In truth, full-time Investigators were incredibly busy. Take "Dragon Master" Lance, for example; his impressive capabilities had led him to dismantle countless underground and criminal organizations over just a few years.
Beyond his ever-growing reputation, Lance had also become a figure of dread among many gray organizations.
They feared being targeted one day, becoming just another number added to Lance's rising fame!
As for Sato, to the public he was nothing more than a Trainer with monstrous talent in battle. Whether he could become a qualified -or even excellent- Independent Investigator, many were still quietly watching and waiting.
---◓---
Kanto Region, Vermilion City, Ocean Blue Café.
Sato sat quietly in a corner of the café, having ordered a cappuccino. His eyes remained mostly fixed on the giant aquarium inside, as if he were genuinely enjoying the sight of the playful Pokémon within.
"Hey there, Sato-kun~ Is your cappuccino sweet enough today?"
A wild curvaceous woman suddenly entered Sato's line of sight!
With wavy, wine-red hair and a body like that… she was hard to ignore…
"Mmh, it's alright."
Sato took a sip from his cappuccino and only spoke after carefully savoring it.
The woman chuckled, seemingly amused by Sato. It took her a while to "calm down".
"You've already drunk half before realizing how it tastes. Men are all such liars~"
Sato raised an eyebrow slightly, glanced down at the cappuccino that was indeed half-finished, then looked over at Pikachu who had a bit of milk foam lingering at the corner of its mouth…
"Pika pi Ϟ(● ⚈ ․̫ ⚈ ●)!?"
Sato turned his head away in silence…
The woman didn't seem to notice Pikachu next to him and naturally sat down beside Sato.
"Sato-kun, I went through a lot of trouble to buy the intel you wanted. Don't you think you owe me something in return… maybe tonight~?
Look at this…"
The woman suddenly straightened up, covering her chest with both hands, her face bright red.
"N-Now? Here? Isn't this a bit too bold…?"
Sato stared at her without blinking, yet still didn't play along.
After a moment, the woman pulled out a microchip from who-knows-where and tossed it at Sato, clearly annoyed.
"100,000. PAY UP!"
Sato ignored her and instead pulled out the "Investigator phone", inserted the chip, and checked the contents.
Soon, several portraits appeared on the screen, each accompanied by rows upon rows of densely packed text.
Sato nodded to himself. Once he confirmed the intel was exactly what he needed, he finally turned toward the woman.
"100,000 Pokédollars have been deposited in your cash register. Make sure you check it. A pleasure doing business with you, Maki, 'boss' of Ocean Blue Café…"
Without giving Maki time to react, Sato stood up and walked out of the café.
"Pikaaa!"
Pikachu quickly hopped onto Sato's shoulder and even turned around to make a face at Maki. It didn't like this human who kept trying to get close to Sato!
Even if her cappuccino was really good…
Only after leaving the café did Sato glance back at the old friend he had known in his previous life, Maki.
On the surface, Maki was the sexy café owner of Ocean Blue Café. But in truth, she had never even dated anyone before.
Despite her wealthy upbringing, she had rebelliously thrown herself into the underworld, and somehow ended up thriving in the intel business on both sides of the law.
Aside from her looks, it was her Ace lvl combat power that truly allowed Maki to hold her ground. But very few people knew about that.
Maki had even gone out of her way to spread rumors that she had connections in both legal and illegal circles, and as the stories spread…
Everyone started to believe it!
In his past life, Sato had once helped Maki by accident, and that led to the two of them slowly becoming acquainted, eventually forming a rare friendship.
So, when Sato came to Vermilion City, it was inevitable that he would think of this familiar face… and it was also a perfect chance to buy some intel from her.
For instance, the person Sato was about to track down now was Aida Saki, who had been involved in counterfeiting Pokémon items in Vermilion City, even resorting to coercion and extortion.
In his past life, Aida had been so arrogant that he accidentally sold a counterfeit Fire Stone to a young Trainer backed by a powerful family, claiming it was a premium Evolution Stone.
When that young Trainer used the fake Fire Stone to evolve his Vulpix, the counterfeit was exposed; and the best evolution window for the Vulpix was completely missed.
That Trainer's family had no shortage of money, and in a fit of rage, they tracked down the seller, Aida Saki.
Upon realizing Aida wasn't someone he could handle easily, but still unwilling to let it go he hired a hitman.
And the person assigned to the task at that time was none other than Sato!
Counterfeiting and selling Pokémon items might not seem too heinous at first glance; after all, it wasn't as heartless as poaching Pokémon.
However, when Aida resorted to coercion and sabotage, destroying the potential of countless new Trainers, his crimes were far from light.
For someone at Sato's level, truly useful Pokémon items were already extremely rare.
But for newly registered civilian Trainers, every item was a product of months of saving. Something they could only afford to buy with extreme caution.
Even a small mishap could mean the end of their journey as a Trainer.
That's why the League treated counterfeit Pokémon item dealers with absolutely zero leniency!
If one was found, they'd be arrested. If a crime group was found, the entire group would be taken down. No exceptions!
Following the address, Sato soon arrived in the northwest outskirts of Vermilion City, where the crowds were thinning out.
Gradually, an abandoned factory came into view.
As Sato turned one more corner, he completely vanished from sight. Half of Gengar's body emerged from Sato's shadow, its golden eyes gleaming, proof that it was using Spatial Barrier.
And just like that, Sato walked openly into the abandoned factory and began his search.
After a while, Sato faintly heard a rhythmic sound of mechanical gears turning.
Getting close!
Sato picked up the pace. After several twists and turns, he was finally approaching the source, the counterfeit Pokémon item operation site!
"HURRY UP, HURRY UP! Ever since that Furuta guy got arrested, our supply line's been cut off. The boss is pissed right now. MOVE FASTER! Don't go screwing this up!"
Standing in the shadows, Sato listened and immediately understood.
So, the parts that Furuta Renji had dissected from wild Pokémon were being sold here.
What a coincidence…
The random scumbag he had picked turned out to be connected to the last mission. It was a chain mission!
'Using Pokémon organs to counterfeit items…' Aida deserved to die for that!
With that thought, Sato quickened his pace even more, determined to locate the key target, Aida , so he could take down the entire operation in one strike!