A week had passed since Zorua's battle against Raichu.
Instead of rushing forward, Sato ventured deeper into the forest, focusing on training his Pokémon.
After defeating a stronger opponent, Zorua's presence was beginning to change, and Sato recognized this as a sign of breaking into the Elite level.
Haunter's situation was similar—having been obtained at the same time as Zorua, they had trained together from the beginning.
Though Haunter had relied on some tricks, its strength was undeniable.
As Sato ventured further into the forest, he noticed fewer and fewer Bug-type Pokémon.
Instead, rare and powerful species began to appear.
These solitary, strong Pokémon became his new targets for battle training.
At this moment, Haunter was facing off against a rare Marowak.
Normally, a Ground-type Pokémon like Marowak should have been at a disadvantage against the floating Ghost-type Haunter.
However, this particular Marowak was old and highly experienced.
The thick bone club in its grasp moved like a finely tuned weapon, and its Bone Boomerang was expertly controlling the battlefield, completely suppressing Haunter's ranged attacks!
As for close combat—that was out of the question.
A single direct hit from that bone club could severely injure Haunter.
"Garaa!"
Marowak swung its bone with absolute precision, its serious eyes reflecting its full concentration.
Against the unpredictable and tricky Haunter, it was giving its all—120% effort!
"Haunter, use Shadow Punch! Attack from all sides!"
Sato, determined to adjust to the Trainer's role, refrained from joining the battle himself unless absolutely necessary.
"Kehehehe!"
Two detached ghostly hands hovered in midair, suddenly disappearing before reappearing on Marowak's left and right flanks—striking simultaneously!
"Garaa!"
At that moment, a crimson light flashed beneath Marowak's skull mask.
With a graceful backward bend, it used its bone club for support, narrowly dodging both Shadow Punch attacks by mere millimeters!
Move identified: Foresight!
"Boom!"
The two ghostly fists clashed midair, causing Haunter to wince in pain from the recoil.
But Marowak wasn't done yet.
Using the momentum from regaining its stance, a faint silver glow covered its skull as it charged forward with a devastating headbutt!
Move identified: Iron Head!
A Steel-type power move that had a chance of making the target flinch!
"Haunter, phase out and retreat!"
"Kehehe!"
Haunter vanished into thin air with blinding speed, causing Iron Head to miss by a hair's breadth!
"Garaa!"
Marowak held out its free hand and gestured toward Haunter, as if mocking its retreat.
"Don't let it provoke you. Shadow Ball, full power!"
Sato calmly reassured his slightly agitated Haunter, giving it an order that played right into its nature.
"Kehehehe!"
This time, nine fully powered Shadow Balls materialized at once—each one charged with even more power than before.
All of them rained down toward Marowak—no amount of bone-wielding finesse could block them all!
"Garaa!"
Marowak spun its bone club, deflecting many of the attacks, but some still landed, inflicting real damage.
However, despite the direct hits, Marowak stood firm, its defense completely unbroken.
"Haunter…"
Haunter's Hypnosis was quietly set in motion.
Marowak's bone club spun rapidly, but its vision remained unaffected.
However, as Haunter unleashed a faint red wave, the rotating bone club seemed to amplify the effect instead!
"Gara…!"
Marowak struggled to keep its eyes open, but as it continued staring at the spinning club, its vision grew hazier and hazier.
The momentum from the spinning club caused it to slip from Marowak's grasp, and the old warrior collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep.
Sato was both surprised and thrilled.
That Hypnosis strategy had been Haunter's own idea, and Sato hadn't expected it to work so effectively—using the opponent's move against them to strengthen its own advantage.
"Kehehehe!"
Haunter was beaming with pride, its mischievous nature in full swing.
Seeing an opponent much stronger than itself fall into its trap, it couldn't be happier.
"Keep moving. You can celebrate after a winning streak."
Sato glanced at Haunter, causing the ghost to immediately suppress its arrogance and obediently follow behind him.
It was as if the forest itself had grown tired of Haunter's smugness, because at that moment, the true final boss appeared—standing in broad daylight, right in their path.
"ROOAAARR!"
The ground shook as a furious bellow rang through the trees, the sheer force of the sound causing Sato's ears to ring painfully.
As he quickly stepped back, pulling Haunter with him, he assessed the massive Pokémon before him.
"A three-meter-tall Ursaring… the ruler of this forest?"
Sato's expression tensed.
The concept of "Totem Pokémon" had originated from the distant Alola region, referring to natural-born leaders among their species—ones who towered over their kin with unparalleled strength and talent.
Against a Totem Pokémon, charging in head-on was a foolish strategy.
Because of their immense size, their only possible weakness was speed.
"Zorua, Scary Face!"
"Zor!"
Despite its instinctive fear, Zorua forced itself to hold its ground, pulling its scariest possible expression and flashing a terrifying glare at Ursaring.
However…
"ROOAAARR!!"
Ursaring completely lost it.
If it had only wanted to chase away intruders before, that intimidation attempt had now enraged it to the extreme!
The insult of a tiny, dark-furred Pokémon trying to scare HIM—the ruler of this forest—was absolutely unforgivable!
"That backfired badly…"
Sato had expected the Scary Face to have little effect, but he hadn't anticipated it making things worse.
"We'll have to back off."
As he spoke, Sato suddenly hurled a small pink object toward Ursaring.
A Purrloin Tail—an item that held an irresistible allure to Pokémon and guaranteed a safe escape.
This was one of the few valuable items that Sato had taken from that dead underground hunter, and it was finally proving useful.
Ursaring's rampaging steps halted immediately, its clawed hands instinctively snatching the item as it sniffed it curiously.
But just as it remembered that it still had enemies to deal with, particularly that infuriating little fox—
"ROOAAARR!!"
Ursaring let out a frustrated bellow, venting its anger before turning away and resuming its territory patrol.
Elsewhere, Sato was already hanging from a tree branch, silently watching the enraged Totem Pokémon disappear from sight.
His eyes gleamed with curiosity.
Ursaring's most aggressive period was during its mating season.
For it to attack so suddenly and violently, there was a strong possibility that it was currently in that phase.
Doing a quick mental calculation, Sato's smirk widened slightly.
"That means… its offspring must be nearby."
With a clear goal in mind, Sato made his move.
For the sake of the cub's grand future, it was only natural to "help" it achieve greater heights.
Without hesitation, he began to stalk the massive bear—silently blending into the forest shadows.
At the same time, he released Haunter from its Poké Ball.
After all, it was a Ghost-type with aspirations of becoming an "Assassin Pokémon."
Lesson one: Stealth.
Some distance away, the Totem Ursaring finished patrolling its territory and cautiously entered a massive tree hollow—its personal den.
Unbeknownst to it, two pairs of eyes were already watching closely from the shadows.