zweilous twice in a flash.
Lefty and Righty glanced at each other and both opened their mouths, firing Dragon Breaths from either side in a sweeping arc.
Murkrow was startled, Zweilous could attack independently with each head.
But having flown through dense forests since it was young, Murkrow's flying skills were naturally agile. Dodging Dragon Breath was no problem.
At the same time, a sharp cold wind blew toward Zweilous. Murkrow had guessed from the Dragon Breath that Zweilous might be a Dragon-type, so it led with Icy Wind.
Zweilous immediately slammed its two Dragon Breaths together, the resulting energy wave easily dispersing the Icy Wind.
Both Icy Wind and Dragon Breath vanished, and Murkrow was already gone from sight. Lefty and Righty quickly took up opposite flanks to search for it.
The next second, Murkrow reappeared behind Zweilous, wings glowing white as it struck with Wing Attack.
At that moment, Righty suddenly roared. Zweilous's tail lit up with a purple glow.
Dragon Tail, clashing directly with the Wing Attack.
Then Lefty turned as well, its electrified jaws biting down hard on Murkrow's wing: Thunder Fang.
"KROOOOW!"
Murkrow cried out in pain. Though it couldn't maintain the Wing Attack, it fiercely countered by pecking at Lefty's more vulnerable neck, trying to make it release its grip.
Under threat, Lefty let go, but before Murkrow could escape, Righty clamped down on its left wing with a direct Ice Fang.
"STOP!"
Sato suddenly shouted to halt the battle, but Righty still didn't release its grip. In fact, a red gleam flashed across its eyes.
Without hesitation, Sato rushed forward and hugged the nearly berserk Righty tightly. Dark Energy surged from his body, surrounding Zweilous.
"Uhh…"
Righty slowly began to calm down, while Lefty whimpered softly, urging his "brother" to let go.
With Sato's Dark Energy channeling around them, Righty finally regained composure. Realizing he was still biting Murkrow, he quickly let go and apologized softly, clearly ashamed.
"Krooow~"
Murkrow flapped its wings uneasily. Realizing the injury wasn't serious, it "generously" forgave Righty… though a trace of fear still lingered in its eyes.
"…It's okay now, it's okay," Sato gently comforted Zweilous. He had experienced situations like this many times in his past life, so he wasn't flustered.
Zweilous, on the other hand, had scared itself. Every time it went berserk, the fear of hurting its companions always returned afterward.
"In the future, try not to use two moves of different types at the same time. That will greatly reduce the risk of incidents like this, understand?"
Sato spoke softly. While using different moves simultaneously was a unique strength of Zweilous, it also made energy collisions more likely, triggering its rage.
Lefty and Righty didn't fully understand, but still nodded obediently.
"Your wing okay?" Sato turned to Murkrow. Seeing it shake its wing again, he got serious. "Since you knew your opponent was a Dragon-type, why would you rush in with close combat? A normal Murkrow wouldn't be so careless."
Murkrow lowered its head. It knew it had panicked. It thought it could use its speed to maneuver around the opponent. But didn't expect Lefty and Righty could attack independently and catch it so quickly.
"Let's end the match here. I've already moved into Shadownight Town. Murkrow has always lived in the forest, so I'll take it back to see the place. After that, it can come find me anytime."
Sato turned to the Murkrow leader. Not asking, but stating.
"Krow…" The leader looked at Murkrow's expectant face and could only nod begrudgingly before flapping its wings and flying off.
Sato looked at the swarm of Murkrow trailing behind.
It was a massive, overwhelming flock, far more than before.
He wasn't surprised. Since the Murkrow leader had reached Low Pseudo-Elite Four and become a Totem Pokémon, its territory had naturally expanded.
Afterward, Sato brought Murkrow back to the Pokémon Center. With Pupitar and the others also transferred back from Joy Town, his team was now fully assembled.
On page one of the [Training Master Plan], Sato wrote down each of their names:
[Main Battle Team A: Zoroark, Gengar, Sharpedo, Ariados, Houndoom, Weavile][Main Battle Team B: Umbreon, Cacturne, Pupitar, Zweilous, Murkrow][In-Development: Sandile][Pet: Pichu][Trump Card: Dark Ralts]
Looking at his 14 Pokémon, Sato's heart was full of satisfaction.
The six Pokémon of Team A were only temporarily ahead. Any one of the others could make a breakthrough and surpass them in time.
Each of these Pokémon had been raised with all his effort. And in the future, he would only put in even more.
.
.
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[150][PW] [=] [Extra][Chapter]