Shuto… lost…
In the audience, Lance, once also a League Investigator, let out a sigh; feeling both joy for Sato and regret for Shuto.
In the second half of the match, Typhlosion and Sharpedo engaged in an extremely intense battle.
Sharpedo's speed was unmatched, and with Speed Boost, it became absurdly strong in the later stages. Typhlosion's speed wasn't bad either, but it still couldn't land a single hit on Sharpedo.
Then Typhlosion went all out, firing three consecutive Eruptions that turned the battlefield into a blazing inferno.
The temperature spiked rapidly, even threatening to evaporate the water flowing around Sharpedo!
Ultimate offense VS absolute speed!
It proved that when a Pokémon masters one attribute to the extreme, it can cover for its weaknesses.
No matter how fast Sharpedo was, as long as it remained on the field, it was affected by the extreme heat.
But no matter how strong Typhlosion's power was, if it couldn't hit, it couldn't do damage. In the end, it had to rely on affecting the environment to attack Sharpedo indirectly.
If this were the wild, Sharpedo could simply move elsewhere to escape Typhlosion's lockdown. But in a real battle, Shuto would never allow Sharpedo the time to build up Speed Boost so easily.
In the end, Sharpedo's typing gave it the edge, and it consumed stamina slower than Typhlosion, just enough to secure the win.
At that point, Sato still had Zoroark, Gengar, Sharpedo, Gardevoir, and one Pokémon that had not yet appeared.
Shuto… had only one Pokémon left…
No one had expected such a massive disparity in the first deciding match for the Elite Four position.
---◓---
On the field, Shuto slowly took out his final Poké Ball and stared at it quietly for a moment.
"Old partner… I need your help to fight one more time."
The Poké Ball trembled slightly, as if in reassurance, or perhaps eager to be sent out.
Shuto smiled faintly, then without hesitation, threw his last Poké Ball.
Red light flashed… and a massive purple Pokémon appeared on the battlefield!
Its two pairs of thin wings flapped in an alternating rhythm, keeping it perfectly airborne and able to adjust its speed at will.
Its half-moon-shaped yellow dead-fish eyes showed little emotion, but combined with its downturned mouth, gave it a distinctly world-weary look.
Crobat!
The final evolution achieved when a Golbat and its Trainer reached a certain level of closeness.
Even twenty years later, [Friendship evolution] remains one of the most mysterious forms of evolution.
Out of all the Zubat seen everywhere, how many truly evolve into Crobat might be about as rare as Magikarp evolving into Gyarados.
This Crobat before them wasn't just rare, it was also Shuto's original Starter Pokémon and his longest companion.
Sato took a deep breath, looked at the clearly exhausted Sharpedo, and debated whether to switch Pokémon.
But through synchronized resonance, Sato quickly understood Sharpedo's intentions.
{Battle… until I fall!}
---◓---
Five minutes later, unable to maintain Speed Boost any longer, Sharpedo was caught by Crobat and brought down with a single Sky Attack, losing the ability to battle.
Without hesitation, Sato immediately sent out Tyranitar, using a field-wide Sandstorm to suppress Crobat's speed while slowly wearing down its stamina.
But even then, Crobat remained ferocious to the extreme!
Blisteringly fast Steel Wing strikes, instant-use Giga Drain, and alternating attacks with X-Scissor… all combined with terrifying speed and incredible agility.
No Speed Boost. No Agility buff. Crobat relied solely on its innate Speed to completely suppress even the absolute speed that Sharpedo was so proud of.
Finally, Tyranitar braved the risk of taking a direct hit from Crobat's blindingly fast Steel Wing and forced out a Stone Edge to lock down the skies, gradually shrinking Crobat's flight range.
In the end, with nowhere left to run, Crobat engaged in a direct clash with Tyranitar for five whole minutes… and ultimately fell.
At that moment, all six of Shuto's Pokémon had been defeated.
Sato claimed the final victory!
He also became the first competitor to advance to the top 4 of the Elite Four Tournament!
When the referee officially announced Sato's win, he instinctively turned to look toward the Pokémon spectator area…
Cynthia wore a soft smile. Her cheeks slightly flushed, she nodded gently and mouthed the words…
"Congratulations… you finally caught up to me~" (*＾ー＾)
Sato let out a smirk and ignored Cynthia's ever-present competitive spirit. He simply raised both arms high to welcome the applause and cheers from the crowd.
◓---
"All that showboating for just a single Elite Four position…"
Fujin smirked proudly!
…Only to receive a doubtful look from Celebi beside him.
… … …?
"What's with that look? I'm the one who trained Sato, you know!"
Fujin gave Celebi a bop on the head, feigning irritation, though he couldn't hide the grin spreading across his face.
---
"Our Boss… actually made it to Elite Four…"
Mark stared blankly at the triumphant Sato. Joy and awe filled his heart, but so did a small tinge of discouragement.
He hadn't even secured the top spot among the Elite Four candidates… the gap was getting wider.
"Yeah… we're still far behind!"
Joseph nodded. In his heart, he was more eager than ever to throw himself fully into his Breeder path.
Sato had already come so far. If he didn't pick up the pace now, wouldn't he get left behind?
The Shadownight Gym's Big Three… none of them could be missing!
With that in mind, Joseph gave Mark a heavy pat on the shoulder. The two exchanged a glance and instantly saw the resolve in each other's eyes.
"Let's go… time to welcome our Leader."
"Yeah!"
---◓
"So Kōmei lost, huh…"
"Can't be helped. Pryce is just too strong… Waah! How did a Swinub unleash such a terrifying Blizzard?"
"Don't ask. No one knows."
Sato and Shuto's match concluded, and in the afternoon, the second "top eight vs top four" match began.
Elite Four Pryce -⚔️- Elite Four Kōmei.
The battle was intense, but the difference between them was clear.
Pryce only used four Pokémon -Swinub, Delibird, Lapras, and Jynx- to completely defeat Kōmei.
He fought even more ruthlessly than Sato!
When the match ended, the audience was in an uproar again. It was rare to see such a wide disparity this deep into the tournament.
Still, the final result was within most people's expectations.
Pryce successfully defended his seat and retained his position as one of the Johto League's Elite Four.
With two matches per day, the Dragon Tamer clan's internal battle wouldn't be seen until tomorrow morning.
And the match between Sen and Edward in the afternoon… honestly, very few people were paying attention to it.
In their room, Sato finally slouched lazily onto the couch, smiling as he watched Mark and the others roughhousing around.
The tournament stress had finally lifted today, one Elite Four seat had been secured. All that remained was the final Elite Four match.
The final ranking battle between the Elite Four members would be held completely behind closed doors, with no audience allowed.
The results would not be made public unless Sato or the others chose to reveal them.
But all of that was for later. For now, with his spot secured, Sato just wanted to enjoy some well-earned rest.
However…
Ring Ring Ring…