Vertress Cave naturally had day and night cycles. Aside from checking the time, the visibility and temperature inside the cave would noticeably change.
These were basic details they had learned beforehand. Around 8 PM, the five of them found a concealed cave to rest for a bit.
Outside, only a few staff members tasked with documentation and reporting were left. The rest of the audience had gone home to sleep.
Most of the projection screens had fallen into stillness, as if the participants had all tacitly agreed to stop searching.
…Was that really the case?
----
Seeing the others completely exhausted, Sato volunteered to take the first half of the night watch.
Although Ghost-type Pokémon would have been ideal for keeping watch, Sato simply didn't feel like sleeping.
"I want to go out for a bit," Sato said to the others seated on the blanket.
"Aren't you afraid to go alone?" Ryoko hesitated, asking a somewhat cute question.
"I'm Dark-type. Not even ghosts scare me, what else would I fear?" Sato chuckled.
"Still, be careful. You're carrying all our hopes," Joseph said seriously.
"Alright. I'll be back before six," Sato waved his hand and turned to leave the cave.
Phoebe opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing; just watched him walk away.
She was stronger at night, but the long day had worn her out. She wanted to help, but ultimately gave up.
"Get some rest. Starting tomorrow, battles will only get more frequent. And we'll have to guard against being ganged up on, after all, we're not a local Unova team," Joseph said, and the others dropped the topic.
----
"Ralts, you know what to do," Sato moved swiftly through Vertress Cave, while Ralts sat firmly on his shoulder, its bangs not even twitching.
"No problem!"
A childlike voice echoed in Sato's mind: it was Ralts's Telepathy.
Soon, a mini virtual map appeared in Sato's mind, with a flashing green dot slowly moving forward.
This was something Ralts had already done back in Granite Cave. Calling it a cheat tool wouldn't be an exaggeration.
No helping it… Psychic powers were just that overpowered.
As Sato moved forward, the map expanded slowly, becoming more complete and detailed.
"There's a suspicious point."
As Ralts's voice sounded again, a yellow light dot suddenly appeared on the map.
"Hmm…" Sato nodded and, following the route on the map, sprinted forward at full speed.
Suddenly, a Watchog burst up from the ground ahead, its gleaming fangs lunging straight at Gengar.
"Gar~"
Golden-eyed Gengar appeared silently beside Sato. Psychic activated, and the Watchog was instantly frozen mid-air.
Sato tilted his head slightly to dodge the attack, never sparing the foe a second glance.
As Sato passed by, Gengar solemnly made a gesture toward the Watchog, then vanished into thin air.
…The Watchog had thought it was well hidden, and angry that Sato had dared walk so openly through its territory, had struck without hesitation.
Unaware that, under Ralts's psychic scouting, it had been fully exposed long before; every movement clearly "seen" by Sato and his team.
"Careful, there's a team nearby," Ralts warned again, and Sato immediately lightened his footsteps.
On the virtual map, several bright red dots remained stationary in a cave ahead of him. It was clearly a team currently resting.
Sato's night vision was no worse than that of typical nocturnal Pokémon. In the pitch-black cave, every step he took was steady, barely kicking up any dust.
A faint ripple spread out from around Sato, and gradually, both Trainer and Pokémon disappeared from view.
Sato looked at the pink ripple field enveloping him, curiously reaching out to touch it.
He felt nothing, but it triggered wave-like distortions, as if he had touched water.
"Gar Gengar~" Gengar urged him forward impatiently. This visual misdirection technique, caused by space distortion, was its first time attempting it, and it was quite draining.
Sato stopped fooling around and quietly moved to the mouth of the cave, where he saw a Crustle sleeping on the ground.
Crustle's brow was tightly furrowed, as if it would open its eyes at any moment, yet it also looked like it was trapped in a nightmare, unable to break free.
That was thanks to Ralts. Although it hadn't demonstrated it before, its Hypnosis was no weaker than Phoebe's Mismagius.
Sato had no intention of stirring up unnecessary conflict in the middle of the night. Especially since this was a four-person team.
If he were discovered, he'd have no choice but to reveal his strength early. Instead, he bypassed the cave quietly, and once clear, Gengar waved to remove the spatial cloak and vanished again.
At this point, they were very close to the suspicious point.
Honestly, that four-person team had terrible luck. The Mission Flag was right under their noses, and they hadn't even noticed.
"I see it. It's green."
Now that they were close, Ralts could clearly identify the color of the Mission Flag.
"Not bad. Let's take it slow," Sato said, not discouraged. Blue and Red Flags were obviously limited in number, and rarely placed near the starting area.
They would definitely appear deeper in, at key locations, to provoke battles and determine the top rankings.
Reaching the target location, a Green Flag was clearly pinned in the wall, and below it lay a group of sleeping Krokorok. Among them, a patch of red fur stood out: it was a Krookodile.
"A group?" Sato frowned. If it were just one Pokémon, he could have one of his own boost to full power and finish it with a single blow.
But dealing with a small pack? That was trickier.
"Ariados, this one's yours…" Sato sent out Ariados, who hadn't been in action for a while, and whispered some instructions.
Ariados nodded, excitement gleaming in its purple-black eyes. When it came to setting traps, it might not claim to be the best in the world, but none of Sato's other Pokémon dared challenge its title.
Not that anyone wanted to compete with it anyway…
Then, Ariados suddenly rose up, its hind legs and back-mounted spider limbs supporting its body, freeing up its front legs.
And then, Ariados began rapidly spinning silk, weaving with dizzying speed. Unlike before, these threads were coated in thick mucus, and during the weaving, one or two drops would occasionally fall to the ground.
Sticky.
…And kind of disgusting.