Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 223: Traveling Alone

"You're really not coming?" Sato slung his backpack over his shoulder and looked toward Joseph and Mark, who were lounging on the sofa.

"Sato, I'd like to keep learning from Madam Kaori. Why don't you take Florges with you?" Joseph said somewhat shyly.

His skills as a Breeder had long plateaued. Now that he had the rare opportunity to be guided by a top Breeder, and the person was even willing to teach him... he didn't want to miss the chance.

Sato nodded in understanding and turned to Mark.

"How about letting Arbok come with you?"

"Char?" Arbok looked at it trainer in disbelief. Was it just handed away like that?

"Forget it. You should stay here and build a bond with Lapras. After all, it's going to be your partner from now on," Sato said, shaking his head. He wasn't going to push it.

"Yeah, yeah, definitely! Boss Sato, be careful this time. Don't go looking at weird stuff."

"...Say it again."

"...Sato will absolutely have an overwhelmingly huge harvest and return safely!"

"Alright. I'm off." Sato nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

---

Riding Sharpedo once again to Mt. Pyre, Sato now carried a map that Madam Kaori had "kindly" given him. With it, he felt more confident than before.

When Madam Kaori found out that they had already reached the second level inside Mt. Pyre, she stared at them with a look of pure disbelief. Then she said, "And you're still alive?"

Turns out, most people assumed Mt. Pyre referred only to the surface of the mountain, not the inside.

Besides the first level, which was relatively safe, everything deeper inside was known to be terrifying. Especially when shrouded in thick fog, even the outer slopes became dangerous and were best avoided.

So yeah, Sato and his group had been seriously lucky to survive the second level... and even come out with the Hypnosis Pendulum.

Following the map, Sato quickly found the exit leading to the outer slope of Mt. Pyre.

The sun was bright, the weather calm.

Without the fog, Mt. Pyre was actually quite beautiful. The foothills of the outer slope weren't as bleak or eerie as he expected, and plenty of common Pokémon inhabited the area.

Sticking to the path marked on the map, Sato began to ascend Mt. Pyre's outer slope slowly. He climbed for a while until he finally saw the first grave.

This seemed like the starting point of death itself. From then on, the number of graves surged: new ones, old ones, overlapping and densely packed.

The tall trees gradually blocked out the sunlight, and a chilly wind swept through from time to time, raising goosebumps on his skin.

"Krow krow!"

A group of Murkrow suddenly flew out of the forest, their unpleasant screeches breaking the silence, not making things lively, only more unsettling.

"Cacturne!" Sato released Cacturne to stand beside him. He wasn't afraid, but in a forest setting, this was Cacturne's home turf, perfect for it to show its strength.

Gengar remained hidden in the shadow, ready to strike by surprise.

Continuing on, there was little else besides the shrill caws of Murkrow and the eerie laughter of mischievous Duskull. Nothing else had posed a threat... yet.

Just as Sato was growing suspicious, a sudden violent gust of wind roared in from the side, tearing grass and trees straight from the ground.

Sato quickly retreated behind Cacturne. Cacturne crossed its arms, and its spikes erupted wildly, forming a barrier around itself and Sato.

At the same time, it drove its leg spikes into the ground to anchor itself.

As the wind died down, the two looked toward the direction it came from. Standing in a tree, high above them, was a Shiftry, a rare sight in the wild, looking down at them with a domineering gaze.

Sato hadn't expected the first battle on the outer slope to be against a Dark-type Pokémon.

Usually, when he released his Dark Energy, most Dark-types wouldn't attack him. Some even approached him willingly.

But this one had launched an assault, so of course he had to fight back.

"Cacturne, Pin Missile!"

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh

Golden pin-like missiles launched from the spikes on Cacturne's arms, forming a tight encircling pattern, clearly aiming to trap the opponent.

However, Shiftry's speed far surpassed that of Cacturne. With just a few quick leaps, it easily dodged the attack.

"Cacturne, Swords Dance!" Sato kept his eyes locked on Shiftry's movements while giving the command.

Seeing that Cacturne was about to act again, Shiftry didn't hesitate and lunged straight at Sato, its hands glowing white.

The move was Aerial Ace; not a high-power move, but terrifying in its speed and accuracy!

"Gengar!"

Gengar appeared and threw out a rather cute-looking purple Substitute, blocking Shiftry's path.

The Aerial Ace struck the Substitute hard, shattering it; but in doing so, Shiftry unknowingly got too close to Cacturne!

As it attempted to retreat, it realized it was surrounded by a dense cloud of Cotton Spore.

With just the slightest movement, the Cotton Spores drifted and swirled in the faint airflow --then pop!-- they latched onto its body.

Besides the itching, Shiftry suddenly felt an overwhelming weight on every movement. Its once-agile body was now severely restricted and sluggish.

"Consecutive Drain Punch!"

Sato stepped aside, making sure not to interfere with Cacturne's assault.

Now in close range, Cacturne finally showed its power. With Drain Punch and its Water Absorb ability, it pounded Shiftry dizzy, rapidly draining its stamina.

Cacturne, in contrast, only became more energetic with every blow, more excited with each punch. With one clean combo, it took Shiftry down.

A flawless victory!

As Shiftry collapsed, Sato could clearly feel a brief disturbance ripple through the forest around him.

Several Nuzleaf began to emerge, surrounding him. Two of the more daring ones tried to drag Shiftry away and even shot a glare at Sato on their way.

"Hmph, Drain Punch!"

Wham! Wham!

The Nuzleaf dropped immediately, too weak to even resist.

But this act seemed to enrage the rest; soon, the Nuzleaf all launched their attacks: Razor Leaf, Nature Power, Swift. All of it raining down toward Sato and his Pokémon!

Boom!

One or two Nuzleaf were nothing, but over a hundred at once? Who'd dare to take that on?

Dust clouds erupted. There was no sign of movement from where Sato stood, and the Nuzleaf started celebrating wildly; clearly used to bullying their way through.

Suddenly, from within the dust, eerie red rings of light began to spread outward, and the unsuspecting Nuzleaf dropped like mowed-down weeds, collapsing in droves.

Sato staggered out of the dust, filthy from head to toe, but otherwise unscathed.

At the last second, both Cacturne and Gengar had used Protect, leaving the trio completely unharmed.

Then, with the newly acquired Hypnosis Pendulum, Gengar went full beast mode. One Hypnosis, and all the Nuzleaf were wiped out.

Looking at the sea of Nuzleaf on the ground, Sato suddenly felt like Cacturne was simply on another level: appearance, personality, talent... it had them all beat.

Yup. No room for argument.