Following the conclusion of the match between Ash and Alain, the two walked out of the arena together. However, the spectators in the stands were still locked in a heated discussion regarding their battle.
Many people had never expected that Alain, a prominent favorite to win, would suffer such an overwhelming defeat against Ash without even holding the ability to strike back effectively.
Although Ash's overall strength was clearly not weak, Alain was, after all, the reigning Champion of the Lumiose Conference. Even if Ash managed to secure a victory, he shouldn't have won this effortlessly, right?
Driven by intense curiosity, numerous spectators began to look up Ash's personal trainer profile, only for the search results to leave them completely dumbfounded.
"Top sixteen in the Indigo Plateau Conference, top eight in the Silver Conference... Alola League Champion?!!
He has personally saved multiple regions including Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova, repeatedly dismantling the operations of criminal organizations! And he even protected the Kalos region recently???"
"Is this real or fake?"
"Let me see that..."
The surrounding crowd instantly swarmed around the spectator who had pulled up the profile. The closer they looked, the more shocked they became.
This was a mere fifteen-year-old trainer? The fictional biography of a 150-year-old veteran wouldn't even match the sheer density of his five years of active experience!
How could such a legendary, monumental figure have remained this obscure to the general public until now?
...
Global Forum Chat Board
[Steven]: He saved multiple regions like Hoenn and Sinnoh... Does this imply that practically every single region Ash visits inevitably faces an existential crisis?
[Cynthia]: These existential threats are invariably linked to Legendary Pokémon. For instance, Reshiram in the Unova region, Dialga in our Sinnoh region, and Kyogre and Groudon in your Hoenn region, Steven.
[Cynthia]: Criminal syndicates like Team Aqua and Team Magma always dream of utilizing underhanded methods to control these Legendary entities.
[Cynthia]: However, these individuals possess absolutely no reverence for these mythical beings and hold a fundamentally flawed understanding of their true power. Consequently, they always end up infuriating the Legendary Pokémon, and in the end, it is usually Ash who has to step up and clear the aftermath!
Based on the minor fragments of information disclosed by the stadium audience, Cynthia comprehensively analyzed the overarching reality of the situation, hitting the nail right on the head.
If it weren't for Ash—a certified friend to Legendary Pokémon—handling the crises wherever he traveled, the world would have likely faced total destruction dozens of times over by now!
[Volkner]: Champion Cynthia's analysis... seems entirely spot on!
[Bertha]: Looking at it this way, if it weren't for Ash, our own region might have been wiped off the map long ago... But it actually makes me wonder: what on earth were we, the Elite Four and Champions, doing during those times? Why did a young child have to step up to the front lines?
[Diantha]: I can't speak for the other regions, but whenever Kalos faces an emergency, I will absolutely be the first to stand on the front lines! Protecting the Kalos region is my absolute duty!
[Steven]: Likewise. Although I am fully prepared to step down from my position as Champion, I will never sit idly by if the Hoenn region falls into jeopardy!
[Caitlin]: Hmph, look at how enlightened and responsible the Champions of the other regions are! Now look at our own... Back when Ash was locked in a battle against Reshiram, a certain someone was nowhere to be found~
[Alder]: Come on... You can't just frame it like that! Who knows, maybe I was off-screen assisting Cheren and the others, and the footage simply didn't capture it?
Despite his defensive words, Alder felt incredibly self-conscious. During the historical recording of Ash's confrontation with Reshiram, he hadn't provided any assistance; in fact, he hadn't even shown his face.
It was highly likely that he had been completely oblivious to Team Plasma's operations and their revival of Reshiram at the time.
However, in the real world, he would absolutely never remain as passive as his counterpart in the video log!
If Team Plasma ever dared to resurface, he, as the regional Champion, would personally ensure they faced severe consequences.
In the image—
Ash and Alain walked out of the stadium corridors, casually conversing about their respective journeys over the past few years.
In order to atone for his past misdeeds, Alain had been traveling across the Pokémon world, consistently performing good deeds to make up for the historical errors he had committed under Team Flare's manipulation.
Perhaps as a reward for his genuine reform and accumulation of virtue, he managed to reacquire a Key Stone and a Mega Stone during his travels. This allowed his previously sealed Mega Charizard X to finally see the light of day once more.
(Historical Context: Following the resolution of the Kalos Crisis, Alain had voluntarily surrendered his original Key Stone and Mega Stone to the authorities.)
Eventually, after learning about the coronation of the World Coronation Series, he decided to register for the current season.
He had enjoyed a completely smooth ascent, entering the Super Ball tier without suffering a single defeat. He had never anticipated that his very first loss would come at the hands of Ash—a twist of fate that felt entirely poetic.
"Hey Korrina, I successfully avenged you!" Ash called out cheerfully.
As they stepped outside the facility, they spotted Korrina and Chloe sitting on a bench, deeply engrossed in conversation.
Korrina had been gearing up to greet them, but the moment Ash blurted out that line right in front of Alain, she completely froze on the spot.
She couldn't believe Ash would say something so blunt right to Alain's face; while it was fine to discuss it in private, saying it out loud like this was incredibly awkward!
"Haha, it's perfectly fine, don't worry about it," Alain said, waving his hand dismissively with a relaxed smile.
Everyone knew Ash could be quite dense socially, but more importantly, what Ash said was the absolute truth. At worst, it was simply a lighthearted jest between friends, so there was nothing improper about it.
"Hah... Haha! By the way, Ash, I never imagined your Charizard would possess such terrifying power!" Korrina managed to laugh, quickly shifting the topic.
"Yeah! It's all thanks to the Key Stone you gave me, Korrina! Otherwise, without Mega Evolution, going up against Alain's Charizard would have turned into an incredibly brutal uphill battle!" Ash explained gratefully.
Hearing this, Alain was momentarily stunned. He hadn't realized that Ash's current Key Stone had actually been gifted to him by Korrina.
It truly felt like a perfect circle of karmic retribution! He had previously defeated Korrina in their tournament match, only for Ash to turn around and defeat him using the exact Key Stone Korrina had provided. This could technically be viewed as Korrina securing her revenge indirectly.
However, Alain silently reflected that even if Ash hadn't utilized Mega Evolution, his own Charizard would have likely still fallen short against Ash's powerhouse.
The fundamental gap in baseline stats was simply too immense to bridge, even factoring in the Mega form. Furthermore, Ash still held a fully rested, peak-condition Pikachu in reserve.
Even if his Charizard had managed to force a double-knockout through a desperate struggle, Pikachu would have easily swept the remaining lineup without breaking a sweat.
Alain clearly realized that an immense chasm had formed between his current capabilities and Ash's strength.
During the Lumiose Conference, he had held the upper hand, yet in less than a year, Ash had pulled away to an unimaginable degree.
Was his own growth slowing down? No, it wasn't that; it was simply that Ash's rate of progression was completely unprecedented.
"Alain? Alain!"
"Huh? Ah! Yes! What's wrong?" Alain stammered, snapped out of his deep reflection by Ash's shouting.
"Are you feeling alright? You seemed a bit distracted during our battle earlier..." Ash noted with a hint of concern.
When Ash's Charizard had launched its opening assault, Alain, as the trainer, had failed to issue a defensive command in time.
This critical lapse resulted in his Charizard absorbing a fully powered, super-effective Dragon Claw right at the start. Combined with the consecutive stacking damage that followed, his partner had collapsed far quicker than expected.
Of course, even if Alain had been perfectly focused, his Charizard wouldn't have lasted much longer given the sheer difference in raw power, but the distraction had certainly accelerated the end.
"It's nothing. I was just wondering... Ash, since your Charizard was already this powerful, why didn't you bring it out to battle me during our original match back then?" Alain asked curiously.
"Oh, that! Well, I've always treated every new region as a completely fresh start! Because of that, I always want to challenge the local league using only the partners I've met and raised within that specific region!"
Ash replied with a bright smile, harboring absolutely no regrets about his past loss under those self-imposed constraints.
"The only exception was when I competed in the Lily of the Valley Conference in the Sinnoh region, where I brought back my older partners because I wanted to test my absolute limits...
Though unfortunately, I still wasn't able to break all the way through back then!" Ash continued, his expression turning determined.
"But the World Coronation Series is a global tournament! So I decided... I want everyone on my roster to have a chance to stand on this stage! I want to climb to the absolute top of the world alongside all of them!"
The young trainer, who had grown significantly through his travels, boldly declared his ultimate ambition right outside the very arena where he had once faced defeat. His path forward was already unshakeable!
"The next time we face each other on the battlefield, I won't lose!" Alain stated, his own competitive spirit fully ignited by Ash's words.
"Count me in too! I won't be falling behind either of you!" Korrina chimed in enthusiastically. "Even though I'm super grateful to Ash for helping me get some payback, I fully intend to personally defeat both of you down the line!"
"Haha! When that day comes, let's have an absolute blast battling each other!" Ash cheered as the three of them bumped fists.
With their meeting concluded, Ash continued his advancement through the Super Ball tier.
There was still ample time left on the tournament schedule, and under normal circumstances, he needed to secure a few more consecutive victories.
If he managed to win his next two matches smoothly, his official rank would break well into the top three hundred.
True to expectations, Ash successfully propelled his ranking up to the 380th position in the Super Ball tier!
Within this bracket, the vast majority of competitors were high-level trainers who hadn't quite reached the threshold of the Elite Four tier, making elite anomalies like Alain exceptionally rare.
Consequently, Ash primarily utilized his newer captures, such as Dragonite and Gengar, to handle these matches.
While they were newer additions to his team, their routine training had been incredibly intense, and what they required most was real-world battlefield experience to absorb those lessons.
Dragonite and Gengar performed spectacularly, routinely securing clean sweeps against their opponents.
With these consecutive victories, Ash's reputation within the tournament circuit began to skyrocket.
He was quickly labeled as an undefeated prodigy who was on the verge of breaking directly into the Hyper Ball tier!
The overall prestige of the World Coronation Series was vastly greater than that of the Alola League, and as Ash's name began circulating heavily through the media, his extensive personal resume was gradually uncovered by analysts.
While his tournament records were technically comparable to Leon's historic undefeated streak, Ash had actually secured a regional
League Championship at a significantly younger age than Leon had! Even if critics argued that the Alola League was a newly established tournament, the achievement was undeniable.
With the Super Ball bracket matches wrapping up for the day, Ash and Chloe bid farewell to Alain and Korrina.
As they prepared to head back toward the transport hubs, Ash suddenly paused, his gaze drifting toward the massive, high-tech tower anchoring the skyline of Lumiose City. A sudden wave of nostalgia washed over him as he thought of his old traveling companions.
"Hey Chloe, do you mind staying in Kalos with me for just one more day?"
"Huh? Stay... Stay with you for a whole day? What... What exactly do you mean by that?!" Chloe stammered, her face instantly flushing bright red. Ash always had a habit of phrasing things in the most startling ways; asking her to stay with him for a full day sounded incredibly forward!
"I just mean... let's push our return to Kanto to tomorrow! I really want to drop by and visit my old traveling partners here in Kalos, since it's been such a long time since we last saw each other!" Ash clarified innocently.
"Your old traveling partners from Kalos? Is it... that girl named Serena?" Chloe asked, her tone shifting slightly.
Ash shook his head. "She's actually traveling abroad right now and hasn't returned to the region yet. We'll definitely look her up whenever the opportunity arises! The friends I'm talking about are the Gym Leaders who run the Lumiose Gym—Clemont and Bonnie!"
Hearing those names, Chloe secretly breathed a massive sigh of relief. For some reason she couldn't quite define, compared to Misty, May, Dawn, or even Korrina, the mention of Serena always made her feel strangely competitive.
Perhaps it was because Serena was Ash's childhood friend who had reunited with him to travel across a romantic region, creating a powerful combination of personal history.
She couldn't help but feel that if she ever met Serena in person, the girl would easily become her biggest rival.
"Are they currently inside the Lumiose Gym right now?"
"Yeah, I can distinctly feel their unique Aura signatures from here, so I figured we should go surprise them!" Ash nodded, leading the way toward the Lumiose Gym.
Compared to standard traditional Gym facilities across the world, the Lumiose Gym was an absolute marvel of modern engineering and high technology.
The credit for this layout belonged entirely to Clemont, the Gym Leader, who was recognized globally as a prodigy inventor.
He placed absolute faith in the power of scientific innovation, possessing a mechanical aptitude that very few people in the world could ever hope to replicate.
Furthermore, his capabilities in Pokémon battling were equally formidable. If one were to rank the Gym Leaders of the Kalos region by combat proficiency, Clemont would comfortably sit within the top three.
"Wow, is this Clemont person really that incredible?" Chloe asked, noticing the genuine admiration and slight reverence in Ash's voice.
She found it fascinating that someone could earn this level of praise from Ash, who had battled regional Champions.
Given that Ash ranked him in the top three rather than number one, she wondered if Clemont was an elite prodigy with limitless growth potential.
What Chloe failed to realize, however, was that Ash's absolute adoration for Clemont wasn't centered on his battle strategies—it was entirely driven by his endless stream of wacky, highly entertaining scientific inventions! Even with his current growth and maturity, Ash remained completely fascinated by Clemont's mechanical gadgets.
"Actually... Bonnie is incredibly amazing too!" Ash added with a mysterious grin. "Even though she isn't officially licensed as a Pokémon trainer yet, her very first partner has already been decided~"
"The name might sound a little unfamiliar to you, but her partner is actually Zygarde!"
...
Global Forum Chat Board
[Diantha]: What on earth did Ash just say? ZYGARDE???
[Wallace]: What kind of Pokémon is this Zygarde? To think it could cause the traditionally elegant and composed Champion Diantha to completely lose her filter and drop a swear word out of sheer shock!
[Professor Oak]: The name Zygarde... I have encountered it in historical texts. Within the ancient lore of the Kalos region, there exists a legendary trio of mythic deities: Xerneas, Yveltal, and the final anchor... Zygarde!
[Professor Oak]: Zygarde functions as the absolute guardian of the planet's ecosystem, holding the responsibility of maintaining natural order. Legends dictate that it possesses multiple modular forms, and when it achieves its Complete Form, its raw power is said to vastly eclipse both Xerneas and Yveltal combined!