After receiving Cynthia's "not bad" evaluation, Sato couldn't help feeling quite pleased with himself.
He kept emphasizing to himself over and over that she wasn't Champion yet, only then did he "casually" reply, "Roserade's strength is impressive, and its reactions are quick."
"Of course!" Cynthia nodded. Her expression remained calm, but her aura was intensely strong, radiating confidence…
"Rooose~"
Seeing that the danger had passed, Roserade gently signaled to Cynthia, then leapt onto a nearby tree and closed its eyes to rest.
"…"
"Gla~"
Just as both sides were about to descend into awkward small talk, not knowing what to say, Glaceon let out a soft whimper.
"Sorry, Glaceon. I promise I won't let your kind gesture go to waste next time."
Cynthia squatted down and gently stroked the pitiful-looking Glaceon beside her. The reason for its sadness was the half-melted ice cream "hidden" behind Cynthia's back.
Cynthia loved eating ice cream, so Glaceon had wanted to make the most delicious ice cream possible for her.
Unfortunately, a sudden misunderstanding had ruined the treat.
Glaceon drooped its head sadly but, not wanting Cynthia to be upset about it, rubbed against her affectionately.
'Such a thoughtful and absolutely adorable Pokémon…'
After interacting with Glaceon to her heart's content, Cynthia finally turned to Sato with a completely neutral expression and said, "So… how about a battle?"
"Of course. I never turn down a challenge." Sato raised an eyebrow. A future Champion… there's no way he'd miss a chance like this!
Mark and Joseph exchanged glances, unable to hold back their urge to roast him.
'How many Trainers did you turn down back at the Pokémon Center? Don't you have any self-awareness? Oh!? Now you "never turn down a challenge"?'
Sato · The Ghosting Pig · Yuga!
Very quickly, they found a flat clearing. Sato and Cynthia stood facing each other, each already holding a Poké Ball.
"Now beginning the 1v1 challenge battle between Trainer Sato and Trainer Cynthia. The battle ends when one Pokémon loses the ability to battle. Both sides, send out your Pokémon!"
The moment Joseph finished speaking, Sato and Cynthia simultaneously threw their Poké Balls. With two flashes of red light, Weavile and Gastrodon appeared on the field.
As the battle began, both Trainers had smartly sent out Pokémon that countered their opponent's ace.
Cynthia's ace was naturally the pseudo-legendary Garchomp. There's no way Sato wouldn't know that.
And after the battle in Jubilife City, Tyranitar had overshadowed all of Sato's other Pokémon, becoming his most prominently displayed ace.
Gastrodon, being Water/Ground-type, completely countered Tyranitar. And Ice-type Weavile was a perfect counter to Garchomp.
Unfortunately… neither side got what they wanted ╮(ω)╭
"Then… battle start!" Joseph gave the order, and regardless of their thoughts, both Trainers began issuing commands.
"Gastrodon, Muddy Water."
"Weavile, Agility."
Gastrodon stretched out its neck and unleashed a stream of muddy water and gravel from the ground, surging rapidly toward Weavile.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast Gastrodon was, it couldn't beat the famously quick Weavile.
A black shadow darted by, and when it reappeared, Weavile had already leapt onto a nearby tree. The Muddy Water below was completely ineffective.
"Gastrodon, use Mud Bomb!"
Cynthia's offensive left no room to breathe. The moment an attack failed, she immediately followed up, giving Weavile no chance to rest.
But when it came to small-range projectile moves like this, Weavile had always looked down on them. With each leap, even though Gastrodon could turn its head 360 degrees, it still couldn't land a hit on Weavile.
"Close in, Night Slash."
Swoosh~
A black and red figure suddenly flashed past Gastrodon. By the time Weavile came to a stop, Gastrodon staggered backward as if struck heavily, a clear gash visible on its neck.
"Stay steady, use Water Pulse with your momentum!"
Cynthia's command came instantly and sounded almost unbelievable, yet Gastrodon still pulled it off.
Gastrodon's lower body firmly gripped the ground. Even as it was knocked backward by Night Slash, it began to gather energy with its head upside-down and fired off a Water Pulse while still lying back!
Weavile, who was planning to strike a cool pose while turning away, got caught off guard and was blasted by the burst of water, turning into a soaked and miserable mess.
"Joseph… this girl Cynthia is something else," the watching "crowd" heard Mark comment with admiration. This time, even Joseph couldn't help but nod.
"The moment I saw Gastrodon, I thought of the Lake Verity incident. And once I thought of Lake Verity, I remembered those zombie-like Gastrodon.
Compared to them, Cynthia's Gastrodon is really something. Thanks to its flexibility, it can easily attack from any angle without blind spots."
Joseph gave an objective evaluation, but in his mind, he was also curious. Cynthia had the looks, the figure, and the strength… how had he never heard of her before?
"Gastrodon, Muddy Water!"
Cynthia's offensive was relentless, one wave after another. As soon as Gastrodon's head snapped back into place, it was once again commanded to hurl Muddy Water at Weavile.
"Weavile, Blizzard."
Even a clay figurine would get angry after being chased around like that. Sato had no intention of dodging anymore and ordered Weavile to go all out and freeze the Muddy Water!
The ferocious Blizzard erupted in full force. Its overwhelming power even startled Cynthia.
The Muddy Water began to freeze rapidly and, in the blink of an eye, was about to engulf Gastrodon. Cynthia reacted instantly and ordered an Earthquake.
A powerful tremor shook the ground. The frozen Muddy Water was completely shattered. But in that moment, Weavile had already taken the chance to close in again and unleashed another Night Slash without hesitation.
Cynthia's expression visibly tensed. Weavile's Blizzard was far from normal -it had managed to freeze even Muddy Water- and Gastrodon wasn't exactly known for its speed. It was clearly being heavily suppressed.
However, there was no way she'd give up so easily before the battle was over. Seeing Gastrodon take consecutive hits, she didn't hesitate to issue her next command: "Gastrodon, Recover!"
"Weavile, Blizzard."
Sato was just as relentless. He had fought countless Gastrodon at Lake Verity, how could he not know about their terrifying regeneration abilities?
In fact, Sato had been waiting for this moment!
Recover could instantly restore half of a Pokémon's maximum health/stamina, an incredibly powerful effect. But such a powerful move also had a major weakness: it left the user unable to move while casting.
Just like now. Gastrodon, wrapped in a soft green glow, could only watch helplessly as the raging Blizzard swept toward it… and was instantly frozen solid