Saffron City is located in the central part of the Kanto region. With its convenient transportation links connecting Cerulean City, Vermilion City, Celadon City, and Lavender Town, it is the most prosperous city in Kanto. Many large corporations have established their headquarters here.
Aomori arrived in Saffron City that afternoon, before the sun had fully set, after a flight aboard his Pidgeot-plane.
He didn't rush to the Gym. Instead, he found the most popular barbecue restaurant near Sabrina's Saffron Gym to eat dinner.
This restaurant allowed Pokémon to sit and eat with their Trainers, so Aomori released Absol and Pidgeot. He inquired about Darkrai, but since it didn't care for this kind of food, he told it to stay put in his shadow.
The mighty Pidgeot and the handsome Absol attracted the attention of many customers, but the most striking presence was Aomori himself.
After consuming over a hundred plates of barbecue, Aomori found himself short on cash. While paying, he asked the owner, "I'm a Trainer preparing to challenge the Saffron Gym. Boss, do you know anything about it?"
For the sake of the money he'd just received, the owner spoke frankly: "Young man, I advise you not to challenge it."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Because the Gym Leader, Sabrina-san, is moody. When she's in a good mood, it's fine—you lose and leave. But when she's in a bad mood, you might be turned into a doll to play with her for a month or two before she lets you go." The boss lowered his voice towards the end.
"Turned into a doll?"
"Yes. Sabrina-san is one of the world's foremost Psychic Masters. Turning a person into a doll is easy for her."
"Don't Officer Jenny or the others intervene?"
"Intervene? How would they dare? Besides, Sabrina-san has the challenger sign an agreement before the match that states the loser will be turned into a doll. If both parties consent, they can't do anything about it."
"In that case, it's simple. I just won't lose."
"Heh heh. I'm not boasting, but you can ask around elsewhere. Since Sabrina-san became the Gym Leader, has any challenger ever won? Alas, after word of Sabrina-san's strange habit got out, few people dare to challenge the Saffron Gym anymore. Even business here has suffered quite a bit."
"I think I can do it."
"Heh heh." The boss smiled without saying anything, clearly regarding Aomori as a reckless, fearless novice who didn't know what he was getting into, and he couldn't be bothered to offer any more advice.
"Thanks!" Aomori thanked the boss and walked out of the restaurant.
The owner's words were similar to the information provided by Kayaba Akihiko, but that wasn't his main goal. Now that the bait had been cast, all that remained was to wait for the fish to bite.
Night had already fallen. The Saffron Gym was likely closed, so Aomori found an empty lot nearby and had Absol and Pidgeot begin a sparring session. He sat on a chair, preparing for the bitter battle ahead.
In the Pokémon world, there are many wondrous powers that humans can acquire. Besides the less-known Aura, Indigo Plateau Power, and the power of the space-time continuum, the most common is the Psychic power wielded by Sabrina.
In the original story, Sabrina's Psychic powers were quite outrageous. Beyond the common Teleportation, Telepathy, controlling objects, and turning people into dolls mentioned by the boss, she could also empower her own Pokémon, making them much stronger.
Crucially, Aomori didn't know if he could resist Sabrina's doll-transformation ability. If he couldn't, it would be an instant-kill upon meeting her.
Or perhaps he should send Darkrai to fight alone? Dark-type is strong against Psychic-type. He wondered if it could solo the Saffron Gym.
Although Aomori's Spirit attribute was high, he only currently utilized the Mind's Eye ability. This treasure trove desperately needed to be developed, which was the main reason he came to find Sabrina.
As he was deep in thought, a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap appeared at the other end of the empty lot, seemingly observing Aomori, Absol, and Pidgeot.
After a while, seeing Absol and Pidgeot finish their practice and rest, the man walked over to Aomori and said directly, "You won't be able to defeat Sabrina with just these two Pokémon."
"Mister, you're mistaken. There are three Pokémon here."
"?" The man's pupils contracted. He finally noticed the shadow beneath Aomori's feet. "A Ghost-type Pokémon? This feeling is a little odd."
"But even so, you absolutely cannot win against Sabrina," the man stated firmly.
"Are you trying to talk me out of it?"
"Yes. Knowing when to retreat is what makes a good Trainer."
"Then did you retreat when you knew you couldn't win, Mister?"
"What?"
"You lost to Sabrina, then became discouraged, preferring to go to great lengths to discourage challengers rather than face Sabrina again."
Aomori's words were like a sharp blade piercing the man's heart.
"What do you know? An outsider like you can't possibly understand the terror of a Psychic!" The man became agitated. "I tried, but it was useless."
"Then why not try harder? You're the one who doesn't understand anything, not Psychic powers, and not the feelings in your daughter's heart. That's what led to this situation today."
"You!" The man was shocked. "How do you know that!"
Aomori stood up, walked to the man, and stared into his eyes. "That's not important. What's important is whether or not you want your daughter to return to being a normal person."
"Of course!"
"Then tell me everything you know first."
The man in the baseball cap slumped onto the chair. After a long moment, he finally spoke. "Come with me first. Grab my hand. I'll take you somewhere safe, and then I'll tell you everything."
Aomori nodded. He recalled Absol, Pidgeot, and Darkrai, then grasped the man's hand.
A flash of light crossed his eyes, and he found himself in a plain room.
"Go ahead and sit down. This is where I've been staying lately. It's very safe."
The man handed a bottle of drink to Aomori, opened one for himself, gulped down three mouthfuls, and sighed, beginning to narrate the story of what happened years ago: "Sabrina was a very sweet little girl when she was young, until the day she started messing with Psychic powers..."
While listening to the man's story, Aomori glanced at the name of the drink.
'Soy Sauce Soda?'
The drink was indeed black. How bizarre.
He twisted open the cap, and a scent of soy sauce emerged. Willing to try anything once, he took a small sip. At first, there was the sweetness of soda, then the salty and spicy taste of peppered soy sauce flooded his mouth. It was an indescribable feeling.
Aomori silently capped the bottle and put it back in its place.
"...Later, I was also driven away. Until I met you today. Alas..." The man sighed again, deeply.
"I see."
It was similar to Aomori's memory. Ever since Sabrina learned Psychic powers, she spiraled out of control. The intensity of her abilities skyrocketed like a rocket, surpassing her father, the man standing before him. Her personality became eccentric; she avoided interaction with people, preferring to turn them into dolls before playing with them.
In short, this was a classic case of a personality flaw caused by too-rapid power growth. On one hand, she felt incredibly lonely and needed company, but on the other, she felt like an anomaly, believing there was no one who could communicate or interact with her. Thus, she projected her emotions onto dolls, thinking that, as dolls, they shared a fundamental basis for playing together.
In the original story, Haunter made Sabrina laugh heartily, allowing her to release her emotions and become more like a "person," which, to some extent, opened her heart.
Aomori shared his suspicions with the man, who felt enlightened, as if it made perfect sense.
"Then how can we cure Sabrina?" The man's confidence in Aomori greatly increased.
All of that was just speculation. Aomori isn't a psychologist. How would he know a method for a cure?
"Hmm. Don't worry, when the time comes, a good ol' Personality Correction Fist should do the trick," Aomori said, his face betraying no emotion.
"But before that, why don't you first tell me what Psychic power is, and then demonstrate how to use it?"
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You can read the ahead chapter on Patr if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]