Pokémon: Above the Top

His body completely exhausted, Sato could only lie on the ground and catch his breath. During that time, Zoroark and the others gradually regained consciousness.

Seeing that Sato couldn't even stand, the three Pokémon instantly panicked.

After a quick discussion, the three decided that Gengar would scout the surrounding area and look for some Berries or similar things.

Zoroark and Houndoom, meanwhile, remained by Sato's side, alert and on guard.

---

A sweet-and-sour juice trickled into his mouth, and Sato immediately felt more awake. As strength slowly returned to his body, he managed to sit up with Zoroark's help.

Sato looked around and saw they were surrounded by lush trees. Spotting a few scattered Berries on the ground, he figured the three had already done a rough sweep of the area.

"Any idea where we are?" Sato asked.

Zoroark and Houndoom both looked at Gengar. Gengar first nodded, then immediately shook its head.

"Not sure?"

Sato frowned. For some reason, the Dark Energy inside him had vanished, and his sensory abilities had dropped significantly as well.

Soon, Sato realized another issue: his backpack was gone, and all his Poké Balls too.

Aside from the three Pokémon still with him, he had nothing on him but a… robe? No need to guess, this was definitely Ho-Oh's doing.

He didn't know what the trial was supposed to be, but judging by how it was starting… it was definitely a pain.

After resting on the spot for a while, Gengar kept running back and forth, scouting while also bringing back a bunch of Berries.

Sato ate quite a few of them and recovered some strength. Only then did he set out with the three Pokémon, heading toward the edge of the forest.

After thinking about it, Sato turned back and gathered all the leftover Berries to bring along.

Gengar had already discovered some important things, like the fact that there was a large town nearby, populated by many humans.

To Sato, this was good news.

He walked with many breaks, panting and muttering under his breath. 'If it's a trial, then so be it… but why do they have to drain me this much?'

As he approached the forest's edge, Sato could already see the town not far away.

The buildings were all clearly ancient, and with the black robe he was wearing, Sato suddenly had a bold thought…

"Houndoom, stay in the forest for now. I'm not sure how people in this… era? Feel about Pokémon," Sato turned to the obviously conspicuous Houndoom and said.

"Woo~"

Houndoom nodded in understanding, then turned and disappeared into the forest.

As for the other two, Gengar slipped underground, vanishing into Sato's shadow.

Zoroark transformed into a man who looked almost identical to Sato. The two now looked like real brothers.

Sato and Zoroark walked side by side, casually strolling up to the "town" gates.

Outside the gate, several soldiers in armor stood on either side, looking especially strict.

Fortunately, there were quite a few people going in and out, and the guards didn't seem to be stopping anyone. Sato and Zoroark didn't hesitate, keeping up a calm front as they walked through the entrance.

No one stopped them!

Sato breathed a sigh of relief. Only after walking a bit farther did he finally have a chance to investigate the town more closely.

'Ecruteak City! No…this must be Ecruteak City from hundreds of years ago.'

Sato looked at the intact Bell Tower before him and the well-preserved Brass Tower standing not far off, resonating with each other. A strange sense of being displaced in time welled up in his heart.

'Ho-Oh… did you bring me here so I could prevent the coming tragedy? …But what can I do alone?' Sato's thoughts were a mess. The more he thought about it, the less sense it made.

If he was meant to stop a disaster, then why had his powers been restricted?

Forget it. Before worrying about all that, he should first solve tonight's lodging issue.

'Right, Houndoom!'

It was just around noon, and having eaten Berries earlier, none of them were hungry. So Sato and the others wandered casually through the streets.

By eavesdropping on the conversations around him, Sato gradually pieced together some useful information.

Hundreds of years ago, there were also Pokémon Trainers, but they were so few that they were practically deified, and they were called Beastmasters.

Ho-Oh currently resided at the top floor of Bell Tower, but it was heavily guarded, and ordinary people had no chance of getting close.

All rituals were conducted at the nearby Brass Tower, which naturally became the most bustling area in town.

Sato and Zoroark wandered over to Brass Tower, and it was there they saw a Trainer with a Sudowoodo… or rather, a Beastmaster.

Since he was here now, he might as well follow the customs of this land.

Wherever the Beastmaster passed, people cleared the way, watching him with a mix of awe and reverence.

Sato was certain now: the status of Beastmasters in this era had to be quite high. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a reaction.

This would definitely make things easier for Sato, but even so, walking around with three Pokémon still felt too conspicuous.

After some thought, Sato decided to secretly follow the Beastmaster, hoping to learn more from him.

As for how… naturally, Gengar's specialty: Hypnosis.

Half an hour later, Sato walked out of a nondescript alley, having obtained plenty of information about Beastmasters.

First off, in this era, there was not even a shadow of the Pokémon League. "Ecruteak City" was nominally ruled by the family from Bell Tower.

There were no public roads connecting "cities". Each one was separated by thick and dangerous forests.

However, cities weren't completely cut off.

There were teleportation portals powered by Psychic-type Pokémon. But using one would cost a normal family everything they had.

Beastmasters were extremely rare, and most of them had no more than three Pokémon.

That was because knowledge in this era was even more tightly controlled than in Sato's original time.

Ordinary people simply couldn't afford to raise Pokémon. Over 80% of Beastmasters came from powerful families with inherited legacies.

The most important detail? There were Poké Balls!

Of course, in this era, they were called "Beast Balls", and they were crafted manually from Apricorns.

They were incredibly expensive, even the Beastmaster that Sato had just hypnotized only had one.

The extreme scarcity of Beast Balls was one of the main reasons Beastmasters couldn't expand their numbers.

Without the control and restraint of a Beast Ball, catching Pokémon was nearly impossible.

On the other hand, the high barrier to becoming a Beastmaster meant that their average strength had naturally risen.

Plus, Beastmasters of this era had to fight personally, so they themselves were quite capable. They had the real skills.

After taking it all in, Sato suddenly felt a flicker of anticipation for what might come next.

This small lever of his… just how much could it shift by the time all was said and done?