That night, the four of them talked about a lot of things, from the legendary Pokémon Master to whether a Caterpie could evolve into Rayquaza… serious, ridiculous, anything that came to mind.

By the time the food had cooled and the ice cream had melted into sugary syrup, Umbreon and Glaceon were already curled up asleep in the corner, completely unaffected by the others.

"Being a Pokémon Master is too far off, Champion is good enough!"

"I'm going to catch more and more partners~"

"Becoming a 'Breeder Master'? I think it's doable…"

"What about you, Sato?" Cynthia asked Sato, and both Joseph and Mark turned to look at him as well.

"Maybe… climb to the top of that mountain and see what's up there!" Sato laughed heartily. Under the bright white lights, his eyes were exceptionally bright.

---

…No words through the night.

---

The next morning, Sato got up early as usual, and Joseph was already busy in the kitchen.

Sato had just finished showering when he saw Mark, hair a total bird's nest, squinting his way toward the bathroom.

"Set your alarm wrong?" Sato teased.

Mark struggled to open one eye, glanced at Sato, couldn't even be bothered to respond, and walked straight past him to the sink.

Swoooosh~

"…Sneak off quietly…" Amid the sound of running water, Sato heard Mark mumbling.

Sato glanced at Cynthia's closed door but said nothing, instead walking straight to the dining table.

Joseph came over with three cups of Moomoo Milk. On the table, there were also only three breakfasts set.

"She left in the middle of the night."

"…I know." Sato nodded, took his Moomoo Milk, and drank half in one gulp.

Three minutes later, still with messy hair, Mark rushed over in a panic.

"Why are you still eating? Let's go, let's go! We already said our goodbyes last night. If we run into her this morning, it'll be super awkward!"

Though he was urging them to leave, his hands had already grabbed a sandwich and a Moomoo Milk, devouring them without hesitation in just a few bites.

The other two remained unfazed, still eating breakfast slowly. Only after Mark had finished did Sato speak: "Cynthia left last night. We won't run into her."

Mark froze, instinctively smacking his lips, only to realize that from eating too fast, he hadn't tasted anything.

Looking at the two still eating calmly, Mark suddenly got mad.

"You guys knew already!"

"Yup!" Joseph nodded seriously.

"Rare to see you up this early. Thought maybe you were fired up to improve." Sato wiped his mouth and added, "…Guess I was wrong."

Provoked like that, Mark immediately forgot what he was angry about and just shouted loudly with leftover rage.

"OF COURSE I'M FIRED UP TO IMPROVE!"

"Oh~? Then come train with me. I'll be waiting in the backyard." Sato stood up, patted Mark on the shoulder, and walked away.

Joseph had also finished eating. He gathered the dishes and returned to the kitchen to wash them. Before leaving, he reminded, "Hurry to morning training. Don't delay our departure~"

"Okay…" Mark instinctively replied, but something felt off.

Three minutes later.

"Uwaaah… YOU'RE BULLYING ME!" Mark yelled out in frustration.

Lake Acuity was located in the far north of Sinnoh, extremely remote. After parting ways with Cynthia, the quickest way for the three of them to return was to head even further north to Snowpoint City to catch a flight.

But before returning to Johto, Sato still had an unfulfilled promise, so he had to make a trip to the Sinnoh League's branch HQ: Lily of the Valley Island.

As for Snowpoint City's Gym, Sato wasn't in the mood, and couldn't be bothered to do the "evaluation" work.

After several transfers, by the time the three of them returned to Lily of the Valley Island, three more days had passed.

"Sato! Over here, over here~"

At the arrival gate, Volkner held up a sign with clear reluctance, while Flint stood beside him enthusiastically waving at the three of them.

"It's not like I haven't been here before. Why the big scene?" Sato couldn't help but complain.

In Sinnoh, Flint and Volkner were idol-level figures. With them picking someone up at the airport, avoiding attention was impossible.

"Hahaha, Sato, you're finally here. My babies are starving for battle!" Flint put his arm around Sato, wasting no time in spouting wild words…

Volkner gave Flint a sideways glance and quietly stepped two steps back, clearly not interested in indulging his crazy best friend.

"Long time no see, Volkner~" Mark smiled as he greeted the now-nearby Volkner.

"…Mm."

'Still cold as ever.' Mark pouted and dropped the conversation.

"Let's do a full 6v6 battle~ How about it!" Flint hadn't even finished welcoming them before shifting the topic straight to battle.

"Sure…" Sato nodded, battle spirit rising within him.

Using a match against Flint as the finale for his Sinnoh journey; Sato figured that sounded pretty great.

Back again at the Sinnoh League HQ, the group moved about like they knew the place well.

When they arrived at the battlefield, it was already packed with people. Clearly, word of the "Sato vs. Flint" match had long spread.

When Sato had first arrived in Sinnoh, he challenged and defeated one of the so called Twin Stars -Volkner- despite the level gap, shocking many with his strength while others were annoyed by his "arrogance".

As Sato's name kept making headlines across Sinnoh, people gradually learned more about him.

And now, he was once again using a challenge against one of the "Twin Stars" as the finale to his journey. That sense of déjà vu was unmistakable.

Sato was still Sato… arrogant as ever!

At that moment, a question mark slowly popped above Sato's head. 'Ahhh right… I got arrogant again…'

"Boss! Bertha is here too… Over there!" Mark suddenly pointed in a direction and said.

Sato looked that way and gave a slight nod in greeting.

"There's a place over here to adjust lineups. I'll head over first." Flint pointed to a machine nearby and walked off toward it.

After thinking for a moment, Sato sent back Weavile, whose typing would be at a disadvantage, but kept Cacturne just in case.

Flint specialized in Fire-types, but that didn't mean he only used Fire-types. Cacturne had just had a major power-up. It needed a good, all-out battle.

Soon, both Sato and Flint were standing on the command platforms, and the noisy venue gradually quieted down.

Standing at the center, the referee raised two flags and solemnly announced, "Now commencing the 6v6 full battle exhibition match between Flint, Elite Four candidate, and Yuga Sato, Gym Leader of the Shadownight Gym. The match ends when all six Pokémon on one side lose the ability to battle…

Both sides, please, send out your Pokémon!

"Rapidash, light it up!"

"Sharpedo, you're up first."

Two flashes of red light burst out.

Rapidash and Sharpedo appeared on the battlefield simultaneously.

Clearly, this was going to be a battle of speed…