In the Pokémon world, getting a confession had never been difficult. In the face of Psychic-type Pokémon, human mental resistance was as fragile as a baby's.
By following the thread from this young boss, Officer Jenny arrested a large number of accomplices in just one night.
The sheer number was shocking!
It made everyone realize that the trafficking of Piloswine meat in Helvetia Town had long since formed a mature industrial chain.
If not for the Piloswine escaping during transport and even rushing onto the sidewalk, no one would have known how long this operation might've stayed hidden.
And that so-called signature dish "IceSwine Brew" was merely one restaurant's specialty…
There were quite a few restaurants like this in Helvetia, each with one or even several signature dishes, most of which used "IceSwine meat" as a gimmick, selling Pokémon meat under false pretenses.
Even many locals in Helvetia Town had once wondered when they became known for having "IceSwine" as a specialty product.
But eventually, a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth, and as word spread, even the townspeople began to believe it themselves.
That entire night, Sato and the others participated in this massive roundup operation. Everyone temporarily followed Officer Jenny's instructions, and with the town's strongest combat power on their side, they exerted tremendous pressure on the enemy.
Sato was assigned from the beginning to assist Officer Jenny in arresting the group that first received the Piloswine in Helvetia Town. Arguably the toughest target in the entire operation.
When they arrived, the group was already packed and ready to escape under cover of darkness, but unfortunately for them, they ran straight into Sato's team…
Sato deliberately sent out Cacturne and Umbreon, and seeing that he hadn't brought out any Ace Pokémon, the opponents chose to resist.
Unfortunately for them, Cacturne was a perpetual motion machine that only got stronger as battles dragged on, and Umbreon was right on the verge of a lvlup. Even without battle stimulation, it would've achieved its lvlup soon enough on its own.
As for Officer Jenny, she wasn't one to be underestimated. The combination of Arcanine and Electivire had the enemy howling for mercy.
And when they tried to escape again… they realized they had already been surrounded so tightly that not even air could pass through.
Stubborn resistance? Out of the question!
Sato wasn't going to give them a chance to beg for mercy, and Officer Jenny absolutely loathed these scumbags of Helvetia Town, so she showed no mercy either.
Of course, part of her ruthlessness stemmed from needing to arrest more people later. By tomorrow, word would spread, and those who fled would be even harder to catch.
Once the entire group had been apprehended, Officer Jenny thanked Sato hastily and led her people off to support other locations.
Since Sato's team was there to help, Officer Jenny had only assigned them a few support missions. She didn't require them to participate in the entire operation.
Once the others left, only Sato, Umbreon, and Cacturne remained at the scene.
It was already late, but the moon shone especially bright, casting a layer of silver frost across the ground…
Umbreon instinctively used Moonlight to recover its spent stamina. The yellow rings on its body flickered with each breath, and its blood-red pupils looked even more bewitching in the dark.
On the other side, the golden Cacturne remained dazzlingly conspicuous even in the night.
As an "organic" perpetual motion machine, it wasn't tired at all after the battle. It simply returned obediently to Sato's side.
"Get some good rest, Cacturne…" Sato smiled slightly and recalled it into its Poké Ball first.
Then he turned to look at Umbreon, finding that it had already finished using Moonlight, but unfortunately, it still hadn't managed to achieve Ace level in one go.
"Umbre~"
Umbreon lowered its head and walked back to Sato's side. It could feel it was very close to lvlup, but somehow, it was just missing that final push.
'Could it be… I still need to mooch for a while longer?'
The thought only made Umbreon feel more dejected.
Sato noticed Umbreon's gloominess and crouched down, meeting its blood-red eyes as he gently stroked its sleek fur with his right hand.
"Umbre~"
Umbreon was so comfortable from the petting that it took the initiative to rub its head against Sato's palm, asking for a few more strokes.
But Sato withdrew his hand just then and instead said seriously, "Umbreon, I have a way to make you break through right now… but you might end up seeing a lot of unpleasant things. If you'd rather wait-"
"UMBREEEE~"
Umbreon suddenly cried out excitedly, nodding vigorously to urge Sato to hurry up and let it levelup.
But as soon as Sato said it, he regretted it. Umbreon had been working so hard lately to become stronger, and Sato had noticed all of it.
Thinking of Cynthia's Low Ace Glaceon again, Sato sighed inwardly.
'Strength lasts a season, but love… that's for life.'
Umbreon was so obedient, so adorable, so understanding, gentle, smart, righteous, generous, and ridiculously cute… Honestly, only that Glaceon even came close to being a good match…
'Miss this chance and it's gone forever!'
With his mind made up, Sato reached out his right hand once more and placed it on Umbreon's forehead.
"Relax completely. Don't resist."
[Dark Energy: Soul Connection - Altered]
Unlike other derived abilities, in this life, Sato had only used [Soul Connection] three times.
The first time was for Larvitar. He used it to convince Tyranitar, its mother, to entrust the young Larvitar to him.
The second was to gain the trust of Zweilous and rescue it ahead of time.
And this third time…
Was now!
For the sake of Umbreon's breakthrough, Sato finally made up his mind to share part of his past-life memories with it.
Why only part?
Because with the strengthening of his Dark Energy, he no longer needed to fully expose both sides' memories.
Now, Sato could selectively show the other party only the fragments he wanted them to see.
The unfair part was that the other party still had to open all of their own memories.
Fortunately, in this life, the bond between Sato and Umbreon was extremely deep, so the [Soul Connection] activated very smoothly.
Compared to the previous life, Umbreon's memories in this one were far warmer, almost no life-threatening dangers, and after meeting Sato, its life had been even more comfortable than back in Ecruteak City.
But what Umbreon saw… was completely different. It saw an Eevee almost identical to what it used to look like before evolving.
…It had been abducted by Sato.
From that moment on, that Eevee's life completely changed.
Battle, injury, training… battle, injury, training… battle…
Its life seemed utterly monotonous yet filled with danger. That Eevee, who once curled up and cried at the sight of an enemy, had eventually become capable of using Swift to slit an opponent's throat without hesitation.
A frail little girl had turned into a cold-blooded killer wrapped in a cute exterior… and that transformation was so intense that the observing Umbreon had trouble accepting it all at once.
Because deep in its heart, a voice was telling it…
That Eevee?
Was itself!