Weavile suddenly unleashed a Flamethrower, then transformed into a different Pokémon. The sudden shift had clearly caught Fanna completely off guard.
All the previously confusing commands suddenly made perfect sense the moment Zoroark revealed its true form.
Under the Nasty Plot boost, Flamethrower nearly knocked out Serperior in one hit. Though its Special Defense wasn't low and it barely held on, it was clearly at the end of its rope.
The rest of the battle wasn't worth mentioning. After narrowly dodging two more Flamethrowers, Serperior was finally finished off by a single Night Slash from Zoroark.
"Serperior is unable to battle! Zoroark wins! The victory goes to Trainer Sato!" the referee announced solemnly… though he kept stealing glances at Zoroark.
Even in the Unova Region, Zoroark was a very rare Pokémon. Its Illusion Ability was exclusive to its kind.
Although the Illusion was dispelled the moment it took even a single hit, the disguise it maintained before that was flawless; so much so that even Psychic-type Pokémon couldn't see through it.
Because of this, whether in 1v1 matches or full 6v6 battles, Zoroark was always a great option for disruption or strategic defense.
However, during the early stages of Sato's journey, Zoroark had mostly been kept as his trump card, which meant its Illusion Ability hadn't been fully utilized.
But ever since arriving in the Unova Region, Zoroark had become the most inconspicuous member of the team.
Sato was more than happy to let Zoroark go all out for once. Leaving behind a memorable tale at the Battle Club wouldn't be so bad.
"Referee, I want to activate challenge defense mode." Sato declared without hesitation.
"Challenge defense?"
The referee looked over in surprise. He had access to basic info on both participants before the battle, and knew that this was both Sato and Fanna's first match at the club.
But now it was obvious that Sato had already done his homework on how the Battle Club's competition rules worked.
Challenge defense, each Trainer could only activate it once per month. On the day they defeated an opponent of the same tier, they could apply to initiate a defense match.
As the name implied, challenge defense meant Sato wouldn't leave the field. He would remain at the C5 platform and accept an unlimited number of challenges from Trainers at the same level.
…Until he admitted defeat himself!
Unless a Trainer had absolute confidence in their strength, no one would voluntarily choose this seemingly unfair format.
But precisely because of that, challenge defense was the best way to make a name for oneself.
After confirming with Sato several times, the referee used the intercom to officially announce the start of a challenge defense match at C5 in five minutes!
As for what happened during those five minutes… first, Battle Club administrator Don George strode over and took over as referee.
At the same time, the club's loudspeakers began broadcasting the announcement on a loop. But once many people heard it was at C5, they lost interest.
After all, C5 was usually reserved for newly promoted Peak Elite-level Trainers. Most defense matches at that stage ended quickly, and many couldn't be bothered to watch such flashy gimmicks.
Still, most spectators and Trainers were curious about such a rare event. Even knowing the match quality might be low, they couldn't resist coming over to check it out.
And that was enough.
Five minutes later, the C5 was packed with spectators and eager challengers.
Don George, seeing that time was up, began the challenge defense match without hesitation.
Very quickly, a Trainer with a body full of bulging muscles stood out from the crowd of eager challengers and became the first to step onto the command platform.
Beep~
The muscular man lightly swiped his battle point card across the machine, and the left side of the big screen displayed his basic information.
[Trainer: Galeno][Peak Elite Record: 26 Wins / 18 Losses / 1 Draw]
A pretty complete profile. Aside from showing that Galeno had a decent win rate, no other data was available, especially not any information about his Pokémon.
On the right side of the screen, Sato's barebones record made Galeno grin with confidence. He was certain this would be an easy win.
[Trainer: Sato][Peak Elite Record: 1 Win / 0 Losses / 0 Draws]
Clearly, Sato was a complete rookie, undeniably and unmistakably so.
Without giving Galeno a chance to trash talk, Don George began announcing the battle rules the moment both Trainers had taken their positions.
"...And now, battle start!"
Boom! Boom!
Two Poké Balls burst open at the same time. On Sato's side was once again Zoroark disguised as Weavile.
No helping it. With the regions still being relatively isolated, and very few shared Pokémon between them, at least Weavile occasionally appeared in Unova.
If Zoroark had "transformed" into Houndoom or Ariados, Galeno might not even recognize the species, which could've caused a bigger stir.
On the other side, Galeno sent out a massive Beartic. Solid choice!
Sato grinned.
Clearly, Galeno hadn't seen his last match. Otherwise, no matter what, he wouldn't have sent out an Ice-type Pokémon.
An Ice vs. Ice matchup? Not happening!
This time, Sato took the initiative. "Weavile, use Flamethrower."
The reverse-typed move made the crowd erupt in gasps of surprise. But those who had seen the previous match quickly explained.
It's Zoroark's Illusion Ability!
But before Galeno could react, Beartic -unable to dodge in time- was hit by Flamethrower twice in a row.
Same strategy, even more direct this time. But it was enough to take down Galeno.
Beartic lasted barely five minutes before being defeated outright.
Thus, the first challenge defense round: Zoroark, victory!
Now, many Trainers who had hoped to snatch an easy win quietly faded back into the crowd, no longer daring to underestimate Sato.
However, several Trainers who considered themselves strong remained behind, clearly unfazed.
Soon, the second challenger stepped up quickly. Glancing at the now-revealed Zoroark, there was no hint of disdain in his eyes.
"Conkeldurr!"
A pure Fighting-type Pokémon unique to the Unova Region, wielding two massive concrete pillars… truly intimidating.
"Battle start!" Don George again wasted no words and began the match as soon as both sides were ready.
"Conkeldurr, use Scary Face!"
The opponent clearly understood that Zoroark was too fast, and his Conkeldurr was too slow to keep up, so his first move was to slow it down.
"Nasty Plot!"
Sato once again chose Nasty Plot, massively boosting Zoroark's Special Attack. Then-
"Extrasensory!"
Buzz!
A terrifying wave of psychic power immediately seized Conkeldurr. Even though Scary Face had just been used, Zoroark was still faster.
And the Conkeldurr, known for its overwhelming physical strength, was completely immobilized under the force of Zoroark's Extrasensory!