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Hook was very good at reading the situation. For the sake of staying alive, he truly was willing to throw away anything that wasn't his own life. Abra was precious, but of course it couldn't compare to the value of his life.
Therefore, Sato had no trouble taking Abra from Hook's hands. And he didn't make things difficult for this hunter who knew how to bow to circumstances. After thoroughly stripping Hook of all the important valuables on him, he simply let the man leave.
Although Hook felt unwilling, he knew very well that he couldn't fight Sato for now—perhaps he would never be able to fight him again.
Almost all of his resources had been taken clean by Sato. It wasn't hard to imagine how much Sato's strength would grow after obtaining everything he had. Wanting to take revenge in the future would be almost impossible.
And after losing Abra, Hook also lost his qualification to compete for the Pokemon egg. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only leave. Otherwise, if other poachers discovered the pitiful state he was currently in, even escaping the Dragon's Den alive would be extremely difficult.
It had to be said—this A-rank criminal, wanted by the League for years without being caught, really was quite wealthy. Who knew how many benefits he'd gained over the years by selling stolen Pokemon.
That anonymous bank card with a deposit limit of ten million, and the few gemstones he'd plundered from the Dragon's Den—those were just the small things. The real treasure lay in the two extremely well-hidden TM discs inside his storage backpack and a half-finished Healing Orb.
The two TMs were Magic Coat and Calm Mind, both top-tier Psychic-type moves.
The first could practically make its user immune to all status moves from the opponent, and even reflect them back. So far, it was the only reliable Psychic-type method for countering Taunt.
As for the second, there was nothing more to say. It temporarily increased the user's Special Attack and Special Defense, making it a lethal tool for special sweepers aiming to take down an entire team.
Sato didn't even have to think to know that these two rare TMs were obviously prepared by Hook to please his Psychic-type Abra. If he remembered correctly, these were powerful Psychic-type techniques that Abra's species could not learn by leveling up.
Now, these valuable TMs had fallen right into his hands—and he had also successfully obtained Abra from Hook. Truly a gain on all fronts.
As for the half-finished Healing Orb, Sato could only feel it was a bit of a pity. Based on his assessment, it was still far from completion. It lacked a great amount of life essence—at least more than half. For now, it was difficult to put to use.
"Sure enough, the fastest way to obtain resources is still for big fish to eat small fish. These powerful poachers are all absurdly rich… I don't even know how they got their hands on such rare TMs."
Sorting through the loot taken from Hook, Sato couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
After making several turns, Sato followed the tunnel back to the entrance. Then, on the rock-filled lakeshore, he found a hidden spot to rest temporarily.
"Come out, Abra."
After confirming the surroundings were safe through psychic sensing, and having his Crobat stand guard, Sato released Abra from its PokeBall.
A flash of white light shot from the opened PokeBall, and Abra—with a strange device strapped to its head—appeared before Sato.
Clearly, having been imprisoned and exploited by Hook, its trust in humans had dropped to absolute zero. Thus, even though the person releasing it wasn't Hook but Sato, it immediately attempted to escape using Teleport.
Unfortunately for it, before Teleport could activate, Crobat's eyes flashed with dark light—the Taunt had successfully sealed all of Abra's status moves.
"Can we talk, Abra?"
Seeing Crobat interrupt Abra's Teleport, Sato's eyes flashed blue. He used telepathy to speak to Abra, while simultaneously using the system to scan its data.
...…
Abra's data:
Pokemon: Abra
Level: 13
Type: Psychic
Ability: Inner Focus
Gender: Male
Known Move:Teleport
Egg Moves:Ally Switch, Psychic Terrain
Tutor Moves: None
TMs: None
Held Item: None
IVs:
HP: 28 (31)
Attack: 26 (31)
Defense: 28 (31)
Special Attack: 31 (31)
Special Defense: 30 (31)
Speed: 31 (31)
Overall IV Ratings: 174 — Purple Grade (almost Gold)
...…
Just from the data alone, one could tell how great this Abra's ratings were—just a step away from reaching Gold quality.
And although the moves it had were few, all of them were extremely useful. Teleport needed no explanation—the ultimate escape technique.
As for Ally Switch and Psychic Terrain, their value was in no way inferior to Teleport.
Ally Switch, put simply, let the user instantly swap positions with a chosen target. In battle, this could affect not only objects but living beings as well.
This made the move incredibly versatile. For example, if Abra were being targeted by multiple enemies, it could instantly switch positions with one of them, causing the opponents to suddenly focus their attacks on one of their own teammates.
Or if a companion was in mortal danger, Abra could switch places to save them—and then escape again using Teleport or another switch.
As for Psychic Terrain, in the game it boosted the power of Psychic-type moves used by all Pokemon on the field and nullified priority moves.
For instance, Quick Attack—which normally always struck first—would lose its priority within Psychic Terrain.
But in actual combat, its effects went far beyond that.
A Psychic Terrain created by a Psychic-type Pokemon was essentially a concretized field of psychic energy. Within this space, the user's Psychic-type moves not only became drastically stronger, but their casting time was also reduced—practically instant. (Think: "ultimate skill activation.")
Thus, once a Psychic-type Pokemon created a Psychic Terrain, it meant it was going all-out.
"Human… you're a psychic?"
After hearing Sato's telepathic message, Abra—initially panicked from being unable to use Teleport—calmed down. Then, delighted, it replied to Sato through telepathy.
"Absolutely. And Abra… I know you've suffered during this time. But I've already rescued you from Hook. From now on, you are free."
"But after being imprisoned by Hook, you should understand your own value in the eyes of poachers. You were lucky to meet me this time, but with your current strength, you could easily be captured again by someone else."
"So how about this—stay with me for a while. I won't imprison you or restrict you. I'll give you training resources. All I ask is that you follow my commands during this time."
Hearing Abra's telepathic response, Sato's heart lit with joy. He first established himself as Abra's savior, then slowly revealed his true intention.