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After being forced to eliminate the entire family of a female Scolipede, along with nine other non-Kanto Bug-type Pokémon, Sato successfully completed his bug-catching mission. In fact, he had overfulfilled his quota.
Excluding the escaped female Scolipede, there was still one Whirlipede and two Venipede left. Unfortunately, Sato had no more spare Black PokeBalls to capture them.
"Forget it, you guys can go. Live well."
Repaying cruelty with kindness, Sato had Bellossom use Grassy Terrain to heal the remaining Whirlipede and Venipede before addressing them with a slightly regretful expression.
Truthfully, he had considered capturing the entire family and later trading the extras with other Rocket Grunts also participating in the bug-catching mission.
After all, a single non-Kanto Bug-type Pokémon was worth 5,000 points—when converted at market rates, that amounted to at least five million PokeDollars.
The mission itself offered 5,000 points, so he could easily demand 4,500 points per trade. It was a deal that would leave everyone satisfied.
However, given that the deadline for the first phase of the mission was approaching, Sato ultimately decided to abandon the idea. He had no desire to slaughter Pokémon, so he had no choice but to release them.
The Whirlipede and Venipede, clearly scared out of their wits, didn't even wait for Sato to finish speaking.
As soon as they recovered slightly and regained consciousness, they immediately used Rollout to flee at top speed.
They were moving at least twice as fast as when they had arrived with the female Scolipede. In the blink of an eye, they had disappeared into the pitch-black forest.
With the bug-catching mission complete, Sato had no intention of lingering in the forest any longer. About ten minutes later, with Golbat's assistance, he retraced his path and returned to the base of the tree where his treehouse was located, accompanied by his Pokémon.
At the foot of the tree, Sato gathered dry branches from the forest to build a bonfire, then had Growlithe ignite it.
Next, he took out various delicious Pokémon instant meal cans. After heating them up, he distributed the warmed food as a midnight snack to his hardworking Pokémon.
These instant meal cans were high-end products Sato had purchased at great expense from a specialty store in Saffron City. They contained specially processed human food—once heated, they transformed into gourmet dishes.
Not only did these instant meals taste great, but their nutritional content was on par with high-grade Pokémon food. They were perfect for changing things up during post-training afternoon tea or midnight snacks.
As he ate his own fragrant pork chop rice, Sato also took this opportunity to submit the Black PokeBalls and officially complete the mission.
He took out his Rocket communicator, which had been powered off, and turned it on. Then, he retrieved the six Black PokeBalls containing the captured non-Kanto Bug-type Pokémon.
Flipping the communicator over and placing it on a clean cloth on the ground, he inspected the slot at the back before inserting one of the shrunken Black PokeBalls containing a Whirlipede.
Rocket technology was highly advanced, and this communicator—resembling a tablet—was an impressive device. Beyond communication functions, it also had powerful transmission capabilities.
The moment Sato placed the Black PokeBall into the slot, it transformed into a white beam of light and shot toward the sky, vanishing in an instant.
Less than ten seconds later, a mission completion prompt appeared on the communicator's screen. Almost simultaneously, a notification popped up on Sato's Rocket-issued wristwatch, confirming the deposit of 5,000 points.
"5,000 points deposited. Heh, these points are easy to earn. But now comes the real test—if they don't accept the remaining five PokeBalls, all my efforts will have been for nothing."
His expression remained neutral as he read the notification. Setting down his spoon, he turned his attention to the remaining five Black PokeBalls, a trace of nervousness appearing on his face.
Truthfully, his understanding of the mission's mechanics was based purely on his own assumptions. He had no guarantee that the extra Pokémon would be accepted after completing the mission's basic requirement.
If they were rejected, his attempt to gain recognition from the higher-ups would fail.
Knowing that overthinking wouldn't help, Sato chose not to check the communicator's mission log immediately. Instead, he inserted the second Black PokeBall, also containing a Whirlipede, into the slot.
Moments later, under Sato's delighted gaze, the PokeBall turned into another white streak and vanished.
A few seconds later, another deposit notification appeared on his Rocket wristwatch.
One minute later, all four remaining Black PokeBalls had been transmitted, and Sato's wristwatch displayed four additional deposit notifications. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Yes—he had been right. His hard work had not been in vain. All six Black PokeBalls containing non-Kanto Bug-type Pokémon had been successfully received.
Now, his total points had increased by 30,000, bringing his account balance to 36,900—his highest ever.
While Sato was pleased with the increase in points, what truly mattered was whether his flawless execution of this mission would draw the attention of Rocket's higher-ups. That was the real objective.
"Well, whatever. Logically, I've completed the mission perfectly. Now, it's all up to fate."
Sato was carefree by nature. He quickly pushed thoughts of the mission aside and focused on enjoying his midnight snack with his Pokémon, using the opportunity to bond with his newly captured Arbok, Miltank, and Whirlipede.
Arbok, it seemed, was not particularly sociable. However, it was undoubtedly a glutton. To Sato's amusement, it had already been roped in by Meowth at some point.
Currently, Meowth had gathered Arbok, Golbat, and Nidorino together, and the four were engaged in an animated discussion as they ate.
Miltank, on the other hand, had hit it off with Bellossom, the team's resident healer. The reason? Miltank loved eating the fresh grass that Bellossom could generate using her Grass-type energy.
Ever since Bellossom acquired a Miracle Seed, she had gained the ability to accelerate plant growth. With continuous practice, the vegetation she cultivated had become increasingly lush and vibrant.
Now, thanks to Bellossom's help, Miltank had easy access to fresh, juicy grass and leaves.
In return, Miltank reciprocated the kindness—by producing some of her nutritious milk and using it to help Bellossom wash herself.
As for the newest addition, Whirlipede, she had already settled into the team and was currently getting along well with Sato's Shiny Beautifly.
As the team's Bug Queen, Shiny Beautifly had effortlessly taken Whirlipede under her wing, training her into a devoted little follower. It seemed that Whirlipede had already become Beautifly's personal attendant.
"The team is growing stronger and stronger. This is great. You need to hatch soon—everyone's waiting for you."
Watching his Pokémon eat, chat, and play in small groups around him, Sato sat at the center of the gathering, gently wiping a damp cloth over his Pichu egg, his mood light and content.
"Hmm… so today's the day for that group of Metapod to evolve, huh? The sight of all these Butterfree dancing under the starlit sky is truly beautiful."
Lifting his gaze, he noticed a swarm of Butterfree soaring through the night sky. Under the moonlight, their luminous scales shimmered, creating a breathtaking spectacle.