Very soon, Sato entered the largest building in the center of the base. Along the way, passersby greeted him of their own accord, and he politely returned every greeting. The atmosphere was remarkably harmonious.
Halfway there, he also "coincidentally" ran into Lucy, the medical Trainer.
Naturally, Pikachu was overjoyed upon seeing a pretty woman. He immediately leaped onto Lucy's shoulder, preparing to take advantage of his cute appearance to cop a feel.
Unfortunately for him, before he could succeed, a long tongue suddenly wrapped tightly around him and yanked the utterly lifeless-looking Pikachu back to Sato's side.
The one who acted was naturally Kecleon, perched on Sato's shoulder. At some point, Kecleon had become surprisingly responsible, repeatedly stopping Pikachu's recent attempts at harassment.
Pikachu, of course, was extremely unhappy about this and had initially tried to resist.
Unfortunately, Kecleon's methods against Pikachu were brutally effective. A single use of Role Play to copy Pikachu's Lightning Rod ability was enough to leave Pikachu dumbfounded.
Still, Pikachu refused to give up and tried using other moves to teach Kecleon a lesson.
But Kecleon was no longer what he used to be. Under Sato's constant guidance in stealth and ambush tactics, sneaky surprise attacks had become his combat instinct. He had completely transformed into an underhanded schemer of a Pokémon.
Meanwhile, once Pikachu lost his Electric-type moves—his greatest weapon—his combat power dropped sharply. Combined with his frail defenses, Kecleon quickly defeated him through stealth attacks.
After several failed struggles, Pikachu finally admitted that it currently had no way to deal with Kecleon and could only tearfully endure Kecleon's oppression.
Of course, Pikachu's nature was impossible to change. Every time he saw a beautiful woman, he still charged in enthusiastically, undeterred by repeated failures.
"Mr. Tyler, it's wonderful that you returned safely. While you were gone these past few days, I kept worrying something might've happened to you. But from the looks of it now, even the harsh desert environment couldn't stop your advance."
Seeing Pikachu dragged away by Kecleon, Lucy awkwardly smiled before calmly flattering Sato again.
Ever since that night, the green-haired beauty had frequently appeared around Sato, always acting caring and attentive. Privately, she had even sent him quite a few valuable gifts.
Naturally, Sato understood perfectly why Lucy was trying so hard to curry favor with him. Simply put, she wanted him to lend her a hand whenever danger arose during the ruins expedition.
Sato didn't think badly of this at all. Lucy possessed three healing Pokémon capable of using Healing Wish. Used properly, they were practically trump cards capable of turning a hopeless situation around.
A Psychic paired with a medical Trainer was a fairly complementary partnership. Of course, in the end, Lucy was still the one benefiting more.
There was nothing bad about someone currying favor with you—especially when it was a beautiful woman from an extremely prominent family. As a normal man, Sato naturally couldn't remain completely unmoved.
"Thank you for your concern. I gained quite a bit from this desert trip. By the way, Mr. Brandon is looking for me, so let's chat later when I have time."
Thus, on the surface, Sato still treated the opportunistic noblewoman as a friend and replied in a gentle tone.
"I see. Then I won't disturb you. See you later. Here, take this."
Hearing that Sato had important business—especially involving Brandon, the renowned Elite-Four level Trainer—Lucy immediately stopped pestering him. Smiling sweetly, she stepped aside and handed Sato several fresh dates.
Like most oases, date palms were common plants and also vital food sources in the desert. Their fruits were among the few true delicacies found there.
These bright red dates had clearly just been picked and washed. Sato didn't refuse. He tossed one into his mouth, and the moment he bit into it, sweet juice burst forth, bringing immediate satisfaction.
Pikachu and Kecleon also had strong sweet tooths. Before they even reached the center of the base, the three of them had already divided and eaten all the dates Lucy gave them.
"Mr. Tyler, please come in. Lord Brandon is currently in the main hall."
A young guard at the entrance enthusiastically stepped forward to greet Sato and informed him of Brandon's location.
Sato smiled and nodded in thanks. Secretly slipping a date into the guard's hand, he strode inside.
When Sato entered the hall, Brandon—the archaeology fanatic—was completely absorbed in studying a broken stone tablet fragment through a magnifying glass, utterly unaware of Sato's arrival.
Seeing this, Sato remained silent and patiently waited nearby for Brandon to finish.
At this moment, Brandon was not alone in the hall. Hughes, Kuroki Ryo, and an unfamiliar black-haired woman were also present. Like Sato, they all quietly stood aside without daring to interrupt Brandon's research.
Although Sato hadn't interacted with Brandon much, he had learned certain truths from those close to him.
Under normal circumstances, Brandon was gentle and polite. But if someone interrupted his research and broke his train of thought, he would erupt in fury—and might even get violent.
No matter what, Sato had no intention of courting death. After all, this was a ruthless man who could fight six Elite-Four level wild Pokémon alone and still retreat unharmed.
About fifteen minutes later, Brandon finally gave up after failing to reach any conclusions from the tablet fragment. With some regret, he put it down and stretched his stiff body before finally noticing Sato standing by the doorway.
"So you're finally back, Tyler. Well? Did you find Mirage Tower?"
Thanks largely to Sato turning the tide that night—and because Sato was humble and courteous—Brandon had an excellent impression of him. The moment he saw Sato, he immediately revealed a sincere smile and walked over warmly.
Seeing Brandon completely ignore the three people who had arrived first and instead warmly greet Sato, Hughes, Kuroki Ryo, and the black-haired woman all wore ugly expressions.
Inside, the three of them cursed furiously in rare unison, though none dared show the slightest dissatisfaction. Their faces were stiff as statues.
"Yes, Mr. Brandon. After wandering the desert for several days, I finally found Mirage Tower. I even met Miss Cynthia inside. Thanks to her generous explanation of the tower's secrets, I managed to gain quite a bit from it."
Sato likewise ignored the jealous gazes burning into him. Smiling broadly, he honestly answered Brandon's question.
Brandon's face immediately showed shock.
Clearly, this archaeology fanatic had never truly expected Sato to actually find Mirage Tower. His earlier question had merely been casual conversation.
Now, hearing that Sato had really found the tower—and had even encountered Cynthia and learned its secrets from her—he was genuinely astonished.
And Brandon wasn't the only one shocked.
Hughes, Kuroki Ryo, and the black-haired woman were equally stunned. Earlier, when Brandon asked Sato about Mirage Tower, all three had inwardly assumed Sato could never find it and had simply been waiting to laugh at him.
Yet not only had Sato found it, he had apparently met the goddess Cynthia there and gained tremendous benefits.
"Tch. Dumb luck."
For a moment, envy and resentment filled all three of them, their thoughts once again perfectly aligned.
"It seems you truly are a very lucky person. That cursed place moves around on its own. Without special methods, encountering it in the desert really does depend entirely on luck. Alright, enough about that. I called you here because I have something important I'd like to ask of you."
Brandon was an old fox. He quickly concealed his surprise, returning to his kind smile as he patted Sato's shoulder approvingly.
"Oh right—and you lot too."
Only then did he finally acknowledge Hughes and the others, speaking in a flat tone.
About five or six minutes later, Sato and the others walked out of the building together.
At this point, aside from Sato, the other three all looked rather displeased.
Among them, the hot-tempered Kuroki Ryo looked especially sour—as though everyone in the world owed him several million PokeDollars.