Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 255: Mark’s Power Development

Rubbing his slightly throbbing temples, Sato felt like running five kilometers would've been less exhausting than this.

He opened the message interface from Lilian and Lance again. Upon seeing that Lance had messaged first, Sato was able to piece together the sequence of events with near-perfect accuracy.

Though he had long expected this from the Joy family, now that it was actually happening, it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

They wanted the Rapidash to run without feeding it. How could things be that easy?

Haruka was not the same as the Joy family. Sometimes, decisions made by a group are only meant to satisfy the majority, not necessarily to be right.

After taking a short breather, Sato called Lance's number but the call didn't go through.

Busy? Sato wondered, but didn't dwell on it. With Lance's strength, intellect, and connections, his rise after becoming a League Investigator must've been rocket-like.

And with it came endless missions. Many of which were extremely dangerous.

Previously, the fact that Lance had always been able to take Sato's calls might've just been pure luck.

It was almost time to eat. Sato was just about to head out when his phone suddenly rang.

"Clair?" Sato blinked, surprised that this girl would take the initiative to call him.

"It's been a while! My cousin's out on a mission and left his phone with me. Sorry I missed the call earlier."

It had been quite some time since they last saw each other. Sato noticed Clair had shot up in height... she looked even taller than him now.

"Yeah, I needed something from your cousin. But if he's not around, forget it."

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"It's about the Mega Stone, right? I know all about it!" Clair said proudly.

"You do? Can you make the decision?"

"Make the decision for what?"

"...How has everyone been lately?" Sato decided to switch topics.

"I don't know how they are, but I'm bored to death!" Clair instantly got fired up and began ranting.

As it turned out, Will had recently been pulled into the League's Investigator ranks by Lance and had been completely off the grid ever since.

White, on the other hand, had gone to travel alone in the Sinnoh region. Apparently, his family was planning to expand their business there, and he used it as a training opportunity.

Rose had also reached the age where she had to choose a future path. Interestingly, she chose not to become a nurse. Instead, she was interning at a Pokémon Egg facility, seemingly aiming to become a researcher specializing in eggs.

With all that happening, Clair no longer had a reason to stay in Silver Town.

When she returned to Blackthorn City, she officially began training to become a Gym Leader. Naturally, it was both tough and boring.

"You'd better train hard. Otherwise, the strongest Gym in Johto might not be yours anymore."

"DROP DEAD!" Clair shouted, hanging up furiously. Still, deep down, she couldn't help but feel anxious. She knew just how strong Sato was.

With that thought, she clearly became much more serious about the training ahead.

As for Sato, he forgot about the conversation moments later. Whether it was the strongest Gym or not, he didn't care at all.

As long as he was strong enough, that was all that mattered.

From outside the room came Joseph's voice calling for dinner. Sato carried the already-sleeping Pichu out of the room.

The moment the door opened, the delicious aroma instantly woke Pichu, who dashed toward the food without even waiting for Sato.

At the table, the three of them ate while discussing their next move.

"Now that Weavile had an advancement, where are we going next?" Mark asked. He hated staying in one place for too long.

"I'm good with anything," Joseph replied lazily, unfazed.

"We haven't finished exploring Shoal Cave. I want to go back in one more time."

"Go back? It's freezing in there," Mark shivered just thinking about it.

"You two don't have to go. I can go alone."

"I'll come. Staying here is boring too," Joseph said calmly, raising his hand while still chewing his food.

Sato glanced at him but said nothing.

"Alright, I'll go too," Mark said, slumping his shoulders.

The real reason was simple: Mossdeep City was a small island city, and there really wasn't anything fun to do.

The next day, the three of them once again headed to Shoal Cave. Thanks to the claw marks left by Weavile, they quickly returned to the spot where they had defeated Lapras.

When they saw Lapras again, it simply stared at Weavile for a few seconds before silently backing off, no longer getting in their way.

After about half an hour, Sato found another Never-Melt Ice, but hit a dead end afterward.

They then spent time retracing every unexplored fork in the path, and whenever a wild Pokémon appeared, Weavile handled it.

After its advancement, Weavile had improved significantly in all aspects. Since they hadn't encountered any other Peak Elite-level opponents, this trip went much smoother than the last.

However, although it was smooth, the gains were minimal; nowhere near what they got on the first day.

This made Sato glance at Mark from time to time. "What are you thinking about right now?"

"It's cold. I really wanna go back."

"...And yesterday?"

"Yesterday? How should I know what I was thinking yesterday?" Mark replied while stomping his feet.

"What's the first thing you did after entering Shoal Cave yesterday?"

"Treasure hunting, duh!" Mark said as if it was obvious.

"Then why don't you feel like treasure hunting today?" Joseph joined in.

"Because it's cold," Sato said with a sarcastic chuckle.

"Yeah!"

Yeah my foot!

"Let's go back. There's nothing to gain today," Sato said as he turned to leave without a second thought.

With the team's mascot on strike, what else could he do? It was hopeless.

After a moment's pause, Joseph got the idea and followed with a helpless smile.

"Hey hey, boss, where are we going next?" Mark asked enthusiastically outside Shoal Cave.

Watching Mark spring back to life in an instant, Sato began to wonder if the guy hadn't been faking it all along...

Not bad!

"Let me ask you, can you now control your power freely?" Sato asked, his tone more serious than usual.

"Uh? N-not really..." Mark hesitated, caught off guard.

"Consider what happened today as a method. Try starting with small things that won't affect much. Use those to probe your control."

"Hmm... hmm..." Mark, for once, turned serious. He understood what Sato meant but had no idea how to begin, so he kept frowning in thought.

The sea breeze brushed past, and Mark suddenly felt a chill. When he looked up, he realized the sun had already shifted westward.

"How long have I been thinking?"

"A bit over two hours. It's rare to see you so focused, so I let you think longer," Joseph replied with a smile, handing over a bento he'd kept warm.

"You're family!" Mark was deeply moved. He lunged forward for a bear hug. As he went in for one with Sato too, he was immediately blocked.

"So, did you figure anything out?" Sato asked, holding Mark back with one hand.

"Hehehe... nope."

"..."

"Kidding Hahaha! Boss, your face was so sour..."

"Hm?"

"Boss, I mean you're handsome! Super handsome! Universally handsome! Oh no... my lunch...!"