"Well then, the three of you, this is where we part ways. I wish you all success with your missions."
After arriving at the doorway, Sato cupped his hands toward Hughes and the others before waving goodbye.
Unfortunately, although Sato greeted them with a smile, among the three, only Hughes managed to squeeze out a reluctant smile in return. Neither Kuroki Ryo nor the black-haired woman gave Sato a pleasant expression. Both looked extremely displeased with him.
Sato didn't care much about that. After bidding them farewell, he strode off toward the oasis lakeside.
The missions Brandon assigned to the four of them were all different. In terms of difficulty, Sato's was the easiest, Hughes' came second, the black-haired woman's third, and Kuroki Ryo's was the hardest.
However, while the mission difficulties varied greatly, the rewards were roughly the same. Naturally, this caused the others to feel jealousy and resentment toward Sato.
Of course, Hughes and the others didn't dare show displeasure toward Brandon, nor could they refuse the missions he assigned. But venting their dissatisfaction toward Sato was still possible. Thus, all the negative emotions born from the situation were directed at the luckiest person present—Sato.
"Maybe this is one of the benefits of having high prestige."
Recalling Kuroki Ryo's face, dark as the bottom of a pot, Sato couldn't help but chuckle in amusement.
But soon, he thought of some unpleasant matters and sighed softly.
Truthfully speaking, Kuroki Ryo did possess real strength. After that night, the man had even come looking for him early in the morning to request a battle.
If Kuroki Ryo hadn't lacked a proper way to deal with Pikachu—allowing Pikachu to achieve a one-versus-three sweep—Sato estimated that the Pokémon he currently possessed under the identity of Tyler would have struggled to defeat him.
However, in Sato's eyes, Kuroki Ryo was an unqualified Trainer.
He treated Pokémon far too harshly. His training style resembled Paul's: even the slightest mistake from a Pokémon would earn it beatings and verbal abuse.
To that man, Pokémon seemed like nothing more than tools to achieve his goals—things that could be discarded at any time.
Without question, Brandon was a Trainer who genuinely loved Pokémon. He was clearly dissatisfied with the way Kuroki Ryo treated his Pokémon.
Sato guessed that the reason Brandon deliberately assigned Kuroki Ryo such a difficult and exhausting mission was to teach him a lesson—to make him realize his mistakes.
Every family has its own troubles, though, and Sato couldn't interfere too much. There were countless Trainers like Kuroki Ryo in this world. Only when they truly understood the bond between Trainers and Pokémon could they possibly change.
Thinking as he walked, it felt as though only a moment had passed before Sato arrived at the oasis lakeside.
As the source of life within the oasis, the lake was never lacking in living creatures. Although humans had occupied the oasis, countless creatures still risked everything to come here.
Perhaps the battle from that night had made the humans occupying the oasis clearly realize how insignificant they were. No one dared attack the wild Pokémon that came to drink at the lake anymore, fearing that another massive wild Pokémon assault might occur.
And wild Pokémon were very perceptive. Once they realized that the humans no longer held much hostility toward them, they quickly adapted to coexistence within the oasis.
When Sato arrived at the lakeside, a Camerupt herd had just appeared. Led by their Camerupt leader, the group moved to the opposite side of the lake to drink water while warily observing Sato and the others.
But newborn calves feared no tigers.
Some mischievous young Numel curiously stared at Sato and the other strange two-legged, sparsely-haired creatures. A few even deliberately approached them, tossing rocks and spitting sparks of fire.
Usually, those little troublemakers were quickly dragged away by their parents and harshly disciplined on the spot. Only when careless parents failed to notice did some of the troublemakers successfully approach Sato's group.
At this time, it was midday, and the blazing sun kept most people away from the lakeside. Sato, as a newly arrived human, immediately attracted the attention of several naughty Numel.
Among them, one particularly reckless young Numel with crafty, lively eyes stood out the most.
The moment it spotted Sato, it immediately used Rock Tomb to create a small pile of stones, then hurled them toward him.
As soon as it finished, it skillfully dove back into the herd and vanished among the Numel in the blink of an eye.
Sato's reflexes were excellent, but before he could even dodge, the Pikachu perched on his shoulder casually smashed every incoming stone apart with Iron Tail.
Afterward, Pikachu proudly lifted his little head, floated in midair, and shot a disdainful look toward the hidden Numel, even sticking out his tongue in a mocking face.
Although the troublemaker Numel had hidden itself, it had been secretly watching Sato's side the whole time. Pikachu's contemptuous gaze and mocking expression deeply wounded its childish pride.
"Numeeel~~!"
The young Numel immediately burst out from the herd again and angrily shouted at Pikachu in its childish voice, openly issuing a challenge.
Unfortunately, before Pikachu could accept what would undoubtedly have been a one-sided stomp, a Camerupt suddenly charged out from the herd and smacked the young Numel hard on the head with its foreleg.
The naughty Numel cried out miserably as a large red bump instantly swelled on its head.
Then it was dragged back into the herd by the Camerupt. Moments later, several more painful cries echoed out from within the group.
"Interesting. A Numel with the Own Tempo ability right from the start. Its aptitude is pretty good too. Unfortunately, I'm not a Fire-type specialist."
Watching the naughty Numel being dragged away for discipline, Sato smiled slightly before speaking with some regret.
Since most Numel possessed the Oblivious or Simple abilities, their personalities were generally rather slow and dull, making them difficult to train.
But Numel with the Own Tempo ability were completely different. They were highly intelligent and full of spirit, making them much easier for Trainers to work with. They also remained calm in critical situations, which was why Fire-type specialists loved this kind of Numel.
"Right, Flannery would probably love this little guy. I should send her a message."
Soon, Sato thought of the energetic Fire-type Trainer Flannery and casually sent her information about the naughty Numel.
What Sato never expected was that Flannery replied instantly—and even said she was coming over immediately.
"A Numel with incredible spirit? Waaah, I want it so badly! No, I can't keep soaking in the hot springs—I need to leave right now!"
Inside the outdoor hot spring of the Lavaridge Gym in Lavaridge Town, Flannery had been idly chatting with friends through her communicator. The moment she saw Sato's message, she could no longer sit still.
She immediately sprang out of the hot spring and rushed out in a flurry.
As the granddaughter of Hoenn's former Fire-type Elite Four member, Flannery naturally understood the significance of a highly spirited Numel.
When a hidden-ability Numel evolved into Camerupt, its ability would become Anger Point.
And her grandfather's former ace Pokémon had been a Camerupt capable of actively triggering its own Anger Point.