Outside Vertress Cave, more and more people were arriving from all over the region just to witness the so-called Mega Evolution with their own eyes.
And after seeing the strength unleashed by Sato's team, they couldn't help but click their tongues in admiration.
Naturally, the area surrounding the Red Flag wouldn't have just one hidden camera. Knowing a major battle was bound to happen here, all eight tunnel entrances had cameras.
Because of this, every single one of Sato and his team's actions was broadcast in perfect detail.
On the dozens of projection screens at the site, nearly a third were devoted to streaming Sato's side of the battle.
Front angles, side angles, overhead shots, even underground views… every perspective was fully recorded, capturing every Trainer's performance.
And the scene of Sato deploying his entire team to fight dramatically took over all three of the main projection screens.
Even though many in the crowd didn't recognize Sharpedo, that didn't stop them from feeling the immense boost brought by Mega Evolution.
"He… he still looks really young, right?" a spectator couldn't help but say. The reality of it all delivered yet another powerful shock to their hearts.
'…Was this the true strength of someone from League Headquarters?'
An enviable age, and even more enviable strength!
Even setting Sato aside, Phoebe and the others all performed remarkably in their battles.
…But from the broadcast screens, aside from Sato, the most attention-grabbing was actually Mark.
Magma Storm, Heat Wave, Blast Burn… one powerful Fire-type move after another came out through Metronome.
The constantly changing Fire-type attacks gave the Durant facing Mark endless suffering; they simply couldn't find a way to counter them.
Mark's battle wasn't the most intense, but it was definitely the most entertaining.
Why was it that when everyone else used Metronome, they'd get totally random moves, and with bad luck, just end up using Splash?
'…And you? You got nothing but powerful Fire-type moves, not even once pulling something weaker like Ember, Mystical Fire, or Incinerate…
What gave you the nerve to hog all the luck for yourself?'
Compared to that, the battles of Phoebe, Ryoko, and Joseph were actually more powerful and better structured.
…Even if the Pledge Combo originated in Unova.
…Even if the core Pokémon of Phoebe's show of force was the Unova Region-exclusive Chandelure.
…Even if Joseph's Gallade had already burst out of the tunnel, fists blazing with Fire Punch, mowing down the Durants like children.
But compared to Mark's sheer randomness… all of that just looked like normal, expected performance.
After all, the others had precedents to reference.
His was a completely new battle method.
A style that relied entirely on luck!
…Just thinking about it felt unfair.
And so, Sato's Mega-Evolved Sharpedo and Mark's absurdly lucky Togetic drew nearly 80% of the attention from the entire venue.
Meanwhile, many viewers who had been watching the Vertress Cave trial on TV for the first time felt an urge to see it in person.
At that moment, they all had the same thought: "If I leave now, I can still catch a full day and a half of the competition. It's not that far…I should just go see it!"
And so, the crowd outside Vertress Cave kept growing, easily surpassing previous years' records, and still climbing.
Outside, the excitement was overwhelming. Meanwhile, inside the cave, many participants were also starting to pick up on the disturbance caused by Sato's team, thanks to their perceptive Pokémon.
With such loud commotion, it was hard not to draw attention. And the more experienced trial-goers reacted instantly, rushing toward the noise as fast as they could.
Every new Red Flag that appeared could potentially affect the final rankings.
At this point, the previously collected White and Green Flags seemed more like participation points, meant only to avoid the embarrassment of scoring zero.
---
Over at the anthill, Sato was already using both hands and feet to climb up, and not slowly either, he moved with the agility of a humanoid Pokémon.
Suddenly, a Durant burst out from a hole beside Sato and lunged at him with its terrifying steel jaws.
Ka-cha~
Umbreon charged in and blocked it, twisting its body sharply as its silver-white Iron Tail collided head-on with the jaws.
The clash of metal on metal was so loud that even Mark and the others back at the entrance heard the deafening impact.
Umbreon retreated back to Sato's side, while the ambushing Durant was immediately trapped in place by Ariados and Gengar rushing in to assist.
"Great job, Umbreon." Sato couldn't stop moving, so he simply waved a hand in encouragement.
"Umbre~" Umbreon nodded and stuck close to Sato, as if to say this was just standard procedure.
'I may not be as strong as the others offensively, but protecting you… I'll stake my life on it!'
The massive Durant atop the anthill suddenly let out a roar. It didn't sound like a command: more like something unexpected had happened.
"Someone else is coming!" Just as Sato was confused, Ralts's Telepathy rang out.
Sato's heart skipped a beat, and he unconsciously picked up the pace again.
"A red flag… IT'S A RED FLAG!" a shout rang out behind him. He glanced back and saw that a four-person team had just arrived at the very tunnel he had come through.
"Stop the guy in front! Sigilyph, use Psychic!"
One member of the team immediately spotted Sato and sent out a Sigilyph, trying to use Psychic to suppress his Pokémon and force him to retreat.
"Hmph, trying to mess with Toto?" Ralts suddenly appeared beside Sigilyph, waved its small hand, and unleashed a terrifying Thunderbolt.
"SIGEEE~"
A scream echoed for a brief moment before cutting off completely. Sigilyph had barely appeared before Ralts instantly one-shot it, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Sigilyph!"
Its Trainer was both shocked and furious, recalling it in haste. The others were startled as well by the sudden attack.
That brief delay was enough for waves of Durants to descend upon them, leaving them no time to pursue Sato. All they could do was scramble to defend themselves from the oncoming swarm.
And Ralts had already vanished again using Teleport.
At that moment, the Durant colony's strict division of labor ended up helping Sato and his team instead.
Each of the four attackers had sent out at least two Pokémon, meaning twelve new enemies from the Durants' perspective.
In an instant, a large portion of the Durants that had been surrounding Sato's team were redirected, concentrating all their firepower on the four-person team instead.
"Someone else is coming… it's Ryoko." Ralts said again.
"Teleport her. Take her to Mark." Sato ordered without hesitation.
"Got it!"
Ralts had remained hidden in the shadows the entire time, not only to handle surprise enemies, but also to serve as an invisible layer of protection for the team.
It had already pinpointed everyone's positions in advance, precisely so it could use Teleport to move and regroup them at any time.