Pokémon: Above the Top

==Shadownight Intelligence Shop==

Amber frowned deeply as he looked at the more than twenty immobilized people on the floor, inwardly letting out a bitter smile.

"What are you planning to do with these people?" After thinking for a while, Amber still couldn't make up his mind.

"Does the shop still need people right now, the kind you don't have to pay?" Sato blinked seriously as he spoke.

"…" Amber was speechless. 'Even if you dare assign them, I wouldn't dare use them.'

"Forget it, call the mayor and have him take them back. All their Pokémon must be confiscated and turned in. That'll keep them from constantly scheming."

Sato never considered how deep the bonds were between those people and their Pokémon. If they broke the rules, they had to be punished. And it's not like Sato hadn't already given them a chance to turn things around.

"Alright, I'll go contact the mayor right away," Amber said and was about to leave when Sato quickly called out to stop him.

"Hey… Amber, has the shop had any tricky missions lately? I've had some free time the past couple of days, so maybe I could help out a little?" Sato proactively sought something to do.

"There are a few troublesome ones…"

"Then leave it to me!" Sato cut in "heroically".

"Better not. These missions might be troublesome, but they're not difficult, just right for training the people below." Amber shook his head, but then happened to notice the slightly "lonely" look on Sato's face and immediately understood.

"But if you have time, there is something I've been meaning to bring to your attention," Amber said thoughtfully and slowly.

"Please go ahead!" Sato perked up immediately, then realized he might've seemed a bit too eager, so he coughed twice to hide the awkwardness.

As one of the "top 10" employees of the Gym, Amber naturally wouldn't embarrass the boss. He smiled lightly and pulled a document from the desk.

"Pokémon City Attack Research Report?" Sato frowned, not understanding why something like this would show up in the Intelligence Shop.

"I believe you've got the idea. This is the mayor subtly trying to get us involved in conducting this investigation," Amber hinted.

"What do you mean? Shifting responsibility?" Sato already had a hunch, but still wanted to hear Amber's thoughts.

"Not exactly. It's more of a way to probe our stance and capabilities. Right now, the Shadownight Gym is the strongest line of defense in Shadownight. If there were a large-scale wild Pokémon attack, about 80% of the burden would fall on us.

Shadownight Town is currently in a period of rapid development. The massive extraction and use of resources will inevitably stir the anger of wild Pokémon.

What the mayor is really asking is: for the sake of the town's development, how much pressure can our Gym endure?"

Once Amber finished, Sato's doubts still hadn't been fully cleared.

"Can the scale of a wild Pokémon attack really be predicted that precisely?"

"Don't underestimate the Pokémon League. They can estimate the rebound range based on a city's development speed and the surrounding ecological conditions."

"That's honestly…" Sato frowned again, but didn't reach an immediate conclusion in his heart.

Logically, aggressively developing Shadownight Town would be nothing but beneficial for him as the Gym Leader.

But the reason Sato was hesitating was entirely because the current Totem Pokémon of the Forest of Shadows was a giant Honchkrow. And his own Murkrow was that Totem's only child, with a potential that even exceeded Honchkrow itself.

Back then, Sato's decision to let Murkrow grow freely was, in part, a move to let it eventually succeed the Totem position, turning the Forest of Shadows into his very own backyard.

In fact, once his Murkrow succeeded the Totem position, Sato would be able to indirectly command thousands of Murkrow… one could imagine what a powerful force that would be.

But Shadownight bordered the Forest of Shadows, and any effort to expand the town would inevitably affect the forest.

"Amber, under normal circumstances, how do we reply to the mayor?" Since the matter was significant, Sato didn't want to make the decision alone.

"Naturally, we'd reply using the League's standard protocol. Believe me, the success of a city's development isn't always about how flashy it looks on the surface.

Think about Ecruteak City and Blackthorn City. They've still preserved much of their historical and cultural architecture, with no modern urban atmosphere whatsoever. But would you say they're underdeveloped?"

"Then that's what we'll go with," Sato nodded with certainty. His plan aligned perfectly with Amber's suggestion.

Honestly, if Shadownight Town ever turned into a bustling economic metropolis in the future, Sato wouldn't even like it.

"Great, I was originally planning to head over to the Gym and ask you about this. But since you've come personally, you've saved me a trip," Amber said with a smile as he put down the document.

"Alright, well, the shop will still be counting on you. If there's nothing else, I'll head out now?" Sato asked tentatively.

 Amber just smiled and gave him a nod. "Leader… cherish this bit of free time while it lasts. In two months, the Johto League's Silver Conference will begin. At that time, almost no one will come to challenge the Gym. But it also means that the annual 'Sweep Operation' will officially start. All Gym Leaders will be unbelievably busy."

"Sweep Operation?"

"I'm not too familiar with the specifics in the Johto Region, but ask any slightly more experienced Gym Leader and you'll find the information you're looking for."

"Got it!"

Back at the Gym, Sato immediately contacted Howard in Goldenrod City. As the most senior Gym Leader in the Johto Region, no one understood these matters better than him.

---

"Grandpa went out for a stroll this morning and still hasn't come back," Whitney appeared on the video call, completely unfazed.

Sato glanced at the time in the bottom corner of the screen: 4:20 p.m.

"Is Leader Howard's condition getting worse? He used to be brought back by kind folks by two or three at the latest," Sato frowned, subtly hinting that Whitney should care more about her grandfather.

"Seems like it… I guess I'll go out and look for him." Whitney replied, a little concerned.

"No, no, no! Just stay home and wait. When your grandpa returns, make sure he contacts me," Sato quickly stopped her.

'Come on… if she went out looking too, it wouldn't just be a 4:20 problem anymore.' The time might double.

On the other side of the call, Whitney pouted and reluctantly nodded at Sato, then hung up the call.

Staring at the now-black screen, Sato felt a bit restless. His curiosity had been piqued, but having no answers after so long was deeply frustrating.

Still, he didn't feel like asking anyone else. After all, there weren't many people he was close with, and it wasn't that urgent.

Two hours later, just after finishing dinner, Sato received a call from Howard.

"You're asking about the Sweep Operation? So it's that time again, huh? Poor old bones like mine still have to run around…" Leader Howard began whining before even getting to the point.

"So… what is the 'Sweep Operation', exactly?"