Charles Goodshow's question made Sato tense up for a moment, but he quickly composed himself.
Thinking back on how Myron hadn't hidden anything during his report, it wasn't surprising that such a question would come up.
Sato looked at Goodshow's smiling face and finally nodded slowly. " I used some tactics. I didn't defeat him head-on."
"Hiss!"
Myron couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. He already held Sato in high regard, but he hadn't expected him to be this insane.
As for that "some tactics" part, Myron instinctively believed it was Sato being modest. Try giving those "tactics" to someone else and see if they'd work?
'…Wait a minute!'
Wasn't Shaka one of the Johto League's Elite Four?!
It was like a thunderclap in his ears. Myron's brain buzzed, as if it had crashed and wouldn't restart.
At that moment, Sato began selectively recounting the details of his clash with Shaka.
"And that's how it happened. Shaka, unwilling to let go of his pride as an Elite Four, ended up getting ambushed by my Gengar…"
After Sato finished speaking, Myron stood to the side, afraid to say even one word. Even Goodshow remained silent for quite a while.
[Shaka… the road he chose has grown narrow.]
And just like that, the report was over. Until the end, Charles Goodshow never asked whether Shaka was still alive or had escaped, and Sato naturally said nothing more.
Myron's respect for Sato had now shifted to include a bit of fear, earned entirely through Sato's strength.
Soon, Sato reunited with Joseph. After a brief farewell to Myron, they left Olivine City directly.
When many people tried to thank them in person, they were told the two had already left.
Only then did they realize: these two weren't from Olivine City. Sato was the Gym Leader of Shadownight Town.
And strangely, they found themselves… a little envious of the people in Shadownight Town.
---
At that moment, Sato and Joseph returned to a tree hollow in the forest west of Olivine City, the place where they had hidden the Elite Four, Shaka.
Shaka wasn't a Psychic user like Ariana, so even Gengar's Hypnosis wasn't something he could easily break free from.
"Ralts."
"I know, I know… leave it to me."
Ralts jumped down from Sato's shoulder, pattered over to the still-unconscious Shaka, and pulled out the Nightmare Orb again.
"TOTO, I'M STARTING NOW!" Ralts mentally shouted loudly, as if trying to psych herself up.
"If you're not confident, you can let 'Gardevoir' do it," Sato said honestly.
"Hmph! Who says I'm not?!" Ralts snapped back, but after a brief hesitation… it chose to evolve.
Even so, it only evolved into Kirlia and then stopped.
Kirlia tossed the Nightmare Orb, and it floated midair between it and Shaka.
Immediately after, Kirlia, the Nightmare Orb, and Elite Four Shaka all began to glow with a purplish-black light.
The Nightmare Orb flickered non-stop, and one shadow after another leapt out from it, diving straight into Shaka's mind.
More than half an hour passed before Kirlia finally opened her eyes. She looked a bit tired as she retrieved the Nightmare Orb and quickly reverted back into Ralts.
"It's done. I'm gonna nap now…"
Sato gently picked Ralts up and held her in his arms. He nodded to Joseph, then tidied up the binding marks on Shaka's body before silently leaving the hollow.
About half an hour later, Shaka slowly opened his eyes, but a surge of intense pain shot through his brain, making him clutch his head and scream in agony.
A few minutes later, Shaka sat back up again. A flicker of confusion flashed in his eyes, but then he seemed to recall something. His face instantly changed, and he bolted from the tree hollow as if running for his life.
In a nearby tree, Sato and Joseph hid behind Gengar's Spatial Barrier, silently watching as Shaka fled in a panic.
"Looks like it worked…?" Joseph asked, not entirely sure.
"We'll follow a bit more. If he leaves Olivine City without heading back in, then it worked," Sato said confidently, then gestured for Gengar to follow along.
Seeing Shaka pass right by the border of Olivine City without even looking back, both Sato and Joseph finally let out a breath of relief.
At that moment, Ralts slowly woke up. Its first words were:
"…Didn't you see who handled it? o(^｀)o"
"Hmm… to think Kirlia could pull that off so well. Not bad~"
Ralts: !!!
Because of her different forms, Ralts's personality shifted in subtle ways.
But it wasn't split personality, more like one person with three different masks: tsundere, gentle, and queen-like. She was all of them.
As for what exactly happened to Shaka, it was that Ralts had used the power of the Nightmare Orb to directly alter his memories.
Or rather, it created an extremely vivid nightmare to overwrite every memory he had of interacting with Sato, including the fact that he knew Joseph possessed Viridian Power.
In the nightmare, the person Shaka met at the lakeside wasn't Sato at all, but a mysterious "master" wearing a smiling mask.
That master's hometown was Olivine City. Enraged by Shaka's failure to provide timely aid, which led to the city's heavy damage, the man launched a brutal assault.
Naturally, Shaka had no chance of fighting back and was defeated. Though he barely escaped, he ultimately collapsed in exhaustion and took shelter in the tree hollow.
Truthfully, the nightmare had many inconsistencies that wouldn't hold up to close scrutiny. But since Claydol and Donphan had indeed suffered serious injuries, and the nightmare was laced with powerful fear, Shaka didn't dare revisit the memories too often.
After all, what kind of person questions their own memories?
And most importantly, Claydol and Donphan couldn't speak. Not every Trainer had the ability to fully communicate with their Pokémon or even the Hidden Ability, Telepathy.
Especially not in a situation this complicated.
---
At dawn, the crimson sun rose from the far side of the Forest of Shadows. Sato and Joseph had traveled through the forest overnight and arrived back in Shadownight Town just as morning broke.
As the sun rose, Shadownight Town gradually came to life. One by one, breakfast stalls formed short queues.
Adults went to work, children headed to school, and the elderly gathered at the market to begin their daily bargaining routines.
It was just another ordinary morning, but it made Joseph feel a wave of emotion.
A peaceful life… was the hardest to come by!
Sato, on the other hand, had experienced much more. He'd already felt all the emotions he needed to. Right now, he just wanted a warm meal.
"Kroow!"
A not-so-pleasant caw echoed from above. It was Sato's Honchkrow, who had received word from its kin and knew they had returned.
"Hey! Leader Sato's back!"
"Morning, Leader Sato!"
"WOW~ What a huge Honchkrow!"
Honchkrow's call drew plenty of attention, and it didn't take long for people to spot the travel-worn Sato and Joseph. Many of the town's elders warmly greeted them.
"Morning, Yuna-san!"
"Morning, Jun…"
"…"
Amidst the greetings, Sato and Joseph both slowly made their way back to the Gym.