Ariana wanted to escape, naturally, it would be easier for her than for others. But what she hadn't anticipated was that Sato had secretly used a second Mean Look.

And in that brief moment of hesitation, Weavile had already leapt onto Ariana's shoulder, its claw lightly resting against her neck.

"Busted!" Ariana could feel the temperature of Weavile's body, as well as the sharpness radiating from its claws.

She didn't dare move a muscle, and her heart sank deeper by the second.

"Team Rocket Admin Ariana has been defeated and captured! ARIANA WAS DEFEATED BY LEADER SATO!"

Myron never missed a chance for psychological warfare. And when Team Rocket heard that their commander had already lost, beyond disbelief came pure panic.

Even Voya. Her first instinct wasn't to rescue Ariana, but to look for a chance to slip away herself!

A large number of Team Rocket Grunts began to flee in chaos, recklessly charging toward any possible escape route.

At this point, every Team Rocket member was fighting harder than ever!

But only for themselves…

"REINFORCEMENTS! REINFORCEMENTS NOW! Don't let a single Team Rocket grunt escape!" Myron roared, and even Joseph and the others who had yet to join the battle stepped forward.

They weren't many, but they caught Team Rocket completely off guard; especially since the initial momentum was already overwhelmingly against them.

The League Trainers, filled with anger, didn't hold back in the slightest. More and more Team Rocket members began to fall.

Many of the remaining ones chose to raise their hands and surrender. At least that way, they'd keep their lives.

Suddenly, a burst of fire exploded; Voya had taken advantage of Myron being distracted with the bigger picture to trigger an explosion in an attempt to flee.

But her luck was terrible. Riding her Ninetales, she hadn't even cleared the encirclement before running into Joseph… the only Ace level Trainer on the field still unoccupied.

"Gallade, Close Combat…"

Joseph gave the order with a hint of helplessness in his tone, and Gallade instantly flashed to Ninetales' side, launching into a smooth and relentless Close Combat combo.

Voya was slammed to the ground, and just then, the grass beneath her suddenly surged upward and bound her tightly in place.

It was Gogoat, who had quietly made a move, using Grass Knot to pin down the fiery Star Hunter.

Only Ninetales remained, enduring Gallade's barrage. It didn't take long before it faint.

With Voya captured, the rest of the fighting on the field gradually came to a halt.

There were still a few Team Rocket grunts who had hidden their strength and slipped away amidst the chaos.

But the vast majority had either fallen or surrendered. Few escaped.

The field fell silent. Trainers glanced at one another. And then the realization hit them all at once…

They had won!

"YEAHHH!" "WAAAH"

Many couldn't help but roar, releasing the resentment in their hearts, but after the excitement came a wave of sorrow.

Olivine City… their once peaceful home… was destroyed. And even if they wiped out every last member of Team Rocket, it wouldn't change that fact.

The battle entered its wrap-up phase. All Poké Balls belonging to Team Rocket were confiscated.

Any Pokémon that hadn't been recalled in time were temporarily caught using Capture Balls by the League, to be treated and later released.

As for the prisoners, they would naturally face punishment of varying degrees depending on their crimes.

But Ariana posed a problem for Myron. Once the effects of Mean Look wore off, even chained in cuffs, she could still easily escape using Teleport.

Officer Jenny, who should've had a countermeasure in place, had already been lost in battle, and Olivine City's new security force hadn't been replenished yet.

"Toto, use the Nightmare Orb."

The Ralts perched on Sato's shoulder suddenly spoke via Telepathy, holding up the Nightmare Orb in its tiny hands.

"This works too?"

"Of course it does! This thing's a real treasure, condensed from Darkrai's original energy. It has absolute suppression power against Psychics…

Or rather, as long as their power doesn't surpass Darkrai's, they can't escape the Nightmare Orb's grasp."

Sato raised an eyebrow. Back then, he'd thought the Nightmare Orb was kind of useless. But thinking about it now, it was basically a Hypnosis Orb with a 100% success rate.

And anything beyond Darkrai's power… would have to be Legendary Leaders-class.

Even the Legendary birds, beasts, and titans would likely be affected.

With that thought, Sato suddenly felt a growing interest in the Nightmare Orb.

The only problem was… it was in Ralts's hands…

"No way!" Ralts quickly tucked the Nightmare Orb back into its arms, looking smugly at Sato.

"…Then at least use it to put Ariana to sleep."

Sato sighed helplessly. Considering "Gardevoir" was behind "Ralts", he couldn't just take it by force.¹

Ariana simply stared at Sato coldly. When she heard they wanted to put her to sleep, she let out a mocking laugh.

This wasn't her first time being captured by the League; and every time, she had found a way to escape, often causing a huge mess on her way out just to trouble them further.

…Until Ralts floated up to her, cradling a black orb in her arms.

"This is…"

The next moment, Ariana collapsed sideways, instantly asleep. Her tightly furrowed brows made it clear she wasn't having any pleasant dreams.

"So much talk after being captured. Enjoy your nightmares, hmph!"

Maybe it was a clash of personalities, but Ralts clearly disliked Ariana. It took action without hesitation.

Myron watched from the side. Although he couldn't "hear" the Telepathy, he could tell Sato had used some method to knock Ariana out for now.

"She's no longer a threat. Report her status to the League, if they want to lift the 'nightmare', they'll have to bring her to Shadownight Town."

Myron thought it sounded like a hassle, but wisely kept his mouth shut. After all, it wouldn't be his problem later. He waved his hand and had people take Ariana away.

He was about to speak again but was interrupted by Sato raising his hand. "You've thanked me enough. Let's report back to the Pokémon Center. I want to return to Shadownight Town soon."

Myron opened his mouth, thinking that wasn't what he was going to say… but in the end, he simply gestured for Sato to go ahead.

'You're the hero. We'll follow your lead. Let's head to the Pokémon Center…'

---

In front of the video call, Sato stood beside Myron, but it was Myron doing all the talking to the person on the other end.

Sato, on the other hand, quietly stared through the screen at Charles Goodshow, his mind awash with thoughts.

He had never expected to meet the President of the Pokémon League like this.

Sato didn't know how powerful the previous League Presidents had been; but Charles Goodshow before him had lived an extraordinary life.

In the future, after many regions merged, the Pokémon League would become more influential than ever.

Aside from Team Rocket, no underground force in any region would be able to stand up to them.

As the one who had driven all these changes, President Charles Goodshow earned Sato's respect.

And after Myron finished reporting on Olivine City's status, Goodshow's first question went straight to Sato:

[You defeated Shaka?]

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¹.It was stated that the personality is different for each evolutionary stage.

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200 PS - Chap