Perhaps it was because there were too many Hidden/Experts-Type around, but when a standard battlefield suddenly appeared in the garden, Sato didn't find it strange at all.
Yoshi had already taken his place on the opposing Trainer's platform and had even taken the initiative to send out his two Pokémon…
Mienshao and Lilligant.
Mienshao's whiskers were much longer than average, and its fur looked a bit dull and sparse.
Its loose and sluggish state made Sato hesitate… 'Was this even a fair fight against an old Pokémon?'
Lilligant, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine. Like a gentle, elegant aneke, she gazed at Sato with wide, watery eyes.
But with Grass-type Pokémon… age was hard to judge by appearance alone.
Sato kept his gaze steady, then raised his right hand and tossed out two Poké Balls.
With a flash of red light, Drapion and Pikachu appeared on the field.
Among the four Pokémon, only Drapion had a clear type advantage over Lilligant, adding an element of unpredictability to the match.
After all, they were all Ace level Pokémon, which made tactics and synergy all the more critical.
"BATTLE STAAAAART!"
Trish called out loudly, temporarily acting as the referee.
Mienshao stroked its two whiskers but made no move…
Lilligant continued to gaze at her opponents with those wide eyes…
In the spirit of respecting elders and being kind to the young, Sato also refrained from giving the first command…
"…"
"…"
"…Pika /ᐠ - ˕ -マ?"
Pikachu tilted its head at Sato, as if to ask, "…Are we even starting?"
Sato pressed his lips together. Just as he was about to speak, Mienshao and Lilligant's aura suddenly changed, seizing that very moment to act first!
Lilligant immediately retreated, twirling her leaf-like arms in a graceful dance. A mysterious power slowly awakened within her body.
Quiver Dance: boosting her Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. A top-tier buff move!
Mienshao lunged forward to block in front of Lilligant.
Its long sleeve-like fur suddenly extended like whips, lashing toward Pikachu and Drapion.
Snap!
Snap!
The fur lashes cracked through the air, landing simultaneously on Drapion and Pikachu with the effect of Fake Out.
That one second of flinching gave Lilligant enough time to complete her Quiver Dance.
"Thunder Wave, Toxic!"
Sato's command came slightly delayed, but Yoshi gave his next command almost simultaneously.
"Teeter Dance, Meditate!"
Thunder Wave was faster than anything else. It hit Mienshao in the blink of an eye, giving it no time to dodge.
But Lilligant's Teeter Dance followed immediately. Pikachu and Drapion began awkwardly swaying along with her.
Teeter Dance causes all Pokémon on the field to start swaying, resulting in confusion.
However, with Mienshao hit by Thunder Wave, its planned Meditate to resist the confusion was a beat too late.
And so… Mienshao ended up swaying along as well.
Yoshi raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself: 'Whoaaa~ So this is an Elite Four… young as he is, his battle instincts are razor-sharp.'
Lilligant and Mienshao had battled together for years!
Their synergy was practically maxed out.
Seeing Mienshao about to fall into confusion from Teeter Dance, Lilligant had no choice but to stop the move immediately.
Naturally, Pikachu and Drapion were also freed from the opponent's continuous control.
"DRAAAA!"
The hot-tempered Drapion had had enough. First it was startled, then it got controlled… this was an utter insult to its notorious reputation.
Drapion's two pincers glowed with a purple light as they whooshed toward Mienshao and Lilligant.
Mienshao stayed put, squinting as it closely tracked the pincers' trajectory. At the last possible second, it brushed past the Toxic attack and dodged.
By minimizing body movement, it could effectively reduce the effects of Paralysis.
Lilligant was much more natural. Empowered across the board by Quiver Dance, she glided away from her position with a single step, easily evading the attack.
But then, a flash of yellow streaked past the pincers. It was Pikachu, using the pincers as cover to get up close to Lilligant.
"Iron Tail."
The command and the Iron Tail attack landed almost simultaneously. Caught off guard, Lilligant took the full brunt of the lightning-fast Pikachu's strike!
"Lili~GAAaaAaANT~!"
A delicate, pained cry rang out. Lilligant clutched her abdomen as she staggered backward, face contorted in pain.
"FORCE PALM!"
Mienshao sprang into action again, striking the still-extended pincer that Drapion hadn't yet retracted, aiming to disable it.
Drapion tried to retract as quickly as possible, but the Force Palm still blasted it back, leaving a visible dent in the middle of the pincer.
Just then, toxic bubbles suddenly appeared around Mienshao's body.
Poisoned!
'W-When did it happen…?!'
Yoshi's eyes widened in shock. It had clearly dodged earlier!
But that didn't matter anymore.
Paralysis + Poison. Mienshao was basically half-crippled.
Still, a backup plan was necessary.
"Taunt."
"HEAL BELL!"
The commands came nearly simultaneously, but Taunt took effect faster than Heal Bell.
Lilligant, who had held back her healing for a while, failed to ring the newly conjured bell. Instead, Pikachu seized the chance and struck again with Iron Tail, knocking her even further back.
The match was decided!
Thanks to god-tier prediction, Sato had locked in the win. Aside from getting caught off guard at the beginning due to showing respect for the elderly, he maintained control the entire time.
Challenging, yet clean and decisive… a classic high-level stomp.
It felt great!
Pikachu and Drapion were equally thrilled. They were no longer the kind of rookies chasing one-hit knockouts.
The joy of breaking down an opponent step by step helped them ease their battle cravings.
They were satisfied~
But many of their teammates were still raring to go. Sato looked up, eyes drifting toward the other elderly onlookers.
'So much wool…'
Ahem!
'Whoa…~ So many respected elders! It should be possible to "consult" them for quite some time, right…?'
---◓---
Night had fallen, but the retirement home remained brightly lit.
Near the battlefield, bursts of applause continued to echo.
Sato had been commanding battles for nearly seven hours straight, yet his eyes were only getting brighter.
They say having an old man at home is like having a treasure.
These veteran Trainers might've regressed in raw strength, but in Pokémon training and tactical exploration, they held experience far beyond what the young could match.
Sato had already memorized countless new insights, planning to study them in detail once back home.
He glanced at the utterly exhausted Absol still on the field. 'Time to wrap things up.'
After commanding Absol to knock out one last Exploud, Sato was the first to recall his Pokémon.
He thanked the group of lovable old folks politely, then pulled the yawning Trish along as they returned to the Gym.
The next day, the mayor of Shadownight City announced a new initiative for the expansion and upgrade of the city's retirement homes…
Sato saw the news and smiled.
A bigger retirement home meant more elders would come, and that meant more veteran Trainers too.
Which meant… even more wool to shear!