Pokémon: Above the Top

The primitive battle training was in full swing, but after a period of time, Sato realized the results were mediocre at best.

Aside from Sina, who had previous experience as an Adventurer and adapted quickly, the others still couldn't move freely, nor did they have a strong enough sense of urgency.

"…Is this the weakness of academy-type Trainers…?" Sato muttered to Joseph beside the training grounds.

"Pretty much," Joseph nodded. Although Shadownight Gym wasn't a "school", except for Sina, none of them had traveled outside before. They lacked experience.

"Watching them made me realize just how important a spontaneous journey really is," Sato remarked softly.

"Made up your mind? Planning something?" Joseph raised an eyebrow, asking with interest.

"Not me. I'll let them take turns going out to try it. After all, they're part of our Gym. They definitely won't be worse than anyone else."

With just a few exchanged words, Sato and Joseph finalized the future growth plan for Sina and the other four.

But before that, the new year quietly arrived.

This was the second new year in this life for Sato, and compared to the previous one, he now had many more friends by his side.

Sato generously gave everyone in the Gym a half-month holiday. The Gym also closed its doors for business to celebrate the new year.

Akira, Sosuke, and Ponyo had already returned to their own homes and wouldn't be back until after the holiday.

Joseph, Mark, Amber, Trish, the Sina siblings, and Mark's parents who had been invited over… all planned to spend the new year together in the Gym's backyard.

Looking at this lively and bustling big family, Sato felt full inside… and a bit choked up.

On the other side, the Pokémon were also letting loose. Some were play/fighting, some basking in the sun, and others snacking away.

They just did whatever made them feel good, and Sato and the others served them attentively. As long as no one started fighting for real, everything was fine.

If in this life Sato had still chosen to stay in the Ghost Ship Organization, maybe with his foreknowledge he could have quickly risen to a high position.

…But he would have never been able to, like now, sit comfortably with a group of friends who felt like family, spending the new year together.

Moreover, Sato not only reunited with his partners from his past life, he had also caught many new Pokémon.

He even founded Shadownight Gym and now had a small territory of his own.

During this time, Sato was constantly answering "New Year" calls from friends in various regions, and he also made calls to several "elders" to send his greetings.

Although it was a bit tedious… Sato genuinely enjoyed it.

He was truly grateful that when given a second chance, he chose to walk under the sunlight.

---

In the new year, Sina, Sia, and Akira each set off on journeys to the Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions respectively, preparing to participate in the local Pokémon League tournaments and beginning their own paths of training.

When Sia proposed traveling alone, Sato and the others were surprised, but they also knew she was a girl with a gentle exterior and a strong core, so they didn't try to talk her out of it.

But the Gym couldn't afford to have too many people leave at once, so Ponyo and Sosuke stayed behind to hold the fort, while also assisting Mark and Joseph in officially launching the "Shadownight Gym trainee recruitment program".

For a while, everyone in Shadownight Town and the two nearby villages got super excited… way more excited than they had been during the New Year festivities.

Because the growth of the five youths had been plain to see. And when word spread that Gym Leader Sato had officially approved their journeys for training, the wave of interest in signing up exploded.

Even people from nearby Ecruteak City and Olivine City started asking whether Shadownight Gym accepted non-locals.

"No, no, absolutely not. We only have a few slots, and we can't even meet the demand from our own Shadownight Town locals. What business is it of you outsiders!"

There was a time when the people of Shadownight Town were seen as nothing more than country bumpkins by the "folks" in those two big cities.

Now, they finally had their moment to hold their heads high.

As a result, the people of Shadownight became even more sensitive. If they found out which household leaked the news outside, they might end up with rocks through their windows that very night.

Seeing things spiraling out of control, Sato had no choice but to begin recruitment early after the mayor pleaded with him. Then, the application forms came flying in like snowflakes.

"Did we not write the requirements clearly? How did someone register a six year old kid?"

Joseph pulled out an application form and tossed it into a different folder.

"I've got a guy here in his thirties. Tsk tsk, wouldn't it be more reliable to go home and have a kid at this point!?" Mark shouted dramatically, tossing out his own stack of unqualified forms.

"Send out a notice later. We'll let the earlier ones slide, but from now on, if anyone submits an obviously unqualified form, even if their kid meets the requirements someday, they won't get in."

Sato stated this bluntly, and the effect was immediate. Joseph and the others suddenly saw their workload drop drastically.

…Although there really shouldn't have been this much form screening in the first place.

In truth, the requirements for applying were only two: being a local from Shadownight Town or the two villages, and being between nine and ten years old. That was it.

After that, Joseph, Mark, and the others would visit the applicants' homes one by one with Sato's Pokémon, observing and taking notes for the first round of selection.

Following that, Sato invited the preliminarily qualified children to the Gym for a three-day closed training and assessment. Based on their overall performance, the final slots were selected.

This time, Sato and the others chose ten kids. The quota remained the same: two from Shadow Water Village, two from Shadowgrass Village, and six from Shadownight Town, including one from the orphanage.

Of course, this group of kids wouldn't be as lucky as Sina and the others. Even if they reached a certain level of ability, they wouldn't necessarily become officially registered Trainers of the Gym.

After all, official Trainer slots were limited, but the knowledge they'd receive at the Gym would be just as complete.

At the same time, upon Amber's reminder, Sato decided that from this recruitment onward, all trainees would be required to pay tuition.

The fee wasn't high, but it was meant to show everyone that this wasn't a charity program. The Gym had no obligation to train people for free.

Give and take.

Only when something costs something is it truly valued.

And if someone didn't have the ability to pay right away, it didn't matter. Once they could earn money on their own in the future, paying it back wouldn't be too late.

From Sato and the others' perspective, the significance of charging tuition was more symbolic than practical.

As expected, the residents of Shadownight Town remained enthusiastic about the trainee recruitment program. After all, the fees charged by the Gym really weren't high.

In fact, from their point of view, paying money meant the Gym would care even more about their children.

At the root of it, it was the incredible growth of the five original trainees over the past half year that left everyone envious.

With such a great start, the locals placed complete trust and support in any policy from Shadownight Gym.

With new blood injected into the Gym, training, teaching, taking on challenges… everyone got busy once again. The atmosphere was vibrant, full of energy.

…And at the outer edge of the Forest of Shadows near Olivine City, a graceful blue Pokémon gazed toward Shadownight Town, a gleam flashing in its amber eyes.