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With Crobat's help, Sato managed to escape from the scene smoothly. Around six in the morning, he reached the outskirts of Mauville City.
After spending an entire night being hunted down by a Legendary Pokémon, Sato was both mentally and physically exhausted. He rented a small room in a roadside inn, ordered a decent takeout meal for himself and his Pokémon, and after eating, collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.
He didn't wake up until around 7 p.m. that evening.
During the time he was asleep, the outside world had already erupted in chaos. The massive clash between Legendary Pokémon in the Hoenn Region the previous night had spread like wildfire through every corner of the world via major news outlets and social media.
In an instant, the Legendary Pokémon battle drew the attention of countless people.
No major power would ever let such an event involving Legendary Pokémon slip by. All the major forces immediately mobilized their resources to uncover the truth behind the incident and the full sequence of events—each one hoping to profit somehow from it.
Despite the League's desperate attempts to suppress information, it didn't take long for these powers to discover the truth: that Drake and Sato had joined forces to destroy Kyogre's crystal, triggering its wrath.
Naturally, as the final person to come into contact with Kyogre's crystal, Sato instantly became the focus of these organizations. Now, spies from both the League and other forces were frantically searching for him.
The only thing Sato could be grateful for was his caution. Throughout the entire event, he had remained disguised—dressed in black with his face hidden by a mask. No one had actually seen what he looked like.
However, because of that, his Swampert, Pikachu, and his flying partner Crobat had become the key clues for anyone trying to track him down.
In truth, Sato was lucky. If he had gone to any Pokémon Center in Mauville last night to heal his Pokémon, he would've already been found by the League or another faction.
After waking up, Sato's first action was to wash up. Then, following his usual routine, he checked his communicator to see if anyone had left him a message.
"Looks like I'll have to lay low for a while. This incident blew up way too big. Even Giovanni, all the way in Kanto, personally called and left me a message. Not to mention the League and the other factions…"
"What a pain… Being hunted and having to sneak around like this really sucks."
When Sato saw the call logs and messages on his communicator, his face darkened, and he sighed tiredly.
In fact, aside from Giovanni's call and message, Sato had also received one from Professor Oak.
Just as Sato expected, the sharp-minded Professor Oak had quickly pieced together the truth behind the Legendary Pokémon battle using his own network of information. From subtle clues and details, he had already begun to suspect that the mysterious Trainer involved was none other than Sato himself.
And aside from Professor Oak, the person who knew Sato best was none other than Giovanni. He even knew about Sato's psychic powers.
Of course, it had been Professor Oak's suggestion that Sato go train at the Slowpoke Temple, so Sato suspected Prof. Oak also knew he was a Psychic.
Giovanni, being as well-connected as ever, had quickly acquired key intel about the Legendary Pokémon battle through his own channels. With his keen intuition, he immediately suspected that the mysterious Trainer who had played a decisive role in the event was his own subordinate — Sato.
Seeing the messages from these two towering figures, Sato could only feel helpless. Both messages had been sent about six hours earlier, around noon.
Under normal circumstances, he should've noticed them by then. The fact that he hadn't replied for so long naturally led to a few obvious conclusions.
A man who had been chased by a Legendary Pokémon all night would be utterly exhausted — and oversleeping from fatigue was completely reasonable.
So, both Prof. Oak and Giovanni had likely already drawn their own conclusions: that the mysterious Trainer and Sato were one and the same. Even if they didn't think it was 100% confirmed, they were at least 99% sure.
After some careful thought, Sato decided to come clean and explain the events of last night to both Professor Oak and Giovanni.
For now, he still needed their support — offending either of them was not an option.
Professor Oak, in particular, was still taking care of some of his Pokémon. The Dratini egg was being incubated under his care and had nearly hatched. Sato couldn't afford to strain that relationship.
As for Giovanni — that man was even more dangerous. Sato was firmly in his grasp, and any reckless move could undo all the work he'd done to infiltrate the League's inner circles.
Left with no other choice, Sato decided to tell them the truth.
Of course, he knew that even if he came clean, there wouldn't be any real consequences. Neither Prof. Oak nor Giovanni had any direct conflict of interest with him over this matter.
Moreover, neither of them were the type to leak sensitive information. They wouldn't expose him.
Still, Sato knew that if they were asking questions, it meant one thing — both of them were very interested in the core of this Legendary Pokémon battle.
And that core was none other than the Kyogre Crystal — the very thing Sato had personally shattered.
To outsiders, while Sato had indeed destroyed Kyogre's crystal, there was still immense potential value hidden within it.
The crystal might have been shattered, but the fragments remained. If one could obtain even a few shards that still contained traces of the power that drove Kyogre into a frenzy, their worth would be unimaginable.
That was precisely why so many major factions were desperately searching for Sato — as the one who destroyed and last touched the Kyogre Crystal, he was their only lead.
Just as Sato predicted, when he contacted Professor Oak and Giovanni to explain everything, both of them—after a mix of scolding and concern—eventually asked about the Kyogre Crystal fragments.
Sato didn't refuse their requests. In fact, he did have several fragments in his possession. When the Kyogre Crystal exploded, countless shards had scattered everywhere, and he had used his psychic powers to capture over a dozen pieces midair.
He had already examined them closely. Although they did contain traces of primal Legendary energy, the amount was negligible—nothing compared to the overwhelming energy he'd absorbed directly during the crystal's destruction.
By his estimate, even if he used his system to absorb the energy from all those fragments, it wouldn't add up to more than 1% of what he'd gained before.
Having already taken the lion's share, Sato didn't mind letting others have some scraps.
So, though he pretended to hesitate, he eventually agreed to hand over some of the Kyogre Crystal fragments to both Professor Oak and Giovanni.
Of course, even if the fragments weren't worth much, they had been obtained at the risk of his life — there was no way he'd just give them away for free.
Professor Oak was an exception; after all, he'd helped Sato tremendously without asking for anything in return. Sato couldn't bring himself to demand payment from him.
But Giovanni was different. Their relationship was transactional, not sentimental.
In the end, Sato sold ten fragments of the Kyogre Crystal to Giovanni for a total of 500 million PokeDollars.