"D-Dragonite is down…"
No one knew who murmured those words, but they snapped the stunned crowd back to reality.
Dragonite… had really gone down.
The referee quickly approached Dragonite, confirmed it multiple times, and then raised the green flag that represented Sato's side…
"…Dragonite is unable to battle. Zoroark wins. Since all six of Elite Four Lance's Pokémon are unable to battle. The winner of this match is… ELITE FOUR DARKNIGHT SATO FROM SHADOWNIGHT CITY…!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Silence…
"¡SATO! ¡SATO! ¡SATO!…" a chant rose from the thirty percent who had believed in him, swelling like a storm, drowning in disbelief yet carried by pure passion.
Then a tidal wave of shouts and roars suddenly erupted. Not only were Sato's supporters already screaming themselves hoarse, but even many who had been cheering for Lance couldn't help but cry out.
Others gasped, clutching their heads, unable to process what had just happened. Lance, the undefeated Dragon Master of this land, had fallen…
The battle had gone on for over three hours without a break. All twelve Pokémon from both sides had taken turns, each gaining the upper hand at times.
No one could've predicted the winner until the very last second!
And from this moment forward, it marked a full generational shift at the top of the Johto League.
The first and second Elite Four members were now terrifyingly young. For a loooooong time to come, the Johto League would continue to flourish and remain stable.
---◓---
Soon, the unconscious Dragonite came to, and looked at Lance with eyes full of guilt and remorse…
It was already just short of Champion level, while its opponent was merely a High Elite Four… and yet it still lost.
Lance patted Dragonite on the shoulder, offering silent comfort.
Win or lose, he and his partners would carry it together…
No need for words, they both knew exactly what to do next.
At that moment, Sato walked to the only somewhat intact part of the battlefield with Zoroark.
The two Trainers locked eyes, each seeing the surprise and admiration in the other's gaze.
"Hn. I'll let you gloat this once… just wait until next time!" Lance's spirit was still undaunted, completely unshaken by defeat.
Sato chuckled, resting his right hand on Zoroark's shoulder.
"Next time… I'll be even stronger. By then, come challenge me as Champion~"
"Tch, and after our match all you've got left is Zoroark. What? You planning to have it 1v18?" Lance sneered, though a bit of envy stirred in his heart.
As the new top Elite Four member, Sato now had the right to challenge for the Champion's seat. And Lance "next time"… well, his real aces were still Gengar and Umbreon.
The former wielded the unmatched Spatial Barrier for defense. Just the fact that it required Champion level power to break made Gengar a dominant force.
The latter didn't look that strong, but could fully serve as a team medic and supporter, prolonging his teammates' endurance through clever support.
And if that wasn't enough, Toxic-Substitute shielding tactics combined with alternating Protect cycles were more than enough to give opponents a headache.
Sato smiled again, but didn't set a challenge date. Instead, he teased deliberately, "Just wait and see, Flyong Master Elite Four Lance~"
"Tch… Sa. To. The. El. Ite. Fo.Ur. I'll be waiting…" Lance answered, pausing between each word for emphasis.
'Bro, you haven't become Champion yet!'
In the end, Lance took the initiative and raised Sato's hand high into the air, letting him fully enjoy the cheers and shouts of victory.
'It was all for you… little Sato~!'
---◓---
The match was over. Sato officially rose to become Johto's top Elite Four member.
And the friends who had already arrived in Blackthorn City before the match could finally run wild and congratulate Sato without restraint.
There were so many of them, it felt like they'd taken over most of the Pokémon Center.
Looking back now, Sato realized he had truly met a lot of people in this life, friends from all over the Pokémon League.
He walked through the entire place, sincerely expressing his gratitude to each person who had come.
And after all the excitement, everyone headed out for a wild outdoor feast. They had a blast the whole day before finally saying their goodbyes to Sato and the others.
Many were no longer carefree Trainers on the road. Some had inherited Gyms, others now worked within the League.
A few had even left the Trainer career behind entirely, moving into other fields…
These people had, to varying degrees, placed their original dreams onto Sato. After all, many of them were people Sato had defeated all over the regions.
In the future, even if Sato had another big battle like this, most of them wouldn't be impulsive enough to fly over to watch it in person.
…But once Sato became Champion, they could brag to their kids:
"Your dad almost beat Champion Sato once!"
HEEEEEY! it's the truth!
---◓---
The night breeze swept gently by. Sato and Cynthia stood side by side on the balcony, gazing at the bright moonlight.
Neither of them said much, but under the quiet night sky, it felt especially harmonious.
Down in the garden, two shadows chased and played affectionately with one another.
It was Umbreon and Glaceon.
After a brief time apart, Umbreon and Glaceon were now glued to each other.
"…When are you planning to challenge for Champion?"
The one who asked wasn't Cynthia. It was Sato.
Compared to Sato, who had just become the top Elite Four member, Cynthia had pretty much already conquered the Sinnoh League.
The Sinnoh League had even finalized the lineup for the next Elite Four, just waiting for Cynthia to initiate the challenge and take the position.
No doubt about it. Cynthia's talent was downright monstrous. Even with Sato's two lifetimes of experience and his use of Dark Energy, he had only just barely managed to keep up with her growth.
At this point, if she hadn't challenged the Champion, people were already assuming she was waiting for Sato; otherwise the title would have been hers ages ago.
Cynthia stared at the stars for a while before finally turning her head.
"It's not the real Champion title anyway. No rush."
Sato nodded in understanding. Of course she wouldn't care about a title in name only.
Cynthia looked at Sato nodding and sighed inwardly.
'Ahhh… what a fool.'
After that, they fell back into silence.
Sato gently took Cynthia's hand.
It all felt perfectly natural…
---◓---
The next morning, Sosuke was waiting by the door with a neatly organized schedule of tasks, but even by ten o'clock, there was no sound from inside the room.
Sosuke went from admiration to confusion to panic.
When Nurse Joy unlocked the door with a spare key, they found the room completely empty, with only a single note left behind; so fragile it seemed like a gust of wind could blow it away.
[Yesterday's battle sparked some inspiration. Heading out to seek a breakthrough. Back in three days!
Eliter Four, Sato.]
Sosuke held the note, and the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
All six of the Pokémon from yesterday's match were still in the Pokémon Center recovering… 'What kind of "inspiration" could you possibly be talking about?!
Leader Sato, are you secretly a Pokémon yourself…? GONNA EVOLVE INTO SATO-SHI OR SOMETHING?!'
---◓---
Elsewhere, sitting on Honchkrow's back, Sato looked ahead at Cynthia riding Togekiss, feeling all sorts of things.
He never expected that the first day of being Johto's top Elite Four member…
He'd already been dragged off to skip work by his girlfriend.
And that note he left behind… Why did he write it so "fluently"?
'…She's definitely done this before, hasn't she?
Yeah… No doubt about it!'
The Champion who would one day be known as the biggest fan of taking time off… was already taking shape!