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Tonight's midnight feast cost Sato four million PokeDollars — practically insane. Even he felt a sting in his heart at that number.
In truth, his own Pokémon at most would have eaten fifty to six hundred thousand PokeDollars' worth. The real culprits were Clair's eight Dragon-type Pokémon, whose appetites were absolutely monstrous.
Worse, they were picky — only eating the highest-quality food — and since they weren't the ones paying, they devoured over three million PokeDollars in a single sitting.
There was no denying it: Dragon-types weren't something an average trainer could afford. Their daily food costs alone were enough to give anyone headaches.
As for a trainer like Clair, who carried eight Dragons at once — she obviously needed a powerful clan behind her just to cover the expenses. No individual could possibly manage that.
Still, the banquet hadn't been a total loss for Sato. He had obtained Clair's contact information and, more importantly, gained access to the channels for buying specialized Dragon-type Pokémon food.
Indeed, the Dragon Clan's fortune was built upon producing and selling Dragon-type food.
In fact, nearly every trainer in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn who raised Dragon-types relied on their products.
So even though Clair had freeloaded a meal worth over three million PokeDollars, Sato had no choice but to swallow his frustration and accept it. (Note: 3M is her part in the bill)
After leaving the restaurant, he returned to the Pokémon Center to rest and enjoyed a refreshing night.
The next day, Sato once again headed to the large battle arena downtown. Thanks to his victory over Clair, the audience was far more enthusiastic than before.
Unfortunately, cheers and boos were evenly split.
Some of the hecklers even went so far as to hurl eggs, stones, and rotten fruit at him.
Luckily, Kecleon's quick reactions prevented him from being hit by the sudden assault.
Though Sato seethed inside, with so many eyes on him he chose to hold back — deciding instead to settle accounts after the match.
Using psychic techniques recorded in a book on psychic powers written by Sabrina, he discreetly planted psychic markers on the assailants hidden in the crowd. As long as they stayed within a kilometer of him, none of them would escape his grasp later.
Having already overcome Clair, today's next three opponents were hardly a challenge.
With just Nidoking, his Shiny Pelipper, and Heracross, he defeated them all and smoothly advanced into the Top 8.
But to his surprise, Daisy was caught in an unprecedentedly fierce battle in the Round of 16.
Even more shocking was her opponent — none other than Tobias, the mysterious trainer who in the future would target Ash in the Sinnoh League.
Like Sato, Tobias was competing under an alias, calling himself "Diaz."
His hairstyle and apparent age were different from the Tobias in Sato's memory, which was why he hadn't recognized him at first.
Facing a formidable aristocratic trainer like Daisy, Tobias clearly wasn't holding back with weak Pokémon. Right from the start, he sent out a mainstay Pokémon he hadn't used in the tournament until now.
It was none other than the legendary Pokémon, Regirock.
With it, he successfully defeated Daisy's Infernape.
But Daisy quickly counterattacked. Even at a type disadvantage, her ace Charizard managed to take down Regirock.
When Tobias then sent out another legendary — Moltres — to face Daisy's Charizard, Sato finally realized who he was dealing with: the powerful and mysterious trainer who commanded multiple legendaries.
The battle grew white-hot. In the skies above the arena, Daisy's level 63 Charizard clashed fiercely with Tobias's level 64 Moltres.
Under Daisy's training, Charizard had fully mastered its Blaze ability, able to trigger it at will.
Now, Charizard blazed like a scorching sun, radiating terrifying heat and light. Any creature that came within ten meters would feel as though they had stepped into a sea of fire.
Through mastery of Blaze and its immense fire energy, Charizard had effectively formed a miniature "flame domain."
Its flames had even turned pure blue, each blast from its mouth exceeding a thousand degrees Celsius, melting stone upon contact.
Without doubt, Daisy's Charizard was immensely powerful — in Sato's eyes, its strength and potential rivaled, perhaps even surpassed, the Charizard Ash would one day raise.
Yet against the fire-type legendary Moltres, Charizard's strongest flames proved ineffective.
In both raw firepower and control of flame energy, Moltres was still superior by a tier.
This created a terrifying situation: Charizard's flames could barely scratch Moltres, while Moltres's fire inflicted real damage.
Though Charizard also wielded many strong Flying- and Dragon-type moves, Moltres matched or exceeded it in aerial combat and flying techniques.
From the very start, the battle was one-sided. Even under Daisy's skilled command, Charizard's counters could do little lasting harm.
At last, Moltres unleashed a devastating combination of Sky Attack and Flare Blitz. Charizard, unable to dodge in time, was struck midair and slammed into the ground.
"Come on, Charizard, stand up!"
Daisy's face filled with anguish as she called out, unwilling to give up. She cheered desperately for the dragon lying battered in the crater.
True to its fiery spirit, Charizard struggled back onto its feet, reigniting its Blaze ability.
But one wing had been badly damaged in the clash. It could no longer return to the skies to duel Moltres.
In the end, under Tobias's command, Moltres cloaked in pale flames struck Charizard down, engulfing it in a sea of fire.