Meanwhile, in the present timeline, a young and slightly inexperienced Alain stared intently at the glowing screen. He never anticipated that his path would intersect so deeply with this boy named Ash.
To hear that their future matches would end with Ash unable to secure a single win against him—and that he would ultimately claim the Lumiose Conference Championship—sent a thrill of anticipation through his veins. Life truly was full of unpredictable twists!
Let's see if I can truly maintain that perfect record against you in the future! A fierce, competitive spark began to burn bright within Alain's chest.
If the future version of himself could consistently win, then the present version could absolutely do the same, even if Ash was carrying a massive stack of protagonist buffs!
...
In the Footage—
Despite Ash's initial polite refusals, Korrina remained absolutely firm on gifting him the family Key Stone. If the custom gauntlet on her own wrist could have slid off easily, she probably would have unfastened her own stone and handed it over right then and there!
Left with no other choice, Ash accepted her immense kindness, silently vowing to be the absolute first to rush to her aid whenever she needed him.
After parting ways with the vibrant Gym Leader, the duo made their way to the Lumiose City Pokémon Center. Aside from roughing it out in the wilderness, trainers almost exclusively stayed at the local centers during major tournaments.
Due to the upcoming Super Ball bracket, the lobby was packed to the brim with travelers.
Only a single double room remained available. Ash didn't mind the arrangement at all; having spent years traveling across multiple regions with various companions, sharing a room was completely second nature to him. They had separate beds anyway.
As the night deepened, Chloe found herself tossing and turning, unable to catch a wink of sleep. She lay quietly, staring at her Eevee, who was curled up right beside her, snoring softly.
"Must be nice... I wish I could be as completely relaxed as you, Eevee," Chloe whispered into the dark. Her heart was pounding against her ribs—the sheer anxiety of tomorrow's debut had triggered a severe case of insomnia.
"Don't be so nervous, Chloe. It's just a small local stage, and you're going to become an absolute top-tier trainer in the future~"
"Eeek!—"
The sudden, unexpected voice cutting through the silence startled Chloe completely, forcing a strange, embarrassed squeak from her throat.
Once her racing heart calmed down, she realized it was just Ash speaking from across the room. Hadn't he fallen asleep either?
"Ash! You're... you're still awake?"
"Yeah, because I know exactly how you're feeling right now!" Ash replied, resting his head back against his hands as he stared up at the dim ceiling. Beside him, Pikachu let out a soft, rhythmic breath. Ash kept his voice down to a gentle whisper to avoid disturbing his partner.
"Back when I entered my very first regional League, I couldn't sleep a single wink. I actually sneaked out of the room in the middle of the night and ran all the way to the main stadium just to look at the battlefield, dreaming about what it would feel like to finally stand under those massive lights!"
Ash chuckled softly. "And during my second tournament in Johto, right before my big match against Gary, I stayed up the entire night frantically researching his past battle records... so trust me, I completely understand the pre-match jitters."
Chloe rolled over onto her side, looking across the dark room as she whispered, "I keep telling myself... don't be nervous, just go out there and show everyone the results of all our hard work.
But my body just won't listen. The closer the morning gets, the faster my heart races, and this sudden wave of panic just takes over."
She pressed a hand against her chest, feeling the rapid, erratic thumping. She was immensely more terrified than she had anticipated!
"Don't worry about a thing, because I'm right here!" Ash said confidently, his voice ringing with absolute certainty.
"I am going to be sitting right there in the front row of the audience, watching your entire performance! As long as you go out there and leave everything on the stage, then regardless of whether you advance or not, it'll be a beautiful performance with absolutely zero regrets!"
Hearing his words, Chloe's face puffed out into an adorable pout into her pillow. "Gosh... saying things like that just makes me even more nervous!"
Having my literal idol watching me intently from the front row... that's going to make my heart race a million times faster, you blockhead!
[Gomatsu: Is it just me, or does this whole conversation feel exactly like an old married couple teasing each other? ]
[Professor Cerise: Yes! Exactly! That is precisely the vibe! ]
[Maylene: Like heck it is! This is just a perfectly normal chat between two traveling buddies! It's peer encouragement, pure and simple! ]
[Norman: Well said! If this qualifies as an old married couple, then what about the chemistry between Ash and my daughter May during the whole Aura Sphere hero event? Isn't that way closer?! ]
[Lance: Ahem, let's not derail the conversation, everyone. Honestly, I'm way more interested in seeing this upcoming battle between Ash and Alain! A trainer who can consistently keep Ash on a losing streak has got to be an absolute monster!]
[Diantha: Oh dear, I feel like future Alain just got hit by a massive wave of jinxed energy from across dimensions! ]
[Lance: ??? ]
Was everyone really going to play it like that? Still, the relentless teasing was enough to make even Lance second-guess himself. He began to wonder if his accidental jinxes really held some sort of cosmic power. Wait... Alain isn't actually going to get completely demolished because of me, right?
...
In the Footage—
Comforted by Ash's presence, Chloe finally managed to drift off to sleep, her racing thoughts settling at last.
The night faded away, and early the next morning, the duo headed straight to the venue of the Pokémon Showcase in Lumiose City.
The turnout wasn't overwhelmingly massive, but based on the standard three-per-group bracket style, there were at least seven separate groups ready to compete.
"You've got this, Chloe! Just go out there and show them what you can do!"
After giving her a final, enthusiastic pep talk, Ash made his way up to the spectator stands. Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, Chloe began the process of styling her Eevee. As for her own outfit, she had already changed before arriving.
She wore a vibrant emerald-green dress accented with delicate, off-white patterns. From a design standpoint, it was unmistakably a human-themed homage to Leafeon.
Her entire creative theme for the day was set: a beautiful, coordinated performance with Eevee acting as the absolute focal point!
...
"...Phew. At least we left everything out there!"
For her very first time stepping onto a major Showcase stage, Chloe had performed remarkably well. Despite the immense pressure, she had safely navigated through the tricky first styling round.
However, during the high-stakes talent portion of the second round, she fell just short of securing the top spot, ultimately losing the match.
Walking out of the backstage exit with slow, heavy steps, Chloe stared up at the vast blue sky, blinking rapidly to force back the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
No regrets... yeah, right. Who am I kidding! The moment you taste defeat, an overwhelming wave of regret and pure frustration is bound to crash over you!
Slap!
A wide, warm palm suddenly came down gently on Chloe's shoulder. She didn't turn around right away. Instead, she quickly used her sleeve to brush away the stray tears threatening to spill over.
"Don't sweat it, Chloe! I watched the whole thing from the front row!" Ash's cheerful voice cut through her gloom.
"The entire performance was spectacular! Especially that synchronized routine between Eevee and Amaura. Even if the timing wasn't flawless just yet, for a complete beginner, you easily outperformed most of the veterans up there!"
Of course, it was Ash.
Hearing his earnest comfort should have eased her heavy heart, but for some strange reason, his kindness only caused the tears to breach the dam completely.
"I... Ash... I'm really not..."
Chloe choked on her words, entirely unable to finish a sentence as a fresh torrent of tears began streaming down her face, completely unstoppable now.
"Let it out. It's totally okay to cry," Ash said softly, his voice full of understanding. "Losing a match is supposed to feel frustrating! We'll just train hard and win the next one together!"
Waaah!!
Ash's words acted like a literal switch, completely opening the emotional floodgates. Chloe instantly leaned forward, burying her face into his jacket as she sobbed out loud.
"Pi... Pikapi~" Pikachu, perched on Ash's shoulder, wore a hilariously strained expression. He nudged his trainer, pointing a little paw as if to say: Look what you did, you broke her!
"Hey! I didn't mean to make her cry!" Ash whispered back frantically. He honestly hadn't anticipated Chloe being this devastated; it was a level of heartbreak he hadn't prepared for!
But looking back, it made total sense. This was Chloe's very first competitive stage in over a decade.
She had spent countless sleepless hours doing every bit of homework and preparation she humanly could, only to fall just slightly short at the finish line.
The more hope and passion you pour into a match before the curtain rises, the more crushing the disappointment is when you lose.
After what felt like an eternity of crying, Chloe's heavy sobs slowly began to taper off. By now, the front of Ash's jacket was thoroughly soaked.
Sniffling slightly, Chloe didn't immediately pull away from the warmth of his embrace. Instead, she muttered in a tiny, fierce whisper against his chest.
"About what just happened..."
"Huh? What about it?"
"You are going to completely wipe it from your memory right now!!"
"Oh! Oh, right, absolutely! Pikachu, we didn't see a single thing, we didn't hear a sound!"
"Pika! Pikapi!" Pikachu nodded along with a completely straight face.
...