Sato looked at Mark, who was clearly trying to take credit but didn't dare approach, and couldn't help but shake his head.
"Haah… just because you've 'mastered' your ability doesn't mean you get to use it recklessly."
Mark nodded "obediently", but the next second he grinned sheepishly.
"I mean, I knew Boss was gonna win anyway! Just trying to save you some effort~"
Sato twitched the corner of his mouth, just about to say something else… when Lance and the others arrived and cut him off.
"Hey! You totally planned it, didn't you? First the poison, then the paralysis, then you finish Edward off right when he lost his cool!"
Clair's eyes sparkled with admiration, and her tone made it clear she was trying -and failing- to hide her awe.
Sato pressed his lips together and silently took the blame, having nothing to say in his own defense.
Mark, Joseph, and Sato hadn't seen each other in a while, so now that they were back together, they naturally had a lot to catch up on.
Lance and Will understood, so after chatting briefly, they excused themselves, dragging a reluctant Clair along with them.
Once everyone had left, the three of them shared a knowing smile and headed out together.
"Boss, I was just one spot short! One more and I'd have been the top-ranked Elite Four candidate!"
As soon as they stepped outside, Mark couldn't help but show off. The look on his face made it seem like he was already one of the Elite Four.
"Did you use your special ability?"
"W-Well… yeah, in the last match," Mark admitted, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Huh? And you still lost!?"
Now it was Sato's turn to be surprised. Mark's ability was strong enough to be considered one of the best, luck was a ridiculously overpowered force.
"Mark only used it when he was down to his last Pokémon, but by then the gap had already widened. No amount of luck could turn it around."
Joseph chimed in to defend Mark a little, acknowledging the effort he'd put in.
"Boss, that guy who barely beat me for first place is also in this tournament. You'd better be careful!"
"Oh, who is it?"
Sato had been meaning to ask who had taken first place anyway; he hadn't expected that person to also be in the Elite Four Tournament.
And if they'd made it this far without Sato hearing a word, then clearly someone was keeping things under wraps.
"His name's Aruta Kitamura. Word is, he's the son of Riku Kitamura, the Johto League's branch President. You know… the illegitimate kind..."
"…Get to the point!" Joseph said as he patted Mark's shoulder, looking exasperated.
Sato didn't say anything. Honestly, he kind of wanted to hear the gossip about the branch President too…
"Tch… anyway. The point is that guy's really strong. He already has three known Elite Four level pseudo-legendary Pokémon, and rumor has it his dad helped him collect them."
Mark's tone was a blend of one-third envy, one-third disdain, one-fifth jealousy, and one-fifth seriousness.
Whether or not Riku Kitamura had helped him gather those three pseudo-legendaries, being ranked number one among the Elite Four candidates meant his strength couldn't be underestimated.
At that moment, Sato finally remembered who Aruta Kitamura was.
A completely unremarkable young man who barely scraped into the top 15 during the preliminaries.
Right… when Aruta was matched up with Sato, he had surrendered before the battle even started. That was why Sato hadn't paid him much attention.
'But fifteenth place…' That was just on the edge of qualifying for the finals.
All it would take is winning one or two extra matches at the end, and he'd be able to squeeze into the finals right on the line.
Sato narrowed his eyes. He was starting to suspect someone behind the scenes had been working things in Aruta's favor.
Like deciding who he should beat, who he should lose to, and when he should forfeit. Using all that to mask his strength.
And maybe even scheduling the last few rounds against weaker opponents, so he could sneak into the finals in the most inconspicuous way possible, completely hiding his real power.
However, Sato quickly thought of something else…
"Didn't your instructors tell you to keep it secret that Aruta Kitamura was ranked first among the Elite Four candidates?"
Mark, who had been carefree a moment ago, suddenly looked full of disdain and frustration.
"Hmph… they didn't at first, but once word got out that Aruta was the illegitimate son of the branch President, those instructors suddenly started saying all this crap like…
'To carry out confidential missions, no one can reveal their true strength to the outside world.'
And then the very next day, they dragged all of us to some remote wilderness island for completely locked-down training."
"…And after that?"
The more Sato heard, the stranger it all sounded. Riku Kitamura really had gone all out for his son's future.
After all, most people who made it into the Elite Four candidate ranks were either true geniuses or had some background.
But to help his son qualify for the finals, he actually went as far as "soft-locking" the entire Elite Four candidate pool…
"After that… well, after the training ended, we regrouped and realized Aruta had never shown up at all. Then Ryoko pulled me aside in secret, and that's when I found out Aruta had already been competing in the preliminaries for over half a month.
She'd just joined the candidate instructor team, didn't have much seniority or authority, and had only found out about this a few days before I did.
By the time she saw how things had already played out, it wasn't urgent whether she told me or not. So she came straight to me and asked me to warn you, Boss… make sure you're careful with Aruta in the finals!"
"Ryoko…"
Sato murmured softly. That former teammate of his was probably feeling ashamed and frustrated.
Back when she had entered the Elite Four candidate instructor group full of ambition, and now, after years of little accomplishment, she couldn't even do anything but pass on a late warning when a friend was being treated unfairly.
Sato shook his head. He figured things probably hadn't been easy for Ryoko these past few years. Next time they met, he'd make sure to have a proper talk with her. He made that note to himself.
Still, this news hadn't come too late.
The fact that Aruta avoided battle during the prelims meant he wasn't confident he could defeat Sato. Since he backed down the first time, Sato wouldn't give him a second chance to win!
---◓---
The next day, the matches continued. Sato faced two opponents, one forfeited outright, and the other gave up before two rounds were over. Clearly, neither had any hope left.
Meanwhile, Aruta silently won two matches in a row with almost no one paying attention.
Sato was a little annoyed, but he still didn't take it too seriously.
If Aruta were really that strong, his father wouldn't have needed to go so far to protect him. Once he faced a truly powerful opponent, he'd be exposed sooner or later.
Seven days later, after nearly a month of Elite Four Tournament preliminaries, the final match finally arrived.
As the "finale" of the prelims, this battle got just as much attention as Sato's first match.
And on the field, the independent Trainer Kuraki and the branch President's illegitimate son Aruta were indeed fighting neck and neck.
The former had long held solid fame, and regardless of win or loss, would easily make it to the finals.
The latter, Aruta, was sitting exactly at rank thirteen.
If he won, he'd move up and qualify for the finals.
If he lost… well, that wasn't going to happen.
Sato glanced sympathetically at Kuraki, who looked totally relaxed. Even though he was already guaranteed top 16, he had no idea he'd just been turned into someone else's stepping stone.
When Aruta's Tyranitar took the field, everyone watching suddenly realized… a powerful new contender had entered the scene.
Twenty minutes later…
Kuraki was defeated.
Aruta won, climbing to rank twelve.
Qualified by the skin of his teeth!