Somewhere in the ancient forests of the Johto region.
Sato sat cross-legged beneath a giant tree, unmoving. Beside him, Umbreon lay quietly, keeping him company.
Suddenly, Umbreon twitched its ears. Its blood-red eyes looked back.
"…Gen~"
Gengar appeared silently, then nod to Umbreon.
Umbreon responded halfheartedly with a nod, then rested its head back on Sato's thigh.
"If we didn't find him, so be it… He's Team Rocket's strongest Admin, figuring something was wrong is only natural."
Fwoosh~
A flash of white light, and Gardevoir appeared next to Sato, still looking visibly annoyed.
The reason she returned later than Gengar was because she had been unwilling to give up.
Just in the last chapter, she'd dramatically said, ""…NOT ONE OF THEM WILL ESCAPE!" " And here she was… letting one go.
'Am I, Gardevoir, not supposed to have any pride?'
"Pff…"
Sato smirked slightly, but didn't dare laugh out loud.
"Maa maa. Capturing Kaiser and Petrel is enough to give Team Rocket a headache. There'll be chances to make up for it."
He offered a half-hearted consolation, which earned nothing but an eye-roll from Gardevoir.
"Since we've mostly recovered, we should head back. I wonder if Sina and Sosuke managed to escape during the chaos…"
Sato muttered softly, then recalled Umbreon and Gengar.
"Gardevoir, I'll be counting on you."
"Voir…"
Though reluctant, Gardevoir took Sato's hand. A flash of white light, one Trainer and one Pokémon vanished from the spot.
---◓---
Azalea Town, Azalea Gym.
Sina supported the heavily bandaged Sosuke while quietly recounting the events of the previous night.
"So… you two just watched our Leader get surrounded by four people… then ran back here… YOURSELVES?"
Mark cut him off furiously, his voice trembling ever so slightly.
Four Team Rocket Admins -each one a final Boss-type villain- had gathered just to deal with their own Leader?
'What was this… weird sense of pride?'
Mark shook his head, trying to rid himself of that irrational thought.
He then gave Sina and Sosuke a disappointed glare; but in truth, he couldn't blame them.
Elite Four and Ace… the difference of one stage was like the distance between Mt. Silver's summit and the depths of the Orange Islands trench.
Running was the only thing the two of them could have done.
"Just focus on recovering. I'll go look for him in the forest," Mark said bluntly, turning to leave.
"Mark, you…" Sina instinctively tried to stop him, but couldn't bring himself to say that Mark would definitely… get lost.
"Hmph! If I, Mark, want to find someone, there's no such thing as 'can't'!"
Mark chuckled proudly. In his mind, he'd braved the Forest of Shadows and encountered countless rare Pokémon, while these two were probably still in training.
Still, if the Leader came back now, he wouldn't have to actually wander around in the forest…
Being lost… what two unfamiliar and irritating words.
"You said you couldn't find what?"
"Wha… what do you mean can't find anything? I can find anything… eh? B-Boss! YOU'RE BACK!"
"LEADER!"
"L-Leader, are you alright?!"
Seeing Sato appear before them completely unharmed, the three of them were stunned and overjoyed.
For Sosuke and Sina, the guilt in their hearts was instantly cut in half. As for Mark, he was simply thrilled at his incredible luck~
Summoning him on the spot… it actually worked on people too!
Next time, maybe he could-
"Leader, you're hurt!" Sina exclaimed suddenly, immediately drawing the attention of the other two.
Only then did they notice the large patch of dried blood on Sato's collar, along with numerous scratches all over his body.
"It's nothing serious. Just need some rest."
Sato waved them off to stop their fussing, then turned to look at Mark.
"What are you doing here?"
"Booooss, how can you say that?! I went through so much just to rescue you, and now you're asking me this? So love really does fade, huh…?"
Sato: ▼ヘ▼#)?
"Tch. Alright, alright. The League received a distress signal from Azalea Gym's old Leader. Once I heard about it, I rushed over," Mark explained honestly.
He had a Togekiss that knew Extreme Speed, and a Reuniclus that could create wind barriers. His travel speed was something even Sato envied.
Sato didn't say much more. He simply patted Mark's shoulder, then turned toward Sina and Sosuke.
"You made the right decision. Given the situation last night, escaping was the smartest move. Well done. Focus on healing now. We'll discuss rewards later."
The two nodded obediently. Honestly, they hadn't expected any rewards at all. After all, they hadn't been much help when it mattered.
"Alright, Mark, come with me to visit the old Gym Leader. This is his turf, and since we're already here, we can't just leave without saying hello.
…Besides, he did help out Sosuke and the others."
Having resolved the internal matters, Sato was also ready to confirm the guess he was almost certain about.
"Leader…"
This time it was Sina who stopped Sato, his expression conflicted as if he had something difficult to say.
"Ohhhoho… Sina, what's wrong with you? You used to be way more direct. Now you're hesitating more than your little sister~"
Mark couldn't help but tease, which only made Sina's expression gloomier.
Unlike the impulsive siscon hothead he used to be, Sina had matured. He now understood that not everything was black and white.
He had already suspected that the old Gym Leader was hiding something, but didn't know how to explain it to Sato.
After all, the reason they hadn't been captured by Team Rocket was thanks to that same old Leader from Azalea Gym.
"Leader, here's the thing…"
In the end, Sina shared everything he suspected, leaving it to Sato to decide how to handle it.
"Mmh. Don't worry. I can handle it."
After hearing Sina's concerns, Sato felt even more confident in his own theory. He couldn't help but curse in his mind.
'Old fox!'
When the two stepped out of the room, they saw that the old Gym Leader was already waiting at the door.
So he had known all along that Sato had slipped in, but hadn't knocked or interrupted.
Sato narrowed his eyes. This looked like polite hospitality on the surface, but wasn't it also a kind of provocation?
'In my domain, even if I can't stop you, I can still see through your every move.'
"DarKnight Elite Four, lunch is ready. Would you and your friends care to join me?"
The old Gym Leader acted as though he'd just hosted Sato yesterday, never once asking how he'd gotten in.
Sato didn't rush. He turned and told Mark to bring Sina and the others. A group of six headed grandly toward the dining room.
Of course, there was also one little purple-haired shota.
"Bugsy, this is the DarKnight Elite Four, the 'idol you admire most'. What's wrong? Why are you speechless now that he's here?"
Along the way, the old Leader chuckled as he teased the bright-red-faced Bugsy, showing no concern at all over Sato's possible questioning.
"E-Elite Four Sato, h-hello! I'm Bugsy!" Bugsy mustered all his courage to say.
"Mm. Work hard. Try to help the old Gym Leader get the gym back on its feet soon."
Looking at this future Gym Leader of Azalea Town, Sato couldn't help but feel something stir inside.
He was just a kid, after all.