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After learning that the person inviting him to dinner was Alice, Sato thought about it for a moment. In the end, he still slipped the business card into his pocket. However, he did not immediately contact her using the information on the card. Instead, he turned and left the restaurant.
By now, it was already past 11 p.m. The night was very deep.
Sato knew it would be unwise to disturb the young lady of the Sasaki family at this hour. Besides, he believed that once she knew he had accepted the card, she would take the initiative to contact him.
After Sato left, the waitress at the service counter quickly took out a brand-new business card from a drawer and used her communicator to send a message to the contact information written on it.
Meanwhile, in a luxurious villa located in the wealthy district of downtown Slateport City, Alice was undergoing her nightly skincare routine with the help of her maid, Sonoko. Suddenly, a silver communicator placed on the living room table chimed as a message arrived.
Gallade, who was lying on the living room sofa watching a Pokémon comedy movie, instantly used Teleport to appear beside the table. He picked up the communicator, and then used Teleport again to appear beside Alice in her bedroom.
"Thank you, Gallade."
Alice took the communicator from him and immediately saw that there was an unread message on the screen. She thanked him with a smile.
Gallade was eager to get back to his movie. He nodded at Alice before using Teleport again to return to the sofa in the living room.
"It seems that Mr. Tyler is willing to get acquainted with us. Sonoko, later go reserve a seafood banquet at the Slateport Grand Hotel and send Mr. Tyler an invitation. Tomorrow, I want to meet him personally."
After reading the message, a satisfied smile appeared on Alice's delicate face. She turned to Sonoko, who was currently arranging her hair, and gave the order.
"I understand, Miss. I'll handle it right away."
Sonoko dared not disobey Alice and nodded immediately.
...….
After leaving the restaurant, Sato planned to return to his lodging at the Pokémon Center. However, halfway there, he realized that someone was following him—and there was more than one person.
It had to be said that while Sato had stolen the spotlight in the battle arena, he had also drawn the attention of certain ill-intentioned individuals.
What these people were targeting was not his life, but the Pokémon under his command.
Whether it was Pikachu, Kadabra, or Blastoise, these three Pokémon had demonstrated impressive combat strength and astonishing potential during the battles. In particular, the extremely rare Kadabra and the Blastoise capable of using Aura made many Trainers green with envy.
Among them, some jealous individuals had already begun setting their sights on those Pokémon.
Especially after they learned that Sato was merely a civilian Trainer with no backing, they became even more brazen, spending large sums of money to hire shady characters to steal his Pokémon.
Money moves people's hearts. Although Sato had displayed considerable strength, the buyers were offering high prices. Some people could not resist the temptation and chose to take the risk—some even joining forces.
Of course, Sato was currently in the city center, where security was the tightest. These people naturally did not dare to make a move there. So instead, they quietly followed him, watching his every move.
The moment Sato left the city and entered a sparsely populated area, they would strike without hesitation.
"So they've finally come… This is the tragedy of being weak, I suppose. If you show off too many good things, people will inevitably covet them."
After noticing the sneaky figures trailing behind him, Sato wasn't particularly surprised—just somewhat helpless.
In fact, this was precisely why Sato had initially been reluctant to enter the battle arena too early. The arena was a mixed bag of people. Once your Pokémon were exposed, certain troubles would inevitably come knocking.
For example, recruitment attempts from powerful families like Alice's… or the wolves now watching him greedily from behind.
For a civilian Trainer with no background to grow into a powerful, independent Trainer, the road was extraordinarily difficult.
The higher you climbed, the more restraints you would face. After all, no major power liked the existence of a strong individual who refused to follow their rules.
"It's about time this identity finds some faction to rely on. Otherwise, without a 'tiger's skin' to borrow for intimidation, once my Pokémon continue to attract attention—before this identity reaches Elite Four level—these money-chasing wolves behind me will never stop appearing."
"With my current strength, as long as Elite-Four level Trainers don't make a move, I'm not afraid of anyone. But the more I fight, the more things I reveal… and that's not good for keeping my identity hidden."
"Still, there's no rush. Tonight I flexed my muscles quite a bit in the battle arena. Many factions will probably throw olive branches at me soon. I can just sit back and fish for benefits."
Thinking deeper about it, Sato realized this might actually be a good opportunity—an opportunity for the identity of Tyler to officially enter the sights of major factions.
Although being followed by so many people was irritating, Sato wasn't foolish enough to deal with them inside the city. Eventually, he entered a nearby clothing store and used Teleport to shake off the tails.
However, Sato had somewhat underestimated their tracking ability. Not long after, he discovered the same people following him again.
Clearly, these lackeys were local snakes of Slateport City with numerous informants under their command. It was difficult for Sato to shake them completely.
"They really won't give up… Looks like if I don't teach them a lesson, they'll never learn. Otherwise, they'll really think I'm someone easy to bully."
After returning to his room at the Pokémon Center, Sato noticed that the tails were still lingering in the hallway, pretending to be ordinary passersby.
Instead of getting angry, he laughed coldly.
Soon, Sato turned off the lights in his room and pretended to go to sleep.
The moment the light by his window went out, the people loitering in the corridor immediately lit up with excitement.
Malicious glints appeared in their eyes.