A mighty group of people finally returned to the Gym, and the trainees who had stayed behind had already prepared a welcome ceremony.
After a lively afternoon playing with everyone and enjoying a lavish dinner, it wasn't until the crowd dispersed that Sato finally got a moment of peace.
But before long, he stood up again and walked out alone, heading toward the Pokémon Day Care zone.
Sato wanted to spend some time with his old partners.
"Umbre~"
The first to notice Sato was Umbreon. A nocturnal Pokémon, it had long reigned as the champion of late-night vigils.
Umbreon leapt to Sato's side, affectionately rubbing against his leg, its blood-red eyes narrowing happily.
Sato bent down and stroked Umbreon's silky fur, expertly scratching its most sensitive spot under the chin, making the glowing yellow rings on its body light up in comfort, beautiful and mysterious all at once.
"Wea."
"Awoo…"
Soon, Weavile and Houndoom, also nocturnal by nature, came running over.
Weavile remained cold and aloof. After nodding slightly at Sato, it leaned against a nearby ball, calmly watching Umbreon and Houndoom being affectionate.
Weavile: ( *￣へ￣*) 'Too dignified to mingle with them!'
Umbreon and Houndoom's playful commotion wasn't small, so the rest of the Pokémon quickly gathered as well.
Seeing this, Sato released all six Pokémon he carried with him.
Zoroark, Gengar, Tyranitar, Gardevoir, Honchkrow…
Together with Krookodile, Absol, Drapion, Greninja, and the others who arrived, Sato realized he hadn't seen all his partners together like this in a long, loooong time.
As for the strongest they had already begun to explore their own Champion path.
The later additions like Absol and Greninja had all broken through to the Ace level, but there was still some distance before reaching Elite Four level.
Looking at his partners before him, Sato couldn't help but feel deeply content, swelling with pride!
That night, Sato stayed in the Day Care, reminiscing and bonding with all his Pokémon.
Those grueling breakthroughs, intense battles, and the growth that followed each defeat had become cherished memories for Zoroark and the others.
And those thrilling, high-stakes matches were now powerful motivators for Pokémon like Absol, who had yet to reach Elite Four level.
Even though not a single one of them slept through the night, their eyes looked brighter and more alert than ever.
---◓---
At dawn, Joseph came in pushing a breakfast cart, interrupting Sato and his Pokémon just as they were still savoring the night's memories, and snapping Sato back to reality.
"You still have a mission today. Eat up and get going."
'…???'
Sato smacked his lips, wondering who really owned this Gym anyway.
"Want another sandwich~?" Joseph raised his hand and asked softly.
"Yeah, a big one…"
Sato instinctively grabbed a second sandwich, already having forgotten the previous question.
Did it matter who it belonged to?
'Mm… delicious!'
After breakfast, Sato brought along a few Pokémon who clearly wanted to go out with him. Without greeting anyone else in the Gym, he headed straight for Goldenrod City.
The Pokémon League Regional Exchange Tournament was one of only two events where Sato had accepted an invitation to be a judge.
This year's Regional Exchange Tournament happened to be held in Goldenrod City, the most bustling hub in the Johto Region.
Sato recalled how he had once traveled to the Unova Region to "challenge" Gyms, so he was quite curious to see the strength of the new generation.
His sudden participation as a judge instantly turned what was originally a low-profile event into a hot topic over the past few days.
As for Sato being added as a judge at the last minute?
No one found it inappropriate!
The Elite Four were allowed to bypass most established rules…
By the time Sato arrived at the competition venue, the staff had already received notice and smoothly set up everything for him.
---◓---
"Elite Four Sato, this is the list of participants for this Regional Exchange Tournament edition. Please take a look."
Inside the VIP lounge, a tournament staff member cautiously handed the folder to Sato with both hands, then stood to the side solemnly, awaiting instructions.
Sato had intended to tell him not to be nervous, but gave up on the idea.
A person's name casts a long shadow. His reputation alone was enough to make many people feel immense pressure without him doing anything at all.
If he stayed quiet, perhaps they'd feel a bit more relaxed.
But before Sato could open the folder, there was a knock at the door.
The staff member jogged over, and a moment later jogged back.
He continued in that same cautious tone and respectfully said, "Elite Four Sato, the leading instructors from several other teams regions have come to visit you. Shall I let them in?"
Sato sighed. As expected, once you entered the system, these kinds of things were unavoidable.
"Let them all in. Also, prepare some Pokóffee snacks."
"Understood!"
The staff member agreed immediately. Just now, when he heard Sato sigh, he had nearly thought he was angry.
Soon, a group of middle-aged men filed in cautiously. Seeing that Sato had already stood to greet them, they were so flattered that they insisted he needn't stand on their behalf.
Sato normally wasn't the type to smile easily, but for the sake of the Johto League's image, he forced a smile and invited them to sit.
What followed was commercial flattery… no, commercial solo-flattery sessions. After all, Sato didn't know a single one of these team leaders.
So all he could do was keep smiling, listening to them praise him one after another, even though some of the things they were boasting about weren't even his accomplishments.
But… it didn't matter.
None of it really mattered.
As the flattery dragged on, the group gradually shifted the conversation toward the competitors. Sato quickly realized there was subtext.
"Elite Four Sato, we in Hoenn have some promising talent this time. Venda, for example, was mentored by Elite Four Drake himself. Elite Four Drake said his future is limitless."
Sato blinked, and the image of Drake's stern and imposing expression flashed through his mind. That didn't sound like something Drake would say…
Back when Sato was doing exceptionally well, Drake had never once uttered the phrase "limitless future."
"Venda is quite good, but our Sinnoh rookies are also very outstanding. Even Elite Four Cynthia… heh, your girlfriend, gave guidance to several of them…"
The Sinnoh instructor refused to be outdone, taking the opportunity to push the relationship angle, even upping the number of times Cynthia had "guided" their rookies.
The Kanto instructor panicked. He strained his limited mental faculties trying to recall which Elite Four from Kanto was close to Sato.
But the result was… he had no idea.
"O-Our… our rookies from Kanto were… praised by President Goodshow himself!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone in the room -including Sato- turned to look at the Kanto instructor.
That bluff… was pretty bold.
Still, the reason these instructors had come to see Sato was obvious, they wanted him to give their rookies some special attention, maybe even some direct advice.
Or better yet, let a few resources slip through his fingers… that alone would be an opportunity their rookies could only dream of.