Pokémon: Above the Top

"Gengar, go find Joseph and bring him here. Zoroark, we're going to help Mark."

"Gen~"

"Zoro!"

Gengar dove straight into the floor and vanished, while Zoroark took Sato and quickly caught up with Mark.

"Ralts, lock on to the target."

"Locked, but the target is moving too fast. At our current pace, we might not catch up," Ralts dutifully reported while serving as the scout.

In less than a minute, the blue-haired man, Mark, and Sato all burst out of the hotel and the coastal chase began.

"Mark, use Togekiss!" Sato finally caught up and immediately reminded him.

"Right… Togekiss! Its on you!"

"Murkrow, Tailwind."

With Tailwind from Murkrow, Togekiss and Mark shot forward like bullets, disappearing from Sato's sight in the blink of an eye.

"Weavile, Murkrow, go support them. Sharpedo, you're up next, carry me. Zoroark, return for now."

Sato fired off a string of commands. He hadn't been able to fight properly at the hotel, but now it was time to find out who their opponent really was.

"Sha!"

Even if Murkrow had evolved into Honchkrow and could carry Sato in flight, when it came to raw speed, it was still no match for Sharpedo.

With Aqua Jet and the Speed Boost ability, when it came to chasing someone, Sato feared no one!

"Sato, they've changed direction, heading left." Ralts reported the update on the enemy's movements in real time. The more they zigzagged, the better it was for Sato to catch them.

A fierce wind howled past Sato's ears, yet not a single strand of his hair was out of place. Clearly, Ralts was maintaining his style while helping him out just a little.

Stronger than any hair gel or wax! (#NoAdBro)

Before long, Sato caught up to Mark and gradually overtook Togekiss, closing the distance toward the blue-haired man.

"Boss… I'M COUNTING ON YOU!"

Mark's eyes were red, and the wind rushing into his mouth made it hard to breathe, but he still used all his strength to shout.

Sato gave him a thumbs-up over his shoulder, then focused all his attention on the chase.

At the same time, Sato finally identified the Pokémon their opponent was using.

A massive Crobat!

…And when Sato saw the blue-haired man, the man also noticed him.

There was no need to guess, he was definitely shocked.

'…How could a fish possibly fly this fast?' It was nearly catching up to his Crobat!

"Boosted your speed? Useless~"

Crobat had accelerated a bit more on top of its original speed, but all that did was delay Sharpedo for a few extra seconds.

Bit by bit, Sato closed in. The blue-haired man kept glancing back, and there was clear unease and shock in his eyes.

'What the hell kind of shark is this?'

"Magnezone, Thunderbolt!"

The blue-haired man sent out an Electric-type Pokémon mid-air, clearly trying to intercept Sato and stop the chase.

But Sharpedo easily pulled a backflip, leaving Magnezone so far behind it vanished from view.

Sato almost laughed aloud. At this speed, sending out a slow Magnezone… was he trying to be funny?

But very quickly, Sato's expression turned serious again, because the blue-haired man was now within reach.

"Ralts, Confusion."

In the end, Sato still had Ralts step in. A seemingly ordinary Confusion directly knocked Crobat out from under the blue-haired man.

The man tumbled through the air, and in a moment of desperation, sent out Probopass, using Magnet Rise to catch himself.

…But being caught by a Rock-type Pokémon meant his entire body took a hit, there wasn't a single part left unbruised.

"Sharpedo, Hydro Pump."

Riding on Sharpedo's back, Sato caught up and gave the command without hesitation.

The Hydro Pump roared forward, and the blue-haired man could only cower behind Probopass, looking absolutely miserable.

"Hand over the Pokémon Egg!" Sato looked down from above, eyes locked on the blue-haired man, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.

"Hmph! You don't even know the Prince of the Sea and dared to treat it like an ordinary Pokémon Egg… you're not worthy of such a treasure!"

The cold, hoarse voice tinged with a hint of madness made Sato lose all desire to speak.

"Ralts, search him!"

"Raa~"

Blue light covered Ralts as it activated its Psychic powers on the blue-haired man.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOOOING!" The man shouted in fury, clearly shocked by Ralts's control and struggling wildly.

Probopass tried to save its Trainer, but it quickly realized it couldn't move either.

"Krow!"

A figure quickly approached Sato.

It was Murkrow and Weavile.

They both tilted their heads quietly, watching how the "long-dormant queen" handled an enemy.

Rip!

Oh… his shirt tore.

Rip!

Tch… now his pants ripped too!

Riiiip~

Ah, finally the spatial backpack was torn open, and a bunch of items spilled out with a whoosh, including Mark's mysterious "Pokémon Egg".

Sato twitched at the corner of his mouth but said nothing. Honestly, a Pokémon Egg can only be stored in a spatial backpack, right?

What, did he think he could keep it in his pocket?

Sato didn't speak and also resisted the urge to give the man a pitying look.

"No… DON'T!"

A hoarse and desperate scream rang out. Sato realized Ralts had also yanked off the man's mask.

"Hmm?"

Sato blinked. When he saw the man's face, he felt a strange sense of unreality.

Could someone please explain why Cyrus, the future leader of Sinnoh's largest underground organization -Team Galactic- was attacking them in the middle of the night?

"You recognize me?"

Still masked, Cyrus had carried a heavy burden. But once it was removed, he seemed oddly at peace.

'Yes… I was always destined to be the enemy of the world. What difference does it make if it happens sooner or later?'

If Sato knew what Cyrus was thinking right now, he'd only offer two words:

'Complete

Lunatic.'

"Nope. Why are you attacking us? I haven't 'wronged' anyone in Sinnoh, have I?"

Of course Sato wasn't going to admit anything… there was no way to explain it.

Based on the information he'd collected about Team Galactic in his past life, he only knew that this group's leader -Cyrus- was an absolute fanatic.

He dreamed of destroying the current world and creating a personal utopia.

He even reached toward the Legendary Pokémon that governed time and space, planning to use their power to remake reality.

Of course, in the end, it all came crashing down. He became a public enemy, and every last plan failed. His future turned tragic.

…But right now, all Sato could sense from him was overwhelming chūnibyō.

A deep. Incurable. Case of chūnibyō!