The National Park was vast, essentially aire forest seed off into a protected area.

  As Spinarak and Sato wahrough the park, they entered numerous rare Bug-type Pokémon.

  After spotting both Gulpin and Illumise multiple times, Sato was able to firm that most of the newly introduced Pokémon were likely from Hoenn.

  It made sense—pared to Sinnoh, Unova, or Kalos, Hoenn was geographically closer to Johto.

  The National Park was a ercialized institution, but its biggest ers weren't the wealthy elite—they were the average trainers without strong Pokémon.

  "If it's Hoenn Pokémon, then Ninjask might be iing… but Shedinja is way too gimmicky. If you know its weakness, it's a plete pushover." Sato shook his head, dismissing the idea.

  Unless he came across a Pokémon that truly stood out, he wasn't pnning on capturing more Pokémon anytime soon.

  Both Larvitar and Spinarak already demanded a signifit amount of his training efforts. On top of that, Sato was reserving two spots in his team—for Pokémon he had yet to reuh.

  Unfortunately, if things followed the timeline of his previous life, those Pokémon were still far beyond his reach—they weren't anywhere near Kanto or Johto.

  Of course, he wouldn't hold those slots indefinitely. But with this mi, he had no iion of settling for mediocre additions.

  "Zzzzt! Zzzzt!"

  "You found something?"

  "Zzzzt!"

  Spinarak excitedly scurried into a nearby bush, f Sato to push his way through the dense foliage. When he finally emerged, he saw Spinarak standing stiffly—locked in a standoff with a Nincada.

  "Spinarak, Poison Sting!"

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

  The purple needles shot forward, eae carrying a high ce of poisoning the oppo. This was rgely thanks to Spinarak's uniquely strong Poison affinity, which made its toxins far more potent than those of other Pokémon.

  "Chika! Chika!"

  However, Nincada was pletely unfazed. With both front cws glowing silver, it swiftly swiped the Poison Stings out of the air, breaking them apart effortlessly.

  "Metal Cw! That's impressive. Spinarak, use String Shot—don't let it escape!"

  "Zzzzt!"

  A thick web of silk shot down from above, trapping Nincada in an instant. The Bug-type struggled fiercely, thrashing about in panic.

  "Spinarak, hit it with Feint Attack!"

  "Zzzzt!"

  A surge of dark energy pulsed from Spinarak's body as it lunged forward, targeting Nincada's thin, fragile wings.

  "Chika!"

  With a pained shriek, Nincada was forced to desperate measures.

  It immediately started digging into the ground—kig up dirt and debris as it burrowed deep beh the surface. Within seds, the silk strands snapped, leaving only a fist-sized hole behind.

  "Zzzzt! Zzzzt!"

  Spinarak clicked its mandibles angrily. It had been so close to winning, only for its oppoo flee underground. Frustrated, Spinarak marched forward, eager to dive in after it.

  "Leave it, Spinarak."

  "Zzzzt…" Spinarak hesitated before relutly obeying, sulking at Sato's feet.

  "That's its territory. If you follow, you'll get yourself trapped underground."

  "Zzzzt!" Spinarak shivered at the thought, residering its impulsive decision. In the end, self-preservation won out, and it abahe pursuit.

  "Let's keep looking. Maybe you'll find something even more iing."

  Hearing this, Spinarak brightened up, eagerly resuming its search.

  But just two steps into its hunt, it stopped—tilting its head in fusion.

  "Zzzzt?"

  Spinarak turned around and scurried back to Sato, finding him kneeling beside the burrow entrance.

  Instead of chasing Nincada, he had crouched down, iing the hole carefully.

  Sato extended his right hand, eling Dark Energy into the tuhe energy pulsed outward, probing the underground space.

  Almost immediately, Sato sensed a distinct response—a wave of disdain radiating from below.

  If it had been a high-potential Bug-type, he would have sensed reje or irritation.

  But this? This felt different.

  There was only one expnation—whatever was lurking underground was either a Psychic-type host-type Pokémon.

  "Spinarak, I think we just found something way more iing."

  "Zzzzt?"

  "Haunter, go underground and check it out. If you see a certain burrowing Bug, feel free t it back up."

  "Kehehehehe~"

  A ghostly ugh echoed from Sato's shadoair of siriangur eyes flickered ience for a brief sed before fading away.

  Ever since Haunter had reached Elite-level, Sato had been training it ih teiques—specifically, assassin-style tactics.

  One of those teiques was the ability to hide io's shadow, pletely suppressing its own presence.

  With that, Haunter silently phased into the ground, leaving Sato and Spinarak to wait for its findings.

  Beside him, Spinarak blis round, beady eyes, staring bnkly at Sato—the same person who just told it not to chase after its enemy, yet now he was sending Haunter underground for revenge.

  In that instant, Spinarak's admiration for both Sato and Haunter skyrocketed. Its tiny eyes filled with tears as it rubbed affeately against Sato's pant leg, looking utterly moved.

  Feeling the gentle nudge against his ankle, Sato instinctively patted Spinarak's head.

  However, his mind remained preoccupied with whatever secrets might be lurking below—he wasn't about to get distracted by Spinarak's dramatics.

  "Zzzzt~"

  Spinarak happily nuzzled into Sato's hand, squinting its little eyes in pure joy.

  BOOM… BOOM… BOOM!

  A series of deep thuds suddenly echoed from beh the ground.

  There was no doubt—Haunter had found something, and now a battle had broken out. Sato's heart tightened with .

  Haunter's Elite-level strength wasly unstoppable, but it was excellent at esg. If things got dangerous, Haunter should be able to flee.

  Time ticked by, nearly half an hour passed. By then, Spinarak had dozed off at Sato's feet, only to be startled awake when Haunter finally returned—merging bato Sato's shadow.

  "Kehehehehe~"

  Haunter's ughter sounded noticeably weaker, making it clear that its oppo had been tougher than expected.

  "Were there people down there, or just Pokémon?"

  "Kehehe~"

  "How strong was the oppo?"

  "Kehehe~"

  "Is there a way inside?"

  "Kehehehe…"

  Through a series of cryptic responses, Sato mao piece together the situation. After weighing his options, he ultimately decided to iigate.

  Pushing deeper into the forest, Sato walked toward the boundary betweeional Park and the wilderness beyond.

  Beyond this point, the Sport Balls used for the Bug-Catg test would automatically lock, rendering them unusable.

  Additionally, all trainers were required to return their Sport Balls within the desigime—failure to do so would result in an official record of theft irainer registry.

  "If Haunter's report is accurate, then the danger level should be manageable… We'll make this quick."

  With that thought, Sato stepped outside the park's boundaries. Instantly, the Sport Ball in his hand lost its fun.

  "Haunter, lead the way."

  "Kehehe!"

  A dark shadow slithered across the ground. Sato recalled Spinarak, ensuring nothing slowed him down, before chasing after Hau full speed.

  A few mier, Haunter abruptly stopped—cirg an unassuming patch of grass.

  Sato observed the ground carefully, quickly notig a barely visible ring-shaped marking.

  Without careful iion, it would have been impossible to detect.

  "The entrance should be nearby…"

  Gng around, the only notable feature in the area was a rge, moss-free boulder.

  "You're suspicious…"

  After a brief search, Sato finally found a small, round protruding button on the underside of the boulder.

  Click!