"This little guy is a real foodie too. Judging by the time that's passed and his recent behavior, it should be happening soon."
Sato glanced at the shiny Natu, who was happily munching on hot-spring buns and hot-spring eggs. A smug smile immediately appeared on his face as he thought with certainty.
Nearly a month had passed since he captured the shiny Natu.
During that time, Sato had deliberately spent a little time every day trying to win the little Pokémon over.
As a result, he had gradually figured out Natu's personality.
The little fellow was a hardcore tsundere with an innate foodie nature. Although he constantly talked about escaping, the moment someone offered him something delicious, he would immediately eat first and worry about everything else later.
When Sato first captured him, the shiny Natu had been rather small and skinny.
Now he was practically a ball with feathers.
Even if he wanted to run away, he probably lacked the stamina to do so.
Although Natu had become somewhat chubby, Sato was more than happy to see it. Not only did he never suggest that Natu lose weight, but he frequently fed him high-calorie treats like cream cakes and chocolate.
It could be said that Natu's transformation into a feathered ball was entirely Sato's doing.
The results, however, were obvious.
After falling in love with sweets and gaining weight, Natu's resistance toward Sato had noticeably decreased. These days, he rarely shouted about running away.
Instead, he usually demanded delicious food from Sato with an arrogant expression.
At the same time, he had become good friends with Kadabra and Swampert.
Other than refusing to participate in their daily training sessions, he spent most of his free time discussing food with them.
Perhaps even Natu himself hadn't realized it, but he had gradually become part of Sato's team.
Soon, the pleasant hot-spring outing came to an end.
Sato returned to the Pokémon Center with his thoroughly satisfied Pokémon and soon fell asleep.
The next morning, Sato resumed his journey.
Leaving Lavaridge Town from the west, he planned to cross Route 112, enter Route 111 once again, continue north along Route 111, then proceed to Route 113.
His final destination was Fallarbor Town, located west of Route 113.
Not long after leaving Lavaridge Town, Sato encountered a Trainer heading in the opposite direction.
After asking for directions and learning that Sato had already earned the Heat Badge, the Trainer immediately challenged him to a battle.
"Now, Blastoise, use Aura Sphere!"
After seeing the opponent's Cacturne knocked flying by a punch from Blastoise during close combat, Sato immediately ordered a follow-up attack.
At once, the two cannons on Blastoise's shell fired basketball-sized Aura Spheres toward the injured Cacturne.
"Then let's do this! Cacturne, use Destiny Bond!"
Seeing that his Cacturne was about to lose, the Trainer immediately ordered it to use a move that would drag its opponent down with it.
Upon hearing the command, the heavily injured Cacturne's eyes flashed black.
A sinister black seal emerged from its body and shot directly toward Blastoise.
"Not a chance. Blastoise, use Hydro Pump to retreat immediately! Don't let that mark touch you!"
Sato was very familiar with the move and had been on guard against it from the beginning.
Blastoise immediately leapt into the air and withdrew its body into its shell.
Then the twin cannons aimed downward and fired two powerful streams of water.
Using the tremendous recoil generated by the high-pressure water jets, Blastoise propelled itself rapidly into the sky, maintaining a safe distance from the pursuing black mark.
While Blastoise avoided Cacturne's desperate Destiny Bond, its two Aura Spheres successfully struck their target.
Cacturne was instantly knocked unconscious.
At the same moment, the black seal that had been relentlessly pursuing Blastoise lost its source of power and vanished into thin air.
"Seriously, you don't hold back at all. You didn't even give me a chance to avoid another complete loss. Looks like I need a lot more training. At this rate, getting the Heat Badge is going to be really difficult."
The Trainer reluctantly recalled Cacturne and spoke dejectedly to Sato, who was currently praising Blastoise for sweeping through all three of his opponent's Pokémon.
"Battles are only interesting when everyone gives their all. And don't sell yourself short. Your Pokémon are quite strong. It's just that most of them are Grass-types. If you want to defeat the Lavaridge Gym, it'd be best to train a powerful Water-type Pokémon."
Sato shook his head and answered seriously.
"That makes sense. Lavaridge Gym is one of Hoenn's famous Fire-type Gyms. I really should train a Water-type Pokémon."
The Trainer nodded in agreement.
Then he seemed to remember something.
"Oh right, you'd better avoid taking Route 112 to Route 111 later. I heard Team Magma has been active there recently. Those guys have apparently blocked the road."
Hearing this, Sato paused for a moment before nodding.
"I see. Thanks for the warning."
After exchanging contact information, the two parted ways and continued on their respective journeys.
At first, Sato didn't think much about the possibility of encountering Team Magma. However, after traveling a little farther and extending his psychic detection, he suddenly discovered a large number of Team Magma members ahead.
Without hesitation, he immediately used Teleport to retreat.
"When I was in Lavaridge Town, I heard Team Magma had been unusually active around Mt. Chimney recently. I didn't run into them on the way here, but now I'm encountering them on my way out. Should I take a detour?"
Hidden within the canopy of a large tree, Sato looked down at the large group of Team Magma members below and felt a headache coming on.
From what he could see, Route 112 was currently swarming with Team Magma personnel.
They appeared to be searching for something and were conducting a thorough sweep of the area.
Trying to pass through Route 112 unnoticed would be extremely difficult.
Yet if he wanted to reach Route 111 quickly, Route 112 was undoubtedly the shortest path.
Taking a detour would mean traversing rugged mountain trails.
"Stop slacking off! Search every inch of the area! The Boss has promised generous rewards for whoever finds it!"
Just as Sato was deciding that discretion was the better part of valor and preparing to Teleport toward the northern mountains, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.
His movement immediately stopped.
Following the direction of the voice, he looked down and saw a woman wearing a Team Magma officer's uniform patrolling the area while casually blowing bubble gum.
Standing beside her was a man in a white lab coat, who currently wore a timid and nervous expression.