At the pza, the spectators had grown aced to Sato's habit of arriving just in time. As he stepped onto the battle stage, the match officially began.

  "Houndoom!"

  "Haunter!"

  Sato studied Wester's calm and posed demeanor, his suspis growing stronger.

  "Houndoom, use Odor Sleuth!"

  "Haunter, use Toxic!"

  Both moves activated simultaneously—Haunter could no longer hide in the shadows, fully exposed uhe bright sunlight.

  However, Sato had anticipated that Wester would use Odor Sleuth to nullify Haunter's invisibility. If avoiding it was impossible, then poisoning was the best option!

  "Houndoom, use Fmethrower!" Wester's brows furrowed. He hadn't expected Sato to act so decisively.

  "Haunter, use Shadow Ball!"

  The fiery bst and the swirling mass of ghostly energy cshed, triggering a violent explosion. Seizing the opportunity, Haunter dove into the thick smoke.

  Sato's and came instantly.

  "Haunter, use Sludge Bomb!"

  "Houndoom, fire a Fire Bst into the smoke!"

  Houndoom was vastly strohan Hau had already reached Elite-level.

  Instead of waiting to be ambushed, it unleashed a massive Fire Bst, tearing through the smoke with sheer force. Haunter was bsted out of cover, its body scorched and visibly burned!

  Then…

  "Urgh…" Houndoom suddenly flinched, its body glowing faintly purple. The Toxic had taken effect!

  "Haunter, use Lick!"

  "Houndoom, Bite it!"

  With Odor Sleuth active, Houndoom could track Haunter's every move. Just as Haunter's eerie tongue was about to sh out, Sato's voice rang out again.

  "Haunter, fall back!"

  Haunter barely pulled ba time, its tongue brushing against Houndoom's nose before retreating. Watg the close call, Sato couldn't help but feel a phantom pain in his own tongue.

  "Houndoom, chase it down with Feint Attack!"

  However, just as Houndoom lunged forward, Toxic surged through its body once again, causing a brief but crucial dey. Haunter swiftly adjusted its position.

  "Kehehe…!"

  Until now, Haunter had been having the time of its life dominating its matches. But this battle? It was suffog.

  It couldn't hide.

  It couldn't use its usual tricks.

  Even its ambush attempts were repeatedly tered.

  For the first time, Haunter was forced to fight head-on against a physically superior oppo.

  Had it not been for the Toxic steadily chipping away at Houndoom's stamina, Haunter would have already lost.

  And Haunter hated that thought. A surge of frustration ignited within it, pushing its energy higher and higher.

  "It's breaking through," Sato murmured, exhaling in relief.

  Haunter's carefree nature meant it would rain with the same discipline as Larvitar—that was just its personality.

  But if training couldn't push it to its limits, battle certainly could.

  Against increasingly stronger oppos, when it could no longer rely on old tricks, Haunter had only oion: evolve through bat.

  "Haunter, Shadow Ball!"

  "Kehehehehe~!"

  Haunter's ghostly cws stretched wide, summoning not one, but two massive Shadow Balls. Before this fight, it had only been able to gee o a time.

  Now, that limit had doubled!

  "Houndoom, ter with Fire Bst!"

  The two Shadow Balls cshed against the fiery Fire Bst, creating a shockwave that rocked the battlefield.

  But this time, they were evenly matched.

  "Urgh…"

  The Toxic took effece again, its damage worsening over time. Houndoom's movements grew sluggish.

  The Shadow Balls successfully tore through Houndoom's weakening Fire Bst, but their energy dissipated before reag their target.

  Watg the st remnants of Haunter's attack fade into the sky, Sato uood—Haunter, despite breaking into the Elite level, still cked the raw power to overwhelm an oppo of Houndoom's caliber.

  "Houndoom, hold on! Use Feint Attack!"

  "Haunter, use Sucker Punch!"

  Sucker Pun attack that strikes first if the oppo is about to attack!

  Haunter, gasping for breath, khis was the final csh.

  Mustering every ounce of remaining strength, it lunged forward. Before Houndoom could execute Feint Attack, Haunter's spectral cws struck first, sending the dark hound crashing into the ground with a resounding thud.

  But…

  Sato's expression remaiense.

  At the very st moment, Houndoom's Feint Attack had also nded. Haunter, uo dodge in time, was knocked down alongside it.

  The battlefield fell silent.

  Both Pokémon y motionless.

  Sato quickly assessed the situation.

  Houndoom had endured Sucker Punch without losing sciousness, meaning it hadn't been pletely overpowered.

  But the Toxic c through its veins had finally taken its toll.

  The referee hesitated before stepping forward. "Houndoom and Haunter are both uo battle!"

  A murmur of fusion spread through the crowd. The referee gnced uainly at the event host—what were they supposed to do now?

  The host was equally taken aback. Of all the possible outes, a draw hadn't been sidered. This wasn't an official Pokémon League match, so there were no pre-set tie-breaking rules.

  Then, notig the frantic signals from the event anizers—along with hastily written instrus on a cue board—the host quickly regained his posure.

  "Thank you both for su incredible battle!" The host's voice rang out enthusiastically. "We never expected su intech to end in a draw! But don't worry, we anticipated every possibility—both trainers will receive the full one million Pokédolr shopping voucher!"

  The crowd erupted.

  Many spectators had been eagerly waiting to see how this would be resolved. Now, with the prize money doubled, the arena was filled with excited chatter.

  For the event anizers, this was a major financial hit—but seeing the overwhelming crowd e, they decided it was worth the expense. A marketing stunt disguised as a tour had paid off better than expected.

  Sato observed all of this quietly. He could tell the host was bluffing—there had been no "pn" for a tie. Still, it didn't matter to him. He had won what he came for.

  As for Wester, Sato had already formed his suspis.

  If his theory was correct, he wouldn't mind making a deal—but trading Haunter was out of the question.

  -----

  He gnced around the shopping mall, now packed with eager ers. pared to before the tour, the differen foot traffic was night and day.

  With a smirk, Sato cluded—his one million Pokédolr voucher was well deserved.

  He turned away, but as expected, Wester was still there, trailing behind him persistently.

  "Let's talk."

  Wester's eyes lit up. He assumed Sato was residering. "Of course!"

  They found a quiet café, where Wester patiently waited for Sato to begin.

  "I'll ask again," Sato said, sipping his drink. "Why do you want Haunter so badly?"

  "To be ho," Wester admitted, "your Haunter is special. It has incredible potential."

  Sato raised an eyebrow.

  "That much is obvious," he replied. "But your own Pokémon have high potential too. From what I've seen, they're at the same level as Haunter."

  Wester's expression shifted slightly. He hadn't expected Sato to be so perceptive. After a brief hesitation, he decided to be pletely ho.

  "The four Pokémon I showed you—Houndoom, Xatu, Skarmory, and Breloom—all have oribute with Pseudo-Elite Four level potential, but only oheir sed attribute is merely Elite-level or above-average."

  Sato's mind raced.

  He had always relied on Dark Energy to sense Pokémon potential, refining his ability over time. But Wester—how did he have a method to deteon potential so precisely?

  "Your Haunter," Wester tinued, "has two attributes at Pseudo-Elite Four level—both Ghost and Poison."

  Sato's fingers unsciously tapped against the table.

  A Pokémon with dual Pseudo-Elite Four level potential…

  That ged things.