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There was no doubt about it — after Tobias revealed not one, but two Legendary Pokémon, he instantly became the hottest topic in the city. Nearly every Trainer was talking about this mysterious "Legendary Pokémon Trainer."
Because of that, Sato, who had just yesterday been widely celebrated as the "Dragon-Slayer Hero," suddenly seemed forgotten. Public attention and online discussions shifted almost entirely toward this new figure.
Unfortunately, this mysterious Trainer was clearly someone elusive and strange.
As soon as his battle ended, he disappeared from the public eye as if he had evaporated into thin air. Even skilled trackers and powerful organizations with malicious intent could not find a trace of him.
At the Pokémon Center in the city, outside a recovery room glowing red, Sato stood with Whitney and Daisy's Lopunny, trying to comfort the dejected Daisy.
"Daisy, don't feel down. That guy with the Legendary Pokémon is just too strong. The fact you managed to defeat one of his Legendary Pokémon is already amazing. And if his Moltres hadn't countered your Charizard so perfectly, the outcome might have been very different."
Whitney clearly wasn't very good at comforting people. Her attempt came out as praising the opponent while undermining her own friend. Unsurprisingly, Daisy's expression only darkened further.
Daisy was a very strong-willed girl. Otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen Charmander as her starter.
Her Charizard was her strongest trump card, the Pokémon she had painstakingly trained over years. And yet, despite all that effort, it was completely overwhelmed by Moltres — a crushing defeat. For someone as proud as Daisy, this was a heavy blow.
"Daisy, you've already raised Charizard excellently. Unless I'm mistaken, in a few more years it'll become a powerful top Elite-Four level Pokémon."
"Today's loss was largely because that Moltres's fire mastery was just too overwhelming. It nullified much of Charizard's strongest weapon. But if you look at it another way, this isn't entirely bad. At least you've seen Charizard's shortcomings. Its flight skills and mastery of non-Fire-type moves aren't good enough. Especially in aerial combat, its gap with Moltres was enormous."
"If Charizard can match Moltres's flight techniques, and unleash the full power of Thunder Punch, then today's result might have been completely different."
"Daisy, we're Trainers. If we can defeat Legendary Pokémon using ordinary Pokémon, that's the greatest honor we can earn."
"And that honor? You've already achieved it. Didn't your Infernape and Charizard just defeat his Regirock? Your strength is worthy of respect — mine, and countless other Trainers'."
Sato wasn't particularly skilled at comforting others either, but he understood how to get through to someone strong-willed like Daisy. After a brief moment of thought, he delivered this speech.
As expected, the frustration on Daisy's face eased noticeably. Soon, her expression shifted to deep thought. Clearly, his words had struck a chord.
"Thank you, Sato. You're right. I've been focusing too much on developing Charizard's firepower, neglecting its other abilities. Once this tournament ends, I'll head back to Pallet Town and have Grandpa's Dragonite help train Charizard in aerial combat."
"Just you wait — even if it's a Legendary Pokémon, I'll defeat it with ordinary Pokémon. I will do it."
Daisy's frustration was gone, replaced by blazing fighting spirit. She nodded firmly to Sato, pumped her small fist, and declared.
Seeing the strong-willed girl regain her confidence, Sato couldn't help but smile happily.
But then he noticed a furious Nurse Joy storming toward them. Quickly, he pressed his finger to his lips, "Shhh~," signaling Daisy to keep her voice down.
Whitney and Lopunny, spotting Joy's expression, hurried to imitate him, "Shhh~."
Daisy froze, then glanced behind her — only to see Nurse Joy glaring at her with hands on her hips. Immediately, she deflated, clapping both hands over her mouth with a guilty look, as if saying, I won't do it again.
Seeing that Daisy recognized her mistake, Nurse Joy's anger softened. After a brief scolding about not shouting in the recovery ward's hallway, she hurried off.
The atmosphere, which a moment earlier had been brimming with passion (as if a hot-blooded BGM were playing), now felt awkward.
"By the way," Whitney quickly changed the subject to ease the tension, "who exactly is that Trainer? I don't remember anyone like that among Trainers with Legendaries. I haven't even seen any recent reports online about someone encountering Legendary Pokémon. Daisy, do you know who he is? I bet his identity is anything but simple."
It was a good question — one that immediately drew both Sato's and Daisy's attention.
"I don't know either. If I had known he had two Legendary Pokémon, I would have prepared differently. And I've never seen him before. I've watched tons of tournament footage — but never once have I seen him."
Daisy frowned thoughtfully, then shook her head.
She had indeed thought about Tobias, but after mentally going through all the known Legendary Pokémon Trainers she'd seen, not a single face matched.
The Pokémon world was vast, full of talented people. Some exceptionally skilled and lucky Trainers had captured Legendaries before — the Regis, the Legendary Birds, Celebi — Pokémon that weren't too few in number.
But every Trainer known to capture such Pokémon was extraordinarily powerful, at least Elite-Four tier. And even then, most were lucky to get one.
Someone like Tobias — so young, and already holding two Legendaries — was utterly baffling. Even Daisy and Whitney, both from prominent families and well-connected, were at a loss.
"Don't look at me. If even you two don't know who he is, then I definitely don't. I just came back from an isolated island — there's still a ton I haven't figured out."
Seeing both girls' eyes on him, Sato shrugged with a helpless smile.
"But even if I don't know who he is, I do know one thing — he's a worthy opponent."
His expression shifted, helplessness giving way to fiery battle spirit. His tone grew eager, almost excited.