The weather was clear, not a single cloud in the sky.
A dark shadow streaked across the heavens, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
After staying in Goldenrod City for three days, Sato was now rushing off to the next mission location.
The champion of this year's Regional Exchange Tournament hadn't left much of an impression on him. Instead, it was Takeshin's growth that had brought him a deep sense of satisfaction.
He had already taught Takeshin how to use the World Tree branch. If Jumpluff continued to push itself, there was a chance it could break through again.
Sato was genuinely looking forward to their next meeting, hoping Takeshin might surprise him once more.
That desire to teach… really did seem to be a natural instinct buried in everyone's heart.
By noon, Sato was already riding Honchkrow, having arrived in Azalea Town, located southeast of Goldenrod City.
Azalea's Bug-type Gym had once basked in glory, even briefly breaking the stereotype of Bug-types being the weakest.
But with the old Gym Leader's health deteriorating and no successor yet fully trained, the Gym had fallen into a difficult transition period.
When Azalea Gym spotted signs of Team Rocket activity in the town, the old Gym Leader hadn't hesitated, he immediately reported the situation.
The Rocket cleanup operation had only just concluded recently. For them to show up again so soon meant this situation clearly wasn't simple.
Until the new Leader could stand on their own, Azalea Gym had to prioritize caution above all else.
And so, Sato had been sent to Azalea under these circumstances.
Using Gengar's Spatial Barrier to hide himself, Sato walked openly through the streets, admiring the ever-relaxed Slowpoke that wandered everywhere, he couldn't help but feel envious.
'Man vs Slowpoke… and Slowpoke wins.'
But soon, Sato found the agreed-upon marker he and Sina had marked outside a restaurant.
Ding-ling-ling~
The brass bell at the entrance rang, though no one entered. The shop owner looked around several times but found nothing unusual. In the end, he could only assume it was some mischievous Meowth fooling around in the alley.
---◓---
Inside a private booth, Sina and Sosuke, who had been eating lunch, were startled by Sato's sudden appearance.
But they quickly remembered the real matter at hand and were ready to report in before even finishing their meal.
"Eat first. I haven't eaten either."
Sato quickly stopped them. No matter how urgent things were, skipping meals was a no-go.
Sina and Sosuke didn't argue. The three sat down again and finished their food in silence before returning to the mission discussion.
"Sosuke and I arrived in Azalea Town three days ago. We've definitely found signs of Team Rocket activity. We've gathered some subtle traces and clues. Take a look, see if any of it's usable."
As Sina spoke, he pulled out a tablet from his bag. The collected data was already sorted and categorized with impressive clarity.
"Well done."
Sato praised him with a smile. Over the years, Sina and the others had grown a lot.
Once a slightly awkward -siscon- and impulsive guy, Sina was now capable of handling delicate, detail-oriented tasks like intel gathering and organization.
There was a lot of data. Sato spent a full thirty minutes reviewing everything. Though somewhat scattered, he was familiar enough with Team Rocket's tactics that he quickly pieced it all together.
"Leader, what's our next move?" Sosuke asked quickly when he saw Sato lift his head.
Sato was about to give instructions, but paused and changed his mind.
"Sosuke, what do you think?"
Sosuke froze for a moment but quickly gathered his thoughts. After a bit of consideration, he began speaking steadily.
"Our investigation found that most of Team Rocket's activity has been concentrated in the western part of the city. Although that's a residential area, it borders closely on the western primal forest.
And nowadays, Team Rocket wouldn't mobilize on a large scale for some petty gains, so perhaps their true objective lies in that forest.
Maybe we could use your Gengar's unique abilities to track them and go straight for the source!"
After finishing, Sosuke couldn't help but glance at Sato, clearly still feeling a bit nervous.
Sato nodded lightly and offered praise, "Not bad." Then immediately followed it with, "But-"
"The investigation in the western district must not be interrupted. In fact, it needs even more attention. I suspect that whatever Team Rocket was after was originally in the forest, but has since been moved into the city.
A residential area has a high volume of foot traffic and complicated personnel, making it extremely difficult to investigate. Otherwise, Team Rocket wouldn't have sent so many people and risked exposure.
Let's proceed with Sosuke's suggestion. Sina, you're in charge of sweeping the western forest. Sosuke, you'll track Team Rocket's movements inside the city.
I'll take action when the time is right. Report to me immediately if anything happens!"
Sosuke and Sina exchanged a glance, then both nodded seriously.
This was their first time carrying out a mission under Sato's command. They felt a mix of excitement, nervousness, and anticipation.
After the meal, Sato quietly disappeared. Sina and Sosuke also left the restaurant separately, heading off in opposite directions.
By the roadside, the invisible Sato watched them go, but his mind was still refining the entire operation.
Whatever Team Rocket had been searching for all this time -if they hadn't found it yet- wasn't going to be recovered easily now either.
That was why Sato wasn't in a rush to take action himself. Instead, he handed over this opportunity for field experience to Sosuke and Sina.
They had learned a lot through the League's Investigator Division, but real-world experience had been lacking.
Now that Sato was stationed in the rear, the two could carry out their duties boldly without worry.
Of course, "waiting for the right moment" didn't mean Sato was leaving the mission entirely to them. Across both this life and his last, he had developed countless ways to gather intelligence.
"Gengar, Gardevoir. Follow the two of them. Only step in if absolutely necessary."
"Gen~!"
"Alright Toto, I'll go with Sosuke."
After setting his backup plan in motion, Sato remained invisible and circled around until he arrived at the lawless zone of Azalea Town.
If he remembered correctly, there should still be a black market somewhere inside…
◓---
At Team Rocket's G-8 Secret Base, the rest of the Three Beasts -Sird and Orm- were pushing blame onto each other, each complaining that the other had screwed up at the critical moment.
But no amount of arguing could ease the anxiety growing inside them.
"If we don't recover Test Subject K9… BOTH OF US ARE GOING TO BE SKINNED ALIVE!"
Sird roared, her tiny eyes blazing with fury, before storming out and slamming the door behind her.
Orm was equally furious but had no choice in the end except to vent his anger on the subordinates. Screaming at them to hurry the search, even if it meant being exposed.
---◓
Meanwhile, Sato had already located what he was looking for in the black market.
Fiddling with a metallic fragment in his hand, he felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
'Test Subject K9... just from the name, you can tell there've been a lot of experiments before and after this one. Damn...'
Sato sighed and decided to speed up his investigation. Not only did he need to rescue Test Subject K9 in advance, but that kind of secret experiment facility shouldn't be allowed to exist at all.