Even though they had witnessed the outcome with their own eyes, many people present still couldn't believe that Sato had fought the League's newest rising star, Lance, to a draw.
It was easy to imagine that once this news got out, Shadownight Gym would be thrust into the spotlight. Countless Trainers who wanted to challenge Lance but never had the chance would turn their sights on Sato instead.
'Why were you able to battle my idol, my goal, my pillar of hope to a draw? And as a Gym Leader, you're not allowed to refuse a challenge without reason. So I'll come test your strength myself!'
The moment the news spread, many would think this way… and this was exactly what Sato hoped for.
What was the fun in regular Gym Challenges? Battling new Trainers just starting their journeys day after day… Sato was afraid doing that too long would actually lower his own level.
But now, with waves of "elite" Trainers who saw Lance as their goal coming to Shadownight Town to challenge him, wasn't that the perfect opportunity for him to grow stronger?
The cheers lasted for quite a while. It took host Sia a lot of effort to calm the crowd down and move forward with the rest of the opening ceremony.
"Next, we'll be conducting the Gym assessment battle. As everyone knows, during the opening of every Gym, the League sends an elite Trainer to assess the Gym Leader.
This battle isn't to see how strong the Gym Leader is, after all, we've all just seen Leader Sato's strength on full display.
What the examiner will assess is whether the Gym Leader can embody the teaching philosophy of the Gym. For Shadownight Gym, that philosophy is… willpower! As for who the examiner is… I don't know either. So let's welcome the mystery examiner hiding among the crowd!"
As Sia finished, the audience began looking around curiously, wondering if the Gym Inspector was near them.
Exhibition matches weren't a guaranteed part of every Gym opening, but the assessment battle was a familiar highlight. And since the last match had left everyone wanting more, the excitement in the arena remained high.
Soon, as everyone's attention began to focus, the Gym Inspector stepped into view.
"Karen!" At that moment, Lance, who had already stepped down, suddenly stood up with a surprised look, instantly revealing the inspector's identity.
"It's Karen! Wow, I never thought I'd see her in person today!"
"This just got interesting. Karen specializes in Dark-type Pokémon, and so does Leader Sato! Isn't this going to be a Dark-type showdown?"
"I still remember what Karen said: whether a Pokémon is strong or weak is just a matter of perspective. A true Trainer fights to help the Pokémon they love achieve victory!"
"Karen is ultra-A!"
If Lance was the most outstanding male Trainer of the younger generation in the Kanto Region, then Karen was definitely the most popular female Trainer of that same generation.
Not only did she use cool Dark-type Pokémon, but she herself was a bold and confident girl with her own unique views on what it meant to be a Trainer, winning her broad admiration.
"I heard there's a new Dark-type Leader in Johto. I've been wanting to meet him. I personally volunteered to be the examiner for this assessment."
Karen flicked back her long, blue wavy hair and smiled confidently without the slightest nervousness.
"I'm honored," Sato nodded to Karen, then gave Sia a subtle signal with his eyes.
"Wow, I didn't expect today's examiner to be our beautiful Karen! Let's give her a warm welcome.
Now, without further delay, let me explain again: Shadownight Gym's standard challenge format is a 3-on-3 rotation battle. When one side has all three Pokémon unable to battle or fainted, the match ends.
During the match, the Gym Leader may not switch Pokémon. If the challenger wins, the Gym Leader must award the Gym Badge. If the challenger loses, the Gym Leader may decide whether to issue the badge based on the challenger's performance.
Now then, Gym Leader Sato, please send out your first Pokémon!"
"Murkrow, you're up."
Without hesitation, Sato threw out a Poké Ball. A Murkrow appeared in the air above the battlefield, significantly larger than a typical Honchkrow.
"Krow~ Krow~"
Murkrow happily circled Sato twice before flying into position, waiting for its opponent to appear.
"I've never seen such a big Murkrow before~ Then my first Pokémon will be… Sneasel!" Karen was clearly surprised by Murkrow's size, but it was just a passing surprise.
With a flash of red light, a dark green Sneasel appeared on the field. Its Ice typing a perfect counter to Flying-types.
"Battle begin!"
"Sneasel, use Ice Shard!"
"Murkrow, Tailwind."
Ice Shard launched almost instantly, but Murkrow had just activated a speed-boosting move and nimbly avoided all of the shards.
Despite its large size, Murkrow wasn't lacking in agility. Sato had long anticipated the pros and cons of Murkrow's increased size, so he'd focused heavily on its speed during training.
"Sneasel, rush in and use Night Slash!"
"Murkrow, Foul Play."
In terms of raw power, the assassin-like Sneasel had a slight advantage over Murkrow. But Murkrow's larger size helped compensate for some of that strength.
Moreover, Foul Play uses the opponent's Attack stat against them, and its base power is higher than Night Slash's.
In a straight-up brawl, Murkrow wasn't backing down. After all, the "willpower" focused evaluation of Shadownight Gym was based on high-frequency attacks, extended battles, and infliction of negative status conditions.
Two dark shadows zipped across the battlefield, exchanging blows at high speed. But with each clash, Murkrow's advantage grew a bit more and Karen was well aware of that.
"You really know how to use Dark-type moves… let's switch things up~ Sneasel, use Assurance!" Karen smiled sweetly as she gave the order for a tactical shift.
Assurance doubles in power if the user has already taken damage. And the move can be timed by the Pokémon itself: delay the strike, take a hit, then counterattack with doubled force!
"Just by switching to a counter-type move, Sneasel instantly regains the advantage! Karen's so bold… ignoring her Ice-type advantage and insisting on a pure Dark-type showdown."
In the audience, Lance gave a helpless smile. He and Karen had trained in the same generation. They were rivals and old friends; very familiar with each other.
"Murkrow, use Torment, then fall back."
Murkrow suddenly let out a loud, mocking caw at Sneasel. Sneasel flinched, and its Assurance stopped involuntarily.
Torment prevented the opponent from using the same move twice in a row, and Murkrow had used it perfectly to disrupt Sneasel's attack.
Then, with a flap of its wings, Murkrow soared high into the air to recover its stance.