Seeing that Honchkrow was not using a regular Fly move but the terrifyingly powerful Sky Attack, Kuraki could only urgently command Venusaur to use Protect.
But under the blinding sunlight, Kuraki didn't notice that while Honchkrow was charging Sky Attack, it had also used Taunt on Venusaur.
No one knew what kind of nasty words Venusaur heard… but its eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and it outright refused to use Protect.
The next second, Honchkrow, shrouded in white light, slammed hard into Venusaur!
BOOOOOM!
…Crack! Crack…
Centered on Venusaur, the ground cracked outward inch by inch, and the shockwave spread so violently that several girls had to awkwardly press down their skirts~ 'Cough!'
"KRHOOOOW!"
From within the dust and smoke, came a sharp and screechy crow's cry. Honchkrow flapped once to rise from the mist, then waved its wings again to blow it all away.
Under the mist, Venusaur lay silently, its eyes swirling. The giant flower on its back had been slashed in half, looking utterly wrecked.
With that, Sato secured another win, once again proving his monstrous talent.
Kuraki quietly left, vanishing into the Trainer tunnel in the blink of an eye…
---◓---
After handing over the injured Cacturne and Honchkrow to Nurse Joy, Sato returned to the audience stands.
As he approached, he saw someone else with red hair, much bulkier than Lance, chatting with White and the others.
"Hey! Sato, you're back!?"
Clair, who had been glancing around, spotted Sato first and quickly called out in excitement.
The others turned to look as well. White and Will even walked over quickly, each throwing an arm around Sato's neck, "beaming with enthusiasm".
Just as Sato was starting to feel confused, White smiled on the surface but whispered in his ear, "…This Siegfried isn't here for pleasantries. Lance isn't around, so be careful."
Sato blinked and pretended not to hear. On the other side, Will covered smoothly, raising his voice, "Siegfried-san, this is Sato."
"I know. Gym Leader Sato's a genius of Johto. Us old folks don't even come close to his potential!"
"Thank you for the compliment, sir. You flatter me!" Sato played the humble kid, replying quickly with modesty.
If the stands weren't so sparsely filled and the area around them mostly empty, Sato might have really thought Siegfried was trying to kill him with praise.
After a bit more mutual "modesty", Siegfried realized he couldn't flatter Sato any more than that, so he forcibly shifted the topic to business.
"If you ask me, with your strength, you're already fully qualified to be part of the Elite Four."
Sato didn't say much. He just shook his head and replied, "Hahh… still a long way to go."
"Not that far!!" Siegfried retorted loudly, then realized he'd overreacted a bit. He looked around deliberately, then leaned in to whisper.
"What I mean is... do you want to become an Elite Four member?"
Sato raised an eyebrow and said nothing, silently waiting to hear what Siegfried was scheming.
But maybe the time and place weren't right… Siegfried just gave Sato a greasy wink.
"9 p.m. tonight. Backyard of the Pokémon Center. Will, you too."
With that, Siegfried turned and left, not seeming all that bothered about losing to Will earlier today.
Watching Siegfried leave, Clair finally let out a sharp snort and turned to Sato and Will with eager eyes.
"You two… you're not really going… ARE YOU!?"
Sato looked completely puzzled, he still had no idea what had just happened.
Fortunately, the others seemed to know a bit more about the situation and quickly explained it in bits and pieces.
The previous head of the Dragon Tamer clan had passed away a few years ago, and Siegfried was now serving as the acting patriarch.
But within the Dragon Tamer clan, most people favored Lance. Whose character, talent, and morals far surpassed Siegfried's, as the real successor.
The only reason for hesitation was that Lance was still too young and lacked experience in leading the clan.
So Siegfried took the opportunity to step up. Though he carried the title of "acting," he was, for all intents and purposes, the head of the clan.
But to outsiders, he was merely a decent uncle holding down the fort until Lance came of age.
On the surface, Siegfried smiled and played the part, but deep down, he was furious. The honor and position he'd fought so hard for were being seen as just him keeping the seat warm.
He couldn't accept that. He wanted to become the universally recognized head of the Dragon Tamer clan and remove the word "acting" from his title once and for all.
To achieve that, he needed to build up his public reputation while diminishing Lance's presence; say, by influencing who gets the Elite Four position.
He didn't have enough strength to become an Elite Four himself; at this point, that was impossible.
But the Elite Four election wasn't just about combat power. It also depended on how much support a candidate received from official institutions and prominent families/clans.
The Dragon Tamer clan was closely tied to the League and had the right to vote.
And with their deep roots, the clan also had connections with other organizations and families that held voting power.
So Siegfried planned to leverage votes as promises, teaming up with other competitors in the finals to deliberately suppress Lance's visibility.
After piecing together everyone's explanations, Sato was still confused.
"…But he's being this blatant about it? Isn't he afraid Lance will find out?"
Clair stomped her foot furiously and shouted, "THOSE OLD GEEZERS ALWAYS GO ON ABOUT HOW 'a gem can't be yada yada without yada yada.' If Lance can't deal with internal strife, then he's not qualified to be the head.
Head of the clan, head of the clan… ARGH! They don't even realize Lance doesn't care about that position at all!"
"Clair…"
Suddenly, a large hand rested on the furious Clair's shoulder, trying to calm her down. It was Lance, who had just returned.
Sato and the others all turned to look at Lance, momentarily speechless at the bizarre way the Dragon Tamer clan handled things.
After soothing his cousin, Lance turned to Sato with a big smile.
"So…? Interested in getting the clan's vote~?"
Sato grinned. "Heh… if you give it, I'll take it!"
Lance burst into laughter, then looked mockingly in the direction Siegfried had left.
"Tahaha! A guy in his thirties still stuck at Elite Four level doesn't even qualify to be my stepping stone. I don't care about the position of clan head. But that doesn't mean I'll let others keep harassing me over it. Don't worry, next year our clan's votes will go to both of you."
The group chuckled, picking up on the deeper meaning in Lance's bold declaration.
"Keep it. Don't need it," Will replied bluntly, clearly uninterested.
"The Elite Four are too busy. I'm not interested either. Give it to someone else next year," Sato added, shrugging.
"Hey! Since when did our clan's endorsement become so worthless?" Lance shrugged too, smiling helplessly.
Laughter broke out once again.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the stands, Siegfried watched the cheerful group surrounding Sato in silence, his fists clenched tight.
A bunch of clueless idiots!