Greno led the five of them out of the station, where a luxury business vehicle was already waiting by the roadside.
After arriving in Vertress City, the Unova League treated Sato and the others in a completely different manner. It was a world apart from how they had been treated in Nimbasa City.
They boarded, the doors closed, the engine started, and they sped off toward Unova League headquarters without any delay.
Inside the car, Greno pulled out a tablet with a serious look. Three half-body portraits were displayed on the screen.
"Our opponents?"
"Yes. These are your opponents for the exhibition match: Marshal, Jona, and Skyla. Because of ti constraints, we only managed to find so online profiles, for reference only."
There wasn't anything to nitpick at this point. The group took the tablet and began reviewing it one by one.
[Marshal, specialized in Fighting-types, also a genius martial artist. List of awards: omitted.]
[Jona, champion of the Unova Region's Young Elite Tournant, no specific type specialty, very strong overall ability.]
[Skyla, newly appointed Gym Leader of Mistralton City, Flying-type specialist, the youngest Gym Leader in the Unova Region.]
Following that were records of the three Trainers' typical teams and so match videos.
However, instead of watching the videos right away, they turned back to Greno.
"Greno, are the match rules confird? What's the format?"
"They are. It's a 3-on-3 Trainer relay match."
"What the heck?" Phoebe couldn't help but blurt out. She had never heard of such a format.
"Don't worry, I'll explain. First, both sides pair up for three 3-on-3 matches, which start simultaneously.
After all matches are completed, the winners continue battling with whatever Pokémon they have left until one side has no remaining Pokémon able to fight."
"So that ans the final round will definitely have one person going up against two?" Sato imdiately grasped the core issue.
"Exactly. Unless there's a huge disparity in strength, which is unlikely in a 3-on-3 relay, the second round will certainly have one side facing two opponents at once, and likely with just one Pokémon against two!"
"What kind of rule is that? Are they that confident they'll win two matches first?" Mark, watching from the side, couldn't help but comnt.
"Either the whole team is confident, or they're confident in one person's specific Pokémon." Sato stated firmly, already forming a theory in his mind.
"You an… a Pseudo-Elite Four?" Phoebe frowned, unsure.
"Yeah. It's just a guess, but I'd say it's probably spot on."
"But didn't they say clearly that both sides would send Peak level Trainers? Isn't it cheating to use a Pseudo-Elite Four Pokémon?" Mark said, clearly frustrated.
"What if the Pokémon breaks through at the last minute? Or evolves suddenly? Or… ga Evolves?" Ryoko suddenly chid in, listing all three possibilities and leaving Mark speechless.
And when ga Evolution was ntioned, everyone couldn't help but turn to look at Sato.
This companion of theirs was the first known Trainer to have "mastered" ga Evolution.
"If they really send out a Pseudo-Elite Four, then I'll be the one to face them," Sato said without the slightest hesitation.
At the beginning, ga Evolution had been handed over by Sato to the Joy family for independent research, with 90% of its secrets deliberately hidden.
But after Sato gave an identical copy of the data to Lance, ga Evolution rapidly beca widely known and understood at an astonishing pace.
On one hand, the Dragon Clan, in an effort to catch up with the Joy family's research, voluntarily released part of the information to exchange for progress.
On the other hand, upon learning of the Dragon Clan's actions, the Joy family was unwilling to fall behind and began selling certain data proactively to speed up their own studies.
And just like that, ga Evolution swept across Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh like a hurricane.
Originally, the starter Pokémon lines had fairly balanced value… but with the advent of ga Evolution, they quickly beca unequal.
Even though the vast majority of Trainers would never possess ga Evolution in their entire lives, dreams were still ant to be dread. Who knows, maybe they'd get lucky during the day.
As a Trainer who had already publicly demonstrated ga Evolution, Sato quickly beca known to the public; far more famous than he had ever imagined.
"What if the opponent has two Pokémon at Pseudo-Elite Four?" At that mont, Greno suddenly asked.
"That's way too excessive. Isn't one enough?" Even Ryoko couldn't tolerate that idea this ti.
"I'm just speculating," Greno chuckled, shaking his head. But his words still sank heavily in everyone's hearts.
As the car sped along, an eerie silence filled the cabin. Only now did the group have ti to digest everything that had just been thrown at them.
Half an hour later, they arrived in the center of Vertress City, where a massive red-and-white Poké Ball-shaped building appeared before them.
This was the headquarters of the Unova League, much "grander" than that of the Kanto League.
No wonder the Unova Region was unwilling to return so easily to the fold of Kanto League headquarters. Naturally, they wanted to fight for their own regional interests.
The car stopped at the front gate. One by one, the group stepped out, only to find Elite Four Drake and a host of Unova higher-ups already gathered, as if waiting to welco them.
And beyond those bigshots, Sato and the others imdiately saw their opponents for the day: Marshal, Jona, and Skyla.
"Hahaha, what a bunch of fiery-eyed youngsters. You can practically see the sparks flying in their eyes," one Unova official said shalessly.
"Since my people have all arrived, let's begin the exhibition match as soon as possible," Drake said, ignoring the comnt and changing the subject.
"Don't you want to rest first? If you're not in top form, we could postpone the match until tomorrow," one of the higher-ups asked with apparent concern, but the tone made it sound annoyingly condescending.
"Let's get started~ I heard Vertress City's night market is pretty fun. We've already planned to go out tonight," Phoebe replied with a cheerful smile, as if the people before her were no more than minor pests she could easily deal with.
"Hmph, you talk big. Let's see if your strength matches your mouth." Jona, a petite girl with a delicate fra, looked even younger than Sato.
"Hehe, then let's get started. The kids can't wait anymore."
The central figure surrounded by the crowd finally spoke. A large group of people then began marching toward the battlefield in full force.
Drake nodded at Sato and the others, then walked alongside them as they moved up to stand opposite their opponents.
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