At this moment, everyone watching believed Sandile was finished.
Even Eric thought the same, a confident smile already forming on his face.
In his mind, it was only a matter of seconds before he obtained a TM worth hundreds of thousands of Pokédollars.
"Sandile-full power, use Stomping Tantrum."
Silas's calm, emotionless voice rang out.
Just as the crowd was still confused,The figure within the flames moved.
Boom!
Sandile stomped down hard. An invisible shockwave surged through the ground, forming a powerful ripple that shot forward And slammed directly into Flareon, which had just finished attacking.
Flareon's entire body trembled. Pain surged through it instantly, its face twisting in agony.
Before it could react ,Sandile had already closed the distance. It lunged forward, jaws snapping open and bit down fiercely.
"Kroo!!"
Crunch.
Flareon cried out in pain.
"Flaaare!!"
But Silas didn't give it even a moment to recover.
"Again. Stomping Tantrum."
Sandile lifted its foot once more,This time with even greater force.
BOOM!
The stomp landed squarely on Flareon's head. The ground beneath it cracked slightly.
This time Flareon didn't even scream. Its eyes spiraled ,Its body twitched And then collapsed.
Unable to battle.
Sandile stopped. It turned its head toward Silas, a questioning look in its eyes.
Silas gave a subtle shake of his head.
He understood. Sandile was asking whether it should finish the opponent completely.
That instinct Came from battles fought in the gray world But it didn't act without permission.
Because Silas was its trainer. Silas recalled Sandile and gave it a brief nod of approval.
Before the crowd could even recover,He had already walked straight toward the referee's platform.
"Flareon is unable to battle!"
"Sandile wins!"
"Victory goes to Trainer Silas!"
Only then did the audience snap out of their shock.
Three moves and Less than ten seconds.
A complete instant defeat.
A few people had expected Silas might win. After all, the idea of a common trainer defeating a noble was always entertaining.
But this? This level of dominance Was beyond anything they imagined. Of course, not everyone was clueless.
A few sharp-eyed spectators had already noticed: Sandile's training Was exceptional.
Its physical strength ,Its control over energy and Its execution speed,All far superior to Flareon And on top of that Ground-type moves were super effective against Fire-types.
There was also the hidden boost from Soft Sand ,Though no one present knew that.
Just as Silas reached for the stack of bank cards ,Eric finally snapped out of his daze.
"No… no, something's wrong!"
"This has to be a mistake!"
He rushed forward, trying to stop him.
A portion of that money was his savings. The rest was His future resources.
Even if he didn't care about training ,Losing that much at once hurt.
Silas stepped forward, blocking him.
"So many people witnessed this."
"There's a notarized agreement."
"A League-certified referee is standing right here And you still want to go back on your word?"
Eric froze ,His face turned red. Around him, people whispered. Pointed and Judged. It felt like needles piercing his skin.
Just as he was cornered,A sudden sound broke the tension.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Eric turned sharply.
"Who was that?!"
In his mind, rage burned.
He had already decided ,Once they disembarked, he would make Silas pay.
His family might only be a rising second-rate one But dealing with a teenager?
That would be easy ,Take his TMs and Take everything.
What could Silas do?
Of course Silas wasn't afraid.
Compared to true top-tier families he had encountered ,People like this were nothing more than nouveau riche.
He didn't even recognize the Kane family name from any serious database.
Meaning there was No real threat. If they dared to try anything later,He wouldn't mind taking even more from them.
"Elder Joy has arrived!"
"Please make way!"
The crowd parted.
An elderly woman stepped forward ,Dressed in a pristine white gown looking Elegant and Composed. Even time hadn't diminished her presence.
Behind her stood:
• A younger Nurse Joy
• Two well-dressed attendants
The moment Eric saw her ,His body stiffened.His arrogance vanished instantly. He lowered his head, shrinking back like a frightened child.
Even his family head would have to show respect to this woman.
SlowlyHe began retreating, trying to disappear into the crowd.
Around them, voices rose:
"Lady Joy!"
"Elder Joy!"
"Madam Joy!"
No one dared call her "Miss Joy or by her name " Her status Was enough to crush ordinary families effortlessly.
Silas looked at her.
Then at Joy behind her ,Who was subtly signaling to him.
So this was her grandmother.
Silas gave a polite smile and a slight nod.
"Good evening, ma'am."
"My name is Silas."
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(End of chapter)