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"What the heck is going on here?"
Sato felt speechless when these three people suddenly came up to demand money from him and launched an attack without even giving him time to explain.
However, he quickly sensed that something about this situation was off. The timing of these three appearing was just too coincidental.
Seeing them begin tightening their encirclement and surrounding him, Sato naturally wouldn't sit still and wait for death. But this time, he didn't choose to send out his Pokémon to counterattack.
There were too many people around, and these three also didn't dare to have their Pokémon use dangerous moves. They only used them to block his path. That was precisely why Sato refrained from deploying his own Pokémon.
Thus, under Sato's telepathic command, the Pikachu on his shoulder suddenly had its tail glow brightly.
In an instant, every creature staring at Sato clutched their eyes in pain.
Taking advantage of this moment, Sato immediately slipped into the surrounding crowd. By the time those blinded by Pikachu's Flash regained their vision, Sato had already vanished without a trace.
The red-haired girl and the two young men looked at each other in shock, their expressions turning ugly. They quickly began searching the crowd, but Sato seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
Soon, they noticed the unfriendly gazes from nearby people. When they also saw several League enforcement officers approaching, their expressions changed drastically. Not daring to linger, they quickly left in a certain direction.
Interestingly, that direction was exactly the same as the one the middle-aged man had taken earlier.
...…
"Not bad… a chain setup, huh? Judging by the reactions of the people around, these guys have been 'fishing' here for quite some time—and they seem to have some backing too. No one dares to mess with them."
At the same time, Sato—disguised among the crowd with a generic face created by Ditto—watched the three leave using his psychic detection. After a brief moment of thought, a look of realization appeared on his face.
If he wasn't mistaken, the middle-aged Trainer from before and the red-haired girl's group were working together. The middle-aged man was just bait, while the girl and her companions, pretending to be victims, were the real trap.
Sato quickly deduced how things would have played out if he hadn't escaped:
The red-haired girl and the two young men would eventually apologize for mistaking him as a scammer, then gain his trust by posing as fellow victims. After that, they would invite him to explore the abandoned power plant together.
If he agreed, only two outcomes awaited him.
First, if he performed poorly during the exploration, they would devour him completely—leaving nothing behind.
Second, if he performed well, they would use him to fight for treasures, then dispose of him once he was no longer useful.
After thinking it over, Sato decided not to investigate them further for now.
Instead, he began using subtle psychic detection to scan the surrounding crowd, hoping to locate Wattson or other acquaintances. Unfortunately, he found no trace of them—neither among the civilians nor the League officers.
"Looks like Wattson and the others have already entered the abandoned power plant… and the magnetic interference inside must be severe—my communicator can't even get through."
After failing to reach them, Sato sighed helplessly.
Meanwhile, in a clearing surrounded by dense forest nearby, the red-haired girl and the two young men stood there, heads lowered, trembling as if something terrifying was in front of them.
Before long, another trio—two men and one woman, all young—arrived. Unlike the first group, these three wore expressions of excitement.
Over the next ten-plus minutes, the number of people gathered in the clearing grew to fifteen.
At a glance, it was clear these individuals had undergone special training. They stood in neat formation, each group arranged as two men and one woman.
Most of them wore excited expressions, while only a few—like the red-haired girl's group—looked tense.
Soon, a burly man wearing a Team Magma uniform stepped forward with a grim expression. Behind him followed several others, including the middle-aged Trainer who had previously interacted with Sato.
The moment the burly man appeared, all whispers ceased. Everyone straightened up, adopting serious expressions. Some even looked at him with fanatical admiration.
"I will now announce those who have passed the test. Anyone whose name is not called may leave."
The burly man scanned the group, then pulled out a list and spoke coldly.
As he began reading names, those called beamed with joy, while those not called looked dejected.
The red-haired girl and her two companions were fortunate. Despite botching their earlier task, they were not eliminated.
Soon, only twelve people remained.
Under the burly man's orders, they quickly changed into identical uniforms—the exact same as those worn by the League enforcement officers stationed at the entrance of the abandoned power plant.
...…
Indeed, the appearance of Zapdos had also attracted the attention of the powerful dark organization, Team Magma.
However, most of their main forces were still focused on Groudon. Therefore, they had only dispatched a special elite unit this time to investigate.
These fifteen young people were part of the latest batch of recruits from Team Magma's Slateport branch—an elite selection. If nothing unexpected happened, many of them would eventually become spies sent into other organizations.
At present, under the guidance of their instructor, they were undergoing "field training." Working together to scam others was one of the tests they had been completing over the past few days.
Judging from recent results, most of them had performed quite well—successfully deceiving many people and rapidly increasing their strength in the process.
"Now, the real test begins."
After everyone had changed into their uniforms, the burly man spoke sternly.
"We must seize the object guarded by Zapdos before the League does. Even if we can't obtain it, we must not let the League get their hands on it."
"Yes, sir! We guarantee mission success!"
The moment he finished speaking, the members of Team Magma grew excited, responding in unison as they prepared for action.