"So I was the one who arrived first, yet she still got ahead of me in the end. Having information really is an advantage."
Watching Cynthia defeat the sand Pokémon around her before shooting toward the second floor like a rocket, Sato suddenly felt the frustration of "I got here first." But he quickly shook his head and spoke helplessly.
Truthfully, he was extremely grateful that Cynthia had told him so much about Mirage Tower free of charge. It undoubtedly saved him from taking many unnecessary detours inside the tower.
Originally, his goal had been to reach the fourth floor of Mirage Tower. But now, he had absolutely no intention of going there anymore. He already knew he had no chance of passing the trial of the third floor—let alone the even more difficult fourth floor. Going there would simply be courting death.
Based on his understanding of Cynthia, this proud genius would never bother lying. Which meant that, judging from the strength he currently possessed, the second floor was indeed his limit for now.
Still, that no longer mattered.
The remaining time he had to train inside Mirage Tower was limited, and he intended to make full use of it to temper his Pokémon.
"Everyone, come out. Let the battle become even more intense."
Once Cynthia completely disappeared from sight, Sato released all of his Pokémon at once, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Sure enough, the moment all his Pokémon appeared, countless pillars of sand rose from the nearby desert floor. The sand rapidly condensed together, forming sand Pokémon equal in number to Sato's own team.
Battle erupted instantly.
A massive fight began across the first floor of Mirage Tower. Soon, booming explosions echoed continuously throughout the structure, and the entire tower occasionally trembled lightly.
...
"What's going on? Is there an earthquake?"
On the second floor of Mirage Tower, Cynthia—currently searching for the staircase leading to the third floor—felt the constant shaking beneath her feet. Looking at the sand and rubble falling from the ceiling from time to time, she frowned in confusion.
"Lucario, speed things up. Please use your Aura to locate the staircase."
As the "aftershocks" continued without stopping, Cynthia's expression changed slightly. She no longer cared about the strain it would place on Lucario's Aura reserves and immediately ordered it to conduct a wide-area Aura search.
With Lucario's help, Cynthia quickly located the staircase leading upward.
However, the tremors only eased briefly before becoming intense once more.
About fifty minutes later, outside Mirage Tower, a figure was suddenly thrown out from the second floor and slammed heavily into the sand face-first.
"Ow… that hurts. I only damaged the place a little—was there really any need to be this ruthless? It even sealed my psychic powers."
Climbing out of the sand while baring his teeth in pain, Sato dusted off his dirt-covered clothes and muttered quietly to himself.
Then, when he looked up, shock instantly appeared on his face.
"At this rate… could the tower actually be alive? It can move on its own? This is unbelievable! No wonder the desert people say encountering it depends entirely on luck."
At the same moment, Mirage Tower in front of him suddenly began rising rapidly from the ground. Then, a violent sandstorm erupted around it.
Before long, the towering earthen structure vanished into the desert under the cover of the swirling sandstorm.
Although Mirage Tower had run away—and even mercilessly expelled him—Sato's mood was exceptionally good.
Because during this one hour inside the tower, he had gained tremendous benefits.
After enduring high-intensity battles against opponents of the same level, all of his Pokémon had improved significantly.
The one who benefited the most was undoubtedly Swampert.
During the second-floor trial, Sato had almost exclusively allowed Swampert to fight alone, engaging in battle after battle against peak pseudo Elite Four sand Pokémon.
Inside Mirage Tower, he could finally fight at full strength without worrying about killing his opponents. And through those all-out battles, Swampert rapidly mastered the power it had gained from Kyogre's blessing—power it had never truly displayed before.
At the same time, amid those fierce battles, Swampert's level finally reached 69.
"Mirage Tower truly is an incredible opportunity… I'm only one final step away from the Elite-Four level."
Looking toward the distant Mirage Tower, Sato slowly stood up from the sand, excitement filling his face.
Next, he rested briefly where he was while Roserade healed his Pokémon's injuries. Then he took out a map and compass from his spatial backpack and began walking toward the archaeological expedition camp.
Around noon the next day, Sato successfully returned to the camp.
After several days of repairs and reorganization, the camp—which had previously been devastated by the sandstorm and wild Pokémon attacks—had regained its orderly appearance. Even more machinery and equipment had been added than before, though the atmosphere was slightly less lively.
"Mr. Tyler has returned! Lord Brandon instructed us to notify him immediately once you came back."
The two guards at the camp entrance immediately greeted the dust-covered Sato warmly and spoke respectfully.
Sato's feat of turning the tide during that night had already spread throughout the camp. Combined with his identity as a Psychic, everyone in the camp now held him in great respect.
At this point, his prestige within the camp was probably second only to Brandon and Cynthia—the two Elite-Four Trainers.
"I see. Thank you for informing me."
Sato politely cupped his hands toward the guards in thanks. After exchanging a few pleasantries and asking about recent developments in the camp, he strode inside and headed toward the largest building at the center.
It turned out that during the days of his absence, Brandon had feared another wild Pokémon assault on the camp. As a result, he had spent enormous resources recruiting manpower, and under the lure of huge profits, preparations for the ruins expedition had advanced rapidly.
Most personnel were already in place.
The only remaining issue was breaking the seal on the ruins.
However, just yesterday, Cynthia had completed her interpretation of the seal and discovered a method to break it. It likely wouldn't be long before the true ruins expedition officially began.
Recalling what Cynthia had told him when they met yesterday, Sato sharply realized that the method for breaking the ruins' seal most likely existed within Mirage Tower itself.
"If Mirage Tower is already this mysterious and unbelievable… who knows what the ruins themselves will be like. Hopefully this expedition will survive danger and end in peace."
Sato looked toward the sky and thought quietly to himself.