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At noon, Sato once again passed through the Cycling Road and entered Mauville City.
This time, his purpose for coming was simple: to challenge Wattson for the Dynamo Badge, and at the same time fulfill his previous agreement with Wattson and the others to attend the unfinished celebration banquet.
However, seeing that it was already lunchtime, Sato wasn't in a hurry to challenge Wattson. Instead, he decided to stop by and visit Horn—the ice cream shop owner he had met during the previous power outage in Mauville—and his daughter.
Sato remembered that next to Horn's ice cream shop was a well-reviewed restaurant. He could conveniently eat there first before heading to the Mauville Gym.
Soon, following his memory, Sato arrived at the ice cream shop. It was midday—the hottest time of the day—and business was thriving. Many couples were inside, chatting and enjoying cold desserts.
"Welcome—ah! Dad, it's Big Brother Tyler!"
As soon as Sato pushed open the door, a green-haired girl in a cute maid outfit immediately recognized him. She quickly turned and called out to Horn, who was busy at the counter.
"Come here, Pikachu!"
After speaking, Horn's daughter, Linda, ran over excitedly and stretched out her arms toward Pikachu.
"Pika-pi~"
Naturally delighted, Pikachu leapt happily into Linda's arms and let her cuddle him to her heart's content.
"Ah, Tyler! It's been a while. What would you like to eat? It's on the house."
Hearing Linda's voice, Horn quickly put down his work and turned toward Sato, greeting him warmly.
He was deeply grateful to Sato. From Wattson, he had learned that Sato had played a major role in resolving the power outage incident. As a citizen of Mauville who had suffered from the blackout, Horn felt he owed Sato a great deal.
"Thanks, but I'll pass. I just came by to see how you two have been doing. Looks like things are going well."
"I haven't had lunch yet, so I'll eat at the restaurant next door and then head to the Mauville Gym to challenge Wattson."
Sato waved his hand, politely declining the offer.
"Business picked up naturally once the power came back. But… you picked a bad time to visit. Wattson isn't at the Gym these days. If you want to challenge him, you'll have to wait a few days."
Hearing that Sato planned to challenge Wattson, Horn revealed a slightly amused expression and explained.
"Oh? Something happened again? Seems Gym Leaders are always busy."
Sato wasn't particularly bothered by the news, but since Wattson was his friend, he became curious and asked about the reason.
He knew very well that although Gym Leaders appeared enviable—with high status, authority, and abundant resources—they paid a heavy price for it.
If one thought their job was simply to act as sparring partners for challengers, that would be completely wrong. Gym Leaders were among the League's strongest forces stationed in cities and were responsible for maintaining public order.
Whenever something serious happened, they were the first to respond—always standing on the front lines of danger.
Moreover, if anything went wrong in the city, they would be the first to be held accountable by the League. Inspectors could easily strip them of their position.
Mauville City, being a central transportation hub in Hoenn, was one of the most developed cities in the region. Naturally, incidents occurred frequently, and Gym Leaders like Wattson were constantly occupied.
"It's not a huge deal. You know the abandoned power plant in the southeast of Mauville, right? It's become a gathering place for wild Electric-type Pokémon. Recently, something happened there, and it attracted a wild Zapdos, which has now taken over the place."
"You're a Trainer—you know what Zapdos is. Which Trainer wouldn't want a Legendary Pokémon like that? Because of this, a lot of Trainers from Mauville and nearby areas have rushed there."
"But catching Zapdos isn't that easy. It's said that the Zapdos has already subdued the wild Pokémon in the power plant and made itself the ruler. Many Trainers didn't even get to see it before being beaten back by its fierce subordinates. I heard quite a few people have died."
"Wattson's luck is terrible. Because of the casualties, the League has taken this matter seriously. So he's been sent there as labor—supposedly to maintain order and stop reckless Trainers from causing more deaths."
Horn and Wattson were close friends and often chatted through their communicators, so he knew the situation well. Hearing Sato ask, he explained everything in detail.
"I see… looks like challenging Wattson in the next few days won't be possible."
Sato nodded in understanding.
On the surface, he appeared calm—but inside, he was deeply shocked by the news about Zapdos.
He knew a fair amount about this Legendary Pokémon. Zapdos were not extremely rare and typically roamed the world, chasing thunderstorms.
Some believed that thunderstorms were caused by Zapdos—but that wasn't quite true. Like most Electric-type Pokémon, Zapdos fed on electricity, but it had extremely refined tastes—it only consumed naturally formed lightning.
That was why Zapdos often appeared in violent thunderstorms.
Now, however, a wild Zapdos had abandoned the chase for storms and settled in an abandoned power plant. That could only mean one thing:
There was likely an extremely valuable Electric-type treasure inside.
Sato speculated that Wattson's mission wasn't just about maintaining order—he was probably also there for whatever treasure had appeared.
"Interesting… Whether there's really some Electric-type treasure or not, it's worth checking out. And if there is… I'll definitely have to compete for it."
Soon after, Sato bid farewell to Horn and Linda and went to the restaurant next door for lunch.
But by then, his thoughts had already drifted toward the abandoned power plant in the southeast of Mauville City.