At first, when Pan hesitated, everyone thought this match was guaranteed for Sato.
But no one expected him to send out a Klinklang that could break through at any moment, and the Defender was just as tough, accepting the challenge without flinching.
As the battle began, it unfolded just as expected: a fierce clash of titans. With three signature moves, Klinklang even held a slight advantage for a time.
But nobody anticipated that a seemingly weak Grass Knot would put Klinklang in such an awkward position.
The gears jammed!
"Zoroark, Focus Blast."
"Zooo!"
Zoroark gathered a pure white Focus Blast in its hands; not releasing it, but instead slamming it down like a hammer straight onto Klinklang.
BOOM!
Focus Blast detonated, blasting Klinklang into the air.
…But it was yanked back down by the stubborn green vines holding it in place.
"Again, Focus Blast."
"Klinklang, Gear Grind!"
Zoroark formed another Focus Blast and threw it without hesitation.
Just now, it had tried to show off by not throwing it, and the explosive backlash had slightly hurt it.
'…Not making that mistake again.'
This time, as the Focus Blast flew toward it, Klinklang desperately tried to spin its gears to break through the Grass Knot and gather energy to unleash its move.
But it was just too slow.
BOOM!
The Focus Blast struck Klinklang again, now no different from a fixed target. When the smoke cleared, Klinklang lay motionless on the ground, unable to battle.
"First match of Endless Mode: DEFENDER WINS!" Don George announced loudly.
The crowd sighed, but still gave both sides generous applause. Though the fight ended a little abruptly, the strength of both Sato and Pan was undeniable.
They were seriously strong!
The big screen played a replay of the winning moment for three seconds before the roulette interface popped up again.
Clearly, endless mode was seamless: one battle ended, the next began immediately. But as Sato watched the spinning names, another idea popped into his mind.
'What if I don't say stop? Hmm…'
"Ahem… stop."
'Forget it, forget it. I'm a legitimate Defender now. I can't be that shameless…'
These wins were earned through skill. If he really pulled a stunt like that, people would think he was just a fake "champion".
No way. Sato refused to indulge that ridiculous thought and refocused on the field.
"Next up… FRAN!"
With the challenger confirmed, everyone began scanning the crowd to see who the "lucky pick" was.
Soon, a sharply dressed office lady walked calmly onto the field under everyone's gaze, her high heels clicking as she reached the command platform.
"I just went out to grab some coffee and ran into something this nice. Defender~ Go easy on me, will you~?"
The office lady, Fran, said cheerfully. Only then did people notice the take-out coffee bag in her right hand.
"UGHH! I've been watching from the start and still haven't been picked!" one Trainer shouted in frustration from the crowd.
"Like you're the only one?"
"You really aren't. I clearly saw you just showed up a few minutes ago!"
"Uh…"
"…"
Ignoring the chatter below, the match on stage had already officially begun.
Although no one knew why someone as "leadership-like" as Fran had gone downstairs to buy coffee herself, the Pokémon she used wasn't bad.
"Lilligant, use Petal Dance~"
Even knowing how powerful Zoroark's Flamethrower was, Fran still sent out a Grass-type Pokémon.
Just when everyone thought she was in a hurry and wanted to end the match quickly…
BOOM!
She opened with a full-power move!
A storm of petals almost instantly engulfed the entire battlefield, beautiful yet deadly.
Petal Dance's power was in no way inferior to moves like Fire Blast or Thunder. And its advantage lay in sustained damage, hitting over multiple turns.
"Zoroark, Night Daze!"
Amid the Petal Dance, a black energy dome rapidly expanded, carving out a secure space within the sea of petals.
The effect of Nasty Plot hadn't faded yet, and paired with the adaptability bonus of Zoroark's signature move, Night Daze remained unbroken, still steadily expanding.
"ZOROOOAR!"
Suddenly, Zoroark let out a fierce roar from within Night Daze. Seizing an opening between Petal Dance's waves, the energy dome accelerated again, completely shattering Lilligant's petal domain.
"Ten o'clock, Flamethrower!" Sato issued a pinpoint command.
Lilligant tried to flee in panic, but the scorching flames were already rushing toward her.
Just a second before being engulfed, Lilligant turned into a red light and was withdrawn into her Poké Ball by Fran.
"I forfeit!"
Fran swiftly raised the Poké Ball in her right hand and signaled Don George.
"Second match of Endless Mode: Defender… WINS!"
Fran winked at Sato and then briskly walked off the stage.
The audience didn't think anything was off. After all, the power of Flamethrower had already left a deep impression, Lilligant being unable to withstand it was understandable.
Many in the crowd even looked at Sato with a hint of envy.
'He's just average-lo… cough… how come beautiful women keep volunteering to be his stepping stones?'
"Hmph! You don't stand a chance, 'grandma'…" Fanna muttered angrily at Fran's departing figure.
And the challenge defense continued. Zoroark went on to battle two more times, against Vanilluxe and Galvantula.
Not everyone had Pokémon that could counter Zoroark; and even fewer that were Peak Elite and happened to match Zoroark's level.
Older high-level Trainers had long trained their entire teams to near Pseudo Elite Four.
And younger Trainers, much like Sato, often had wide level gaps in their teams due to limited training time and resources.
So Sato was fortunate to rack up two more consecutive wins.
Four straight victories. Combined with the previous five, that made nine in total, and he'd earned a whopping 8,000 points!
As Sato kept winning, the crowd swelled even larger. Many Trainers had heard the news through friends and rushed to the Battle Club nonstop.
Looking at the packed audience below, Sato felt it was about time.
But seeing the panting Zoroark still brimming with fighting spirit…
"Let's go one more round!"
Every five rounds was a turning point. As the roulette began to spin again on the big screen, Sato, ever perceptive, caught a subtle glance from Don George out of the corner of his eye.
The man had tilted his head slightly in a specific direction.