Pokémon: Above the Top

The luminous Weezing struggled for a while but quickly settled down—perhaps realizing that Gengar and Carvanha were still watching from nearby, ready to strike.

"Ding!"

Sato picked up the Poké Ball and immediately released Luminous Weezing again.

In reality, the Pokémon League strictly regulated the number of Pokémon a Trainer could carry at any given time.

While traveling, Trainers were limited to carrying a maximum of six Pokémon.

This rule existed because a Trainer's focus and resources were limited—carrying too many Pokémon would make proper training difficult.

Additionally, it was meant to discourage Trainers from capturing unnecessary Pokémon.

After extensive research and adjustments, this rule became mandatory for all Trainers below the Pseudo-Elite Four level—they could not carry more than six Pokémon at a time.

For Pseudo-Elite Four and above, they could apply for special permission to increase their carry limit.

However, enforcing this rule was nearly impossible.

As long as Trainers kept their active party within the limit inside League-governed cities, they wouldn't face any problems.

Once outside, however, they could do as they pleased—the League had no way to monitor them. Even if a Trainer was caught exceeding the limit, they could easily claim that they had just captured the extra Pokémon.

However, a few years later, the League's genius Researcher, Bill, developed the Poké Ball Remote Transfer System, which completely changed everything.

This system forced the rule into full enforcement—even if a Trainer captured a Pokémon in the wild, as long as they had a registered transfer point, the Poké Ball would be teleported away instantly.

For Trainers without a registered transfer point, the Poké Ball would be locked, preventing them from using the Pokémon until they visited a Pokémon Center and registered a transfer location.

Many rogue (not affiliated) Trainers protested against this system, but the opposition was quickly crushed.

For the Pokémon League, this was an absolute victory!

Now, the League could monitor all registered/affiliated Trainers, keeping detailed records of every captured Pokémon.

More importantly, this system significantly reduced criminal organizations' influence, while also allowing the League to identify and invest in the most promising Trainers, accelerating the League's growth.

Before long, other organizations outside the League also reverse-engineered Bill's invention, creating their own remote transfer systems.

The goal was the same—to better control their own Trainers.

But right now, all of that was still in the distant future.

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As Sato applied medicine to Weezing's wounds, he carefully observed this exceptionally rare Pokémon.

The brightness of Weezing's glow wasn't static—instead, it fluctuated with each inhale and exhale, dimming and brightening in an endless cycle, giving it a mystical aura.

The medicine worked quickly, and the cooling sensation seemed to soothe Weezing, making it quickly forget its earlier resentment.

Now, it felt a slight fondness for the Trainer who had captured it—at the very least, it no longer resisted his commands.

"Weezing, have you always lived here?"

"Weezing…"

"Were you born glowing like this? What I mean is—have you always been this bright? Have you ever noticed that you're different from others of your kind?"

Weezing paused in thought, its vacant expressions twisting in contemplation.

It nodded… then shook its head—floating up and down.

Despite not having the best looks, its glowing form masked its flaws—like a shining meteor, it was both ugly and strangely captivating.

"Hmm… then do you know how you became like this?"

Weezing's eyes turned blank, then it suddenly seemed to remember something.

Without hesitation, it began floating deeper into Luminous Swamp.

Sato quickly stopped it, packed up his recently set-up tent, and climbed onto Weezing's back.

Weezing wobbled uncomfortably for a moment but soon ignored him and drifted forward into the swamp. Gengar and Carvanha followed closely behind.

Sato had never ventured this deep into Luminous Swamp at night before.

Strangely, he could sense many wild Pokémon lurking nearby, yet none of them attacked along the way.

Weezing drifted along for over ten minutes before arriving at a section of the swamp devoid of reeds.

Areas like this usually contained bottomless bogs—yet Weezing seemed ready to descend!

"Wait, wait!"

Sato patted Weezing quickly, and it tried to lift its head to look at him—only to realize it was just a floating mass, so it ended up rising slightly instead.

"Weezing, is the thing that makes you glow inside the swamp?"

"Weez…"

Weezing bobbed up and down, nodding.

"Can I go down there? I can't breathe underwater—so is there an open space below…?"

"Weez?"

Sato and Weezing lacked synchronization, and with Weezing not being the brightest, they struggled to communicate.

"Alright, let's do this—Gengar, go down with Weezing and take a look. I'll wait here."

Ghost-types had two natural advantages—they could turn invisible and ignore physical terrain.

Nodding, Gengar followed Weezing into the depths of the swamp.

Sato stood on a small patch of solid ground, patiently waiting for their return.

Meanwhile, the wild Pokémon lurking nearby had finally lost their patience—one by one, they began closing in on him! They were afraid of Weezing!

Sato was surprised by this realization but quickly released Ariados.

Since Weezing was the one they feared, all he needed to do was stall for time—there was no need for a full battle.

Finally, one Gligar couldn't hold back any longer.

Through the swaying reeds, a pale purple shadow glided silently through the air.

Because it didn't need to flap its wings, Gligar's stealth was superior to most Flying-types.

"Puff!"

The surrounding fireflies scattered in panic, and in that instant, a strand of white silk shot out!

Ariados landed its String Shot perfectly, sticking onto Gligar's body before giving it a sharp pull!

Gligar's glide was instantly disrupted, forcing it to flail wildly in midair.

Just before it plummeted into the swamp, Ariados snapped the silk, allowing Gligar to barely stabilize itself—it desperately flapped its thin wings, managing to land safely on a nearby reed.

Gligar's humiliating defeat caused the other Pokémon to hesitate, their gazes toward Ariados filled with caution.

For a while, everything fell silent.

But soon after, the tension broke—two more purple shadows burst out, rapidly charging at Sato!

Two Rattata!

"Puff!" "Boom!"

Ariados once again struck one squarely with String Shot, while the other was sent flying by Carvanha's high-speed tackle, landing straight into the swamp!

However, the moment Rattata hit the water, it began kicking its limbs rapidly.

Whether it was due to its small size or its Run Away ability activating, Rattata miraculously escaped the bottomless bog!

Sato's surprise was fleeting—even a Pokémon as weak as Rattata had developed survival skills in the treacherous Luminous Swamp.

But he didn't have time to dwell on the thought—because suddenly—a dozen black shadows surged toward him at once!