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Faced with such a formidable guest, Sato did not dare slack off, but he maintained his composure and calmly instructed Bellossom to treat the two injured Pokémon.
With Bellossom's Grassy Terrain, the Persian and Poliwrath quickly recovered from their injuries and regained consciousness.
Both Persian and Poliwrath, at an impressive level 42, were experienced battlers and would be considered rulers of their respective territories in the wild.
When unconscious, they were merely injured Pokémon, but once awake, their imposing auras immediately radiated from them.
Fortunately, Bellossom, now at level 32 and no stranger to intense battles, remained undeterred.
Having previously witnessed the terrifying presence of the Ursaring ruler in Viridian Forest, Bellossom wasn't fazed by the pressure exuded by these two Pokémon, continuing the treatment without interruption.
Mary, clearly aware of how intimidating her two high-level Pokémon could be to weaker ones, quickly made a hand gesture to the pair.
Seeing the signal, Persian and Poliwrath promptly reined in their intimidating auras and obediently allowed Bellossom to continue the treatment.
In truth, even without Mary's gesture, the Persian and Poliwrath had no intention of acting aggressively. Fully aware of their situation, they understood Bellossom was their healer and posed no threat.
"Such strength... This feels eerily similar to the aura of that Ursaring ruler I encountered before. This woman is someone I absolutely cannot provoke right now," Sato thought.
Outwardly, Sato remained calm, showing no signs of being intimidated by the Pokémon's auras. He also reassured his other Pokémon, who were visibly on edge.
Nidoran and Ditto were clinging to each other in fear, Mudkip was pretending to play dumb, while Golbat had perched on Sato's shoulder, glaring intently at Persian and Poliwrath.
"Thank you so much for your help. I'm afraid I don't have cash on me right now, so please take this as compensation and a small token of my gratitude. It should be very useful for your Bellossom," Mary said as she handed Sato a Technical Machine (TM).
"There's no need, ma'am. It was my honor to help treat such strong Pokémon. Please take the TM back," Sato replied with a polite smile, though he was tempted by the TM for Teeter Dance.
Mary, however, had no intention of retrieving the TM. She gave Sato a brief glance before tossing the disc to him. Without waiting for a reply, she turned and left the room, exuding an air of authority.
Watching her leave, Sato looked at the TM for Teeter Dance in his hands, feeling its metaphorical weight.
After some consideration, he decided to keep it, knowing it could significantly enhance Bellossom's capabilities.
Though Mary's true identity remained a mystery, the fact that her two powerful Pokémon had been severely injured and unconscious was troubling.
So far, apart from Sailor Rhodes' Tentacruel, Sato hadn't encountered any other Pokémon above level 40 on the ship.
Once a Pokémon reached level 30, leveling up became increasingly difficult, nowhere near as rapid as before.
Based on the current leveling pace of Zubat and Bellossom, Sato estimated that it would take several months for either Pokémon to reach level 40.
This was assuming they could regularly find opponents of equal strength to challenge.
If Pokémon could be categorized by level:
Levels 1–9 were "Minion Level"
Levels 10–29 were "Ordinary Level"
Level 30 marked the "Advanced Level"
Level 40 represented "Professional Level"
Mary's two level-42 Pokémon were undeniably powerful, capable of rivaling the leader Ursaring from Viridian Forest. It would take Sato a long time to train his Pokémon to that level of strength.
If Sato's guess was correct, Mary was likely part of the group aiming to steal something significant aboard the Team Rocket ship—and possibly one of its leaders.
After closing the door, Sato immediately let Growlithe out of the bedroom. Growlithe bolted into his arms, acting as if it had done something praiseworthy.
"Did you notice something, Growlithe?"
Seeing Growlithe's behavior, Sato quickly realized it had something important to share. He'd been puzzled earlier—another guest had worn a similarly strong perfume, yet Growlithe hadn't shown the same level of hostility.
"Woof! Woof!"
Growlithe barked excitedly, nodding in confirmation.
After a brief Q&A session, where Sato asked questions and Growlithe responded by nodding or shaking its head, Sato pieced together some critical information.
According to Growlithe, Mary had some connection to the person who had attempted to ambush him the night before. Despite her heavy perfume, Growlithe, with its keen sense of smell, detected that Mary carried the scent of that person.
This strongly implied that Mary had been in physical contact with them.
"This is turning into a real mess. Who is that guy? If someone like Mary is protecting him, there's no way I can take him out at the moment," Sato thought, his expression growing grim as he looked at the Teeter Dance TM in his hand.
Meanwhile, Mary had returned to an upper-level luxury suite. Inside, a young woman with her arm bandaged sat cross-legged, munching on an apple while flipping through a fashion magazine.
"Boss, you're back! So, when are we making our move? I've been cooped up all day—I'm going stir-crazy. Oh, and the Gyarados I stole yesterday still hasn't been treated. I'm worried it might die," the girl said, tossing the half-eaten apple into a nearby trash can with perfect aim.
She then walked over with a cheerful smile, magazine in hand.
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