Because Tyranitar had fallen into a deep sleep, Sam did not travel to Maiden's Peak with Ash and the others. Instead, he decided to wait until Tyranitar woke up before continuing his journey alone.
While waiting, Sam did not waste any time. He rented a professional training ground in the city and arranged specialized training for his Pokémon.
Standing inside the training facility, Sam felt deeply satisfied watching his Pokémon train with full enthusiasm.
Ivysaur had nearly finished absorbing all the energy stored within the Miracle Seed it carried. It was already standing at the threshold of evolution—it wouldn't be long before it evolved into Venusaur.
Recently, Sam had assigned Ivysaur a specific task: mastering the three powders. Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Poison Powder were essential Grass-type techniques. Fully mastering all three would greatly enhance Ivysaur's battlefield control.
"Clefairy."
"Clefairy!"
Clefairy had recently become obsessed with healing others. Professor Oak had been absolutely right—Sam's Clefairy possessed exceptional healing talent. Even compared to the famously reliable Chansey, Clefairy's healing ability was not inferior in the slightest.
Moreover, Clefairy clearly disliked combat. Because of that, Sam deliberately trained it as the team's primary support Pokémon.
He wasn't worried about Clefairy's evolution at all. He still possessed the Moon Stone Clefairy had given him earlier. Once Clefairy fully mastered healing techniques, evolution could be completed instantly.
"Char—!"
"Scy—ther!"
On the other side of the training ground, Charmeleon and Scyther were engaged in what looked like a sparring match.
Aside from Tyranitar, these two were the most aggressive Pokémon under Sam's command. Having gone a long time without proper combat, they were clearly itching for action.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't a real battle—Scyther was guiding Charmeleon.
Throughout the exchange, Scyther remained mostly on the defensive, only counterattacking when absolutely necessary. Its blade-like wings constantly adjusted midair, easily evading Charmeleon's attacks.
This was all part of Sam's training plan.
After hearing Professor Oak's advice, Sam had focused heavily on strengthening Scyther's aerial mobility.
"Geng—gar~"
Gengar didn't participate in training at all. Instead, it floated lazily around the field, suppressing its usual eerie laughter.
Ghost-type Pokémon were the most mysterious beings in the Pokémon world. To be honest, Sam didn't fully understand how to train them, so he left Gengar to its own devices.
Its idea of "training" seemed to be drifting around, waiting for opportunities to suddenly scare the others.
Sam originally thought Tyranitar would wake up within a few days.
But a full week passed with no signs of movement.
He couldn't afford to wait any longer.
The opening of the Indigo Plateau Conference was approaching rapidly, and time was running out. After careful consideration, Sam decided to depart.
With Gengar accompanying him, his safety was still well assured.
---
After traveling for another week, Sam finally arrived at the outskirts of Saffron City.
Originally, he planned to search the nearby forest for traces of Psychic-type Pokémon. However, after exploring for more than half an hour, he hadn't encountered even one—let alone found a suitable target.
This left Sam deeply frustrated.
"Are Psychic Pokémon really this rare around Saffron City? That doesn't make sense…"
Just as he was complaining internally—
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion echoed from deep within the forest. Thick smoke followed, rising high into the air.
"Something's wrong."
The surrounding wild Pokémon had vanished, and the sound of intense combat echoed continuously from the forest depths.
If Sam still didn't realize something was wrong, he might as well knock his own head.
Should he go check it out?
…Forget it. Run.
As the saying goes—curiosity kills the cat.
Judging from the shockwaves alone, the strength of both combatants was terrifying.
With Tyranitar still asleep and only Gengar available, Sam carefully weighed his options.
Life was more important than satisfying curiosity.
He turned around and bolted out of the forest.
Yet strangely, no matter how fast he ran, the sounds of battle behind him only grew closer.
That made no sense.
Finally, Sam couldn't help himself—he stopped and looked back.
That single glance nearly scared him out of his soul.
The two combatants that had been deep within the forest were now right behind him.
Two Pokémon clashed violently in midair, colliding again and again. Each impact released shockwaves that shattered nearby trees.
Sam even saw a massive tree, dozens of meters tall, snapped cleanly in half by the aftershock.
He didn't dare look again.
Turning around, he ran without looking back.
But no matter how desperately he ran, the two Pokémon stuck to him like glue.
His stamina was reaching its limit.
Sam was about to collapse.
"I can't keep running like this!"
Just then—
"Help me."
A cold, emotionless female voice echoed directly in his mind.
The voice was mechanical, icy, completely devoid of warmth.
If Sam hadn't known his system had a male voice, he might have mistaken it for that.
"Who is that?!" Sam shouted internally while running.
"This is Sabrina, Gym Leader of the Saffron Gym. Team Rocket is chasing me."
Sabrina?
Team Rocket?
Sam's expression changed instantly.
He had zero desire to get involved with Team Rocket. And if even Sabrina was struggling, then the pursuers were definitely not ordinary.
Without slowing down, Sam ran even faster.
"Don't worry, Gym Leader Sabrina," Sam shouted. "I'll report this to Officer Jenny right away!"
He wasn't stupid.
There was no way he would offend powerful Team Rocket members—likely commanding Elite four-level Pokémon—just to play hero for a stranger.
Even if that stranger happened to be incredibly beautiful.
--------------Author---------------
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