Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
------------------
The sickly man's Barboach possessed the Ability Anticipation. Pokémon with this Ability had extremely sharp senses for danger—before danger even fully manifested, they could already perceive it and flee.
At this moment, the reason Barboach was trembling in fear was naturally because it had sensed Sato's arrival—and more importantly, it had detected the killing intent Sato held toward the sickly man and his group.
Although the sickly man chose to retreat with his subordinates after realizing the danger, Sato had no intention of letting them go.
His original plan had been to extract information from them about the black-robed man who had used Toxic Essence as bait, then follow the trail to locate him.
After that, depending on the situation, if conditions were right, Sato wouldn't hesitate to use force to make the black-robed man hand over the Toxic Essence.
Therefore, no matter what, he couldn't allow these people to escape his grasp.
Seeing their leader run off without hesitation—and only shouting a warning after already gaining some distance—the burly thug and the others sneered inwardly. But their feet moved just as fast, and with unspoken coordination, they scattered in different directions.
With their leader fleeing, none of them had the resolve to fight to the death. Their morale instantly collapsed.
Sato's expression darkened slightly when he saw them split up, but he quickly made up his mind not to let any of them escape.
After all, he wasn't sure whether they had a way to contact the black-robed man. If even one of them escaped, his plan to track down that person might fail entirely.
Still, the key was to capture the leader first. The lackeys might not know how to contact the black-robed man—but the sickly man definitely did.
Sato swiftly left a psychic marker on each of them, then used Teleport to pursue the sickly man, who had already fled a considerable distance ahead.
"What the hell… that guy's a Psychic."
The burly thug had spent years in Mauville City's black market and had decent insight. When he saw Sato suddenly vanish and reappear ten meters ahead, he immediately realized Sato's identity. His face turned pale, fear lingering in his heart.
Without wasting another moment, he took advantage of Sato chasing the leader and sprinted toward one of his usual hideouts.
Meanwhile, the Barboach in the sickly man's hands was still trembling violently, causing his heart to sink further.
Suddenly, his vision blurred—and Sato appeared right in front of him.
"Brother, let's talk this out! I never meant to be your enemy. What do you want? As long as I have it, I'll give you everything!"
The sickly man hurriedly pulled out two PokeBalls from his belt and spoke nervously.
In the next moment, Sato's voice echoed directly in his mind.
"Tell me where the one who sent you is. Give me all his information."
"Spare me, Psychic sir! He only told us to seize your spatial equipment and deliver it to a certain location. I really don't know where he is!"
At those words, the last trace of hope in the sickly man vanished. He threw away the PokeBalls and dropped to his knees, pleading in terror.
"You're quite sensible. Don't worry—if what you said is true, I'll spare your lives. Now, relax your mind and let me verify your words myself."
Sato didn't trust this opportunistic coward at all—especially since he had originally intended robbery and murder. Through telepathy, he increased the psychological pressure on him.
"Please spare me! Everything I said is true—there's not a single lie!"
The sickly man knew well that Psychic users possessed all kinds of terrifying abilities—and none of them were friendly. Under Sato's pressure, he continued begging desperately.
Sato ignored him and began using Hypnosis to verify the truth.
Very quickly, the sickly man felt as if his head were about to explode. He struggled desperately against the mental invasion, his face twisting in pain.
"Damn it! You forced me—I'll fight you to the death!"
As his consciousness began to fade, the sickly man snapped, roaring viciously.
Having survived for years in the black market and even becoming a leader, he was far from as cowardly as he appeared. When pushed to the brink, he could be even more ruthless than his subordinates.
In the next instant, he grabbed the two PokeBalls from the ground and hurled them toward Sato.
A level 45 Volbeat and a level 48 Shiftry appeared.
The moment Volbeat emerged, the light on its tail flared brightly as it used Flash.
Caught off guard, Sato and the Swampert beside him were momentarily blinded by the blinding light, interrupting the Hypnosis.
At the same time, Shiftry—having already shut its eyes in preparation—rushed forward and slashed toward Sato's chest with Leaf Blade.
However, neither Sato nor Swampert relied solely on their eyes.
Using his psychic perception, Sato instantly used Teleport to evade the attack, while Swampert used its fin-like radar to pinpoint Shiftry's location and struck it with a powerful Ice Punch.
With a heavy boom, Shiftry was slammed into a nearby wall and knocked unconscious.
At the same time, Crobat—standing guard in the air—dove down and struck Volbeat with Aerial Ace, knocking it out instantly.
In the blink of an eye, the sickly man's two strongest Pokémon were defeated.
His face turned deathly pale, but he still refused to give up. He immediately released a Swellow, attempting to escape by air.
But his struggle was futile.
Crobat quickly defeated Swellow and dragged him back in front of Sato.
Before long, Sato successfully placed the sickly man under Hypnosis and extracted the information about the black-robed man selling Toxic Essence.
As expected, the sickly man hadn't told the whole truth.
He had concealed a crucial piece of information—the identity of the black-robed man.
That person was actually a member of Team Magma, and not a low-ranking one either.
Fearing retaliation from Team Magma and losing his footing in the Hoenn underworld, the sickly man had hidden this fact, hoping to use Team Magma to deal with Sato instead.
"What a coincidence… it's Team Magma again targeting me. Looks like the one backing that black market was them all along."
After learning the truth, Sato's expression turned rather strange as he thought to himself.