Sato moved effitly through his m routine—washing up, dressing, and preparing his gear. Within ten minutes, he was fully ready to leave.

  As he passed by the full-length mirror ihroom, he caught a glimpse of himself and couldn't help but feel satisfied.

  Thanks to the subtle nourishment from Dark Energy, he now looked more like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old teenager, brimming with vitality.

  The shopping mall, where the tour was taking pce, wouldn't open until 10 AM. Instead of heading over immediately, Sato chose to train at the hotel's provided training facility.

  Watg Haunter move eically around the battlefield, Sato let out a quiet sigh. Both Zorua and Larvitar still couldn't participate in high-exposure battles like this one, leaving Hauo bear the entire burden.

  It wasn't hard to predict—after this period of high-iy battles, Haunter's strength would experien explosive breakthrough.

  At 9:30 AM, Sato recalled his three Pokémon and fed each of them a high-grade Pokéblock before making his way toward the nearby shopping pza.

  He was the st traio arrive. The momeepped into the waiting area, the host seamlessly transitioned into the tour annous, signaling the start of the round.

  The first battle of the day featured her than the wealthy rich kid from the previous rounds. His Feraligatr's aggressive aless bat style had left a sting impression.

  The petition stage had been pletely revamped ht. The three smaller, temporary battle arenas were gone, repced by a single, rger and sturdier one in the ter.

  The rich kid strode leisurely to his position, while his Feraligatr gleamed uhe sunlight, its sharp cws and fangs radiating an icy menace.

  His oppo was unremarkable—Sato couldn't even remember them. Sure enough, wherainer sent out a det-looking Crobat, there was a visible wave of disappoi in the crowd.

  The battle sted less than three minutes. Feraligatr closed the distah terrifying speed, and a single Ice Punocked Crobat out of the match.

  The battle enced immediately. Aside from a few overwhelmingly strong testants, most matchups turned into fierce, drawn-out struggles, earnied cheers from the audience.

  Och, however, stood out.

  A female trainer, pletely ed up in heavy clothing, stepped onto the battlefield. Despite the cealment, a glimpse of pink hair and the sight of her Blissey made her identity all too obvious.

  "Heal Pulse, Toxid Minimize…"

  Blissey was known for its ridiovepool. It cked raw firepower, but its ability to stall battles and ehrough sheer resilience made it a nightmare for oppos.

  Her oppo, a Pidgeot, was signifitly stronger. However, caught off guard by Blissey's strategy, the trainer made a critical mistake—uimating the endurance game.

  A moment of hesitation was all it took. The Toxic status wore Pidgeot down, aually, it succumbed.

  By noon, only four battles had cluded, but two of them showcased outstanding performances.

  Both Blissey and Feraligatr were formidable oppos—if Sato was going to use Haunter against them, he o think carefully about his strategy.

  At precisely 1 PM, the tour resumed. This time, Sato was the first to be called up.

  His oppo was a bespectacled man with the look of a relut partit—someone who seemed like he had been forced into the petition by his wife.

  "Go, Victreebel!"

  "Haunter."

  Sato's oppo couldn't see Haunter, but having withe first round, he already k was just lurking invisibly.

  "Victreebel, spread Stun Spore into the air!"

  "Haunter, Lick."

  "Kehehehehe~"

  A long, sioerialized behind Victreebel, dragging across its back with a wet, slimy sound. The Grass-type Pokémon instantly stiffened, paralyzed on the spot.

  "Hypnosis."

  "Follow up with secutive Shadow Balls."

  Victreebel, already immobilized, could only fall victim to the relentless barrage. Within moments, it lost sciousness.

  Sato recalled Haunter, who was grinning triumphantly, clearly pleased with itself. Lick had a low paralysis ce, but when used in a surprise attack, even if the status effect didn't trigger, it could pletely disrupt an oppo's rhythm.

  Haunter's tongue was scarlet, sticky, and ulingly soft—it was the kind of sensation that sent shivers down one's spine.

  By the end of the day, a total of sixteen battles had cluded. After finishing his match, Sato informed the staff a immediately.

  With Haunter emerging unscathed, there was no need for treatment. Instead, Sato returo his hotel, booked a private training room, and spent the eernoon immersed in training.

  Zorua and Larvitar, uo participate iour, pushed themselves harder than ever during practice.

  Sato didn't stop them. Both Zorua and Haunter had reached a bottlene their growth. With their talent, breaking through wasn't difficult, but they still needed some external stimution. This iy was exactly what they required.

  The day, when Sato arrived at the pza, only sixteen testants remaihe matches were getting tougher, with several standout trainers proving to be formidable oppos.

  Among them artit who quickly became the ter of attention—though her face was cealed, keen-eyed spectators still reized her instantly.

  A Nurse Joy!

  A wave of excited chatter spread through the crowd. The tour now had an ued celebrity, drawing in a growing number of fans.

  And, as fate would have it, Sato's oppo was her than Nurse Joy herself.

  The moment he saw the match-up, Sato felt an overwhelming urge to walk away.

  "Go, Blissey!"

  "Haunter, you're up."

  The moment the match began, Nurse Joy smiled gently.

  "You take the first move, little brother."

  "Thanks. Haunter, use Curse."

  A collective gasp echoed through the audience. Many had been charmed by Sato's seemingly harmless demeanor, only to witness him opetle with one of the most ruthless Ghost-type moves.

  "Blissey, use Softboi—no, Refresh—wait, that won't work either!"

  For the first time, Nurse Joy looked visibly flustered. Despite being knowledgeable in Pokémon care, she was not a petitive battler.

  "Haunter, Hypnosis."

  A crimson glow pulsed in front of Blissey's eyes. A moment ter, it colpsed, lying motionless otlefield. A wisp of dark energy flickered—Curse had taken effect.

  "I forfeit."

  Nurse Joy's voice rang through the arena.

  Silence fell.

  And then, the outcry began.

  All eyes turoward Sato, their gazes filled with e, as if he had itted some kind of unfivable sin.

  Without emotion, Sato observed the rea, unbothered. He tossed Haunter a Pokéblock to restore its strength, not even sparing a g the riled-up audience.

  "Kehehehehe~"

  Haunter cackled, utterly indifferent to the disapproving stares.

  As a Ghost-type, it never cared about the opinions of others. Whether people called it heartless or cruel—why should it care?

  Sato smirked. Perhaps he had spent too much time basking in the fort of light, fetting that just beh it, darkness always lurked.

  In truth, Haunter's avaible moves were severely limited against Blissey. Toxid Curse were the only effective options.

  But against an oppohat could heal endlessly with moves like Softboiled and Refresh, Toxic was a joke. Curse was the only way to guarantee a swift end to the battle.

  Sato turned away, recalling Hauhe moment it returo its Poké Ball, the effects of Curse vanished, leaving Blissey with only minimal damage.

  Yet the audience didn't care about logic. Their emotions fred, and some even began pushing forward, hurling insults at Sato from the stands.

  Calmly, Sato took his seat among the top sixteen petitors, tuning out the enraged crowd.

  "Everyone, please calm down!" Nurse Joy's ed voice rang out.

  "My Blissey is fihis was just a normal Pokémon battle—Sato did nothing wrong. Please don't direct yer at him!"

  Her ear plea mao soothe the mob. A few people, upon realizing they had nearly harassed a child, felt a tinge of shame—but none of them apologized.

  Sato didn't hold it against Nurse Joy. In fact, he was grateful. She had unknowingly reminded him of something crucial.

  He had beeing pt tely. And pcy had no p his pns.