Pokemon: Rising From The Dark

"A subordinate doing a task for Lord Shadow." Aoki said carefully, knowing that even for a strong opponent like Sabrina, his ability to resist would not be great, let alone now.

And in the face of strength, some respect is still needed. This is not cowardice but an acknowledgment of power.

When Aoki's answer reached her, Sabrina remained silent, but as the green light in her hands and eyes gradually faded, it was clear that her amusement was dissipating.

"That guy Shadow... It seems the last mission failed, and the damage was serious. To think he'd send a weak boy like you to handle things—how far he's fallen."

After a short pause, Sabrina spoke lightly, then lowered herself from the air.

She glanced at Aoki with a respectful yet disdainful "Tch."

"How boring. I finally found a fun toy." Sabrina pursed her lips, slowly adopting a more girlish demeanor.

Sabrina's strength was undeniable, but her mood swings and childish temperament were well-known within Team Rocket.

With a few small skipping steps, Sabrina approached Aoki, tilting her head as she examined him from top to bottom. Suddenly, she smiled and said, "Alright then, I'll give Shadow some face. I'll ask your Slowpoke one more time—if he agrees to follow me, I'll compensate you. How about it?"

"..."

She didn't wait for Aoki's answer before continuing, "That's settled!"

Then she squatted down, looking at Slowpoke with a smile. "Little guy, I'm giving you another chance to choose. How about coming with me? Your potential is wasted like this. Your weak Trainer can't unlock your true strength. I can make you powerful. What do you say?"

She looked like a suspicious older sister offering candy to a child. Her words made Aoki's heart stir—Slowpoke's potential?

But Sabrina's words did not sway Slowpoke. He shook his head silently before his eyes started glowing blue.

In response, a green light appeared in Sabrina's eyes. The two Psychic-type users had entered a Telepathic exchange.

Aoki had no idea what they were communicating, but after a long moment, Sabrina stood up, pouting. She looked at Aoki with a hint of jealousy, as if her favorite toy had just been taken from her.

Seeing Sabrina's expression, Aoki remained silent, keeping his face unreadable. However, from the corner of his eye, he could tell that Slowpoke had refused her.

"You're lucky. This Slowpoke is impressive, but I understand now." Sabrina gradually returned to her usual demeanor—her childish act was only temporary.

After saying that, she turned to leave, muttering, "Disappointing. I'll have to get more dolls to play with. Tch."

Just as Aoki was relaxing, Sabrina suddenly turned back, an amused smirk forming on her lips. "Heh. It's not that easy."

Before Aoki or his Pokémon could react, green Psychic energy gathered in her hands. She struck Aoki's chest with her palm.

A burning sensation spread through his body. The force wasn't physically strong, yet he was sent flying and crashed to the ground.

Slowpoke and Murkrow tried to move, but their bodies refused to budge.

Even though Murkrow, a Dark-type, should be immune to Psychic powers, Sabrina was no ordinary Psychic. She had ways to deal with Dark-types, leaving Murkrow completely immobilized.

Clapping her hands, Sabrina nodded in satisfaction. The Psychic energy she had used on Aoki wasn't much—just enough to paralyze him for half a day. It was a small way for her to vent her frustration.

"Eh?"

Unexpectedly, faint blue energy began to radiate from Aoki's body.

Sabrina's expression shifted to shock. She floated toward him, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. After confirming it wasn't an illusion, she murmured, "This... He awakened?"

As a Psychic prodigy, Sabrina knew exactly what was happening. The light blue waves surrounding Aoki were the signs of Psychic awakening.

Closing her eyes, she fully activated her Psychic perception. After a moment, she reopened them. "Huh... Lucky boy. His mental power is five times stronger than an average person's—just enough to qualify as a Psychic. And I accidentally triggered his awakening."

She was speechless. She had only intended to punish him slightly, but instead, she had helped him unlock Psychic abilities.

Although his talent was mediocre and his future growth potential wouldn't be high, he was still a Psychic. With enough training, he could develop some resistance against other Psychics.

Psychic powers were one of the three great abilities in the Pokémon world, yet only one in hundreds of thousands of people had the potential to awaken them. To qualify, a person's mental power needed to be at least five times that of an average person.

Aoki's experience from his past life might have given him an advantage in mental fortitude. Normally, his chances of awakening would have been slim, but under Sabrina's unintentional attack, the external Psychic energy had stimulated his body, unlocking his latent abilities.

From now on, Aoki was part of the select group of humans with special abilities in the Pokémon world.

Because Psychics were a minority, an unspoken rule circulated among them—whenever possible, they were to support one another to strengthen their presence in the world.

Before the League existed, a powerful Psychic nation once ruled. Most of its people, regardless of aptitude, were Psychics.

But their arrogance led to their downfall. Overestimating their superiority, they started wars that ultimately erased their civilization from history.

Learning from this mistake, future generations of Psychics kept a low profile. Elders passed down the expectation that those with the ability should aid fellow Psychics when possible.

Despite her erratic nature, Sabrina was still a responsible Psychic. Now that Aoki had awakened, even with his low potential, she left him a basic training manual.

"Hmph!"

Still slightly annoyed, Sabrina dropped the manual before teleporting away. No doubt, she would be adding more dolls to her collection today.