As everyone expected, Flint was no match for Wallace, and nothing unexpected occurred during the battle.
"Infernape has lost the ability to battle! Milotic wins! The victor¹[1] is Trainer Wallace from Sootopolis City!"
With the referee's loud declaration, Flint's journey in the Ace Tournament officially came to an end.
At the exit of the arena, Volkner stood silently with his arms crossed, waiting for Flint to approach him.
"Heh~ I lost!" Flint shrugged, sounding somewhat relieved.
"Mm, I saw. Time to head home."
"…Yeah."
---
In the waiting room, Wallace spread his arms wide and dashed toward Sato with exaggerated, dramatic steps, shouting as he ran.
"Sato-kun! Sato-kun~ I made it to the next round!"
"…"
Sato swiftly sidestepped to dodge Wallace's bear hug and turned to walk out of the room.
There were only four matches in the quarterfinals, which meant a long break in between. Sato and Ryoko were scheduled to battle in the afternoon.
For now…
It was lunchtime!
"Flint and Volkner already left?" Sato asked again, taking a bite of his fried chicken.
"Yeah, they left together…
A-Are they always that inseparable?" Phoebe blushed slightly, clearly excited by whatever she was imagining.
Sato kept his head down, eating in silence. His instincts told him there was some hidden meaning in her words… and that it was best not to comment.
Ryoko, on the other hand, simply smiled and nodded at Phoebe, answering her question without a word.
The two girls then launched into an animated whisper-fest, completely ignoring their food.
"Sato, be sure to give it your all this afternoon! I'm counting on us meeting in the finals~"
Out of nowhere, Wallace popped back in and started cheering Sato on.
"Hmph! You better get through me first if you want the finals!" Phoebe immediately snapped back, locking eyes with Wallace without the slightest hint of fear.
"Ahem… Phoebe… please watch your tone! Civility!" Ryoko was startled by Phoebe's fierce tone and quickly reminded her to keep it proper.
"Hehehe, then let's hope we meet later in the bracket, Phoebe-chan~"
Wallace raised an eyebrow at Phoebe, then turned to leave.
Leaving behind what he thought was a "dashing" back view.
Watching Phoebe fume with rage, Sato slowly finished his last piece of fried chicken and calmly said, "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
Then Sato stood up and walked off, choosing to rest alone while waiting for the quarterfinals in the afternoon.
---
Soon, it was 2:00 p.m., and Sato and the others were already in the empty waiting room, ready to take the stage.
From the original 32 contestants, only six remained. And by the end of today, two more would be eliminated.
Such is the way of things… reunions and farewells are always unpredictable. The higher you go, the colder it gets.
Once the referee was in place and the audience had all taken their seats, Sato and Alder made their final preparations.
"…Let's go," Sato said quietly, then walked toward the entrance tunnel.
----
"Good luck, Sato!"
"Sato, if you beat me today, I'll stop calling you 'kid'!"
"Sato-kun, you must win! You're the only man here who's beaten me~"
'…'
----
Three people. Three completely different ways of showing support. And they only got more absurd as they went on… especially the last two, which made Sato roll his eyes hard.
"We now begin… Do either side have any questions?" the referee asked routinely.
"None." "Let's begin!"
"Then, both sides, send out your Pokémon for the Double Battle!"
"Houndoom, Weavile! Battle ready."
"Ninetales, Marowak! It's all yours!"
Sato and Alder released their Pokémon at the same time. And immediately, the difference in their levels became apparent.
Both Houndoom and Weavile were at Mid Ace, while Alder's Ninetales and Marowak were both High Ace level!
This was the base of a veteran Ace. What Sato understood even more clearly… was that Alder still hadn't sent out any of his Peak Ace Pokémon.
"NOW! Battle, begin!"
"Houndoom, Dark Pulse, spread pattern! Weavile, Swords Dance."
"Marowak, Bonemerang! Ninetales, Confuse Ray!"
Weavile was the first to act. Upon receiving the command, it instantly spun in place, boosting its Attack while simultaneously shielding most of its weaknesses.
Ninetales wasn't far behind. It suddenly unfurled its nine tails, and from the tip of each tail burst forth a dazzling pink-red beam of light, aiming straight for Houndoom and Weavile.
But Weavile, still spinning wildly, completely ignored Ninetales.
Houndoom, equally disciplined, simply closed its eyes, then opened its mouth and fired a wave-like Dark Pulse in all directions.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh…
Suddenly, Marowak's Bonemerang pierced through the Dark Pulse and shot aggressively toward Weavile.
"Awooo!"
At the crucial moment, Houndoom immediately used Substitute and placed it beside Weavile.
With a pop, the Substitute was destroyed on contact; Bonemerang missed its target the first time, then spun back and prepared to strike again.
"Blizzard."
"Weaaa!"
By then, Weavile's Swords Dance had finished. Seeing Bonemerang coming back again, it unleashed a terrifyingly powerful Blizzard!
Alder saw this and frowned inwardly, then shouted, "Ninetales, use Extrasensory, take the bone back!"
"Houndoom, Bite."
"Rooar!"
There's nothing more fitting than a dog biting a bone… and with Bite's added Dark-type energy, it easily shattered the telekinetic grip of Extrasensory.
"Marowak, Iron Head! Ninetales, Heat Wave!"
"Houndoom, Embargo, Weavile, Blizzard."
Houndoom showed a distinctly smug, human-like expression, then activated Embargo, sealing away Marowak's bone and making it vanish temporarily.
Marowak, now without its club, charged at Houndoom in a frenzy. Behind it, Ninetales unhesitatingly unleashed Heat Wave, which swept forward with force.
To counter both attacks… only Weavile's Blizzard stood in their way.
Blizzard struck Marowak directly. Due to the type advantage, Marowak was instantly blown back, seriously injured.
But it was ultimately blocked by Heat Wave. Even though Blizzard was stronger, Fire beats Ice.
"Houndoom, Sucker Punch, lock down Ninetales. Weavile, Ice Punch, finish off Marowak!"
Sato's commands came at just the right moment. Houndoom charged toward Ninetales without hesitation, showing no fear of the Heat Wave.
Weavile immediately stopped the Blizzard. Taking advantage of Marowak's moment of disorientation, it dashed forward with a few quick bounds, appearing right in front of its opponent.
Without its bone, Marowak -even in a berserk state- was like a Sirfetch'd without its lance. Its combat power dropped to barely 10%. In just a few hits, Weavile sent it flying.
Meanwhile, Ninetales, with the Ability Flash Fire, was completely immune to Houndoom's Fire-type moves.
…But Sato specialized in Dark-types.
Houndoom's reckless, all-in attack stance paired perfectly with the move Crunch.
On top of that, Ninetales was not suited for close combat, so it ended up being forcibly restrained by Houndoom.
.
.
.
¹.Different referees, different terms…
..
150 PS - CH
Patreon.com/Romeloff
[1] Different referees, different terms…