Sato and Lolo's match had ended, but the aftermath was only just beginning to unfold.
The day after the battle, Jubilife Gym Leader once again climbed to the top of the trending topics, and this time, all he received was endless scorn and condemnation.
[Gym Leader Lolo abuses his power for personal gain… long-term collaboration with Pokémon Hunters nets over 100 million in assets over ten years]
[Lake Verity incident fully exposed: Mastermind revealed to be Jubilife City's Gym Leader!]
[Gym Leader Lolo forcibly acquires "Charizardite Y". Former owner pleads in blood: "Where is the justice of the Sinnoh League?"]
[…]
When a wall falls, everyone piles on. The downfall of Jubilife Gym was swift, and naturally, Lolo met a miserable end.
Just after the match concluded yesterday, Bertha immediately led Flint, Volkner, and others to take control of all members of the Jubilife Gym.
But Sato knew… Lolo was just a scapegoat pushed forward by those behind the scenes. The seriousness of this scandal ran far deeper, to the point that even Drake had warned him not to get involved too deeply.
Fortunately, it was the iron-headed Lolo who tried to step on Sato to climb up, using the opportunity to suppress Bertha.
Sato's counterattack was grounded in facts, and more importantly, he had won cleanly and decisively.
Because of that, the forces backing Lolo were reluctant to make Sato their next target.
In their eyes, both Sato's personal strength and the power behind him were not easy to deal with. If they couldn't take him out in one blow, they'd end up like Lolo: crushed for being too stubborn.
After weighing the risks, Sato -the one who appeared to be the epicenter of the event- was ultimately ignored by them all.
Meanwhile, the fallout from Lolo's abuse of power spread quickly. For a while, veteran Gym Leaders all felt endangered, trembling and afraid to show their faces.
The scandal continued climbing the ranks -from Gym Leaders to higher levels- causing massive damage to the reputation of the entire Sinnoh League.
Jubilife City was widely recognized as the most prosperous city in the Sinnoh Region. For a League Gym, essentially the public face of the League, to be involved in such a scandal right in Jubilife… the public could not stay silent.
Sato knew that the final outcome of this matter would be that Jubilife City would no longer house a Gym.
…And yet, even over a decade later, Jubilife would remain Sinnoh's most prosperous city.
Of course, Bertha had dealt a heavy blow to Lolo's faction through extremely aggressive measures. It seemed like a total victory for her, but who knows if she would feel any regret about it in the future.
Northern District of Jubilife City, Pokémon Center.
The place was now packed to capacity: reporters, Trainers, League members, underground figures… people of all kinds and backgrounds had gathered here…
Because Sato was here!
While Elite Four Bertha was busy cracking down on Lolo's faction, Flint, Volkner, and the others stayed behind, all scrambling to get close to Sato.
As a result, Sato smoothly got to know the future members of Sinnoh's Elite Four.
Fire-type Flint, Bug-type Aaron, Ground-type Bertha, Psychic-type Lucian!
Of course, at this moment, only Bertha was an Elite Four. The other three were still at the Ace level, same as Sato.
In addition, many Ace level Trainers directly connected to the League -most of whom Sato didn't even know in his past or current life- also came forward to introduce themselves.
Even so, it was clear now that not just anyone could become Elite Four. At the very least, those three were merely "Elite Four candidates" of the Sinnoh League for the time being.
Just like Sato. And just like a large group of others who hadn't yet gotten their moment in the spotlight.
Among them, Sato couldn't help but glance a few more times at Lucian.
Back during the Gym Leader Qualification Tournament, Sato had fought a match against Lucian and won due to a type advantage.
He couldn't help but wonder how much Lucian had grown since then. After all, in the future, Lucian would become the top-ranked member of the Elite Four, even above Bertha.
After being forced to meet a group of people he likely wouldn't cross paths with again, Sato and his two companions quietly decided to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.
So, another day later, everyone suddenly discovered that the three had already left the Pokémon Center.
"Sato asked me to tell everyone: they've resumed their journey. He hopes you'll meet again someday~" Nurse Joy smiled as she spoke to the crowd.
"Ahh~ As expected! Someone so young and so strong… of course he's going to keep pushing forward!" a young fanboy exclaimed, eyes sparkling.
Flint, Volkner, and the others looked at each other and could only accept the fact with helpless resignation.
They had really hoped to find a chance for a friendly match.
---
At that moment, the three had already reached the wilderness north of Jubilife City. They were preparing to cross the forested mountains ahead and follow the Mt. Coronet range toward the far north: Lake Acuity.
"…Glaceon, use Icy Wind."
Suddenly, a cool voice called out from not far away. The three looked at each other and adjusted their direction, heading toward the source of the voice.
"Very good… just a little more… okay, that's enough~" The voice continued, still calm, but now tinged with joy.
Just as Sato and the others were about to see the source, a Roserade suddenly appeared and, without a word, launched Sleep Powder at them!
"Gar!"
Gengar appeared in a flash. A surge of Psychic energy burst forth, freezing every speck of Sleep Powder in midair.
"Rooose!"
Seeing Gengar, Roserade showed no hesitation, waving its arms to unleash a barrage of Magical Leaf directly at it.
"Shadow Ball, rapid fire."
Sato frowned. That was an Ace level Roserade. Since when were Ace Pokémon so commonplace?
In the next moment, Shadow Ball and Magical Leaf collided with a loud blast, raising a cloud of dust and smoke.
"Roserade, stand down!"
The cool voice rang out again. Sato immediately signaled Gengar to halt and wait.
As the dust cleared, both sides finally got a good look at each other… and froze.
'Blonde hair, long legs, black coat, ice cream… wait… something about that last detail felt off.'
At that moment, the woman across from them finally noticed that her ice cream was covered in dust. She pursed her lips helplessly, then turned toward Sato.
"…Are you Sato?"
Sato opened his mouth, paused, then simply nodded without speaking.
Just now, he had nearly blurted out, "Are you Cynthia?"
It took all his self-control to hold back. At this point in time, Cynthia wasn't famous yet. She was still under the guidance of her grandmother, the elder of Celestic Town, and hadn't become the future Champion of Sinnoh.
Even so, both the Roserade that had just attacked and the Glaceon by her side were already Ace level Pokémon!
Meaning, if she wanted to, she could rise to fame anytime she chose.
"I'm Cynthia, from Celestic Town. I saw your match with the Gym Leader in Jubilife. That was… not bad."
Cynthia casually moved her ice cream behind her back, and her entire demeanor changed. As she slowly approached, she continued speaking.
Mark glanced at the incredibly "imposing" Cynthia, then at the strange expression on Sato's face… and… very wisely swallowed back the words: 'Just not bad?'