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Sato encountering Ayako at this high-level battle venue could be considered bad luck, but he still performed well—at least, that's how Ayako saw it.
After all, he was the first trainer to make her take things a little more seriously.
In the end, there was nothing he could do—his final Pokémon, Nidorino, was still defeated by Ayako's Haunter, allowing it to score yet another three-win streak.
"Sigh... Running into her was just my bad luck. It's not that I'm too weak; the opponent is just too strong. She's basically cheating."
As Ayako recalled Haunter into its PokéBall and bowed to acknowledge the audience's cheers, Sato, who had also retrieved Nidorino, took one last deep look at her before letting out a sigh and turning to leave.
As he walked away, Ayako glanced back at him, a hint of admiration flashing in her bright eyes.
After countless battles against weaker opponents, she had accumulated plenty of experience in steamrolling her competition, so she could accurately judge an opponent's strength.
Although her battle against Sato was still overwhelmingly one-sided, the match lasted much longer than usual, and she even had to use a bit of her spiritual power to release Haunter's seals before securing the win.
This indirectly proved that her opponent was quite capable—one of the best among trainers at his level. In her eyes, Sato had lost with honor.
Before she left home, her father had told her to broaden her horizons, meet more trainers of her age with decent strength, preferably those without any notable background.
Though Ayako often found her father to be stingy, she still respected him deeply—after all, he was the youngest Grand Spirit Master in their family's history. Because of this, she took his words to heart.
In her opinion, Sato fit her father's criteria quite well. He seemed honest, a good person at first glance.
After the battle, Sato returned to his resting area and released Bellossom to heal his three fainted Pokémon.
While waiting for his next match, he was already contemplating how to approach the beautiful Spirit Master from before.
A trainer who carried around a Haunter at the Elite Four level with its power sealed—could she be just an ordinary person? Her identity was likely that of a key member from a Spirit Master family, meaning she must be carrying all sorts of valuable items.
Of course, even if he had the guts of a Beartic, he wouldn't dare to target Ayako. He just wanted to befriend her and, ideally, exchange for some useful items through fair trade.
For example, Life Jade—just thinking about it made his heart itch. But while he desired it, he knew it was too much to hope for.
Through The Grimoire of Dark Spirits, Sato had learned that Life Jades could only be used by Spirit Masters. To anyone else, they were nothing but disaster magnets. What he actually wanted was a different item capable of collecting life energy.
In reality, the energy stored within a Life Jade was limited. At most, it could only sustain the daily needs of two Ghost-type Pokémon. Raising six or more Ghost-types on a single Life Jade?
Therefore, if a Spirit Master wanted to maintain a team of Ghost-types without committing unspeakable acts, they needed more energy-collecting devices.
Sato was convinced that, as an important figure in a Spirit Master family, Ayako must own more than just Haunter. She likely had at least three Ghost-types, each of them exceptionally powerful.
Moreover, Haunter's true strength was at the Elite Four level. Even with its power sealed, its appetite wasn't restricted. A single Life Jade wouldn't be enough to satisfy it.
Based on this deduction, Sato believed Ayako must possess other life-energy collectors. If that were the case, then he had a chance to obtain one from her.
If he could get his hands on such a device, he would finally have the most crucial tool for raising a Ghost-type Pokémon.
He wasn't hoping for anything high-end—just a basic energy collector would be enough.
After all, he only planned to raise a single Ghost-type Pokémon. Any more, and even he would feel uncomfortable.
He wasn't a Spirit Master, nor did he possess any special abilities. Ghost-types had a knack for absorbing life energy—there was no defending against it. He still wanted to live a long life, after all.
But now came the real problem—how was he supposed to befriend Ayako?
She wasn't like Wallace. Right now, other than having met her once, he knew nothing about her. He had no way to cater to her interests like he had with Wallace.
"Forget it. Overthinking won't help. My priority right now is making money so I can participate in the auction. Thanks to her, my next battle's betting odds will be through the roof."
Sato couldn't come up with a good plan, so he decided to stop thinking about it. Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes to rest, waiting for his next match.
Thirty minutes after Sato's battle ended, the intercom in his room once again announced the start of the next round.
With his now-recovered Nidorino, Growlithe, and Meowth, he stepped onto the battlefield once more.
As expected, his betting odds had skyrocketed—nearly reaching 1.5.
This time, his opponent was finally at a normal level. Sato only needed Meowth and Nidorino to secure victory, earning a significant amount of money in the process.
Time passed bit by bit. To gather enough funds before tomorrow night's auction, Sato focused entirely on two of the fastest ways to make money—earning game coins and betting on matches.
By 8 p.m. the next evening, he had already shaken up the major Game Arcades of Saffron City. The legend of a slot machine expert raking in countless game coins spread among the city's gambling circles.
At the same time, word of a powerful trainer having an expecpional Meowth and Nidorino spread across the various battle venues.
The situation reached a point where, when Sato tried using different Pokémon, he encountered the same issue as when he battled with Swampert—his opponents had already adapted to his strategies.
By utilizing both money-making methods, especially gambling on battles, Sato's steadily growing fortune played a critical role.
Thanks to his high win rate, he ultimately amassed a staggering 360 million PokéDollars.
"The real game begins now. Let's hope this money will be well spent and push my strength to the next level."
Inside a five-star hotel, after feasting with his Pokémon, Sato changed into an elite trainer's gray-black outfit. Carefully securing his PokéBalls onto his belt, he pushed open the door and stepped out.