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Realizing his situation, Sato stopped heading back to the Pokémon Center. Instead, he flagged down a cab and instructed the driver to take him to the station.
"Sigh… things are changing way too fast. I only just arrived in this bustling city yesterday, hoping to explore it a bit, and now I'm forced to leave."
Looking at the cars and towering buildings passing by, Sato couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. He had so much left to do in Saffron City—seeing the Elite Four exhibition to understand their strength, shopping at Silph Co.'s department store, and hunting for rare items on the black market.
But, unfortunately, this place was about to become a battleground. An intense power struggle was about to unfold, and if he didn't leave soon, he'd get caught in the crossfire and be crushed.
Ten minutes later, Sato arrived at Saffron City's transit center. He walked up to a 24-hour ticket kiosk and used his League ID to buy a ticket for a bus departing to Vermilion City in half an hour.
As the heart of Kanto, Saffron City connects directly to most other cities. Here, Sato could buy tickets to anywhere in the region.
Vermilion, Kanto's largest port, might not rival Saffron in economic power, but it's still among the region's most prosperous cities. The two cities are close enough that direct buses run between them almost around the clock.
Sato waited quietly in the station lobby, sipping coffee like many other travelers. Taking advantage of the downtime, he pulled out his laptop and used the station's free Wi-Fi for two tasks.
First, he logged into the Saffron City League's official website, navigated to the Elite Four exhibition registration page, and opted out of the preliminaries.
With two days left before the preliminaries, over 3,000 trainers had registered. Withdrawals were common as trainers joined or left constantly, so his withdrawal as a civilian trainer went unnoticed.
Second, he checked updates on the Hoenn typhoon and the Elite Four event. Hoenn's typhoon showed no signs of subsiding, meaning it could last for some time. As for the Elite Four exhibition, he was startled by the news: in addition to Bruno and Lorelei from Kanto's Elite Four, the retired fire-type Elite, Blaine—now the Cinnabar Gym Leader—had been invited to perform.
"Another Elite-level figure… but it's Blaine, the current Gym Leader. If I'm not mistaken, he's secretly a Team Rocket scientist. No wonder Rocket got wind of the operation so quickly—it'd be hard for them not to know with one of their own among the main players."
Sato's faith in the warning on the slip grew, and he was sure Rocket's higher-ups were already plotting a response.
But Sato found it strange that, as an inconspicuous new recruit, he'd been given such valuable information. If it was genuine, he felt sincerely grateful to the mysterious superior who had sent it.
"Hey, Sato! I didn't expect to see you again! Why did you disappear this morning without a word? I looked everywhere for you at the Pokémon Center… It's great to see you're okay!"
A familiar voice snapped Sato out of his thoughts, and he looked up.
Standing before him was a beautiful blonde girl, none other than Daisy—the person he had quietly left behind that morning.
"You startled me, Daisy. What are you doing here so late at night?"
Seeing the blonde girl smiling brightly in front of him, Sato lowered his guard slightly and asked.
"Sigh~ I didn't want to come to the station this late either. My mom just called, telling me to hurry home without giving a reason and insisting I return immediately. I had no choice but to catch a late bus back to Cerulean City. I was looking forward to shopping in Saffron City, and now all my plans are ruined!"
Hearing Sato's question, Daisy's cheerful expression faded as she vented her frustration, clearly unhappy with her mom's strict ways.
"Uh, haha, maybe she really has an urgent reason," Sato replied with an awkward laugh as he listened to Daisy's complaints about her mom.
"This confirms it—the League is really planning to target Saffron's underground forces."
At this point, Sato fully believed the information on the note. Daisy's mother was the Cerulean Gym Leader, and for her to call and rush Daisy out of Saffron so urgently, she must have known something.
It seemed likely the League was indeed moving against the dark forces in Saffron. And it wouldn't be surprising if the Cerulean Gym Leader was part of the upcoming operation.
"By the way, Mr. Sato, what are you doing here so late? Are you leaving Saffron City too?" Daisy asked, realizing Sato was here at an unusual hour.
"Yeah, I got an urgent call from a friend asking me to come to Vermilion City as soon as possible."
Sato brushed off the question with a casual excuse. The two then sat together, chatting as they waited for the bus, just like the other travelers around them.
Half an hour later, the bus bound for Vermilion finally arrived. After exchanging contact information, Daisy saw Sato off as he boarded.
"Daisy, since you're a Coordinator, these items should be helpful. I hope you become an exceptional Coordinator one day. Just remember, don't tell anyone I gave these to you. Take care, and maybe we'll meet again someday." Before leaving, Sato handed Daisy a small black pouch, smiling as he spoke.
Without waiting for her response, Sato quickly boarded the bus. The doors closed, and the vehicle sped off, with Daisy watching as it disappeared from the station.
Though Daisy was usually carefree and straightforward, she knew how to handle things cautiously. She understood Sato's words, realizing that the items in the small black pouch were likely very valuable.
After seeing him off, Daisy headed into the ladies' restroom. Once she confirmed she was alone, she opened the pouch to examine its contents.
"Wow~ No way, these are PokeBlocks! And they look like such high quality."
Staring at the gleaming PokeBlocks in the pouch, Daisy was filled with amazement.
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