Unova Region, Vertress City, Pokémon League Center, backyard training room.
At the moment, Sato and the others were training their newly caught Pokémon.
They had all just acquired new partners, and with Drake temporarily keeping them here, they couldn't travel.
So they decided to gather and exchange insights about their basic training methods.
A rare opportunity.
Speaking of which, Sato's training methods stemmed from the "Ghost Ship" organization in his previous life, combined with his experience from both lifetimes and some research data he had obtained.
Although the results were decent, compared to Ryoko and Phoebe's more systematic training, his methods seemed a bit chaotic… like random jabs here and there.
Normally, everyone trained separately without interfering with each other, since training beyond the Elite level was more targeted and not really comparable.
But basic training was a different matter.
"Efficiently developing a Pokémon's potential and building a solid foundation": Those were the guarded secrets of Top Trainers and organizations.
Ryoko was a core League-affiliated Trainer. Phoebe had inherited her family's traditions. Mark, on the other hand, had no background.
So, after exchanging techniques, Sato and Mark ended up gaining the most.
Some of the methods Sato had developed also amazed Phoebe and Ryoko.
…At least he hadn't been completely outclassed.
On the field, Sandile, Axew, Solosis, and Yamask were all engaged in various forms of basic training.
But to Zweilous and Chandelure, who were watching nearby, it just looked like child's play.
Pichu tugged on Sato's ear and pointed at Sandile and the others, indicating that it wanted to go join in.
"You want to battle?" Sato asked curiously, since Pichu had previously made it clear "it didn't like fighting; it just wanted to be cute."
Pichu didn't respond. It nimbly jumped down from Sato's shoulder and ran straight over.
To be honest, once Pichu had expressed its wish, Sato never forced it to train. The most exercise it got daily was climbing up and down Sato's body, then up and down again…
And that was it.
Still, even if it had never tasted Slowpoke tail, it had at least seen Slowpoke yawn. After watching Zoroark and the others in high-level battles so often, Pichu had unknowingly picked up quite a bit.
Now, even facing Sandile and the others, it was confident it could win with a few clever "tricks" it had learned.
Of course, it would get surpassed quickly, depending on whether it cared or not.
"There you are~" Suddenly, a familiar voice came from nearby. Everyone turned to look and saw Marshal and the others at the training room entrance.
"These are the Pokémon you caught in Unova? You've got good taste!" Jona, ever the sociable type, walked right over after spotting Sandile and the others.
Marshal and Skyla didn't say much. One was silent, the other reserved, and they quietly followed Jona over.
"This your first time in Unova? Why not go explore a bit? Our great Unova has lots of fun places," Jona said, poking Solosis's jelly-like body with curiosity.
"Hey, hey, hey hands off! We're only rushing around because we had to battle you guys soon, otherwise, we'd never be in such a hurry!" Mark nervously blocked Solosis with his body, afraid Jona might accidentally pop it.
But it seemed that carefree little Solosis was also curious about how its body could be so bouncy. It bypassed Mark and took the initiative to float over to Jona.
"Must poke! So cute!" Jona shouted as she immediately poked it without hesitation.
Biu~
"Sola~" The little jelly ball was sent flying, wobbling its way back to Mark with a voice full of joy, as if it had discovered something fun. Then it tried to float back to Jona again.
"No way, if anyone's poking Solosis, it's going to be me!" Mark couldn't let his Solosis just leave his embrace like that and immediately poked it again.
"Sola~ Sola~"
Solosis didn't care who poked it. In fact, it found the whole thing amusing, happily floating over to Jona again, only to be poked back.
The scene became rather bizarre.
Jona and Mark stood on opposite sides, poking Solosis back and forth like a living balloon.
The two of them looked completely entertained, while the others could only watch, their teeth aching from second-hand embarrassment. Their eyes met, silently acknowledging each other's weirdness.
"So… are you guys here for training too?" Phoebe broke the awkward silence with some small talk, then subtly distanced herself from both Mark and Jona.
Marshal followed quickly behind. "Yeah, you guys too? What a coincidence!"
"Yup~ I'm training Yamask. It's actually pretty cute."
"Mm… yeah, pretty cute…" Marshal nodded stiffly, unsure how to keep the small talk going.
"You're Skyla, right?" Sato suddenly brought up a topic.
"Ah! You're talking to me?" Skyla blinked, looking at Sato in surprise.
"…Yeah."
"Oh, um! I'm Skyla, and…"
"I wanted to ask, where in Unova can you find Mandibuzz or Vullaby?" Sato didn't mind her dazed reaction and asked directly.
"You like Mandibuzz? You're into Flying-types?" Skyla's eyes lit up, as if she'd heard the best news ever, and her previous daze vanished instantly.
"Not exactly… I lean toward Dark-types. Mandibuzz is a good one."
"Oh, so you are a Mandibuzz fan after all! People say she's ugly, but I think Mandibuzz is super cute!" Skyla said with complete sincerity.
"…"
Sato had been thinking about catching a Mandibuzz, but now that he recalled its appearance… cute might be a stretch.
Even among Dark-types, it was probably dragging the average looks down.
Still, Sato chose silence. Maybe she was looking at it from a Flying-type fan's perspective? Hm, kind of made him want to speak up for Togekiss, Altaria, Swanna, Emolga, and the rest.
"So, does the Mandibuzz line have a known habitat?"
"Well… not really. Mandibuzz is considered very rare in Unova, even rarer than Braviary. They're usually solitary too," Skyla said after thinking it over.
Sato nodded.
He was just asking casually anyway. Catching one would still come down to fate.
"You don't believe me? I'm serious! The Mandibuzz line is all female, but since they don't match the usual Flying-type 'beauty standards', they struggle to find mates. That's why their population is so small!" Skyla anxiously explained, seeing Sato's casual reaction.
Sato pressed his lips together and nodded heavily. "I believe you!" Then silently added to himself, 'That was… an unexpectedly real answer.'