Sato locked eyes with Wester, scrutinizing him for any sign of deception. After a moment, he slowly nodded—what Wester said was more or less what he had expected.

  "I have another question. How exactly did you determihat Haunter has dual Pseudo-Elite Four potential?"

  Wester hesitated briefly before answering.

  "I have some es ieak City. The Pokémoer's medical sers record detailed Pokémon data during treatment. Normally, this data is automatically erased after healing is plete—but I intercepted it.

  With a Pokémon's full diagnostic data, calg its potential isn't difficult. Plenty of people know how to do it."

  Sato outwardly dispyed a look of irritation, feigning disgust at Wester's invasion of privacy. Inwardly, however, he breathed a sigh of relief.

  If Wester's method required detailed medical data, that meant it wasn't some unheard-of, godlike ability to detect potential without any prior information.

  That would have been a much bigger issue.

  Even thirty years into the future, Sato had never heard of teology that could assess a Pokémon's plete stats and potential without catg it first.

  As for the Pokémoer's internal data security? Sato wasn't actually that ed.

  He khat medical data rogrammed to self-delete after treatment. Wester might have the resources to retrieve it, but that didn't mean just anyone could.

  As long as Sato didn't repeatedly expose Zorua or Larvitar's data to scrutiny, he wouldn't have to worry about drawing unwatention.

  If trouble came knog, he'd deal with it. That was all there was to it.

  "I still don't get it," Sato tinued, furrowing his brow. "What makes dual Pseudo-Elite Four potential so much better than single Pseudo-Elite Four potential? Isn't it just a differen quantity?"

  Wester took a deep breath before nodding.

  "There's a difference. In terms of breaking ie Four level, a Pokémon with dual Pseudo-Elite Four potential has twice the success rate of oh only a siribute at that level."

  Sato's gaze sharpened. "I thought potential just dictated a Pokémon's maximum growth limit?"

  Potential had always been described as a ceiling, a geic boundary that a Pokémon could reach with the right training. Could it really influehe odds of surpassing that limit?

  Wester studied Sato for a moment.

  He could tell that the yourainer was still pieg together his uanding of high-level Pokémon growth.

  Someoh this level of insight? He wasn't just some randy.

  After a moment, Wester decided that answering a few more of Sato's questions wouldn't hurt—this was on knowledge among the higher-ups in the Pokémon League and rge anizations anyway.

  "Potential is only one part of a Pokémon's growth," Wester expined. "Without proper training, even a Pokémon with exceptional potential remain weak. But on the flip side, a well-trained Pokémon sometimes surpass its geic limitations."

  He took a sip of his coffee before tinuing.

  "The reality is, single Pseudo-Elite Four Pokémon have about a 30% ce of reag that level, assuming optimal training. But dual Pseudo-Elite Four Pokémon? Their success rate jumps to 60%."

  Sato's fiapped against the table. "What about Pokémon with Elite or Ordinary potential?"

  "They occasionally break into the potential tier. But jumping two tiers? I've never heard of that happening."

  "And what about Pokémon with only one elemental type? Does that mean their breakthrough rate is also just 30%?"

  "Actually, siype Pokémon are more specialized. Their breakthrough success rate is closer to 50%."

  Sato processed this information carefully. Haunter had just given him an incredible surprise. There was no way he'd be trading it now.

  His mind drifted back to Wester. During their entire versation, Sato had been subtly eling Dark Energy, monit Wester for any hidden hostility.

  Nothing.

  Sato leaned back slightly, his expression unreadable.

  "Anything else you want to ask?" Wester asked, shifting slightly in his seat.

  Sato shook his head. "No more questions. But let's be clear—I'm not trading Haunter. However, I'm still willing to make a deal."

  "I figured," Wester said with a chuckle, though there was a tinge of disappoi in his voice. "Alright, what's your offer?"

  "I have a… pokémon with an unique Ability," Sato said, choosing his words carefully. "It allow me to mentally sync with Pokémon that have strong spiritual energy. This allows me to seheir potential—though it's not a sd sometimes random."

  (TL note: Imo t's the best way to hide his special ability. Plus, already exist Pokémon that 'sense' emotions, like the Ralts li's not that far-fetched that some Pokémon in the world could awaken a rare or exclusive ability that lets them do this)

  Wester's eyes widened slightly. He leaned forward instinctively but quickly corrected himself, f his expression back to rality.

  "My Haunter is how I discovered this ability," Sato tinued. "Aly, I detected another Pseudo-Elite Four potential Pokémohe Ruins of Alph. A siyped Shuppet."

  "A siyped Shuppet?" Wester frowned slightly. "Why didn't you catch it?"

  Sated. "I already have Haunter—I don't need anhost-type. Besides, it was crafty. Got away before I could even throoké Ball."

  Wester slowly nodded. It was a reasonable expnation. Most trainers, especially those with limited resources, wouldn't waste time catg redundant team members.

  Still, he could tell Sato was leading up to something.

  "So about this trade…" Wester prompted.

  "I'll lead you to that Shuppet," Sato said simply. "In exge, you teach me your potential analysis method."

  "Absolutely not."

  Sato blinked, caught off guard by the immediate refusal.

  A Pseudo-Elite Four potential Ghost-type wasn't enough to trade for a method Wester already used so freely? Something wasn't adding up.

  "Analyzing a Pokémon's potential isn't a big deal for me, so I'll also add five million Pokédolrs on top—sider it payment for the information on Shuppet."

  Sato narrowed his eyes. He was annoyed now. Wester wao throw in more money? Well, that was fine—he had no issue taking it.

  "Tomorrow m, 8 AM, in front of the Pokémoer. If you're te, I'm leaving," Sato said, standing up without another word and walking out of the café.

  "Uood!" Wester nodded seriously, satisfied with the oute of their versation. He was so pleased, in fact, that he didn't stop to wonder why Sato had rushed out so suddenly.

  -----------

  The m at exactly 8 AM, Sato arrived at the Pokémoer entrance. Dressed in top-tier gear, Wester stood there, waiting. Sato didn't bother saying anything—he just g him briefly before turning toward the outskirts of town.

  "Looking forward t with you," Wester said, keeping pace with Sato. As they walked, he handed over a pact device that resembled a small gaming sole.

  "What's this?"

  "A Pokémon Potential Analyzer—the smallest and most portable model, perfect for traveling trainers like yourself. Let me show you how to use it..."

  As Wester expined, Sato quickly grasped the basics of the device. He pced Haunter's Poké Ball into the designated slot, and within seds, the s dispyed the Pokémon's full diagnostic report.

  Haunter

  Gender: MaleStage: Elite (Low)Potential: Pseudo-Elite Fhost) + Pseudo-Elite Four (Poison)Ability: LevitateMoveset: Hypnosis, Lick, Spite, Mean Look, Shadow Ball, Toxic, Curse, Night Shade, fuse Ray, Sucker Punch, Shadow Punch, Payback, Sludge Bomb, Dark Pulse, Disable

  Sato skimmed the key details.

  Haunter had officially reached Elite level. The Sludge Bomb and Dark Pulse he had trained for st night were nistered, and Disable had likely been unlocked as a geic move after his ret breakthrough.

  With Wester still present, Sato refrained from sing Zorua or Larvitar.

  Even though he had preliminarily decided to trust Wester, why bother testing the limits of that trust? There was o reveal everything.