With Golurk defeated, Marin had only one Pokémon left, while Ryoko's Sceptile -though seriously injured- still counted as one active fighter.
In other words, Marin's last Pokémon would need the overwhelming strength to face a three-on-one, or that final semifinal slot would go to Ryoko.
"Hydreigon, I'm counting on you…"
Whoa!
In the waiting room, Sato, Phoebe, and Wallace all stood up, their faces full of surprise as they looked toward Marin's final Pokémon.
It was none other than Unova's pseudo-legendary…
Hydreigon!
Swosh~
A flash of red light, and Sato's Zweilous voluntarily ca out of its Poké Ball.
Lefty and Righty stared unblinkingly at Hydreigon on the screen.
"Just observe for now. I already have a plan for your evolution, so don't worry."
Sato patted Lefty and Righty gently. He didn't need to guess how badly they longed to evolve.
Besides his recently trained Pikachu and the newly caught Skorupi, Zweilous was the only one who couldn't participate in the tournant due to not yet reaching Ace level.
Watching their teammates dominate the battlefield…
It was impossible for Lefty and Righty not to feel envious.
But as one of the few pseudo-legendaries in the world, Hydreigon's evolution was steeped in blood and brutality.
To evolve, one "head" must "consu" the other. Fusing soul 1and body into a single entity.
However, the reason Hydreigon is classified as a savage dragon is exactly this cruel evolution process. It often leaves them ntally unstable, irritable, and prone to wild destruction at the slightest provocation.
So from the very start, Sato had told Lefty and Righty: if evolution ant devouring each other, then they'd rather not evolve at all.
Luckily, Sato had Dark Energy, and Wilma from the Village of Dragons was the previous wielder of that sa power.
Sato's mind raced through countless possibilities…
While Sato and Zweilous talked, the two Dragon-type Pokémon on the battlefield had already launched into a ferocious battle.
Ryoko's Haxorus had been trained to excel in Attack, Speed, and battle instincts.
But Marin's Hydreigon was a pseudo-legendary…
On top of that, its Ability Levitate gave Hydreigon an erratic and agile movent style, making it nearly untouchable despite Haxorus's speed.
In the end, Hydreigon defeated Haxorus at the cost of only minor injuries.
"Zwee~" "Lous~"
"This may be what you'll evolve into soday, but you can be even stronger!" Sato reassured Zweilous softly.
Next, Ryoko sent out Sceptile, hoping to at least drain so of Hydreigon's stamina.
But Ryoko was more decisive than expected; she had Sceptile take Hydreigon's attack head-on, just to ensure that Leech Seed landed with perfect accuracy.
"Sceptile has lost the ability to battle! Hydreigon wins! Trainer Ryoko, please send out your next Pokémon!"
"Mawile, ga Evolve!"
As expected, Ryoko's final Pokémon was Mawile, and she triggered ga Evolution the mont it took the field.
"Ryoko's luck isn't bad at all," Sato nodded silently. A Steel/Fairy-type ga Mawile held a massive type advantage against Hydreigon.
But Sato didn't believe for a second that Ryoko -one of the League's most elite core Trainers- had no knowledge of the Fairy type.
Especially now that the League had begun establishing contact with the Kalos Region.
Sure enough, the first move Ryoko commanded ga Mawile to use… was the Fairy-type move Play Rough!
This match…
Was locked in!
And when the audience saw Mawile's entire body wrapped in pink light slam Hydreigon away -and the pseudo-legendary didn't get up for quite a while- they were stunned once again!
What move was that?
Was ga Evolution really this powerful?
---
"Hydreigon has lost the ability to battle! Mawile wins! The winner of this match is Ryoko from Ever Grande City!"
The Ace Tournant's Top 4 had finally been decided, and all four were newly promoted Ace Trainers!
At that very mont, a flood of News swept across the internet. The dia had already prepared two versions of their coverage.
If Ryoko won, the headline [Newly Promoted Aces Sweep the Semifinals] would make for the perfect publicity.
But if Marin had won, the lone remaining veteran Ace would've been a great angle for coverage too.
Now, of course, the dia ran with the forr!
---
The Shadownight Gym had closed its doors to visitors, refusing all challenges. Joseph and Mark sat with the trainees, watching the Ace Tournant live.
When Sato won, they had already cheered and celebrated together.
And in the trainees' minds, Sato's image soared once more. Their resistance to the previously harsh training began to soften.
Having such a powerful Trainer as their Gym Leader and teacher… was truly a blessing!
Joseph and Mark were naturally proud. But Joseph was also thinking beyond that: how the new generation sweeping the semifinals would shake the Pokémon League and what it ant for the future.
No doubt about it, developing the younger generation would now beco the top priority for every family, corporation, and organization.
And the rapid growth of young Trainers would inevitably lead to a massive internal reshuffling within the League.
Sato, as a major figure in this shift, would undoubtedly face many unknown challenges ahead.
Thinking of all this, Joseph's eyes turned misty. It was as if he was recalling sothing. His gaze gradually fird.
"If I can face my past… maybe I'll be able to help him one day."
---
At the Vermilion City port Pokémon Center, Norman sat with Elite Four mbers Agatha and Drake, also watching the tournant live. Content originally cos from novel{f}ire
The two Elite Four were the assigned leads for the upcoming "expedition" to Kalos. Norman was participating as an exchange Trainer; a friendly sparring mission with Trainers his age.
Seeing Ryoko advance to the semifinals, Norman couldn't help feeling a bit of a gap. And both Drake and Agatha noticed it imdiately.
"Norman, don't look down on yourself. You're no worse than them," Agatha said, giving Norman a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Ah! I'm fine, Elite Four Agatha. Ryoko and Sato are just ahead for now. I'll catch up to them for sure!"
Elite Four Drake suddenly stood up, striding toward the exit as he called back, "Beating Sato isn't sothing you can do with words… let's battle!"
Norman's eyes went wide. He pointed at himself in disbelief.
"M-? Battle with you?"
"You can stay behind if you're scared."
With that, Drake walked out of the room, didn't even leave a glimpse of his back.
"Go on, then! Drake may always look stern, but he loves training newcors. Sato went through the sa thing back then," Agatha said with a smile.
"O-Okay! I'm coming, Drake… Teacher!"
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150 PS - ExtraChap
Consciousness.
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