After the exhibition match, Lorelei and Ash stood on the stage and gave many post-match summaries. Both sides explained the parts where they handled things well and poorly, allowing everyone to gain experience regarding battles.
After all, in such high-end battles, even if one could hear their commands, see the Pokémon's movements, and know the final result, sometimes one would not understand why such commands were made or what the purpose of those commands was.
This is the difference between a mature Trainer and an inexperienced Trainer. After watching this exhibition match and listening to this explanation, the Trainers were able to raise their Trainer level by at least one notch.
After all, this was a duel at the highest level among Trainers.
There were no prizes for the outcome of the exhibition match. After all, this competition was publicly stated to be of an exhibition nature. But everyone who watched this match knew that this was not an exhibition match at all, but a battle between two Trainers comparable to Champion-level!
Both sides gave their last ounce of strength; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an official Champion match.
The fact that Ash was able to defeat Lorelei is enough to prove one thing: Ash's current strength is already comparable to a Champion!
Whether it's using his own special abilities or things related to Legendary Pokémon, that is all part of Ash's own strength. Just like when he defeated Koga, the moment Ash defeated Koga fairly and squarely, it represented that Ash had Elite Four Level strength, and the same is true now.
He defeated Lorelei fair and square, so it proved that the current Ash possesses real, solid Champion-level strength!
A fifteen-year-old Champion—even if only two Pokémon have reached the Champion-level, that is absolutely unprecedented!
Even at fifteen, Cynthia only had one Garchomp that could reach the Champion-level, yet Ash now has two!
And these two Pokémon are not just ordinary Champion-level, but Super Champion-level Pokémon capable of defeating Champion Intermediate Level.
It is hard to imagine such terrifying talent appearing in a human. How exactly does he train Pokémon, and what kind of medicine did he eat to be able to raise a Trainer's command level to this point?
These unsolved mysteries naturally cannot be disclosed by Ash, as they involve Ash's core secrets. Everyone could only continue to speculate, and in that constant speculation, watch as Ash slowly surpassed the limits they perceived.
After the post-match summary ended, Ash and the others, along with Lorelei, did not leave the island but stayed on the island. This news was also known to the vast majority of islanders.
The reason the group gave externally was that they wanted to continue to enjoy the local customs on Little Orange Island and play for a few days.
This made the Trainers on the island extremely excited. Regardless of the reason, since both of them were staying on the island, if they had questions about Pokémon, couldn't they ask for advice?
To encounter such a once-in-a-lifetime good thing, their luck was simply off the charts!
Because of this, the entire Orange Islands became very lively. Battles started popping up one after another on the island, and everyone hoped that they would be accidentally met by Ash or Lorelei during a battle, and then receive some guidance from them.
In that case, they could definitely save several years of detours and climb higher on the road to becoming top Trainers!
Unfortunately, the wishful thinking was beautiful, but those who had such opportunities were, in the end, only a small minority among a minority.
After all, it was impossible for Lorelei and Ash to teach everyone they saw. If the number of people coming to ask for guidance was small, it would be fine, but if the number was large, he would have to have Mewtwo cover for them.
Although they weren't really staying on this island to play, that didn't mean they had to face countless people coming to ask for guidance, right?
Fortunately, the people on Little Orange Island were relatively well-mannered. Unlike before when they saw Ash or Lorelei and swarmed them, they basically waited to see who Ash and Lorelei felt a connection with to actively teach them.
In this "blind box" situation, quite a few people on the island received guidance from the two, but compared to the people on the entire island, it was still a drop in the bucket.
It wasn't until the evening that Ash and the others returned to their accommodation.
That night—
A crisp knock sounded on the door of the room where Ash was temporarily staying. It was now eleven o'clock at night, and even the Trainers with the most fanatical enthusiasm for battling had already entered dreamland.
The bustling Little Orange Island from the morning had now become silent. Everyone was resting well in their dreams, preparing to continue battling tomorrow.
At such a late hour, there was a knock at Ash's door. Ash, who had already lain down, sat up after hearing the knock. Misty, who was in the upper bunk, and Serena, who was in the bed next to them, also got up after hearing the commotion.
The guesthouse they were staying in had plenty of rooms, but this room happened to have two bunk beds, so they just stayed together. This could also reduce the probability of Serena encountering danger, as Ash and Lorelei had laid out bait this morning, and they were not absolutely safe right now.
Although Team Galactic theoretically shouldn't be able to come so quickly even if they got the news, the knock in the middle of the night made Ash feel that perhaps those guys had already arrived—
"Misty, Serena, stay here and don't leave. I'll leave Mewtwo behind. If there's any accident, it can protect you."
"How can you say that? If Mewtwo stays behind, what will happen to you, Ash?!"
"Exactly, we'll be fine. Ash, you should keep Mewtwo by your side!"
When the two women heard that Ash wanted to leave Mewtwo behind, their first reaction was to stop him. After traveling with Ash for a period of time, Ash had told Serena about the things he had seen and heard on his journey, so Serena also knew that Ash possessed a very overpowered Pokémon, and that Pokémon's name was Mewtwo.
Its strength was such that even the current Champion probably wouldn't be a match for it in one move. Although Serena was a little shocked that Ash possessed such a powerful Pokémon, she subconsciously felt that Ash deserved such a Pokémon.
Moreover, Serena also knew the enemy that Ash was going to face on this trip, and she knew why Ash took out Little Lugia to battle.
In the face of such a dangerous enemy, how could she accept the decision to let Ash leave Mewtwo here to protect them? That was an enemy that even Champion Cynthia might have stumbled against!
"Hey, don't worry blindly. I am the Aura Guardian. Even with two hands tied behind their backs, those kinds of guys are no match for me. Don't worry, I'll be back soon. I'll leave them to you, Mewtwo."
Ash said as he took off the Poké Ball on his chest and threw it onto the open floor in the room. Mewtwo, with its arms crossed, floated in mid-air and nodded at Ash.
In fact, at this distance, as long as Ash didn't encounter an unexpected mishap instantly, she could act immediately. With Ash's strength, who could take him down within a second? Even she, Mewtwo, couldn't do it.
So the worries of Misty and Serena were completely unnecessary.
The knocking on the door remained unhurried, maintaining a rhythm. Ash walked towards the door with a solemn expression. His Aura scan had already fallen on the other person. It was a plain, ordinary-looking person—that was how it looked from the outside.
But the few Poké Balls on the other's waist contained enormous energy. Judging from the energy fluctuations, it was at least Elite Four Level!
If this were an ordinary person, he would eat the door!
At such a late hour, bringing a team of Elite Four Level Pokémon to knock on his accommodation door—no one would believe that there was no ulterior motive.
"Creak," Ash opened the door. What came into view was a seemingly delicate and beautiful woman. She had fiery red hair, and her attire was that of a very ordinary girl: a denim skirt and a light white thin jacket.
The moment she saw Ash, a shy look appeared on her fair face, two blushes climbed onto her cheeks, and she twisted her hands in front of her, then spoke hesitantly: "A—Ash-sama, my name is Akai. I am your fan. I'm very sorry to disturb you at such a late hour, but I feel that only at this time will no one compete with me for you!"
"I have many questions about Pokémon that I haven't been able to figure out on my own for a long time. It was only as a last resort that I thought of this desperate measure. Although this might disturb your rest, if—if you could spare just a little bit of time, could you please give me some guidance?"
Akai raised her fair face, and her crimson eyes revealed a delicate and weak look, looking like a little girl with no power to truss a chicken.
If it weren't for Aura, Ash would definitely have been deceived. Even if he knew that coming at such a late hour was suspicious, the reason this girl gave was actually not a problem. In the morning and afternoon, even if one could see Ash, if one wasn't lucky, how could one get Ash's guidance?
So coming to find Ash in the middle of the night, filtering out the luck factor, plus this excellent courage and witty choice, could definitely make Ash look at her differently.
All of this was on the premise that Ash hadn't seen through what the other party was hiding.
If nothing else, just the fact that she was carrying a team of Elite Four Level Pokémon was suspicious enough. Bringing a team of Elite Four Level Pokémon in the middle of the night and saying she had Pokémon training questions to ask—only a ghost would believe that!
"I understand. It's quite late now, let's talk outside. Don't disturb my partners." Ash suppressed the urge to expose the other party and nodded at her.
In order not to let the aftermath of the battle affect Misty and the others, he needed to change the battlefield.
Upon hearing this, a look of joy appeared on Akai's face. At the same time, she covered her red lips lightly and said in a low voice that was filled with disbelief and excitement: "Really? Thank you so much, Ash-sama. Don't worry, I'll be done very quickly!"
Led by Akai, the two came to an open space one kilometer away. On the way, Akai acted like a real novice Trainer, asking Ash many basic questions, even asking questions like type effectiveness.
One can only say that a veteran actor is a veteran actor. Carrying Elite Four Level Pokémon, asking questions that even a novice Trainer who has been traveling for a while would know, yet there wasn't the slightest sense of incongruity on her face.
If it were Ash, he definitely couldn't do it. He wasn't that shameless—
Until they reached the open space, Akai turned to face Ash, took two steps back silently, and then smiled and said: "Ash-sama, next I will show you my Pokémon. If there are any flaws in my Pokémon, please be sure to point them out."
Ash nodded, signaling the other party to release her Pokémon.
In the next second, a strange smile appeared on the corner of Akai's mouth, and at the same time, all six Poké Balls on her waist popped open!
In the blink of an eye, six powerful Pokémon appeared in front of Ash: Crobat, Skuntank, Purugly, Bronzong, Electivire, and Yanmega.
The six Pokémon erupted with extremely powerful momentum. Each Pokémon had reached the Elite Four Level, and the strongest one, Crobat, even had High-Elite Four Level strength.
The moment the six Pokémon appeared, they directly threw a bunch of skills at Ash: Air Slash, Poison Jab, Swift—
Six completely different skills attacked Ash with the same goal. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be dumbfounded upon encountering such a scene.
Clearly, the other party had just appeared harmless, so why did she suddenly release all the Pokémon in her hand to attack him? And these six Pokémon were completely different from the so-called beginner Pokémon that the person had expressed!
Six Elite Four Level Pokémon, with the Trainer himself as the target, plus no prior precautions—even if Cynthia and Leon came, they might not have a chance to react.
But Ash was not unprepared, and he was not an ordinary weak Trainer. Facing the six terrifying skills, he stood still, his eyes slightly cold.
"Finally couldn't help it? You really think highly of me, attacking me with six Elite Four Level Pokémon at once." Ash sighed, but his movements were not slow at all. He raised his arm, and a deep blue barrier enveloped him.
"Boom!!"
A deafening sound exploded on this flat ground, and the surrounding flowers and trees were leveled by the shockwave!
Mars's face showed a smile of a conspiracy succeeded, but when the smoke slowly dissipated and an unscathed Ash appeared in front of her, her smile instantly froze on her face.
"So, can you tell me now? Who are you in Team Galactic? What exactly happened to Ms. Cynthia?" Ash shook his hand and looked at the other party with cold eyes.
"When did you find out?"
"I found out from the very beginning. I say, old aunt, pretending to be young really doesn't suit you~"
"Who are you calling an old aunt!!! I am Mars, one of the four commanders of Team Galactic!!!" The phrase "old aunt" directly broke Mars's defense.