As dusk approached, the sixteen matches finally came to an end.

  For the sake of the final reward, Sato patiently watched all the battles, taking note of a few trainers who performed well before quickly leaving.

  As usual, he trai the same time and pce. Both Zorua and Larvitar were steadily improving, while Haunter had gained battle experiend was now lurking nearby, fiddling with something ominously.

  Ghost-types were indeed a bit different. Sato didn't rashly step in to interfere—he had a gut feeling that Haunter was attempting something remarkable. It was just an instinct.

  The day, Sato arrived at the pza right on time. The announcer immediately shifted everyone's attention to the uping match upon seeing him.

  " up, we have Sato from White Peak Town versus Gojo from Ecruteak City!"

  White Peak Town was the new identity Sato had retly acquired.

  As for where exactly White Peak Town was, he had no idea. Tossing out a Poké Ball, a fsh of red light appeared, yet nothing seemed to materialize.

  "Scyther! Hold onto our beliefs and cut down the enemy!"

  Gojo was one of the more impressive trainers from yesterday's matches. His Pokémon, Scyther, trained alongside him in swordsmanship!

  "Haunter, use fuse Ray!"

  "Tricks like that won't work! Scyther, close your eyes and sense your oppo!"

  "Use Toxic!" Sato ignored his oppo's excessive chatter.

  Before the fuse Ray even reached Scyther, it had already dissipated, but as mere interfere had dos job.

  Oher side, Haunter's two ghostly cws cmped onto Scyther's right leg a shoulder.

  "Rip!"

  It sounded like tearing part—Toxic had been applied in the form of Haunter's cws sinking in. If it evolved into Gengar, what kind of terrifying attacks could it unleash?

  "Despicable! If you have the guts, fight head-on!" Gojo, embodying the spirit of a swordsman, seemed utterly disgusted by Sato's use of Toxic, his words filled with fury.

  "Alright then. Haunter, fire Shadow Ball secutively!"

  "Scyther, use Ssh!"

  "Kehehehe~"

  Up until now, Haunter had remained hidden behind Scyther. Now, it materialized, surrounded by nine dark purple energy spheres!

  "Whoosh!"

  A Shadow Ball shot forward without warning. Scyther, reag quickly, turned around and sshed it apart!

  "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

  Three more Shadow Balls followed—some fast, some slow, some high, some low.

  Scyther's eyes struggled to keep up. It barely mao ssh apart the first two, but the st oruck directly at its soft abdomen!

  "Cha!"

  A fsh of purple light flickered across Scyther's face—Toxic activated, instantly sapping a rge portion of its stamina!

  "Scyther, use Agility! Outpace it first!"

  Gojo had clearly noticed that Haunter's speed was terrifying, even surpassing Scyther, which was already naturally fast.

  "Haunter, use Shadow Punch!"

  Shadow Punch—a punch that follows the oppo's shadow, making it an unavoidable attack!

  "Boom!"

  In the middle of its high-speed movement, Scyther was suddenly hit. The impact disrupted its trajectory, causing it to crash to the ground, rolling several times and sustaining additional damage!

  Then, another fsh of poison glowed on its face—its st bit of stamina drained away. Scyther colpsed onto the ground, utterly spent.

  Gojo recalled his Scyther and locked eyes with Sato.

  Not satisfied?

  Sato scoffed. "e challenge me anytime."

  Without waiting for the official annou, he turned and strode back to the waiting area.

  ---------------

  As the tour es ter stages, matches took lohe fi battles stretched until dusk, with increasingly skilled testants and an overly talkative host dragging out the event.

  Ohird day, Sato's quarterfinal oppo had clearly studied his previous battles. They sent out a Dodrio, a Pokémon pletely immuo Ghost-type attacks and one of the fastest iour.

  For the first time, Haunter found itself at a serious disadvahe battle exposed one of its biggest weaknesses—without the ability to rely on Ghost-type moves or its usual speed adva struggled.

  But Sato noticed something—Dodrio's three heads didn't always cooperate.

  Occasionally, minor disagreements caused brief missteps in its movement. Seizing that opening, Haunter oxic, gradually draining its stamina.

  In the end, another slow, suffog victory.

  This time, no one pined.

  Now iop 4, Sato was the you remaining testant. He was also the only trainer who had never switched Pokémon throughout the tour.

  By trast, the rich kid—one of the tour's most powerful tenders—had long siopped relying solely on Feraligatr. Over the st few rounds, he had also used Houndoom and Xatu.

  Sato could tell—both Houndoom's Dark-type potential and Xatu's Psychic abilities had already reached Pseudo-Elite Four level.

  That realization hit hard.

  His strategy of fog on a small, elite team was sound, but having too few Pokémon was a major disadvantage in formal battles.

  Thus, instead of selling the Spinarak egg at the underground market as he had inally pnned, Sato decided to keep it.

  Ariados, Spinarak's final evolution, wasn't an exceptionally strong Pokémon. However, oh Pseudo-Elite Four potential was a rare case among Bug-types.

  More importantly, Bug Pokémon matured quickly. Spinarak would provide a fast, reliable boost to his team—something Satently needed.

  -----------

  That evening, after seg his spot in the semifinals, Sato immediately put Hauhrough a brutal night of training—pushing it toward mastering a new move.

  The m, Haunter looked fresh and eic, as if it hadn't stayed up training the entire night.

  Sato, however, had dark circles under his eyes, making him look exhausted. Still, he "arrived just in time" for the tour, as always.

  Today was the semifinals.

  Only four trainers remained, each possessing siderable strength.

  As expected, both the rich kid and the seemingly weak female trainer had made it this far.

  The matchups were drawn.

  Sato's oppo was… the hidden powerhouse—the girl who pyed weak.

  "First match of the semifinals: Hotta from Azalea Town versus Sato from Whitepeak Town!"

  "Little brother, don't go too hard on me, okay?" The girl spoke softly, feigning innoce.

  The moment she did, the crowd erupted into cheers and howls.

  Sato, who had lived two lifetimes without dating, simply didn't uand the rea.

  He merely nodded politely and walked to his position.

  "e out, Bellossom!"

  "Hauake the stage!"

  "Battle… begin!"

  "Haunter, disappear."

  "Bellossom, Petal Blizzard!"

  "Bana!"

  Bellossom spun gracefully, sending a storm of pials swirling across the battlefield. The sight was breathtakingly beautiful.

  "Gone?"

  While others admired the dazzling se, Sato noticed something off. His entire field of vision was filled with petals.

  There was no trace of Bellossom anywhere.

  "This is wrong—Haunter, Shadow Ball shield!"

  "Kehehe!"

  In the midst of the pink storm, nine Shadow Balls clustered together in three interected groups, f a pact but solid protective barrier.

  Suddenly—a fsh of green.

  Sato's eyes locked onto Bellossom, now directly behind Haunter!