Pokémon: Above the Top

Since Shadownight Gym recruited ten new trainees, the backyard training grounds had never quieted down again.

After over half a year of training, Ponyo and Sosuke had rapidly grown in both strength and experience. Assisting Sato and Joseph in teaching the new trainees posed no problem at all.

So even though the number of people had increased, the Gym members still handled everything with ease, and their own training wasn't affected.

For Ponyo and Sosuke, the process of becoming "teaching assistants" was also a way to consolidate and internalize the knowledge they had learned, organizing it and passing it on to the newcomers. It was its own valuable form of training.

One day, Sato didn't show up at the training grounds, which made the newly joined trainees secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Maybe Sato's reputation was too intimidating, always keeping them in a state of awe, or maybe they were just afraid of angering the Gym Leader and getting kicked out.

…That would be incredibly embarrassing.

Ponyo and Sosuke oversaw their training and could clearly sense the subtle shift in their attitudes and expressions. They exchanged glances and chuckled quietly.

Not long ago, they had been in the same position. Actually, in the beginning, they had been even more nervous than these new kids.

The siblings and Akira had all joined the Gym earlier. Each already had a Pokémon and had even shown outstanding potential in one way or another.

But as for Ponyo and Sosuke, it was obvious they were chosen because the Gym Leader wanted to support the two villages; hand-picked from the bunch just to be trained.

Sato had never tried to hide this, and although the two felt a tinge of discouragement, it only fueled their determination.

From the day they joined the Gym, they had been striving desperately to grow stronger, completing their daily training with extra effort and intensity.

Compared to Sina and the others, they often seemed less impressive. But what they gained was real skill, plain and simple.

---

At this moment, Sato wasn't at the training grounds teaching, nor was he in the front yard accepting challenges. He had instead gone to the Forest of Shadows, bringing Murkrow along to continue its irregular "challenge" journey.

This time, Murkrow had its eye on the leader of the Pidgeotto flock, a Pidgeot that had just evolved.

Sato didn't comment on it. After all, he had already noticed that Murkrow liked flirting with danger. Every opponent it chose to fight just happened to be a natural counter to it.

Even though this Pidgeot had just evolved, it was already twice Murkrow's size. In stamina, speed, attack, and defense… it had the advantage in nearly every aspect.

It was practically asking for trouble.

Soon, Sato rode on Houndoom and followed Murkrow to the Pidgeotto flock's territory.

The sudden arrival of uninvited guests made the Pidgeotto group restless. But when they saw the "extra-large" Murkrow among them, they immediately understood.

Someone came to fight!

Very quickly, Pidgeot dove down and landed in front of Sato, calmly grooming its sleek crest feathers before casting a sidelong glance at Murkrow.

Without another word, Murkrow and Pidgeot flapped their wings and took to the sky simultaneously, signaling the start of the battle.

Sato recalled Houndoom, then quickly leapt up the tallest tree nearby, otherwise, he wouldn't even have the chance to issue commands.

As the battle began, Murkrow recklessly tried to match Pidgeot in brute force.

By the time Sato had found his footing in the tree, the two had already exchanged multiple Wing Attacks.

Unfortunately, while Murkrow's raw strength wasn't far behind, its stamina and overall physical conditioning couldn't keep up. From the start, it had been forced to strike and retreat repeatedly.

"Stop clashing, use Tailwind!"

Sato gave the command helplessly, trying to get Murkrow to back off and reset its stance.

Pidgeot let out a proud cry, not pursuing the attack. It circled in the air, staring at Murkrow with an expression that said, 'I'm letting you off easy.'

"Murkrow, circle in and use Thunder Wave!"

"Krow~"

Murkrow nodded quickly, eagerly circling closer to Pidgeot. Thunder Wave was the move it had painstakingly copied during its second battle against Ampharos. It was the perfect choice against Pidgeot.

Pidgeot looked at Murkrow approaching with apparent disdain, but internally it was on full alert.

Murkrow had a notorious reputation among bird Pokémon: always playing dirty, ambushing others.

If it weren't for the fact that this Murkrow was the child of the Forest of Shadows' Totem, Honchkrow, Pidgeot would've already called in its entire flock to peck every last feather off its body.

And just like that, in a brief moment of distraction, Pidgeot realized Murkrow was now less than two meters away. It flapped its wings to pull back, only to notice faint currents flickering in the air.

'…Electricity?'

Even if weak, it was still electricity. Pidgeot jolted and was hit directly by Thunder Wave.

"Pidg!"

Pidgeot shrieked in frustration. Its trembling body filled it with dread!

…Was its crest feather still perfectly smooth?

Was it frizzed!!?

Oh no…

Unforgivable!

Pidgeot flailed its wings wildly, scattering feathers in every direction. Murkrow's speed boost from Tailwind was instantly canceled by Feather Dance.

And hidden among the falling feathers, Pidgeot secretly repositioned itself, launching a devastating Hyper Beam from Murkrow's blind spot.

"PROTECT!"

Sato's urgent command came through. Without thinking, Murkrow instantly raised a Protect barrier, just in time for Hyper Beam to crash into it, exploding violently!

"Murkrow, Air Cutter!"

"Kroow! Krow!"

Murkrow's startled and angry cries came from within the smoke. It hadn't expected Pidgeot to throw out a finisher move so early in the fight.

Air Cutter sliced through the thick smoke, whooshing as it struck the now-paralyzed and stiff Pidgeot.

In a flash, Pidgeot lost another massive chunk of feathers.

…Even its long, elegant crest feather wasn't spared. A third of it was cleanly sliced off by Murkrow.

"PIIIIIIID~!"

A wretched cry echoed through the Forest of Shadows, enough to sadden all who heard it.

Pidgeot had completely lost the will to fight. It began circling downward, trying to retrieve its fallen crest feather, but the paralysis made it miss again and again.

After several failed attempts, Pidgeot finally managed to grab a corner of the feather with its claw. The struggle was so intense that even Sato held his breath while watching.

…But then, a sudden strong gust blew in from the north, and with a loud whoosh, the feather was swept far away. Pidgeot stared blankly at the drifting feather, looking so wronged it almost cried on the spot.

"…Fog?"

Sato muttered to himself. In the blink of an eye, a thick white fog had spread all around them.

"Krow!"

Murkrow ignored Pidgeot and quickly flew back to Sato's side, equally puzzled as it scanned their surroundings.

Whooshhhhh~

Another powerful wind blew. Sato smoothed down his wind-blown sleeve and looked around, only to spot a dark silhouette slowly emerging from the mist.

Sato locked eyes on the figure, Poké Ball enlarged in his hand, ready to throw and send out Zoroark at any moment.

But the shadow continued to approach, step by step, unfazed.

Only when the figure was fully revealed did Sato quietly let out a breath of relief.

"So you've finally arrived… Suicune!"