Time flew by, and seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
During that week, Caster was like a parent taking a child to school. He dropped Slowpoke off at the Saffron Gym at the same time every morning so Sabrina could study and train it, then returned every evening to pick it up.
Overall, Slowpoke made tremendous progress.
Sabrina truly deserved her reputation as one of the finest psychics in the Pokémon world. Her ability to train Psychic-type Pokémon was remarkable.
Slowpoke also happened to possess extraordinary talent and comprehension. It learned everything quickly.
The two of them were a perfect match between teacher and student.
Slowpoke's understanding of psychic power improved enormously almost every day, and its strength rose along with it.
All it had to do in return was use Take Heart whenever Sabrina needed to observe and study the move.
According to Slowpoke, however, her research did not seem to be going well.
One day, Caster arrived to take Slowpoke back for the evening as usual.
To his surprise, Slowpoke finally voiced an idea it had been considering for some time.
"Trainer, I want to continue studying under Sabrina a while longer."
Caster froze. "Slowpoke? You..."
"Trainer, Sabrina's knowledge of psychic power is incredibly profound."
Slowpoke looked up at him with reverence in its eyes. "I may be extraordinarily gifted, but seven days was only enough for me to scratch the surface."
Just as Sabrina had predicted, all Slowpoke needed was the chance to study psychic power under her, and it began to revere her like a god.
Caster rubbed his chin, his expression troubled.
The Indigo League Conference was just around the corner, and Caster had his sights set on the championship.
He could just barely accept sitting around Saffron City for seven days. But if Slowpoke intended to study under Sabrina for an extended period, he could not possibly remain here with it.
He needed to spend the time he had left fishing and gathering resources to strengthen the Pokémon under his command.
That meant he and Slowpoke would have to part for a while.
Since becoming a Trainer, Caster had never been separated from any of his Pokémon. The thought inevitably filled him with sadness and reluctance.
For a moment, a melancholy silence hung between them.
Fortunately, Caster was a rational person. He understood that Slowpoke was making the right choice.
A brief separation now would make their reunion even better.
Seeing the resolve in Slowpoke's eyes, Caster nodded in understanding and said solemnly, "Then go for it, Slowpoke! Do everything you can to become the strongest Slowpoke in the world!"
"Trainer, I'll work hard!"
Slowpoke nodded solemnly, though its eyes brimmed with tears as it whimpered, "There's only one thing I'm worried about. What am I supposed to do when I miss you?"
Slowpoke might be powerful, but it was still a baby barely a month old and remained deeply dependent on Caster.
Warmth blossomed in Caster's heart, and he smiled. "Don't worry. I'll buy you a phone before I leave. Whenever you miss me, you can message me or make a video call."
"That's wonderful!"
Slowpoke instantly brightened through its tears, grinning almost from ear to ear.
Caster put a hand to his forehead.
Why do I feel like I've been played?
After settling matters with Slowpoke, Caster approached Sabrina again and solemnly entrusted it to her care.
"Don't worry."
Sabrina was dressed as usual in a miniskirt and knee-high boots. Her expression was blank and her gaze severe.
"My research may have failed, but this Slowpoke truly is exceptionally gifted. I'm curious to see how far it can go in the future."
Caster's Slowpoke was a survivor of Team Rocket's experiments. Like Sabrina, it was something of an anomaly, and the two shared a sense of kinship.
For that reason, Sabrina was willing to devote real care and effort to its training.
"Shellder~"
No one was more heartbroken by Slowpoke's temporary departure than Shellder.
Without anyone to lick, what purpose did a devoted little tail-licker like Shellder have left in life?
Shellder wanted desperately to remain in Saffron City with Slowpoke, but Slowpoke had no intention of bringing that dead weight along.
"It'll be all right!"
Seeing Shellder's tearful eyes, Caster tried to comfort it. "Slowpoke is working hard to become stronger, and you can't slack off either. The next time you meet might be when the two of you finally fuse and evolve."
"Shellder~"
Shellder's eyes lit up, its face filled with longing.
Fusing with Slowpoke and evolving was the ultimate goal that had driven it to join Caster's team.
Seeing Shellder lost in its fantasies, Caster could not resist teasing it.
"If Slowpoke decides you're too weak by then and dumps you, don't come crying to me."
"Shellder~"
Shellder's expression immediately turned grave.
Caster recalled Shellder, mounted Dragonair, and left Saffron City for Viridian City.
He now possessed seven Badges. Naturally, the final one would come from the Viridian Gym in Viridian City.
"Giovanni!"
Caster's gaze sharpened as he thought of the Viridian Gym Leader.
Giovanni was arguably the most popular villain among Pokémon fans.
On the surface, he was the Leader of the Viridian Gym.
In secret, however, he was also the boss of the criminal organization Team Rocket and ruled over a vast underworld empire.
Caster suspected that Giovanni possessed strength worthy of a Champion. The man had simply concealed his true abilities all this time, revealing only the tip of the iceberg.
"Judging by the timeline, Mewtwo should already have been created."
Caster's eyes flickered. "At this very moment, Giovanni is probably conditioning it to obey him and serve as a weapon for Team Rocket."
According to the anime's storyline, Gary had easily defeated the Pokémon Giovanni raised for Gym battles. But when he encountered Mewtwo, he had been crushed without the slightest ability to fight back.
Afterward, an emergency forced Giovanni to leave with Mewtwo. He placed the Gym in the care of Team Rocket's trio.
Then the trio destroyed the Viridian Gym.
Giovanni subsequently turned all his attention toward recapturing Mewtwo and vanished from public view.
The Viridian Gym Leader position remained vacant for a time, until the League temporarily assigned Agatha of the Elite Four to evaluate young Trainers there.
If Caster wanted to obtain the Earth Badge without trouble, he needed to hurry.
Dragonair was remarkably fast. It took Caster only two hours to travel from Saffron City to Viridian City.
The Viridian Gym had a very old-fashioned appearance. Two burly men stood at its entrance, both clad in ancient armor and carrying traditional weapons. They did not look like people anyone would want to cross.
"Hello, I'm a Trainer here to challenge the Viridian Gym. Is Mr. Giovanni inside?"
Caster hurried to the entrance and stated his purpose directly.
Giovanni might be infamous behind the scenes, but the public knew him only as the respected Leader of the Viridian Gym.
So although Caster secretly despised him, he allowed none of it to show on his face.
He was nowhere near strong enough to confront Giovanni head-on. For now, his priority was obtaining the Earth Badge.
"Mr. Giovanni is inside. You may enter."
One of the guards looked Caster over. Finding nothing unusual, he allowed him through.