Just as Umbreon finished its battle, Zweilous happily ran up to Sato, asking to go next.
"No rush, let's have Sandile take a turn first." Sato patted Lefty and Righty, then called over Sandile, who had been waiting patiently nearby.
Zweilous immediately drooped its heads and flopped to the ground, now having to wait one more round for its turn.
"Can we start? My Axew can't wait any longer~" Ryoko stood across from Sato, smiling cheerfully.
In the battle arena, a high-spirited Axew was waving its little claws, taunting the dopey-looking Sandile in front of it.
"Battle start!" the temporary referee shouted, waving his hand. Axew and Sandile charged at each other simultaneously.
"Axew, Dragon Rage!"
"Sandile, Sand Tomb to block it."
A wild, dragon-shaped energy shot toward Sandile, but Sandile's expression didn't change. Its tail trembled slightly, and a swirling pit of sand rose up from the ground, wrapping around itself.
Dragon Rage slammed into the whirlpool of sand, but didn't stop… it was dissolved completely. When it came to dispersing power, sand was even more terrifying than water.
The next moment, Sand Tomb expanded, engulfing Axew in the process. A simple move, yet it managed to combine offense and defense seamlessly.
Clearly, Sandile was much smarter than it looked.
"Axew, Assurance!"
"Sandile, Dig."
Assurance doubled in power if the user had taken damage. Sand Tomb mainly restricted movement and hit lightly, so Ryoko cleverly sacrificed a bit of health to trigger the combo.
But clearly, Sato wasn't interested in letting them clash head-on. Instead, he used Dig to avoid the incoming attack entirely.
"Axew, stick to the plan, use Dragon Dance!" Ryoko remained calm.
But just as Axew began its mysterious Dragon Dance, the Sand Tomb suddenly caved in, trapping it in the center.
Bang~
Sandile burst out from beneath Axew, slamming directly into its soft, vulnerable belly, then viciously took a big bite.
Dig + Bite.
"Axewww!" Axew howled in pain. Its tiny legs couldn't escape from the Sand Tomb at all.
But a Dragon-type is still a Dragon-type, its blood naturally carried an intense fighting spirit. It immediately countered with Dual Chop, forcing Sandile to release its grip.
Taking this chance, Axew scrambled out of the Sand Tomb. On Ryoko's command, it fired another Dragon Rage.
"Take it and use Payback."
Sandile roared, limbs pumping rapidly as it charged straight through Dragon Rage, then unleashed all its built-up energy in one powerful blow.
"Axew is unable to battle. Sandile wins!" the referee declared, waving his hand.
A few scattered claps sounded from the crowd. In this match, the Trainers didn't play a huge role, the applause was mostly for the two little battlers.
Both Axew and Sandile had shown strong combat instincts. They didn't back down when it was time to act, and they demonstrated their own initiative rather than blindly following orders.
Sato nodded to himself. Sandile's potential was average, both its Dark/Ground-type potential had only reached the Elite level. But Sato no longer cared about so-called potential.
Now, in his eyes, whether a Pokémon was worth training as a main battler depended more on its personality.
Personality was far harder to change than potential.
"Zwee!" "Zwee!"
Seeing that Sandile's battle was over, Lefty and Righty assumed it was finally their turn. They eagerly ran onto the field, waiting for an opponent.
"Lefty, Righty, it's lunchtime! We'll battle this afternoon."
"Zwee? Zweeee... o(╥﹏╥)o"
With Joseph around, their meals on the ship were never lacking. Sometimes even Drake would pretend to just be passing by to snag a few bites.
Jona, Marshal, Skyla, and Marlon had interacted with Sato's group several times already. Plus, with Elite Four Drake's subtle suggestions, they often ate together.
Fortunately, for all her loud antics, Jona was actually a great cook, otherwise Joseph alone might have ended up as the full-time chef.
At the dining table, Drake casually showed up at the perfect time and "skillfully" added a seat for himself, as if he belonged there all along.
"You really decided to stop traveling? You're still young. Why not sail with me a few more years? The Gym stuff can be postponed," Drake said while eating, casually bringing it up with Sato.
Everyone else instinctively looked over. Drake's meaning was obvious: he valued Sato highly and clearly hoped to groom him as a successor.
Though he mentioned it casually at the table, Drake had thought this through.
Not only had Sato's talent and strength become increasingly impressive, but catching a Zweilous had really sparked Drake's desire to take him as an apprentice.
Having a pseudo-legendary Pokémon was like holding a ticket to the Elite Four level Trainer. As long as nothing went wrong, it was only a matter of time before he reached the top.
Besides, Sato had achieved something huge this time. In Drake's view, just being a Gym Leader wasn't enough to bring out his full potential.
Amber, who sat in the corner taking care of Trish, was also secretly shocked. He hadn't learned about Sato catching a Zweilous until after boarding the ship.
What mattered most was that this Zweilous had been brought straight from the Village of Dragons. As someone from Unova, he naturally understood what that meant.
Now, even the sound of everyone eating had quieted. As they admired Sato, they also found themselves anxiously awaiting his response.
Sato put down his chopsticks and looked at Drake seriously. "Thank you, Elite Four Drake, but I'd still prefer to be a Gym Leader for a few years first. I know myself best… ever since I became a Trainer, I've been growing rapidly, but I can feel it now, my growth is starting to lose momentum.
I want to slow down, build a proper base, and give my Pokémon some breathing room. After all, what they gain during the Elite stage is extremely important."
Drake also set down his chopsticks and gave a soft laugh. "That's fair. Charging ahead blindly isn't good either, too much force will break even the strongest branch. You kids carry pride from a young age, which pushes you but also weighs heavily.
Being aware of your own limits and choosing to ease up a little is a good thing… but once I say something, I don't take it back. For this next month, stay by my side. How much you learn depends on you."
With that, Drake quickly finished the rest of his food, got up, and prepared to leave.
Before walking off, he turned to Sato and said, "Come find me when you're done eating."
"Okay," Sato nodded in response.
…But in his heart, he was thinking: 'Zweilous wants to fight… but looks like it'll still have to wait a bit longer.'