Chapter 88: Master

Houndoom attacking in its sleep completely caught their opponents off guard.

Slowbro was already naturally slow to react, and without its trainer's immediate command, Thunder Fang landed perfectly!

"Slowbro, use Water Pulse!"

The cowboy trainer issued the command, and Slowbro, seemingly unaffected by pain, conjured a water sphere and detonated it at point-blank range!

Then a miserable cry erupted from Slowbro, Its delayed pain response had finally kicked in!

Only now did it feel the full force of Thunder Fang.

Meanwhile, Houndoom, still asleep, had no way to dodge, the surging wave smashed into it head-on, sending it tumbling across the battlefield.

But within seconds, Houndoom was back on its feet, though slightly unsteady.

Its Early Bird ability had drastically shortened its sleep duration!

"Tauros, NOW! Finish Houndoom with Take Down!!"

The second cowboy trainer shouted in excitement. Houndoom wasn't built for defense, this full-power charge would knock it out for sure!

"Xatu, Psychic!"

"Guess Houndoom can take a little nap now." Sato shrugged, he battle was already decided.

At that moment, Xatu finally made its move.

Having stayed hidden, steadily building its power, it suddenly erupted with a powerful aura, and deep purple-blue psychic energy shot out from its eyes.

Tauros, mid-charge, suddenly found itself weightless.

"Moo?!"

With its hooves no longer touching the ground, Tauros panicked, thrashing wildly. Its three tails whipped through the air, snapping loudly, but it was useless!

A second later, its body stiffened. Its eyes widened, its legs locked in place, and it trembled uncontrollably.

Boom!

The massive body of Tauros crashed to the ground, completely motionless.

A one-shot knockout!

The audience froze for a second, then erupted into cheers.

A clean, instant KO at the Elite level was no joke, It was truly impressive!

"Houndoom, Snore!"

A thunderous roar drowned out even the cheers of the crowd.

Part of that was thanks to the sound system, but it didn't change the fact that Houndoom wanted to make its presence known.

I let you land that one-hit KO, so you'd better appreciate it!

"Xatu, another Psychic!"

Wester's excitement was obvious, the moment the battle started, he had recognized Sato's strategy.

Amplification Knockout Style!

A classic open-strategy in double battles, one Pokémon aggressively attracts all attacks, while the other silently powers up in the background.

It was an open secret because the opponent always knew what was happening, but whether they could stop it or not depended entirely on whether the frontline Pokémon could hold the line.

The second Psychic attack struck Slowbro, completely draining its remaining stamina.

Another instant KO! The crowd exploded into cheers, with many spectators jumping to their feet in excitement.

Wester, trying to act calm and composed, waved politely to the crowd.

But Sato, sitting next to him, noticed something... the guy was actually shaking.

"Tauros and Slowbro are unable to battle! The winners are Trainers Sato and Wester!"

The first round of the Elite Four Battle Tournament had come to an end. With their victory, they successfully advanced to the next stage.

The matches that followed were exciting, but none of them managed to bring the entire crowd to its feet the way theirs had.

That was because: instant KOs at the Elite level were extremely difficult.

And after Xatu's explosive power-up, many trainers became highly cautious of setup moves.

------

As the preliminary rounds continued, Sato and Wester's team gained popularity, and their strength was recognized by everyone.

After that, Ariados played the role of support, using its webs to "bind" the opponent's Pokémon, leaving them completely open for Skarmory to attack.

Skarmory effortlessly secured another double knockout! For a moment, Wester became the center of attention.

Although any experienced trainer could clearly see that Houndoom's interference and Ariados' support were far more crucial than Wester's finishing blows, the headlines would always favor "Rich Kid Scores Another Double KO" over "Rich Kid's Teammates Carry Him to Victory".

Sato didn't care about fame at all. He preferred peace and quiet, and having all eyes on Wester worked perfectly for him.

In the third match, Houndoom and Xatu took the field again, facing a Heracross and Donphan duo.

This time, there was no need for stat-boosting strategies.

By strictly maintaining distance and kiting the enemy, they secured another flawless victory, marking the end of the preliminaries.

Sato and Wester had officially made it to the Top 16!

With sixteen teams advancing, that meant there had been over two hundred participants in this Elite Four Battle Tournament.

"We made it to the finals. From here on, we'll have only one match per day, so we can properly adjust and recover."

Three matches in one day had been a tough challenge for both trainers and Pokémon.

This was very different from regular battles, with the crowd watching, emotions like excitement, nervousness, and adrenaline surged, making each fight far more exhausting.

"Our next match is tomorrow afternoon, so we-"

After drawing lots for their next match order, Sato and Wester walked side by side toward the exit.

Wester, as always, kept talking non-stop, showing no signs of stopping.

Suddenly, Sato froze in place.

Wester took several more steps before realizing Sato was no longer next to him. Turning around, he saw Sato tilting his head slightly, eyes lowered, as if casually observing something.

"What's wrong?" Wester asked, sounding unusually serious.

"Nothing. I just ran into an old friend."

"Old friend? You've been making friends behind my back?! Where'd you meet them?!"

Sato ignored the idiot behind him and quickly walked toward the exit.

That person... was it really him?

Excitement, nervousness, nostalgia, resentment, a whirlwind of emotions surged within Sato.

This so-called old friend, wasn't just an old acquaintance.

He was Sato's master in Ghost Ship.

…

"An assassin must learn to embrace loneliness."

In a dimly lit room, an eleven-year-old Sato curled up alone in a corner.

His Zorua had been taken away, and he was to remain in isolation for half a month, unable to speak to anyone.

"An assassin must not have emotions."

Out in the wild, a cold-eyed young man gently stroked a newly captured Furret.

A moment later, a knife plunged into its throat.

"Useless things must be replaced at any time."

A twelve-year-old Sato stood nearby, his face pale.

"An assassin must always be prepared to die."

The young man shoved Sato backward, behind him, a bottomless abyss.

As Sato plummeted, watching the jagged rocks rush toward him, his heart pounded in terror.

Then, a Pidgeot swooped in, catching him at the last second. He was fifteen at the time.

When Sato was eighteen, he accompanied his mentor on a mission, suffering severe injuries. The young man sacrificed two of his own Pokémon to buy time, and carried Sato back to base on his back.

"An assassin doesn't need emotions."

Sato had told him this coldly.

One year later- Ghost Ship was ambushed by the Pokémon League, and Sato was captured, locked away in prison.

Two months later- A prison riot broke out.

The young man appeared outside Sato's cell—An assassin must learn to embrace loneliness."

Eyes closed, Sato whispered those very same words.