Three days later, Sato sent Eevee back to Nurse Joy in Ecruteak City and retrieved Pupitar, then headed to the tournant venue.
Mauville Gym!
Since the event was not open to the public, the entire stadium felt rather empty.
Aside from a few internal spectators scattered across the front rows, the largest group present was the contestants themselves.
There were no opening speeches or unnecessary formalities.
The referee simply announced the rules through a loudspeaker, then conducted the grouping process under everyone's supervision.
Ten minutes later, Sato and six other Trainers were led to the battlefield.
Sato was lucky, he got the first match!
"The preliminary round of the Young Elite Tournant, each contestant may use two Pokémon simultaneously. A contestant is eliminated when both of their Pokémon are knocked out.
The last two remaining Trainers will advance to the Top 32!"
The middle-aged referee, who looked to be in his forties, announced the rules in a strict and formal tone.
Beside him stood four Alakazam.
As soon as the referee finished speaking, the four Alakazam teleported to the four corners of the battlefield. In a chaotic battle, Trainers could easily get caught in the crossfire, the Alakazam were there to protect them.
The seven Trainers entered the field, all choosing to stay near the edges, preparing to react.
"Begin!"
At the referee's signal, all the Trainers imdiately sent out their Pokémon.
Sato didn't hesitate, he sent out Gengar and Zoroark!
To secure his spot in the finals, he imdiately chose his strongest Pokémon!
However, as soon as all sixteen Pokémon were on the battlefield, the entire arena fell silent. No one wanted to make the first move.
"If no attacks are made within ten seconds, everyone will be eliminated!
Ten... nine... eight..."
"Jolteon, use Thunderbolt on that Poliwrath!"
"Magmar, use Flathrower, target Vileplu!"
"Swellow, Aerial Ace on Vileplu!"
...
The battlefield erupted with chaos, attacks flew across the arena, lighting up the field.
Perhaps because Sato looked too young, the other Trainers seed hesitant to target him right away.
Sato was more than happy with that. While the others focused on their skirmishes, he had Gengar phase into the ground.
anwhile, Zoroark stayed close, carefully watching the nearest Pokémon for any incoming threats.
Less than a minute in, the first contestant was eliminated!
A Trainer with Vileplu and Rhydon had terrible luck, he was imdiately targeted by two opponents at once.
Seeing the opportunity, the other Trainers quickly ganged up, bombarding him with attacks until he was completely eliminated.
However, as soon as he was out, the two Trainers who had tead up against him turned on each other, both sustaining heavy losses.
Sato didn't have much ti to enjoy the show, a muscular Trainer approached, sending his Hitmonchan straight for him!
Looking at the tall, heavily built fighter, Sato couldn't help but wonder, Was this guy even within the tournant's age limit?!
"Hitmonchan, use Brick Break!"
"Zoroark, Flathrower!"
Zoroark's Flathrower forced Hitmonchan back, and Sato was about to follow up with an attack when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the muscular Trainer smirking and raising an eyebrow at him.
...
Sato felt a shiver down his spine, but he imdiately understood what the guy was planning.
The next mont, the Trainer dramatically shouted, "Hitmonchan, ga Punch! Give it everything you've got!"
His deep and booming voice was so forceful that a nearby female Trainer flinched in shock, scrambling away from him.
Sato almost burst into laughter.
But... if he wanted to put on a show, Sato could play along just fine!
"Ahhh! You're picking on because I'm young, huh?! Zoroark, burn it to the ground with Flathrower!"
Although Sato was small, his reckless and crazed deanor was enough to intimidate several other contestants, making them instinctively back away.
And so, the two of them engaged in an all-out, dramatic battle, launching attack after attack...
Yet sohow, not a single move actually landed!
The referee, audience mbers, and waiting contestants all witnessed their ridiculous performance.
One by one, people started shaking their heads and chuckling. They couldn't believe it, who knew you could play the ga like this?
The four remaining Trainers on the battlefield were completely focused on their battles, too preoccupied to question whether Sato and the muscular Trainer were acting.
Each pair was locked in intense combat, carefully managing their own fights while staying wary of sneak attacks.
They had no ti to pay attention to anything else!
Finally, as two more Trainers were eliminated, Sato and the muscular Trainer exchanged a quick glance before splitting apart.
They each locked onto their next opponent.
"One for each, take them down!"
"Zoroark, Night Slash! Gengar, Psychic!"
Sato rushed toward one of the remaining Trainers, whose Pokémon were Swellow and Blaziken.
His opponent didn't panic and ordered a direct counterattack.
But he quickly realized sothing was off! Swellow and Blaziken weren't moving!
What?! How is Gengar's Psychic this strong?!
Before he could react, a black streak flashed across the field, Zoroark's Night Slash landed a critical hit on the immobilized Swellow.
One-hit KO!
"Impossible!"
The referee smirked slightly.
Impossible? More like inevitable!
While Sato and the muscular Trainer had been putting on their act, they had secretly used Swords Dance and Bulk Up to power up their Pokémon.
"Gengar, Psychic again! Zoroark, Aerial Ace!"
Without question, the fully energized Gengar unleashed another devastating Psychic attack, dealing massive damage to Blaziken!
At the sa ti, Zoroark's Aerial Ace, boosted by Swords Dance, swiftly finished off the weakened Blaziken.
On the other side of the battlefield, the muscular Trainer's Hitmonchan and Golem had already defeated their opponent with ease.
"Battle over! Advancing to the next round ,Sato from Goldenrod Gym, Johto Region! And Court from Saffron Gym, Kanto Region!"
Sparse applause echoed through the stadium.
To many of the spectators, Sato and Court's victory seed too easy, so weren't entirely convinced of their strength.
"A real Trainer needs more than just raw strength. A quick mind and fast adaptability are just as important!"
Suddenly, the referee spoke up, addressing the remaining contestants in a serious tone.
On one hand, he was acknowledging Sato and Court's advancent.
On the other, he was reminding everyone, strength is still the foundation!
Sato remained completely indifferent, though he did start wondering about the referee's background.This guy... might not be ordinary.
Soon, the second match began.
Amusingly, among the seven contestants, two of them tried to copy Sato and Court's strategy, putting on an exaggerated show of aggression.
However, their awkward acting, combined with the fact that everyone had just seen Sato and Court pull this off, imdiately backfired.
The other five contestants quickly tead up against them, eliminating them almost instantly.
The middle-aged referee remained expressionless, but inside, he was cursing them for their stupidity.
"This is what you took from my lesson on quick thinking?! Are these really Gym-recomnded Trainers?! I need to check which Gym sent them and re-evaluate their qualifications, what a joke!"
Ignoring the mixed reactions from the crowd, Court casually walked over to Sato, his gleaming white teeth flashing in a wide grin.
"Nice to et you, Court. I'm competing as Saffron Gym's representative, but I'm actually from Johto!"
"Sato, representing Goldenrod Gym. That's funny, I'm actually from Kanto!"
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