At present, most of the Pokémon under Sato's care had already reached Ace level. The few that hadn't were either still lacking in accumulated experience, or Sato deliberately didn't want them to grow too fast.

As a second-stage pseudo-legendary Dragon-type, Zweilous's growth cycle could be measured in years. If it managed to evolve within 10 years, that would already be considered fast.

Of course, the existence of the Advanced Mimicry Space had greatly reduced the experience accumulation time, but the core requirement for Zweilous's evolution was for its two heads to achieve unity of will.

Devour to evolve?

In his past life, Sato had tried to push Zweilous to Elite Four level. With no reliable training data available, he had no choice but to follow the standard path. Strict and traditional development.

But now… Sato had Elite Four Drake as a speed dial, the "backing" of the Joy family, the friendship of future Champion Cynthia, a fallback at Shadownight Gym, the frien[…]

And his "cheat" ability: Dark Energy…

So, Sato decided to take a risk. Instead of allowing Lefty and Righty to evolve through devouring, he would… nurture a third consciousness¹1!

Through consistent adjustment via Dark Energy and the efforts of Zweilous itself, Lefty and Righty had already achieved fully independent move execution²1. Not only did they avoid interference, they could coordinate in perfect harmony.

Only Sato and Zweilous knew how difficult and strenuous the process had been…

But the results were impressive. Lefty plus Righty was much greater than two. They were far beyond the level of ordinary Elite Pokémon, and could even hold their own against Roserade.

On the field, the battle between Zweilous and Roserade was still ongoing. Both sides continued to exchange blows, matching each other evenly.

Visibly, the fight seemed balanced, but as a Grass-type, Roserade recovered stamina quickly in sunlight.

Zweilous, on the other hand, had both heads attacking at once, which drained twice the stamina. It was now panting heavily, clearly struggling.

"It's over, Sato. Zweilous still hasn't evolved… there's no way it can win like this. Roserade, Leaf Storm!"

Just as Cynthia finished speaking, the scattered Magical Leaf changed color and began to swirl violently, forming a massive green storm that completely engulfed Zweilous.

"Go for it… Dragon Rush!"

Sato hoped that Zweilous could break through the Leaf Storm. He caught a flash of bluish-purple light rushing out.

Then… the Leaf Storm dispersed. Zweilous lay on the ground, its body covered in deep cuts, no longer able to battle.

"Mega~"

Joseph's Meganium walked over on its own and used Heal Pulse on both Zweilous and Roserade.

Under the pink glow of Heal Pulse, the small wounds on Zweilous's body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, until they completely vanished.

"Zwe Zwe~"

"Lous Lous…"

Lefty and Righty soon regained consciousness. Upon realizing they had lost, they lowered their heads in shame, not daring to look at Sato.

"You successfully used all the moves we practiced in training. Not bad…"

Zweilous's eyes lit up. 'It seemed… maybe… that was a compliment?'

Just as Lefty and Righty were about to lean in for a head pat, Sato continued, "Stamina's lacking. Poor adaptability. Aside from combination moves, the rest of your performance was average. Still needs work."

Zweilous froze mid-motion, then obediently nodded. 'You're the boss. Whatever you say goes.'

←← →→

"Zweilous is doing well, but you know… for it to evolve…" Cynthia left the sentence hanging, but Sato naturally understood what she meant.

"Let's take it slow. No need to rush," Sato didn't explain further. He'd let time prove everything.

Lefty and Righty squinted at Cynthia… this female was the one who commanded her Pokémon to defeat them, and now she was turning around to praise them.

'Don't we know whether we're strong or not ourselves?'

'Hmph! She must be plotting something against Sato to be this two-faced… So devious!'

With that thought, Lefty and Righty exchanged glances and quietly walked between Sato and Cynthia, making sure the two couldn't stand too close together.

Sato frowned at the restless Zweilous twisting at his feet and casually nudged it away with his hand.

"You're a grown-up Zweilous now. Learn to train on your own. I'll come check your results later."

Zweilous: ┐(T.T )( T.T)ノ

Sato and Cynthia resumed their conversation, this time about the next step of their journey.

"We'll reach Celestic Town tomorrow. I really want a cup of Grandma's Autumn Tea~" Cynthia said as she looked toward Celestic Town, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

"…Autumn Tea?"

"Yeah, it's a local tea from Celestic Town. Not produced in large quantities, but not expensive either. It has a unique flavor. You'll know once you try it~" Cynthia replied with a smile. With Celestic Town just ahead, she was visibly more relaxed.

The two of them chatted casually. Meanwhile, Joseph and Mark had finally wrapped up their battle. Phione and Clauncher had ended in a tie…

"So close… such a shame," Mark grumbled persistently, unwilling to accept the draw.

Joseph ignored him, slung his travel bag over his shoulder, and pulled out a map to double-check the route.

"Follow me. We're almost at Celestic Town, I know this area well," Cynthia said directly, sparing Joseph the trouble of navigation.

The group of four resumed their journey. Nothing unexpected happened along the way, and by the next day, they had safely arrived at Celestic Town.

---

"Cynthia's back! Say hi to your grandma for me!"

Along a small path in Celestic Town, an old man with white hair cheerfully greeted Cynthia. Beside him stood a sturdy Tauros.

"Okay, Wylie~" Cynthia nodded sweetly, greeting him like an old friend.

---

"Oh, it's Cynthia! My child was just talking about you a couple days ago. Come visit sometime, alright?"

"Got it, Helena."

---

"Cynthia's back! I've been training my Chimchar real hard. It's super… strong now!"

A tanned little boy came running over excitedly and shoved his confused-looking Chimchar in front of Cynthia. Then he glared challengingly at Sato's group one by one.

"…"

"Smooth and shiny fur, strong tail flame… looks like you've been taking good care of it. Nice job~" Cynthia praised with a smile, patting Chimchar's head.

The kid's face turned beet red from excitement. He hugged Chimchar and started spinning around in circles, as if he were the one who'd been patted.

Sato and the others could clearly see it: Cynthia was extremely well-known in Celestic Town. And it wasn't just popularity… it was universal admiration.

It took them more than an hour to walk from the town entrance to Cynthia's grandmother's house, even though the straight-line distance was less than a kilometer…

Once they arrived, Cynthia visibly let out a sigh of relief. Handling that many enthusiastic townsfolk wasn't easy for her either.

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¹.OP or what? Imagine…

².OP!

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200 PS = Extra chap

OP or what? Imagine…

OP!