Sato's support was overwhelming. Though his overall power wasn't quite on par with Lorelei's, the flawless coordination between his five Pokémon delivered a crushing blow to the Underground forces!
Even Lorelei, who was leading the battlefield, looked over in surprise; she hadn't expected Sato's support to be this formidable.
In the next moment, Weavile and Zoroark, after two rounds of Swords Dance, charged side by side into the battlefield, claws between their fingers already primed to strike.
Flashes of black light swept across the field; those Pokémon immobilized by Gengar and Gardevoir were felled like wheat stalks, dropping one after another.
Wherever Weavile and Zoroark passed, hardly a single Pokémon remained standing. Even if some did, they were immediately picked off by Tyranitar's Stone Edge without effort.
In just a few moments, Sato's team had eliminated a large number of opponents, greatly reducing Lorelei's burden.
Very soon, the temporarily united Underground forces collapsed into chaos. Coordination was out of the question; many were even taking the chance to backstab their so-called allies.
["All units, move in! FULL SWEEP! Don't let anyone escape!"]
Lorelei's voice came through every League Trainer's earpiece. Everyone understood that the battle was coming to an end, and how much credit they earned depended on how many Underground members they could capture.
The enemies scattered in all directions, making it much harder for Gardevoir and Gengar to maintain their area control.
These Underground leaders weren't low-ranking grunts; they might not be strong in battle, but their escape skills were top-notch!
Just as Sato was about to prioritize the big fish and let the small fry go, Lorelei's voice rang through his earpiece again.
[Sato, buy me five seconds!]
"Got it!"
Sato didn't hesitate for a second. While issuing commands aloud, he also couldn't help feeling curious about what Lorelei was planning next…
"Gengar, Gardevoir, full suppression! Zoroark, Extrasensory. Tyranitar, Sandstorm! Weavile, Blizzard!"
At the same time, Lorelei's Jynx, Dewgong, and Lapras all unleashed wide-area Blizzard moves at full power.
Not to harm.
Just to slow the enemy down!
Nearby, a massive Cloyster was trembling violently. Its shell cracked as it shattered into tiny, shimmering ice crystal shards.
Five seconds…
Gone in a flash!
"Cloyster… [CRYO GRIND]!"
As Lorelei's voice rang out with thunderous authority, the countless blue-white crystals around Cloyster suddenly contracted inward, then…
Exploded…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Sato's pupils contracted. Even with his exceptional dynamic vision, he could barely follow the countless fine ice crystal dust particles shooting out in all directions; in the blink of an eye, they had already clung to the enemies!
The next instant, every person and Pokémon touched by the crystal dust began freezing rapidly. Thick layers of white frost spread over their entire bodies!
And then… they stopped moving altogether…
This so-called "[Cryo Grind]," froze nearly 80% of the Underground Organization's elite forces in an instant.
Those few who narrowly escaped the freezing effect were so terrified that they trembled as they tried to flee! At a painfully slow pace that only made their situation more pitiful…
The might of an Elite Four?
Utterly terrifying!
Seeing these frozen human "statues", even Sato couldn't help but shudder. He quietly recalled his own Pokémon.
Thankfully, Cloyster had masterful control. Even with such a wide-range attack, it had deliberately avoided hitting allies; otherwise, Zoroark and the others would've ended up frozen too!
---◓---
Ten minutes later, one by one, the pale and trembling Underground forces representatives stopped resisting. Their Poké Balls were confiscated by League staff and they were taken into custody.
Only then did Lorelei, having tidied up her appearance and regained her "elegant" demeanor, slowly walk toward Sato.
"Not bad! Now I believe you meant it when you said you weren't afraid of assassins."
Sato said nothing. He simply nodded silently, he typically responded to praise with silence…
"Now that this is over, we can finally rest for a while. If you're free, you should come visit me sometime."
Sato nodded again. As for an invitation that didn't even say where to find her… he completely ignored it.
The next moment, Lorelei leaned closer and handed Sato a slip of paper.
"This has my vacation address. Come visit me when you have time, Sato-kun~"
Sato: … (＾＿)?
---◓---
At last, the battle in Vermilion City came to an end. From the outcome alone, there was no doubt the Pokémon League had won a major victory, but the negative impact on Vermilion City was unavoidable.
No matter how prepared the Underground forces had been, without knowing in advance about Lorelei's presence, failure was inevitable.
And Sato, the supposed spark that ignited it all, had successfully completed his mission and could leave Vermilion City at any time.
But with Vermilion City's Underground Organization now nearly wiped out, where should he go next…?
Just as Sato was still pondering, Charles Goodshow called.
[Come back to Headquarters for a bit. After all you've done, it's time for a reward, don't you think? Hahaha!]
'A… reward?'
Sato's eyes lit up. He agreed immediately without hesitation.
Soon after, Sato met with Akira and the others to say goodbye in a hurry, gave a brief report to Lorelei, and then boarded a flight to the Indigo Plateau!
By the next morning, Sato had already arrived at President Charles Goodshow's office, quietly waiting to see what kind of reward he would receive…
"Sato, you've performed very well since becoming an Independent Investigator. This reward is well-earned."
President Charles Goodshow didn't waste words. He directly took out the prepared reward and handed it to Sato.
"Thank you, President!"
Sato accepted it. Seeing Goodshow's expression that said "go on, open it," he went ahead and opened the box.
"This is…"
Inside the reward box lay a red and white Poké Ball-shaped badge "◓⃙". Sato picked it up and examined it for a moment, but didn't notice anything special about it.
Fortunately, Charles Goodshow quickly explained.
"Have you ever heard of a Apex Mimicry Zone?"
"Apex… Mimicry Zone?"
"Yes. A mysterious space that allows Pokémon to trace back to their origin and compensate for innate flaws."
"Compensate for innate flaws?" Sato raised an eyebrow. This was no simple matter.
"That's right. To put it simply, it enhances a Pokémon's potential, giving them the possibility to go further."
"Enhancing potential…"
Sato's heart trembled. At the same time, a long-standing mystery in his mind was finally resolved.
Why was it that so many League Trainers, even those whose Pokémon only had Elite level potential, could still raise one or two to Ace or even Elite Four level?
It turned out that the Pokémon League had already mastered a method to enhance a Pokémon's potential!
While Sato's own [Dark Energy: Blood Nourishment] could also improve a Pokémon's potential, it was far too slow and heavily limited.
Now that the President had mentioned the Apex Mimicry Zone, then this Poké Ball-shaped badge must be…
"This badge is your entry pass to the mimicry space!"