The real trial was even simpler and more brutal than Sato had imagined: no introductions, no explanations. You picked your opponent and fought.
Volcarona's overwhelming strength gave it the authority to make such decisions unilaterally, and Sato's group had no choice but to comply.
The area around the crimson maple was far too small to accommodate battles without risking widespread destruction.
Only when everyone lined up inside the tunnel did they finally understand why it had been so long, straight, wide, and spacious.
"Voo voo~"
Volcarona flapped its wings, flying from one end of the corridor to the other. Crimson heatwaves surged past, forcing both sides to retreat and avoid direct impact.
…And the moment the wave of heat dissipated, the battle officially began.
Bisharp charged forward first. It didn't care who its opponent was.
Its only goal was to win.
Anything else? Not worth even a word.
"Ralts, full power! Sharpedo, Mega Evolution!"
Facing an Elite Four Bisharp, Sato didn't dare hold anything back. He immediately sent out Ralts and triggered Sharpedo's Mega Evolution.
He still didn't know how Volcarona had seen through Ralts's true strength, but for this fight, the only hope of winning… rested on Ralts.
No, on the Psychic Queen, Gardevoir!
A dazzling burst of light erupted.
On one side, the rainbow-colored light of Mega Evolution; on the other, the radiant blue glow of evolution itself. Within moments, the entire field -both Trainers and Pokémon- had their eyes locked on the spectacle.
Volcarona circled above the cave roof, watching the miraculous transformation unfold with great interest. Its wings flapped a little more joyfully.
It enjoyed the chaos. It enjoyed battle. But it had been a long time since it had found an evenly matched opponent to truly clash with.
At the very least, watching these kids fight brought a flicker of amusement. And if one or two of them turned out to be pleasant surprises… all the better.
Sharpedo and Gardevoir had successfully captured Volcarona's attention.
As the light faded, the newly evolved Sharpedo looked ferocious, covered in jagged fangs, while Gardevoir, clad in a jet-black evening gown, exuded strength and a cold elegance.
Mid Pseudo-Elite Four: Mega Sharpedo | Low Elite Four: Dark Gardevoir.
Ready to fight!
Boom Boom Boom Boom!
Four more flashes of red light followed: Zoroark, Umbreon, Gengar, and Ariados all appeared beside Sato.
They were only at the Elite level. Would they actually be helpful? Sato wasn't sure, but he still laid out every backup plan he could.
Meanwhile, the others' battles had officially begun. Marlon's opponent was a High Pseudo-Elite Four Zebstrika; nearly a perfect counter to his entire Water-type team.
Phoebe's opponent was the Dark-type Liepard: elegant, agile, with an uncanny sixth sense that easily exposed the stealth tactics of Ghost-types, making it extremely effective against her.
Skyla faced the Rock-type Gigalith, while Marshal's opponent was Gothitelle.
Including Sato, all five of them were Trainers who specialized in one or two specific types. Forced to accept their matchups, each one had drawn a hard counter.
As for Ryoko, Mark, Joseph, and Jona… their opponents didn't completely counter their teams, but they certainly weren't pushovers either.
After all, the weakest among them was still at High Pseudo-Elite Four level. Some of the group had even resigned themselves to playing a supporting role in this fight.
For example…
"Boss Bear, let's make a deal, okay~? Go easy on me later and I'll ask my friend for some Sweet Milk for you~" Mark said with a fawning grin as he looked at the most familiar opponent: Beartic.
"BEAAAR-"
Beartic roared in anger at Mark, but then quickly glanced sideways toward Volcarona, confirming that it wasn't paying attention.
Then, Beartic turned its massive body slightly and spread its paw wide, "shielding" the gesture from view.
"Five bottles? No problem…" Mark's brain had never worked so fast. He nodded and whispered the promise with absolute sincerity.
"BEAAAAARH!" Beartic instantly roared again and charged at Mark with "powerful" strides.
But only Mark could see those shiny black eyes constantly winking at him, desperately hoping Mark understood the deal was on.
All… just for five bottles of Sweet Milk.
The others' battles had all begun at almost the same time. Like Sato, every single one of them sent out their entire teams and fought with everything they had.
"Gardevoir, Focus Blast. Sharpedo, Hidden Power. Zoroark, Imprison!"
On Sato's side, the fight was already in full swing. His main attacker was naturally Gardevoir. Even though Bisharp had a major advantage in typing, Focus Blast was also extremely effective against it.
Sharpedo's Hidden Power could barely provide some interference, occasionally dealing slight damage or disrupting Bisharp's rhythm.
After all, an Elite versus a Pseudo-Elite Four might have some hope of crossing the gap. But from Pseudo-Elite Four to Elite Four? Without overwhelming numbers, the outcome was complete domination.
Sato gradually realized that moves like Zoroark's Imprison, Gengar's Will-O-Wisp, or Ariados's Sticky Web had little to no effect on Bisharp.
Elite and Elite Four-level… those were fundamentally different. At that level, debuffs, bindings, or special move effects were nearly meaningless.
This… is what real Elite Four strength looks like. It was impossible to bridge the gap with numbers alone.
Sato's eyes lit up. In that moment, he was incredibly thankful he had reconciled with Gardevoir and earned her friendship.
Even if Gardevoir couldn't teach him how to reach the Elite Four Level, just having her by his side meant he could slowly find his own path to ascend.
In his previous life, he and Zoroark had spent so long stuck at the peak of Pseudo-Elite Four… but never managed to become Elite Four.
"Gar…" Sato was about to give another command when he realized Gardevoir had already taken action.
She waved her left hand. Magical Leaf burst forth in an instant, intercepting Bisharp's Dark Pulse.
Then she shifted her body and formed a Focus Blast with her right hand, also fired instantly, blocking Bisharp as it broke through the leaves.
The exchange between them was intense, back and forth with precision. At times, Sato had to seriously analyze the situation just to understand why Gardevoir had chosen a particular move.
He opened his mouth but found himself speechless. Not only did he not understand the full extent of Gardevoir's strength…
He didn't even have the qualifications to command her.
…He couldn't keep up.
As the fight between them grew more and more heated, even Mega Sharpedo eventually backed off, afraid that joining in would only slow Gardevoir down.
Sato smiled bitterly and had Zoroark and Sharpedo retreat. This fight was now entirely up to Gardevoir.
He and the rest could only stand there… and watch helplessly.
"This one's mine. When you grow stronger, we'll fight side by side again."
A cool, elegant voice echoed gently from within Sato's heart…