Sato glanced at Joseph. This was Elite Four Agatha standing right in front of them, and even he felt a little nervous… 'so why did Joseph look so calm?'
"Let's head back to the Pokémon Center first. We can talk later."
Agatha nodded. As long as no one was seriously injured, there was no rush.
And so, despite having left Indigo Plateau barely two hours ago, Sato and Joseph found themselves right back where they started.
Zoroark had already been handed over to Nurse Joy, and Sato was recovering quickly; after all, he had only exhausted his Dark Energy, not suffered physical injuries himself.
Agatha had stepped away for a moment but returned soon after.
Not everyone had the fortune of encountering a Legendary Pokémon, much less one that actively sought them out for battle.
Since Head Monk/Reverend hadn't told him to keep this a secret, Sato didn't bother hiding anything.
However, as soon as he started explaining, Agatha gave him a knowing look. As if she already understood everything.
"Elite Four Agatha, do you know the Head Monk?"
Sato asked curiously.
"He's just an old charlatan."
Agatha didn't hold back in front of Sato, rolling her eyes in disdain.
"By the way, where's your Rainbow Wing?¹ Let me see it."
"Huh?" Sato hadn't expected Agatha to ask so directly, but after a moment's thought, he handed her the wooden box.
"Oh? So you've already completed Raikou's challenge!"
"Huh?" Sato blinked in surprise. The battle had just ended, and he hadn't even had time to check.
So he had actually passed the trial?
Thinking about it, that did make sense; 'defeating' a Legendary Pokémon would likely require at least Elite Four-level strength.
If passing the trial required winning outright, it wouldn't be very reasonable.
"Still… I don't have any Electric-type Pokémon."
Sato frowned, feeling a bit troubled.
"Why do you need an Electric-type Pokémon? I remember you specialize in Dark-types, don't you?" Agatha returned the Rainbow Feather to him, asking casually.
"For the 'reward'. When I cleared Entei's trial, my Houndoom leveled up instantly."
"Hmph. That old charlatan must have told you that nonsense. Who said you need an Electric-type Pokémon?"
Agatha scoffed.
"Elite Four Agatha… you seem to know a lot about this." Joseph, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up.
"I've been fooled by him before."
Agatha's tone turned sour.
"I carried the Rainbow Feather and completed trials from all three Legendary Beasts. But after I passed, nothing happened!"
She sounded truly frustrated, as if the experience had left a particularly bad memory.
Sato thought about it but decided not to ask further.
He wasn't close enough to Agatha to pry into her past. If not for her naturally straightforward personality, she probably wouldn't have mentioned it at all.
"Still, passing the trials is beneficial. Your Pokémon can all use the power, though it works best on Electric-types. Anyway, since you're fine, I'll be leaving now."
With that, Agatha stood up and left without hesitation.
"Thank you, Elite Four Agatha!"
Sato sincerely expressed his gratitude. Thinking back, if she hadn't arrived when she did, Raikou might not have let him off so easily.
Agatha waved a hand dismissively, not bothering to look back.
"You should get some rest. I'll go make lunch." Joseph nodded and left as well.
Sato looked down at the Rainbow Feather in his hands.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to give it to Zoroark. It had fought desperately throughout the battle; giving it to another Pokémon wouldn't feel right.
Besides, Zoroark had been his first partner, yet it had always been outclassed by Weavile in terms of level.
It must have been feeling the pressure.
Having more Pokémon made managing a team difficult. And being the leader of the group wasn't easy either.
---
After another full day of rest, Zoroark had recovered completely.
Once it had finally slept off its exhaustion, Sato and Joseph set out again!
The journey from Indigo Plateau to Shadownight Town took an entire week of non-stop travel along the main roads.
With the increasing number of Trainers, and Shadownight Town's proximity to Forest of Shadows, more and more adventurers were drawn to the area; hoping to capture rare Pokémon or simply explore.
As a result, Shadownight Town had begun to flourish. It even had a fully equipped Pokémon Center to accommodate travelers.
Walking through the town's streets, Sato quickly noticed: almost every resident carried a Pokémon with them.
And among them, he spotted quite a few Ursaring and Scyther, Pokémon well-known for their battle prowess.
Of course, many other traveling Trainers like Sato had also come from distant regions.
Shadownight Town, in many ways, was similar to Silver Town.
It didn't have many tall buildings but was filled with various shops selling Pokémon-related goods.
"Shadownight Intelligence Station Shop?"
Joseph suddenly stopped in front of a small storefront that wasn't particularly eye-catching, yet was bustling with visitors.
Sato followed his gaze and noticed that most of the people entering and exiting were travelers, just like them.
"Let's check it out."
Without hesitation, Sato walked inside, with Joseph close behind.
The Shadownight Intelligence Shop was remarkably quiet. Despite the large number of people, everything felt chaotic yet orderly.
After a few minutes of observation, Sato and Joseph noticed that the customers could be divided into two main groups.
The first group consisted of sellers: most of them entered covered in dust, completed their transactions quickly, and left in a hurry.
The second group consisted of buyers, patiently waiting in line.
Even when they spoke, their conversations were kept to a whisper, never loud or disruptive.
"Excuse me, is this your first time visiting the Shadownight Intelligence Shop?"
A staff member approached them and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah. What exactly does this place do?"
Sato didn't hold back, getting straight to the point.
"Please follow me. I'll take you to the consultation desk for a full explanation."
The staff member led them to a quieter section of the store.
After a detailed explanation, Sato and Joseph finally understood how the Shop operated.
They found the business model quite intriguing. It thrived on profiting from middleman fees.
Simply put, the shop sold intelligence on Forest of Shadows.
However, instead of gathering the information themselves, they relied on Trainers and explorers to submit their findings.
The Shop would buy these reports at a low price, then resell them at a markup, labeling it as a processing fee.
As for whether the information was accurate, or if the buyer actually found anything useful… that was not their responsibility.
To prevent Trainers from submitting false reports, the shop had its own point-based credibility system.
This system evaluated the reliability of each Trainer's reports, affecting both their privileges and the payout they received.
Because the Shadownight Intelligence Shop focused solely on information trading, and had an established reputation system, it had quickly gained popularity.
Many Trainers visiting Forest of Shadows bought at least one or two reports, eager to test their validity.
After all, the most expensive reports were only 2,000 Pokédollars, while the cheapest ones cost just 500 Pokédollars.
Sato and Joseph were no exception.
They each purchased a few reports, though whether they were real or fake… would only find out once they entered Forest of Shadows.
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Note: ¹. You guys prefer "Feather" or "Wing"? "Wing" is the official term too, but... I don't like it.