Days spent together always go by too quickly.
After three days of wandering around and enjoying food, Sato and Cynthia each returned to their respective Leagues.
Now that Cynthia had become Champion, she had even more responsibilities!
But with her personality… she should be able to "self-regulate," right?
Sato also returned to Johto, and after his vacation, there weren't too many annoying issues waiting for him.
Following the complete reshuffling of Johto's Elite Four, most of the current members including Sato were very young, and their work attitude was far better than the previous generation.
Because of this, Sato's group was once called "the most worry-free Elite Four."
The current Elite Four were:
DarKnight Elite Four, Sato
Grass-type Elite Four, Sen
The LucKing Elite Four, Mark
Psychic-type Elite Four, Will
Three years wasn't that long, but it was certainly enough to change a lot of things.
Many people had once set their sights on the vacant Elite Four positions, but in the end, none could compete with the word "youth."
Before Siegfried and the others could settle who would come out on top, Mark and Will took a shortcut and won first and third place respectively in the Region-wide Elite Four 'Candidate' Tournament.
According to the rules, the top three finishers in the tournament could directly fill the vacant Elite Four positions in the League.
At the time, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Unova each had an open Elite Four seat.
Mark's first choice was naturally Johto, and as the champion, he was the first to make his selection.
This put Will in an awkward position. His goal had also been to become Johto's Elite Four, especially since he had more connections there.
Helplessly, Will chose the nearby Kanto Region.
But as the location of the League Headquarters, Kanto's Elite Four were by default considered stronger than those in other regions.
With only a third-place finish, Will clearly wasn't qualified enough. Even if he forced his way in, he might have been quickly eliminated.
So not long after the tournament ended, both Lance and Will received transfer orders.
Will was reassigned as an Elite Four in Johto as he had hoped, while Lance was transferred to Kanto to serve as one of their Elite Four.
Perhaps the decision-makers considered how much this transfer would affect Will, so they deliberately chose his close friend, Lance.
In the end, Will accepted the arrangement. As for how he truly felt about it, no one knew.
But overall, both Mark and Will were very dedicated after taking office, which meant Sato had far fewer tasks to deal with.
After spending a bit of time finishing up his work, Sato returned to his home within the Johto League.
As soon as he arrived at the door, Sato saw Gardevoir wearing an apron.
After confirming her relationship with Lucario, Gardevoir's playful side had gradually faded, and she now seemed more and more like a gentle, devoted wife…
Then Umbreon, Pikachu, Ariados, and the others all rushed up at once. They affectionately surrounded Sato for quite a while before finally letting him go.
Of course, Cool-types like Weavile, Absol, and Drapion naturally stood a short distance away, watching with a mix of disdain, joy, and envy…
Sato walked over to each of them, either praising or offering advice, making sure they all knew he was always paying attention.
Just doing this took almost a full hour, and Gardevoir even came over right on time to call everyone to dinner.
In the backyard, Sato and all his Pokémon ate together, making for a rather grand scene.
But every time he saw this, Sato felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction…
---◓---
After a short rest following dinner, it was time for the usual training session.
These past years, even with Dark Energy slowly enhancing the Pokémon's potential, most of their strength had stabilized, and now it was all about long-term refinement through accumulation.
Pikachu was still stuck at Peak Ace level, never quite able to break through to the Elite Four threshold.
But over the years, it had continued polishing and tempering itself. What it lacked now was just a trigger.
Drapion and Absol had both successfully broken through to Elite Four level!
They had frequently appeared in Sato's battles against other top Trainers in the League, and after match upon match, reaching Elite Four was only natural.
After they reached Elite Four level, Sato often brought them along for mission work, and the public gradually came to recognize them; they had become somewhat well-known.
Later teammates mostly kept improving, but some of the older ones had stagnated due to limitations in potential.
Houndoom's path to becoming a Totem had failed. It couldn't advance, and instead had to worry about the survival of its massive Houndoom pack… more than a thousand. In three years, its growth had been minimal.
Cacturne, Umbreon, and even Gardevoir hadn't made much progress in these past few years either.
The first two still harbored strong ambitions for power, but now that they had partners, their hearts had gradually shifted toward family life.
Sato fully supported this. Not every Pokémon was born to fight, finding happiness of their own was a wonderful thing.
So Sato didn't demand much from them. As long as their strength didn't decline, and they spent some time refining their tactical systems when possible, that was enough.
As for Gardevoir… she had lived long enough that her desire for power had faded.
If Sato's team had an average strength of Ace level, Gardevoir might never even break through to Elite Four.
Let alone now.
With that "innocent and shy" Lucario by her side every day, there was no way Sato would force anything.
So unless necessary, Sato rarely sent her into battle anymore. As for helping take care of the other Pokémon, that was her personal hobby.
Weavile and Krookodile, though, posed more of a dilemma for Sato. They worked hard and had always aimed for Champion level.
But their natural potential was simply limited. The boost from Dark Energy was slow and subtle; nowhere near enough to make rapid progress in the short term.
Maybe in another ten years or so, after accumulating enough, they might still have a shot at reaching Champion level.
…But it would still depend on Sato's Dark Energy.
Different from them, Ariados and Sharpedo were born with Elite Four level potential. With the boost from Dark Energy, breaking through would be easier, which was why Sato always prioritized them.
Honchkrow, with both its Totem status and naturally high Champion level potential, ended up overtaking the others and successfully joined the main team.
Gengar had opportunity after opportunity. After acquiring a Domain three years ago, it became unstoppable; Sato himself wasn't even sure how strong it had become.
Tyranitar and Hydreigon had been stuck between Elite Four and Champion level for over two years, never managing to break through…
With the Champion battle approaching, Sato had no choice but to exchange his contribution points for access to the Apex Mimicry Zone.
There, the two pseudo-legendaries relied on their powerful inherent heritage and finally completed their last breakthrough!
Zoroark, being Sato's Starter Pokémon, needed no further mention.
But what shocked Sato most… was Greninja!
Three years ago, Sato had a stroke of luck and helped the Guardian of the Seas, Lugia, which gave Greninja the chance to "study" under the Legendary Pokémon.
A year ago, Greninja quietly returned after completing its training, and its Peak Elite Four level strength left Sato speechless for quite some time.
And that… was only the beginning…