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At night, beneath a large tree in a small forest at the foot of Tauros Mountain—a place inhabited by many Aipom—Sato and his Pokémon were enjoying a hearty dinner.
As Sato's temporary ally, Thomas and his team of Pokémon were also taking advantage of the calm evening to relax.
However, Thomas barely had any time to eat during the meal. He was busy playing the role of a professional grill master, running around multiple campfires with barely a moment's rest.
If Thomas was the grill master, then his Rapidash and the newly captured Pinsir were his assistants.
Rapidash supplied the perfect flame control, while Pinsir used the sharp horns on its head to slice and prepare the ingredients spread across the ground.
Thomas would then eagerly deliver the grilled delicacies to one particular guest with an astonishing appetite.
Surprisingly, Thomas had no complaints about this physically taxing and thankless task. Neither did his two Pokémon assistants—or the mini Heracross.
The main reason for their diligence was simple: the burly figure who was happily feasting on the food pile. That guest—Swampert—was deeply satisfied with Thomas's grilled meat.
That satisfaction alone was enough motivation to keep Thomas and his team working nonstop.
Swampert looked delighted as it devoured the mountain of barbecue before it. After nearly three days of eating nothing but 'junk' food at the base, it didn't care that these grilled dishes were a bit inferior in flavor compared to what it had eaten before under Sato's care. All it cared about now was eating to its heart's content.
After such an exhilarating battle during the day, nothing pleased Swampert more than gorging on grilled meat that evening.
Its only regret was the lack of good drinks. For now, it had to settle for the fruits and berries offered by a group of enthusiastic Aipom from nearby.
Swampert had dealt a crushing blow to the Pinsir swarm during the daytime battle—crippling nearly half of the group. Even for a large species like Pinsir, the damage was severe.
Eventually, the Pinsir leader realized that sheer numbers alone could not defeat Swampert on the muddy terrain. Further fighting would only result in pointless casualties. Plus, his clan had already developed deep fear toward Swampert. So, he finally ordered a retreat.
But the Pinsir leader, being a sly and experienced chief of a large group, wasn't done yet. Before retreating, he had the audacity to propose a one-on-one duel with Swampert.
Faced with such an unreasonable challenge, Sato immediately restrained his eager Swampert and firmly rejected the offer on its behalf.
Although Swampert had leveled up to 51 after the fight, it was still a dozen levels lower than the Pinsir leader.
Moreover, Swampert had exhausted a significant amount of stamina battling so many Pinsir. While it still seemed imposing, it was clearly close to its limit.
Had Swampert accepted the duel, it would've walked right into a trap—the Pinsir leader would have had a legitimate excuse to kill it, and no one would have been able to object. After all, no one mourns the dead in these brutal matches.
The leader's challenge was clearly opportunistic, but it gave his wounded clan a way to retreat with their dignity under the eyes of the various Pokemon.
Even though Sato rejected the duel, the Pinsir leader had already achieved his goal—his clan now had a reason to save their reputation. As they withdrew, their morale was somewhat lifted, and they even looked a bit cocky.
Swampert's appetite remained as monstrous as ever. After the heavy consumption from the earlier battle, it devoured over ten golden-roasted mountain antelopes and a mountain of fruit.
"Buurrp~~"
After swallowing one final portion of its special custom-made Pokémon food—handed to it by Sato—Swampert let out a long, satisfied burp. It stretched out comfortably on the ground and, within moments, began snoring loudly.
"Phew~~" ×3
"Gulp~" ×3
Seeing that Swampert was finally full, a sweat-drenched Thomas and his two Pokémon let out sighs of relief. When they glanced at the towering pile of bones left in front of Swampert, their throats twitched, and they swallowed hard with a mixture of awe and fear.
Thomas had witnessed the entire battle against the Pinsir horde earlier that day.
He had been there, and the very Pinsir now helping him grill—at level 43—was caught during that fight.
That Pinsir had been brave. It was one of the few who managed to push through the layers of muddy terrain and reach Swampert, but just like its stronger kin, it nearly became another victim of Swampert's fists.
It was just luck that Swampert happened to knock it in Thomas's direction. That allowed Thomas to swoop in and snag a strong new ally for free.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Thomas would never have believed that the Swampert in front of him had the power to single-handedly challenge and defeat an entire powerful Pokémon group.
Even though the group's formidable leader never stepped in, Swampert's feat still stunned Thomas beyond belief. It completely overturned everything he thought he knew about Sato and his Pokémon.
At that moment, Thomas realized he'd truly latched onto a powerhouse—a partner with 'thick thighs' strong enough to carry him through this competition to the end.
He no longer thought Sato's plan to go up against Ranka was crazy. In fact, after their tactical discussion before dinner, he believed Sato had a very real shot at success.
To be honest, Thomas had been genuinely shocked by the plan Sato devised to counter Ranka's Aggron.
From that detailed strategy, Thomas immediately understood that Sato wasn't just powerful—he was also a skilled and knowledgeable Trainer, capable of flexibly applying deep knowledge of Pokémon mechanics.
Otherwise, how could he have devised such a precise and targeted plan with only minimal intelligence on Ranka's Aggron?
If the plan succeeded, it would cripple most of Aggron's combat capabilities.
But what stunned Thomas most of all was that Sato actually owned such a rare Kecleon—a Pokémon capable of swapping abilities. That Kecleon was the linchpin of the entire operation.
If the plan wasn't so complex and required coordinated teamwork, Thomas felt Sato could've easily ditched him and gone solo.
After all, his role in the plan was mostly to support and distract the enemy.
That thought left Thomas uneasy. So to make himself indispensable, he volunteered to take on the responsibility of preparing dinner for Sato's Pokémon.
Sato was quite satisfied with Thomas's initiative—especially with Swampert around, the workload for dinner was immense.
Of course, his wariness toward Thomas hadn't diminished. He had Bellossom keep a close watch on all the food, just in case someone tried to sneak in poison or tampering.
Thanks to Bellossom's Healer ability, no matter what trickery Thomas might've tried, she could easily cure any resulting status effects.
But so far, Thomas hadn't shown any sign of being that kind of underhanded fool. He truly seemed to be doing his best to help and make his presence and value known.
Because of Thomas's tact and effort—and to ensure the plan went smoothly—Sato decided to share more of the plan and give Thomas a larger role in it.
Sato had long realized that going it alone wouldn't get him far in Team Rocket. But since he hadn't been part of the organization long, and his status was still low, he hadn't yet begun building a network of his own.
However, the tournament—and Thomas's appearance—offered him hope. Perhaps he could use this competition to start secretly developing a few subordinates.
Now free from food prep, Sato took the opportunity to check on mini-Heracross, who had officially joined the team.
Though initially thrilled by Swampert's solo victory over the Pinsir horde, Heracross quickly sank back into grief over its lost family—its spirit once again subdued.
Sato understood completely.
Anyone who had suffered such a loss would find it hard to recover. Even humans, let alone Pokémon, might fall apart after something like that.
It was a wound deeper than heartbreak—one that couldn't be healed with a few words of comfort. If Heracross was ever going to bounce back, it had to find that strength within itself.