Chapter 16: Into the Light
In the forest east of New Bark Town, Sato sat cross-legged beneath a large, lush tree, using Dark Energy to silently eliminate the lingering injuries from his last battle.
At the same time, he was also training his Dark Energy. Nighttime meditation could enhance its power, but it was only effective in the early stages. Later on, the improvements would become nearly negligible.
If a Psychic user depleted their energy entirely, their mental strength would also be exhausted, leaving them in a state of severe mental fatigue, making it nearly impossible to fight further.
Dark Energy, however, was different.
It could be used to refine the body, embedding itself deep within cells, bone marrow, and even blood. Even if it were completely exhausted, it could be quickly replenished by drawing from fat reserves, food, and overall body nutrients.
Every extension of Dark Energy's abilities had been something Sato developed in his past life through extensive trial and error. Their practicality was beyond question.
Sato opened his eyes and saw his Pokémon partners—Zorua, Haunter, and Larvitar.
He pulled out a high-end Pokémon data scanner from his backpack, something he had spent a significant amount of money on, and carefully scanned all three Pokémon.
Zorua
-Gender: Male
-Level: 28 (High Ordinary)
-Potential: Elite Four
-Ability: Illusion
-Moves: Scratch, Leer, Pursuit, Fake Tears, Dark Pulse, Fury Swipes, Sucker Punch, Scary Face, Taunt.
Haunter
-Gender: Male
-Level: 29 (High Ordinary)
-Potential: Pseudo-Elite Four
-Ability: Levitate
-Moves: Hypnosis, Lick, Spite, Mean Look, Shadow Ball, Toxic, Curse, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Sucker Punch, Shadow Punch, Payback.
Larvitar
-Gender: Male
-Level: 19 (Mid Ordinary)
-Potential: Elite Four or higher
-Ability: Guts (Increases Attack when inflicted with a status condition.)
-Moves: Leer, Bite, Sandstorm, Screech, Stomping Tantrum, Rock Slide, Dragon Dance (Egg Move).
The fact that Larvitar had inherited Dragon Dance was proof of an exceptionally strong bloodline.
In his previous life, Larvitar had naturally progressed to Pseudo-Elite Four upon fully evolving, and with more battles, reaching Elite Four wasn't supposed to be difficult.
However, before that could happen, his life had reset, forcing him to start over.
Still, there was an advantage to raising Larvitar from scratch again—he could eliminate unnecessary training and focus purely on efficiency, allowing it to grow stronger, faster.
"Larvitar, Rock Slide is already powerful, but reducing the size of the rocks slightly can actually increase their impact force and improve accuracy."
"Lar?"
Larvitar stopped mid-sparring session with Haunter, seriously considering Sato's advice before trying it out for itself.
Sure enough, it worked.
After confirming the difference, Larvitar nodded in approval.
"Now try something else—control each individual rock separately, making their attack paths completely unpredictable."
"Lar..."
This time, Larvitar failed, with many of the rocks colliding mid-air, disrupting their flight paths.
"Don't rush. Start with just a few rocks and increase them one at a time."
Sato walked forward, waving Haunter off to do its own training while turning back to focus entirely on Larvitar.
"Lar!"
Two floating boulders crossed from opposite directions, landing perfectly at the same target without colliding mid-air.
"As expected... its talent for Rock-type moves is terrifyingly high."
Sato silently nodded, allowing Larvitar to gradually increase the number of floating rocks.
When it reached nine rocks at once, the first major collision occurred.
"Take your time. Varying the speed of each rock will naturally create unpredictable trajectories. You don't need to hit with all of them—just make sure the most painful one lands."
"Lar! Lar!"
As Larvitar continued training, its excitement grew—who would have thought Rock Slide could be used in so many ways?
For the first time, it began to acknowledge Sato's guidance.
For Larvitar, Sato had already developed a full training plan—from now until its evolution into Tyranitar, every skill progression, nutritional intake, and even the optimal evolution timing had all been meticulously prepared.
The same was true for Zorua.
Sato had already mapped out an optimized path for its training.
Oddly enough, the one giving him trouble was Haunter.
In his previous life, none of his partners were of this particular battle type.
Stealth, ambush tactics, and status infliction—these were what Ghost-type Pokémon excelled at.
Though Gengar could learn a wide range of elemental moves—such as Thunderbolt, Dark Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Energy Ball, and Psychic—as well as core Ghost-type moves like Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb,
The truth was being a jack-of-all-trades meant being a master of none.
Even Elite Four-level trainers typically specialized in one area.
For a single Pokémon to learn and master so many different attack types was practically impossible.
That's why a different training plan was forming in Sato's mind.
One that became increasingly compelling—so much so that he couldn't shake the idea.
Instead of training Haunter as a conventional fighter...
What if he trained it as an assassin?
Of course, this didn't mean turning it into a Pokémon that killed people.
Rather, it would learn the art of assassination—stealth, reconnaissance, and the ability to deliver a decisive, lethal strike in battle.
A Ghost-type assassin—not a bad combination.
Transferring all the assassination techniques he had learned in his past life to a Pokémon… though Sato didn't know if it would succeed, it at least allowed him to channel his past life's relentless pursuit into Haunter.
He might not be able to walk in the light forever, but at least he wouldn't have to hide in the shadows forever either, watching as so-called dreams withered away.
"Beep, beep, beep…"
The ringing of a phone broke the silence.
Answering the call and hearing the response on the other end, Sato acknowledged it with a single word.
He then retrieved his three training Pokémon, returning them to their Poké Balls before turning to leave.
"Congratulations! You are now an officially registered Junior Pokémon Trainer."
Nurse Joy smiled as she handed Sato a somewhat plain-looking trainer ID card with both hands.
"Thank you."
After taking another look at it, Sato still found the card's design a bit dull, so he put it away.
Along with it, he received a Trainer's Beginner Guide, marking the end of the process.
"Everything you need to know about taking your first steps as a Junior Trainer is in the guide," Nurse Joy said cheerfully. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!"
"Understood, Nurse Joy."
Flipping through the Beginner Guide, Sato's expression remained calm, but deep inside, he felt a small surge of joy.
Obtaining a Pokémon League Junior Trainer Card wasn't difficult.
The problem was that Sato was still technically undocumented—so he had to spend a little money and pull some strings to get it.
For most ordinary people, registering as a trainer was much simpler.
As long as they had at least one Pokémon that had reached Ordinary-class, they could apply at any nearby Pokémon Center.
No starter Pokémon from a professor.
No Pokédex.
No free Pokémon Center treatments or accommodations.
This was the reality for most trainers.
To make money during their travels, most trainers took on missions, searched for rare items, or participated in performance battles.
Meanwhile, Pokémon trading existed in a gray area.
As long as a trainer didn't use illegal poaching tools and caught Pokémon with standard Poké Balls, they could sell them freely.
Even if someone reported them, unless caught in the act, there was no legal consequence.
Giving Pokémon away, entrusting them to others, or depositing them for safekeeping were all widely accepted excuses.
The key point? It was extremely profitable.
Haunter and Zorua weren't an issue—their food consumption was normal.
But Larvitar?
A Pokémon that needed to consume mountains of food just to accumulate enough energy to evolve?
No doubt—it was a walking food crisis.
That left only one option for making money.