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"When did Team Magma become so easy to talk to?"
Hearing Homura's words, Sato immediately showed a trace of suspicion. He felt puzzled inside.
In truth, the moment Homura appeared before him, Sato had already recognized him. Although the man wasn't wearing Team Magma's uniform at the moment, Sato recognized his face from memory.
He was none other than one of Team Magma's future three Executive —Homura. (Note: This is Tabitha. I intentionally used his Japanese name cause honestly speaking, Tabitha sounds like a girl's name to me. No offence.)
However, judging from the data displayed by the Torkoal beside him, he had not yet reached Elite Four level strength.
In Sato's memory, Homura's ace Pokémon was Torkoal. Though this Torkoal radiated a powerful presence, its actual level was only 67—still some distance away from breaking into the Elite Four tier.
There was no helping it. In the late stages of growth, Pokémon level progression became increasingly difficult. Unless they experienced life-and-death battles, ordinary training and sparring only resulted in improvements measured in months—and at the very late stages, even in years.
Over a month ago, Sato's Swampert, which he had left at Professor Oak's laboratory, had already reached level 67. Yet after more than a month, it still hadn't advanced.
Sato estimated that if Swampert progressed step by step, it would take at least half a year to break into the Elite Four level.
According to Professor Oak, the experienced Pokémon scholar, the Elite Four level was a major threshold. To cross it, a Pokémon required not only aptitude and strength, but also a touch of insight and luck.
Once crossed, however, the transformation was profound. Both physical strength and control over attribute energy would improve by several tiers.
Professor Oak hadn't gone into details about how Pokémon advanced to Elite Four level.
But Sato had roughly guessed the key—comprehension of attribute energy, followed by a process of energy infusion that fundamentally enhanced both the Pokémon's body and its control over elemental power.
For example, if Pikachu were in the level 60 range, combining its Mutated Thunder Orb with Charge before using Thunder, its output would be terrifying. Without type resistance, it could likely one-shot a Pokémon of similar level.
But if the target were an Elite Four level Pokémon, Pikachu might not even reduce it to half health.
That was because Elite Four tier Pokémon possessed physical durability far beyond non-Elite Four tier Pokémon. Furthermore, their refined control over their own elemental attributes allowed them to weaken incoming attacks of certain types.
Since Homura was not yet an Elite Four Trainer, Sato had nothing to worry about. Though the other side had numbers, in Sato's eyes, they were manageable. In the wild, he could toy with them at will.
"You want to buy the Seviper I just caught? No problem. Ten million PokeDollars, and it's yours."
Since the other party hadn't tried to seize it by force and instead spoke politely, Sato abandoned any intention of causing trouble. After a brief thought, he smiled and gave his price.
"Seviper, huh? I thought it was some powerful Fire-type Pokémon. What a pity."
"But aside from strong control over flame energy, what else makes this Seviper worth ten million PokeDollars?"
A flash of disappointment crossed Homura's face, but his eyes quickly shifted as curiosity replaced it.
"Come out, Roserade. Use Grassy Terrain to heal Seviper."
Seeing Homura's curiosity, Sato knew there was room for negotiation. Instead of answering immediately, he released Roserade and Seviper in succession, instructing Roserade to heal the severely injured Seviper.
The moment Roserade appeared, she locked eyes with Torkoal. After confirming it wasn't an enemy, she activated Grassy Terrain to begin healing Seviper.
Homura was startled by Roserade's sudden appearance and instinctively grabbed a PokéBall from his belt, staring warily at her.
The disguised Team Magma members behind him also tensed, each gripping a PokéBall, ready to counterattack at any moment.
For an instant, the atmosphere inside the cave became tense, as if battle could erupt at any second.
Fortunately, Sato immediately ordered Roserade to heal Seviper, making it clear there was no hostile intent. Only then did Homura and his team realize they had been overly jumpy.
"This kid with Kadabra isn't simple after all… That Roserade's aura is only slightly weaker than my Torkoal's. It's definitely at high pseudo Elite Four strength—and a rare healing Pokémon at that."
Homura subtly loosened his grip on his PokéBall, but his wariness toward Sato deepened.
Roserade's healing was effective. Before long, Seviper's injuries were mostly recovered.
"Talk is cheap. I'll demonstrate. I guarantee this Seviper is worth every bit of those ten million PokeDollars."
"Watch closely. Seviper, use Taunt on Roserade."
After confirming Seviper had mostly recovered, Sato had Roserade stop healing and issued the command.
Seviper had just been thoroughly beaten by Pikachu. Seeing Pikachu perched calmly on Sato's shoulder, Seviper understood who the true boss was. The moment Sato spoke, it obediently used Taunt on Roserade.
From the speed of its execution, it was clear Seviper was highly proficient in this move. A dark aura flared around its body, and in the next instant, black energy wrapped around Roserade, clinging stubbornly no matter how she tried to shake it off.
"Well? This is a Seviper that has mastered Taunt. Ten million PokeDollars might even be a little cheap."
Sato nodded with satisfaction and smiled at Homura, who looked visibly impressed.
"A Seviper that knows Taunt? That's indeed valuable. Ten million isn't unreasonable."
Homura clearly recognized quality. His eyes lit up as he nodded in approval.
"However… I'm a bit short on cash lately. I can't come up with ten million PokeDollars."
"How about I trade this instead?"
He took out a translucent red stone from his pocket, smiling sheepishly.
"I recently dug this up underground. I don't know what kind of stone it is, but it's definitely not ordinary."
"Look at it—completely transparent. See? It's glowing on its own. It's definitely something valuable. If you find the right buyer, it might sell for far more than ten million."
He held up the crystal-clear red stone, its surface gleaming faintly as he presented it to Sato.