Shuppet suddenly floated up to Sato, its eyes filled with disbelief.

  "Unown are supposed to exist in a separate dimension, uo stay in the Pokémon world for extended periods. But you... you were actally left behind."

  Ign both Shuppet's aer's shocked expressions, Sato tinued speaking as if narrating a fact.

  "So after you died and became a Shuppet, you remained in the desote ruins of the Ruins of Alph, waiting for your panions to return and take you home."

  "But…" Sato's voice softened, disregarding the fear in Shuppet's expression.

  "You are no longer an Unown. You are a Shuppet now, a pletely new life."

  "Shu… Shuppet!"

  Shuppet frantically shook its head, unwilling to accept that it had died. The mysterious power of the Unown had allowed it to retain its past memories, but those memories had bee a source of endless pain.

  Sato didn't try to vi further. Instead, he gently pushed Shuppet toward Wester.

  "I'll leave the emotional seling to you. Take good care of it."

  "I will." Wester nodded solemnly.

  Sato allowed Wester to bond with Shuppet.

  In his past life, due to a mission, Sato had visited the Ruins of Alph. By sheer ce, he had discovered the perfectly symmetrical a script on the ruione wall.

  Out of curiosity, he had tried various methods to see if he could uncover anything hidden within it, but all his efforts had been in vain.

  Finally, on a whim, he had infused Dark Energy into the wall, only to uedly establish a soul e with Shuppet, learning its past and its sorrow.

  That was also the first time Sato realized Dark Energy could be used for soul unication.

  Unfortunately, Shuppet, having seen Sato's memories as well, was utterly horrified by him—the assassin whose hands were stained with blood.

  When Sato realized Shuppet's fear, he had let it be.

  At that time, he was still living on the edge, stantly fighting for survival, and he simply had no time or energy to mend the wounds of a traumatized Pokémon.

  He had chosen not to capture or sell Shuppet, leaving it behind after pleting his mission.

  "Sato, what are you thinking about?" Wester waved a hand in front of Sato's face, snapping him out of his thoughts. Shaking his head, Sato chastised himself for l his guard.

  "Shuppet's situation is quite serious. I pn to take it back to Violet City and help it adjust gradually."

  "That sounds like a good idea. Have you checked its potential yet?"

  "I did!" Wester seemed excited as he lifted Shuppet's Ultra Ball. "It has Pseudo-Elite Four potential, and perhaps because it used to be an Unown, it naturally knows Hidden Power."

  "Not bad."

  If he hadn't already had Haunter, which suited his battle style much better, Sato would have sidered capturing Shuppet himself.

  The Shuppet line excelled in physical attacks, but they cked durability in speed, defense, and endurance. Even with det offensive power, they had difficulty thriving in close bat.

  Another problem was that the Ghost-type didn't have many strong physical moves, which signifitly limited Shuppet's growth potential.

  By the time they returo Violet City, it was already te at night. Wester invited Sato to his home, but he refused ht.

  After finding a fortable hotel, Sato effitly parted ways with Wester. He had alreferred solitude.

  Except for the time Wester had intercepted his Pokémon's data—an a Sato found intrusive—Wester had otherwise ducted himself well.

  It was clear why people like him came from wealthy and powerful families. Their tinued success wasn't built on reckless heirs wasting fortunes.

  It was built by people like Wester—wealthy, intelligent, capable, ambitious, and disciplined.

  Sato didn't say it aloud, but in his heart, he admitted: Wester fits the mold of a perfect protagonist far too well.

  …

  The day, after m training, Sato spent his one million Pokédolr shopping voucher in a spree.

  It wasn't excessive spending—everythied to Pokémon was absurdly expensive.

  After restog his supplies, Sato didn't bother saying goodbye to Wester a Violet City on his own.

  Wester was someone worth keeping in touch with, and Sato had saved his taformation—not out of friendship, but because he now had a reliable buyer. If he ever caught valuable Pokémon iure, he could sell them directly to Wester.

  This would make things far more ve.

  Still headier, Sato adjusted his route slightly, skirting north of the Ruins of Alph.

  Shortly after passing the ruins, his Spinarak's Egg began to tremble.

  "Zor?"

  Zorua curiously she glowing egg, poking it gently with a tiny paw before obediently sitting beside it, eyes locked onto the shimmering shell.

  "Kehehe~"

  Haunter found the whole thing dull and immediately phased into the nearby bushes, off to amuse itself.

  Sato didn't bother stopping it—when in the wild, he preferred to let his Pokémon roam free.

  "Lar~"

  "Looking forward to Spinarak hatg? Are you thinking about having a little underling iure?" Sato teased Larvitar for the first time.

  "Lar!?"

  Larvitar jerked its head up in shock, staring at Sato in disbelief. How did Boss Sato kly what I was thinking? As a future Champion-level Pokémon, I should definitely have a little underling!

  "Ka-ka!"

  The glowing light from the Egg flickered more frequently until it stopped altogether.

  With the soft sound of crag eggshells, a new life ehe world.

  "Zzz?"

  A delicate, weak sound came from within. A tiny, green spider the size of a palm blis bck, jewel-like eyes as it curiously took in the unfamiliar world around it.

  "Zzz! Zzz!"

  Spinarak seemed to notiething. Its six tiny legs scuttled quickly, and in no time, it had crawled onto Sato's arm, ing itself snugly around his wrist like a bracelet before settling down tentedly.

  "Wele to the team, Spinarak."

  "Zor! Zor!"

  "Lar~ Lar!"

  "Zzz~"

  Zreeted the newer with enthusiasm, while Larvitar appeared slightly te was, after all, the one responsible for wiping out aire of Spinarak in the wild. But thanks to Sato, the two Pokémon, who would have been natural enemies in the wild, met under peaceful circumstances.

  "Eat up a some rest."

  Sato took out the specially prepared food for newborn Pokémon.

  After filling its belly, Spinarak obediently es Poké Ball without any struggle—it was surprisingly well-behaved!

  "Beep!"

  Sato activated the Pokémon Potential Analyzer, pg Spinarak's Poké Ball on the ser. In moments, detailed data appeared on the s.

  Pokémon: SpinarakGender: FemaleStage: Infant (Uo battle)Potential: Elite Four (Poison) + Pseudo-Elite Four (Bug)Ability: SniperMoves: Poison Sting, String Shot, strict, Megahorn (Egg Move), Sucker Punch (Egg Move), Toxic Spikes (Egg Move)

  Sato stared bnkly at the data for a few seds before removing the Poké Ball—then pg it back from a different angle, just to be sure.

  The same information popped up again.

  Swallowing hard, his eyes shoh excitement, and an unstoppable grin spread across his face.

  "Hahahaha… I am the protagonist!"