The battle between Ampharos and Murkrow was forcefully halted. The male Ampharos got dragged away by his wife for a scolding, and Sato, worried about Murkrow's injuries, decided to "retreat" altogether.
On the other side, the male Ampharos noticed Sato and the others leaving and began waddling after them, determined to settle things; after all, the battle had stopped, but the "wager" still needed to be honored.
…But after just two steps, the male Ampharos suddenly felt his tail being yanked. The next moment, he was violently pulled back, crashing face-first into the ground as he watched Sato and the others disappear.
"…Phaa~" The male Ampharos didn't dare complain loudly.
The only one strong and bold enough to yank his tail like that was his own violent Ampharos wife… definitely not someone he could mess with!
Still, the male Ampharos felt deeply wronged. 'Weren't they promised some delicious Sweet Milk if they lost? Where was the milk?'
Flash~
A beam of white light suddenly shot out from the group of Ampharos, revealing three sealed bottles of Sweet Milk.
Eyes lighting up, the male Ampharos scrambled to his feet, just about to reach for them when his vision blurred and all the milk vanished.
He looked up in disbelief to see the female Ampharos storing away two bottles and only opening one. Using the bottle cap, she carefully poured out the milk and distributed it among the Mareep.
The male Ampharos watched helplessly as the very last capful of Sweet Milk was licked clean by the tiniest Mareep, not a single drop left behind.
"Pha... Phaa…"
Utterly devastated, the male Ampharos questioned everything: 'Why did I try so hard? What's the point of life anymore?' The female Ampharos completely ignored his collapse, calling the still-licking Mareep and Flaaffy to head home.
Sitting dejectedly on the ground, the male Ampharos watched her lead the group into the bushes. For the first time, he began to wonder… had that pitch-black Murkrow really…
"Phaa Phaa!"
As he hung his head, a bottle of Sweet Milk suddenly appeared in his pov. He looked up to see the female Ampharos smiling at him.
"Phaa~ Amphaa~" 'Hurry and drink it, don't let the kids see.'
"Pha!" The male Ampharos instantly perked up, braced his tail, and sprang to his feet, happily taking the bottle. Just as he was about to chug it down, he caught a glimpse of his wife out of the corner of his eye…
"Phaa~"
With a soft look, he pushed the milk toward the female Ampharos, signaling for her to drink first.
After a bit of back-and-forth, the "dominant" female Ampharos finally took a symbolic sip, and then the male followed with a small sip of his own.
And so, a bottle of Sweet Milk that Ralts could easily down in one go… took these two Ampharos over ten minutes to finish.
---
Sato, Umbreon, Ralts, and Murkrow stood silently watching the whole scene.
"I'll give you three days of special training. In three days, you are taking down that pair of damn Ampharos," Sato said blankly to Murkrow.
"KROOOOW!"
Red-eyed, Murkrow responded loudly.
The still-lovey-dovey Ampharos couple didn't hear a thing…
（╯‵□′）╯︵┴─┴
For the first time ever, Murkrow voluntarily retreated into its Poké Ball, and Sato, feeling dejected, left the Forest of Shadows.
On the way back to the Gym, Sato was already planning out the training for the next three days. Battles between Flying-types and Electric-types were difficult by nature, and aside from mediocre Speed, Ampharos had an absolute advantage over Murkrow in every aspect.
"Leader, you're back! A very strong Trainer is waiting for you, he specifically requested to battle you," Sosuke ran over to report as soon as Sato returned to the Gym.
"Even Sina couldn't handle him?" Sato frowned, turning toward the front yard.
"That guy already has eight Gym Badges. He came because he heard how tough Shadownight Gym is and wanted to challenge it."
"Alright, I'll handle it," Sato nodded. Although Shadownight Town's peak popularity had passed, it wasn't unusual for Trainers like this to show up, so he wasn't surprised.
But when he reached the Gym, he saw the challenger dressed in beachwear, surrounded by three scantily clad girls, laughing and chatting without the slightest air of seriousness about a Gym Challenge.
"I heard there's a strong Trainer here who came specifically to challenge me?" Sato kept a straight face, asking on purpose.
"So it's true you're this smal- young… I mean, I already have eight Badges. My girlfriends just wanted to see what a Gym Challenge is like, so we came by," the beach guy replied casually, not forgetting to flash his badges.
Sato had sharp eyes. Just a glance told him that the guy didn't have the Rising Badge from Blackthorn City or the Glacier Badge from Mahogany Town.
And in the Johto Region, those two were widely recognized as the most difficult Gyms.
"At Shadownight Gym, we're a bit more flexible. Trainers who already have eight Badges can choose their challenge level: Easy, Medium, or Hard. Take your pick…" Sato said meaningfully.
Today he'd already been humiliated by a pair of Ampharos. And now back at the Gym, someone shows up with three girlfriends to challenge him… and even called him small!
Murkrow could let it slide, but Sato would not!
"Hahaha, of course I'll choose Hard. So what are the rules?" the beach guy said confidently, even winking at his girlfriends.
"Alright then, a full 6v6 battle~" Sato smiled pleasantly, making himself seem easygoing.
"A full battle, huh? Isn't that kind of a hassle?" The beach guy curled his lip, clearly annoyed.
"You're the one who picked it. If you don't think you can handle Hard mode, I don't mind if you switch to Easy or Medium."
"Who says I can't handle it? I said Hard, so it's Hard!" With his girlfriends watching, there was no backing down.
"Great. Sia, announce the match rules," Sato smiled even wider, eager to get this battle started.
"Ahem! The Shadownight Gym Advanced 'Hard' Challenge will now begin. When one side's six Pokémon all lose the ability to battle, the match ends. The Gym Leader may not switch Pokémon during the battle!" Sia declared loudly, shooting a look of pity toward the beach guy.
"Zoroark, go all out. Let's enjoy this." Hard mode, of course Sato wasn't going to hold back.
"What even is that Pokémon? Whatever, it's probably a Dark-type. Pinsir, take care of it quickly!" the beach guy muttered to himself, then sent out his Bug-type, Pinsir.
"Battle start!"
"Pinsir, Swords Dance!"
"Zoroark, Swords Dance."
Both sides issued identical commands, and Zoroark and Pinsir began boosting their momentum. Tension instantly filled the battlefield.
"X-Scissor!"
"Aerial Ace."
A second later, both Trainers shouted their next moves. Pinsir charged forward, its massive horns swinging with a loud clack-clack-clack.
Meanwhile, Zoroark turned into a streak of black and red, vanishing past Pinsir in the blink of an eye.
Shing~
A sound like a blade returning to its sheath rang out. Zoroark stared coldly at the beach guy, while Pinsir stood frozen at the center of the field… and then slowly collapsed.
"Pinsir has lost the ability to battle. Zoroark wins. Challenger, please send out your next Pokémon!"
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150 pEoXwTeRrA sCtHoAnPes
El Patron/Romeloff (patre0n bro…)