Pokémon: Above the Top

"Underestimate me, and the match ends right here."

Sato didn't give his opponent any breathing room, and Gengar began firing off a wild volley of Thunderbolt attacks at Pidgeot.

"Pidgeot, Tailwind!"

"Gengar, Snatch."

Pidgeot had used Mirror Move to return the Psychic back at Gengar, using the opportunity to break free from its control.

…But just as it flapped its wings and boosted both itself and its Trainer's speed, the effect disappeared in a flash.

'What the heck!?' Pidgeot's morale took a hit.

Meanwhile, Gengar and Sato's speed shot up, the effect of Tailwind had been stolen, and they were loving it.

"Psychic support." Sato charged forward again, continuing the direct clash with Jon.

Jon flailed to block Sato's attacks, his shock quickly turning to disbelief, and then to sheer frustration.

…Was this kid fighting him even human? Strength, speed, even hand-to-hand combat ability. He wasn't lacking in any area.

'…Was he really still a child?'

And to top it off, he was having Gengar use Psychic to keep Jon locked down so he couldn't even move.

This was just unfair!

"Pidgeot, Brave Bird support!" Jon gave up on expectations, he just wanted to hold out a little longer.

"Pidg!"

Pidgeot let out a high-pitched cry, its body flaring up with flames, then turning blue-hot as it rocketed toward Sato.

One side had Psychic locking him down, the other had Brave Bird charging in.

It looked like Pidgeot had the upper hand, but Jon had ordered his Pokémon to target the opposing Trainer, trying to force a reversal.

That, however, put him at a disadvantage.

"Gengar, Substitute."

Sato frowned. Going up against a Pokémon head-on had its limits, and Brave Bird wasn't something he could take or dodge directly.

"Geng~"

Gengar wasn't far from Sato. It slid forward and got between them with a simple motion.

Then it plunged its hands into its belly, and in a blink, pulled out a Gengar doll and placed it in front of itself.

The next second, Brave Bird struck, slamming into the Substitute. A mysterious energy spread from the doll, completely absorbing the blow before fading away.

"Pidgeot, Air Slash!"

"Gengar, Disable."

Jon kept pressing forward, refusing to give in, but Gengar's Ghost-type control moves had Pidgeot tied up completely.

What Air Slash? Nothing came out…

"It's over, Psychic!"

Sato once again drove Jon back. At the same time, Gengar's Psychic finally landed directly on Jon.

Frozen in place, Jon was just a helpless Mareep waiting to be taken.

"I lost…" Jon smiled bitterly as he lowered his fists. He hadn't expected to actually lose to a kid.

But what he still couldn't understand was: how did Sato's physical strength surpass his own?

'He hadn't even finished growing. How could he possibly be this strong?'

This wasn't logical!

The crowd around the battlefield fell into silence. These were elite members of the League's combat units, yet their Captain had just been defeated in a straight-up fight by Sato.

It was surreal.

"Captain, were you holding back?" one Trainer asked in all seriousness… only to get smacked on the head by Jon.

"Do I look like someone who holds back? And why would I lose on purpose?"

Jon Rivers was thoroughly frustrated. Losing the match wasn't even the worst part, he still had to emphasize that he hadn't held back, that he'd been defeated fair and square.

If rumors started going around that the assessment officer had gone easy on the Gym Leader in battle… even if it wasn't part of the official assessment, it would raise a lot of eyebrows.

'Arceus, please take these pig teammates from me!' Jon thought to himself, having already made up his mind.

"I don't think I was in top form today. For the sake of our team's dignity, I hope one of you can step up and challenge Sato again!" Jon declared righteously.

"Captain, I'll do it!" the blockheaded Trainer raised his hand without hesitation.

Jon rubbed the red mark he had smacked onto that guy's head earlier and decided he'd definitely take good care of him in the future.

---

Five minutes later, the blockhead lost!

Half an hour later, Sato had defeated four more in a row.

Jon immediately decided to take his squad back to the Pokémon Center to sleep.

Outdoor barbecue? Sorry, my bad. Never eating again!

The night passed without further events.

Following the duties of a good host, Sato went to the Pokémon Center early the next morning with Joseph and Mark, intending to give "Big Bro" Jon a little tour of Shadownight Town.

"Jon and the others already left. You're all up so early," said Nurse Joy.

Sato looked at the clock. It was only 6:30.

"…Why leave in such a hurry? It's not like we'd bite you…" Sato muttered to himself with a pout.

"Did you need something? Is it about yesterday's year-end assessment…?" Nurse Joy asked, concerned after seeing Sato lower his head.

"It's fine now. Thank you, Miss Joy~" Sato immediately looked up, switching expressions and replying "sweetly".

"If anything comes up, just ask me for help, okay? Don't be shy." The word "miss~" and tone melted Joy instantly, and her smile became noticeably more genuine.

"I will!"

---

The three strolled leisurely back toward the Gym, and along the way, Sato speculated about why Jon had left so early.

In response, he got two epic eye rolls.

Back at the Gym, Sato noticed something odd… aside from Mark and Joseph, everyone else looked at him with a hint of… 'Fear?' Thinking back on what had happened last night, Sato gradually realized what they were afraid of.

But at the same time, Sato also realized what kind of training the Gym was still lacking.

"Mark, gather everyone at the training grounds in five minutes!" Sato ordered. Mark could only grumble and run the errand.

At the training grounds, Sato walked past Sina and the others one by one, noticing how much more obedient they'd become… no one even dared meet his eyes anymore.

"Yesterday, I had several 'primitive' battles with Jon and his people. These kinds of battles don't appear in Gym Challenges. However, they're very common in the wild, especially when facing underground forces. Targeting the Trainer becomes the most effective way to win.

As registered Trainers of the Gym, we might someday have to face attacks from underground factions head-on. So primitive battle training must now be part of our routine.

Yes, starting today, I'm going to teach you the methods and techniques of primitive combat.

I don't expect you to keep a straight face while knocking out an enemy… but at the very least, you must overcome the psychological barrier of commanding your Pokémon to attack a Trainer."

After Sato finished speaking, the group's reactions varied, but no one objected. In fact, in Sina's eyes, Sato saw a glimmer of excitement.

"Then… LET'S BEGIN!" Sato shouted, feeling genuinely excited by this brand-new regimen.

.

.

.

1 5 0 P W = E X T R A C H A P