Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 254: Empty-Handed

"So this is this year's best Rookie ? Quite handsome one."

"Haruka, you've been hiding such a cute little boy from us all this time. That's too much!"

"Sato, I'm your Aunt Mira. I'm in Hoenn right now. Come visit me if you have time..."

"Sato, which Joy from our family do you like? Is it Lilian or Rika? I can help match you two up..."

"..."

Sato pursed his lips, controlling his eyes to keep them from rolling upward. This was nothing like the scene he had imagined.

Aside from Haruka, who was still somewhat normal, the other three regional family leaders looked at Sato like they had never seen a living man before, the curiosity in their eyes was intense!

Actually, their curiosity wasn't unjustified. Ever since becoming a Trainer, Sato's performance had been nothing short of astonishing.

He was ahead of 99% of his peers in terms of strength, and on top of that, he was a true treasure boy.

The Potential Enhancement Serum had become a long-term, highly profitable product for the Joy family, one that was essentially monopolized. Its profits were enormous.

If not for the difficulty in increasing production efficiency and reducing costs, which severely limited the serum's output...

Then there might already be a world filled with Pokémon possessing Pseudo-Elite Four potential, and the overall strength of Trainers would have skyrocketed.

And then there was the even more precious phenomenon of Mega Evolution.

Though its boost was temporary, it was powerful enough to reverse any battle that wasn't a complete stomp.

Even in lopsided battles, it gave Trainers a chance to make a comeback!

What's more, this boost applied across all levels. Whether Elite, Pseudo-Elite Four, Elite Four, or even Champion... it brought massive powerups.

That's what made Mega Evolution so terrifying, and why everyone chased after it so eagerly.

And all of it traced back to this kid who'd been traveling for less than two years. It was simply mind-boggling and hard to believe.

What made the Joy family even prouder was that they had managed to seize the advantage both times, reaping enormous benefits from it.

Whether it was the first discovered Houndoom Mega Stone or the promised Gengar Mega Stone, they had gritted their teeth and handed them over.

Even so, discontent had already begun brewing within the family, which was why the Gengar Mega Stone had taken so long to reach Sato.

But then, not long after, it was discovered that Tyranitar could Mega Evolve too. By all rights, they should have given Sato one as well.

However, at the family's internal decision meeting, the proposal that "Sato's Pupitar hasn't fully evolved, so there's no need to give him a Mega Stone" passed with near-unanimous approval.

Yes, "near-unanimous".

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Haruka and her close allies abstained, knowing full well they couldn't change the outcome.

When Lilian Joy reported that Sato wanted to purchase a Tyranitar Mega Stone, the family's leadership -ashamed yet angry- deliberated.

Let him wait!

They didn't want to fall out with Sato. After all, he had always treated them kindly and helped them earn a lot of money.

So instead of agreeing or refusing, they simply left him hanging, planning to make it up to him in other ways, hoping the matter would eventually fade.

That was, until they found out Sato had also applied to the Lance family to purchase a Mega Stone... and that the other side had actually found one.

Because at the time, Sato had clearly said he'd be trading some "interesting intel" in exchange.

What kind of intel could be so valuable that Sato considered it more precious than a Mega Stone for a pseudo-legendary?

While curiosity gnawed at them, a sense of urgency took hold. Many within the family began to feel that Sato was being unfair.

Now, aside from greeting Sato at the start, Haruka remained silent, quietly watching as the other three clan leaders bombarded Sato with sugar-coated words.

About seven or eight minutes later, the three finally stopped their flirtatious remarks, seemingly satisfied that the warm-up was complete, and slowly began steering toward today's actual topic.

"Little Sato, as far as I know, your Pupitar is still at Low Elite level, right? It seems like it's still a long way from evolving. Why do you want a Mega Stone now?" asked Mira Joy, the branch leader from Hoenn, breaking the silence.

"Preparing in advance gives it something to look forward to in its evolution," Sato finally spoke his second sentence, secretly rolling his eyes inside, his Pupitar had already broken through long ago.

"But if you used those resources on Pokémon that need them now, your strength could improve even faster."

The Kanto branch leader jumped in. She looked the oldest, and unsurprisingly, had talked the most so far.

"I'm already improving fast enough."

"..."

That single line from Sato nearly left them all speechless, and they couldn't refute it.

He was the strongest of his generation... wasn't he allowed to be a little proud?

"Then..."

"What do I need to offer in exchange for Tyranitar's Mega Stone?" Sato interrupted the Sinnoh branch leader. Hmph, she really was the most awkward speaker of the bunch.

'Besides, this was supposed to be a simple transaction. Why were they making it so complicated?' Sato thought impatiently.

"Hehe, no rush. Actually, I have a better idea," said the Kanto leader with a chuckle.

"I'm listening," Sato straightened up and listened attentively.

"Here's what I'm thinking... since your Pupitar doesn't need the Mega Stone yet, we'll give it to you after it evolves."

"Really?" Sato's eyes lit up. Was this Kanto leader actually a good person? Maybe the Joy family wasn't so bad after all.

"Of course. We've always had that idea, that's why we didn't give it to you before. After all, as the saying goes, 'an innocent man with a treasured invites trouble,'" said the Kanto leader kindly, her face warm and trustworthy... almost enough to fool Sato!

"I heard from Lilian Joy that you've made a new discovery?"

Sato froze, then laughed in exasperation. 'So this was what they were really waiting for.'

He turned to look at the Sinnoh leader. He figures she'd be the one to play the "bad guy", given how poorly she spoke.

'Going after trouble empty-handed, nice one!!'

And it wasn't just one region's leader doing it.

It was all four of them!

Well, maybe Haruka could be spared, based on her expression, but still, the gesture showed they were giving Sato a lot of "face".

"Oh, I discovered that Sharpedo can Mega Evolve. I can demonstrate it for you right now," Sato replied smoothly, covering his irritated expression without a flaw.

"Is that so? Congratulations. Another Pokémon that can Mega Evolve," the Kanto leader replied, expression unchanged, picking up the cue without missing a beat.

But the disappointed look on the Sinnoh leader's face was so obvious, Sato almost burst out laughing. Couldn't she at least try to hide it?

Haruka, on the other hand, briefly smiled before returning to her usual blank expression.

After testing the waters with a few more questions and failing to get anything useful, the leaders each hung up one by one, using work as their excuse.

Staring at the dark screen, Sato finally rolled his eyes with full satisfaction.

Thinking about Haruka's subtle smile before she hung up, Sato silently prayed she was still on his side.