Pokémon: Above the Top

"Manaphy is in very good health. You've taken great care of it. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

After quickly finishing the check-up, Nurse Joy lowered her head, said this in one breath, and immediately turned and ran off without looking back… Chansey waddling after her.

"What did you do to her?" Joseph narrowed his eyes, giving Sato a meaningful look.

"What do you mean what did I do?" Sato frowned. Joseph was clearly hinting at something, but he couldn't figure out what.

"Now that Manaphy's fine, do we still need to stay in Pastoria City?" Meredith cut in with a tone-killer of a question, instantly dragging the atmosphere in the room into silence.

Sato glanced at Mark, who pretended not to hear anything, and let out a helpless sigh.

"I still have a task. I need a match with the Gym Leader of Pastoria Gym."

"Great! Manaphy hasn't seen a Pokémon battle yet. Let's bring it along, maybe it'll like it!"

Mark's convenient selective hearing made the couple twitch at the corners of their mouths in exasperation.

Unfortunately, the one Manaphy was connected to was Mark, and the one with the most strength and authority was Sato. The two of them, as "outsiders," had no choice but to go along with it.

Thanks to all the dawdling and playing around between Mark and Manaphy, Sato's "Gym Leader Qualification" match was pushed to the next day.

Everyone knew what Mark was doing, and since even Sato let it slide, no one else was in any position to stop it.

Thankfully, Mark hadn't completely lost his mind over Manaphy. Although he was still a little reluctant the next day, he obediently followed the group to Pastoria Gym.

Because Sato was in a hurry this time, and Joy hadn't publicly announced their arrival in Pastoria City; when they entered Pastoria Gym, they saw a routine Gym Challenge match already underway.

"QUAGSIREEEEEE, FINISH IT WITH ICE BEAAAAM!"

A shirtless muscle-bound man wearing a bizarre fish-fin-shaped headpiece was shouting energetically at his Quagsire.

Across from Quagsire, a trembling Grotle stood weakly on a platform, completely incapable of dodging the Ice Beam.

Soon, Grotle was defeated and recalled by its Trainer, and the match came to a hasty end.

"You five over there… ARE YOU HERE TO CHALLENGE THIS GREAT ME'S GYM?" The muscle man laughed heartily, clearly thrilled by his recent win.

…But as both sides drew closer, his laughter abruptly died. His eyes went wide as he pointed at Sato.

"Y-y-y-you…"

"Sato. Gym Inspector. Ready for battle." Sato cut him off directly, not in the mood to waste time.

"…Already? Why didn't this Crasher me get any notice?

…That's not fair!

…The other Gyms all got prep time, why didn't this Crasher me?

…This Crasher me just took over less than two months ago, what is there to assess?

…This Crasher me…"

Sato pressed his lips together, unable to find a single moment to interject.

Five minutes passed. The muscle man finally smacked his lips and, still brimming with pride, said, "What I said makes sense, right? You didn't even argue back. How about this… come back next week. By then I should be ready."

"What's your name?" Sato suddenly realized there were too many things he wanted to ask but hadn't even caught the guy's name yet.

"Oh oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm the new Gym Leader of Pastoria Gym… WAAAKE, got it!" The muscle man struck a hands-on-hips pose as he spoke, clearly thinking he was all that.

"Wake… got it?" Sato repeated.

"That's right!"

"Alright then, Wake Got It, I'm giving you ten minutes-"

"Uh, my name's not Wake Got It!"

"Then what is your name?" Sato frowned. Was this guy messing with him?

"I am… Wake, got it!" The muscle man struck the same pose again, without changing a thing.

"So, Wake Got It, you've got ten-"

"Aaaargh! I! AM! WAKE! GOT IT!" the muscle man screamed in frustration, saying each word one at a time.

Sato stood silently for a moment, then continued, "You have ten minutes to prepare. If you're not ready by then, your evaluation will be considered forfeited. Countdown starts now."

"Hey hey hey! Come on, big guy, I was wrong! I think we can talk about this!"

"Nine minutes 50… 49… 48… forty-"

"AAAARGH…"

And with that, the so-called Wake Got It- ugh, Wake, ran off screaming. Who knew if Sato had actually driven him insane.

Sato suddenly felt a little concerned. Would the match actually happen ten minutes from now?

Meanwhile, behind him, Joseph and the other three were laughing so hard they nearly fell over. Manaphy, sensing all the joy around it, became happy too, and in turn amplified everyone else's feelings.

So now everyone was experiencing double the joy and just couldn't hold it in anymore.

At that moment, Wake was on the verge of a breakdown. He had just finished the last match, and the arena was a complete mess.

His Pokémon hadn't fully recovered yet. How was he supposed to battle the infamous Gym Inspector Sato?

What he hadn't realized was… even if he had fully recovered, his chances of winning against Sato were still pretty close to zero.

----

Ten minutes later, Wake jogged breathlessly into the referee's box, drenched in sweat as he looked at Sato with a touch of resentment in his eyes.

"Let's begin," Sato said, pretending not to notice, and sent out a Pokémon that hadn't seen action in a long time… his golden Cacturne.

"Cac!"

Cacturne made a stylish entrance, its body gleaming like it had been cast in gold. There was no doubt its level had reached Peak Elite.

"Definitely not your average Trainer. Even a random Pokémon is Peak elite!" Wake gasped for air. "But… I don't think the referee has announced the rules yet?"

"Oh, go ahead then."

The referee, though clearly annoyed, raised his flag and began the announcement, "For this match-"

"Forget it, forget it! I'm too excited to wait! 3v3 Rotation Battle. My first one is Gyarados!"

Referee: I've got so many words I wanna scream right now!

"GYAA!"

Gyarados roared the moment it appeared, its aura flooding the field and pressing down on Cacturne.

Cacturne didn't visibly react, but Sato knew… it had already taken a hit to its attack power.

…Gyarados always made a dominant entrance.

"Battle start!" The referee squeezed his announcement in, trying desperately to assert his existence.

"Heh heh, my Gyarados totally counters your Cacturne. Maybe you should swap it out?"

"You'd better worry about yourself. One Gyarados isn't enough."

Referee: Seriously?! Didn't you guys want to start like five minutes ago?

"HERE IT COOOOMES! Gyarados, use Hydro Pump!"

"Charge in, Thunder Punch."

The barrel-sized Hydro Pump blasted straight toward Cacturne, but the moment it made contact… it was absorbed completely.

Hidden Ability: Water Absorb.

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150 PS=Chap