The match was over.
In the end, Sato had defeated Sinnoh League Elite Four candidate Flint with a massive 2-0 lead.
And with Sato having already beaten Volkner before, the young generation that the Sinnoh League had heavily promoted -the so-called "Twin Stars of Sinnoh"- had just been swept clean by him.
Watching such a dazzling talent rise to fame right before their eyes, the crowd should have felt thrilled. But instead, most spectators were left with incredibly complicated feelings…
Because Sato wasn't from Sinnoh!
Eventually, he would take all this glory and return to his home in Johto.
The referee solemnly announced the outcome of the match, while the two Trainers, having finished their battle, slowly walked toward the center of the battlefield.
"…That was a great battle. I accept my loss completely," Flint forced a smile and extended his hand to Sato.
"Come to Johto sometime. We can have another battle then," Sato shook hands with Flint in a friendly way, though in his mind he thought this wasn't even going to be the hardest moment for him.
Cynthia had likely already become an official League Investigator. With her monstrous talent, there was no way she'd stay out of the spotlight.
When that time came, all young Trainers in Sinnoh would have to live in Cynthia's shadow, with no hope of standing out.
So, Sato thought from the bottom of his heart, it'd be better to avoid coming to Sinnoh too often in the future…
"It's a promise. I'll definitely visit Johto!" Flint responded with unexpected seriousness.
Just as the two recalled Infernape and Tyranitar into their Poké Balls and prepared to leave the field, Flint's phone suddenly rang.
He answered the call, and the stern voice of Elite Four Bertha slowly came through the speaker.
[Flint, switch your line up and head to the eastern coast of Lily of the Valley Island immediately… Also, bring Sato with you.]
Flint and Sato exchanged a glance, about to ask a few more questions… only to realize Bertha had already hung up. The situation really did seem urgent.
"Let's go. Time to switch our Pokémon!"
Without hesitation, Flint nodded at Sato and took the lead, running straight toward the Pokémon transfer machine.
Sato followed closely and released Gengar at the same time. "Tell Joseph and Mark to wait for us at the entrance. It's an emergency."
"Gen~" Gengar nodded and then disappeared into the air.
The two of them reached the transfer terminal and quickly replaced the Pokémon in their teams that were no longer battle-ready.
Sato's Tyranitar and Gengar were still in good shape, so he only needed to switch the other four Pokémon, barely affecting his overall strength.
Flint, on the other hand, had a heavily injured Infernape from the last battle. Without this spiritual anchor, his overall combat power might take a noticeable hit.
Soon, with their lineups adjusted, the two quickly ran out of the venue, just as Joseph and Mark finally managed to squeeze out of the crowd.
Of course, Flint's "buddy" Volkner had silently followed as well.
"Perfect, everyone's here. Let's move! Charizard!" Flint said anxiously, then immediately sent out his ride Pokémon.
"This has to be something big if it's this urgent! Togekiss, you come out too~" Mark exclaimed excitedly, clearly loving the drama.
Volkner soon sent out his Staraptor as well. Only to see Sato and Joseph glance at each other awkwardly, neither making a move.
"I just remembered, Boss… your Sharpedo and your Vill… wait, Honchkrow fainted. So you don't have any Pokémon that can fly right now!"
Mark blurted it out at full volume, making Sato so embarrassed he nearly ran over to punch him.
"…Gengar."
"Gen~"
Sato shot a sideways glance at Mark, then turned to look at Gengar, who had reappeared beside him.
"Can you carry me for a bit? Is that possible?"
"Gen!" Gengar gave a serious nod.
The next moment, Sato suddenly felt a solid platform form under his feet, lifting his entire body off the ground.
From Flint and the others' perspective, all they saw was Gengar's golden eyes flash briefly, then Sato began to levitate. Yet it didn't look like he was being held still by Psychic at all.
It was a Spatial Barrier¹[1]!
Compared to before, Gengar had made great progress in its mastery of spatial energy. The Spatial Barrier it created was now not only invisible, but also tangible, with some level of physical defense.
That's how it was able to support Sato.
To prevent him from falling mid-air, Gengar even carefully formed barriers to his sides and behind him.
But none of that was visible to others. All they saw was Sato levitating out of nowhere.
It looked…
Ridiculously cool!
"Tch…"
Flint clicked his tongue and thought, 'He's stronger than me, younger than me… and even better at showing off!'
At that moment, he finally couldn't help but turn into a lemon.
…So bitter.
"Gallade, Psychic Mark!"
Joseph also sent out his "travel" partner. Naturally, his Gallade capable of using Teleport.
Gallade closed its eyes and opened them again, instantly placing a unique mental marker on Sato.
"I've locked on to you. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up in a moment," Joseph said to Sato, and even waved at the rest of the group.
No one said anything. They were all young men, and none of them were exactly lightweight. Of the three Flying Pokémon, only Charizard was relatively large.
But Joseph didn't feel close enough to Flint to ride together, and no one knew how much Gengar's Spatial Barrier could actually carry, since this was its first time using it in this way.
Not wanting to trouble anyone, Joseph simply chose to use his own Gallade.
"Our destination is the eastern coast. Let's move!" Flint told everyone, then patted the back of his Charizard, taking the lead into the sky with his partner.
"Staraptor! Follow them."
"Togekiss, let's go too! Boss, Joseph, we're heading out first!"
"Gen~"
Seeing this, Gengar's golden eyes glowed even brighter. It leapt gently to Sato's side and activated the Spatial Barrier, lifting the two of them swiftly into the air.
"Look, someone's flying! I think it's that Sato guy!!"
At that moment, a crowd of spectators was leaving the venue. The commotion caused by Sato and the others hadn't gone unnoticed, many were already watching closely.
"Something's definitely going on. I just saw Volkner and Flint take off too, but they were riding their Pokémon!"
Another onlooker shouted loudly, making sure everyone around could hear.
"Where are they going? I really want to follow them…"
"Is that guy one of Sato's teammates? We should-"
"Gallade, find a place with no people first," Joseph shook his head and spoke as he placed a hand on Gallade's shoulder.
"Gallade!"
Flash~
A burst of white light!
Joseph and Gallade vanished from sight.
"That was Teleport… He's gone too. Something big is definitely happening!"
"But where is it happening?"
"I wish I could watch…"
Meanwhile, on the eastern coast of Lily of the Valley Island, Bertha stood alongside a team of League elite Trainers, all of them staring grimly at the two Pokémon battling fiercely over the ocean.
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.
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¹.Thanks Palkia's energy.
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150 PS - Extra Chap
Sorry for the wonky update schedule these past few weeks.
Last week I didn't even get a chance to peek at the comments on the chapters…
[1] Thanks Palkia's energy.