In the end, Trish made up her mind and insisted on going out to travel alone.

Before that, Sato tested her on a few Wilderness Survival questions and found that Trish had indeed been studying seriously.

…But the real reason Sato eventually agreed was because Amber gave him a subtle nod.

It was easy to imagine that once Trish set out, Amber would assign someone trustworthy to secretly protect her.

…The night passed uneventfully…

The next morning, after breakfast, Sato once again flew away from Shadownight Town under everyone's watchful eyes.

The only difference was that this time, Sato was riding Hydreigon instead of Honchkrow.

And as far as the people of Shadownight Town were concerned, most of them didn't even know Sato had returned.

Shadownight Town remained the same strange town. Bustling with life during the day, completely dark and lightless at night.

That evening, Sato had already returned to Celadon University and checked in with his advisor, Erika.

After her initial surprise, Erika informed Sato that a certain group had been waiting for him ever since he left, nearly a month by now.

"Are they those students desperate for my guidance?"

Sato frowned, instinctively assuming it was because his public lecture had been too good and well-loved by his classmates.

"…Teacher Sato, you'll understand when you see them tomorrow," Erika said after a moment of silence, her tone complicated, choosing not to elaborate.

The next day, when over a dozen bald-headed sages walked straight into Celadon University with solemn eyes and unwavering focus, they immediately drew the attention of countless students.

'In this day and age, even sages were coming to study at universities?'

When the group of sages, led by Erika, arrived at Sato's office, Sato was still a bit dazed.

"Sage, what brings you here?"

"Sato, long time no see. I trust you've been well."

"Heh, well enough."

Sato casually responded, while internally beginning to wonder why they had come. And in such a large group, no less!

At the same time, he also noticed the unusually handsome Arluin standing beside the head Sage.

"If you don't mind, Sato, may we have a look at your… Gengar?"

Perhaps due to the long wait, Mingguang, usually the type to speak slowly and deliberately, was now uncharacteristically direct.

"…Gengar?"

Sato's eyes shifted, and a subconscious sense of caution rose within him. "Why do you want to see Gengar?"

"Sato, we just want to confirm one thing. No matter the result, we guarantee it won't bring any harm to Gengar," Arluin stepped forward and said politely.

His manner of speaking was also naturally disarming. But Sato wasn't falling for it.

"Confirm what? And what happens if you do?"

In the past, Sato would've acted without a word, but after the recent trip to the Village of Dragons, he realized that arguing and stalling sometimes worked just as well.

Sure enough, before Mingguang or Arluin could respond, two sages from the rear stepped forward.

But before they could say anything, Mingguang raised his foot with a smile and stopped them, then pressed his palms together and offered Sato a gesture of respect.

"To be honest, Sato, during your participation in the Ace Tournament, we discovered that in one match, your Gengar used Sage speech to defeat an opponent. Do you happen to remember that?"

"Sage… speech?"

Sato put on a thoughtful expression, but he had already remembered how, during his battle with Wallace, Gengar had gone on a long rant and then defeated Gorebyss.

Back then, Sato had been too focused on the tactical setup that followed to pay it much attention, and Gengar hadn't brought it up afterward either, so Sato had gradually forgotten about it.

But now, it seemed that this so-called "Sage speech" might be related to Gengar's perfect evolution.

"Sato, do you recall it now?" Arluin softly reminded him from the side.

"Yeah, so what?"

"So, if your Gengar has truly reached the state of Sage speech, then please allow us to..."

All the sages, led by Mingguang, pressed their palms together and bowed deeply to Sato, shouting in unison:

"Return the Sage to His Seat~"

They hadn't shouted, nor raised their voices, but the synchronized, solemn words from a dozen sages struck Sato with an overwhelming pressure.

In that instant, the Dark Energy within Sato's body began to surge on its own, trying to shield him from the oppressive force.

At the same time, Gengar -hidden within Sato's shadow- was forcefully shaken out by the phrase "Return the Sage to His Seat," and appeared before everyone.

"IT'S THE SAGE GHOST!"

One of the sages cried out excitedly, then immediately began chanting something under his breath.

The other sages followed, their chants rising one after another. Only Mingguang and Arluin remained motionless, their expressions even somewhat uneasy.

"GEN!"

Suddenly, a suppressed cry of pain rang out. Sato turned around and saw Gengar's eyes beginning to emit waves of golden light!

Bang! Bang!

The sound of Poké Balls bursting open echoed, Sato had instantly sent out Zoroark and Umbreon, commanding them to attack the sages.

"Double Dark Pulse!"

"Zoro!" "Umbre!"

At such close range, Zoroark and Umbreon's attacks landed in the blink of an eye.

BOOM!

A green flash erupted, Protect's energy shield appeared just in time to block both Pokémon's attacks. Sato also caught sight of the Pokémon Mingguang and Arluin had just released.

Mismagius and Girafarig.

"SATO, WE REALLY WON'T HARM GENGAR! PLEASE STOP!" Arluin shouted as he directed Mismagius to use Protect.

"Night Slash. Continuous Shadow Ball!"

Sato paid no attention, even intensifying the assault!

No harm?

Just listen to Gengar's scream. Does that sound unhurt to you?

'Besides, the ones who attacked without a word were you bald freaks!'

"ZOROO!"

Zoroark lunged forward, dark crimson claws wreathed in intense Dark-type energy, and in the blink of an eye, struck Mismagius right after its Protect had dropped.

Mismagius's eyes bulged, its face contorted in pain, and it couldn't even maintain its ghostly form, slamming into the wall and leaving a crater.

Let's not forget, Mismagius was a Ghost-type that could phase out at will!

But it wasn't over…

After smashing Mismagius, Zoroark didn't retreat. Instead, it spun in a 180-degree pivot, and its claws struck Girafarig again!

"GIRAAA!"

A cry of pain burst out, Girafarig was also blown back by the hit!

At the same time, dozens of Shadow Balls whooshed past Mingguang's side!

In an instant the chaos exploded.