After a day of long travel, Ash and his companions successfully crossed the river to Hearthome City with the help of a nearby ferry.
However, there was still a short distance to Hearthome City, so the three of them first went to a nearby town's Pokémon Center for a short rest.
On this day, the three of them were eating and watching the broadcast of Sinnoh Champion Cynthia's exhibition match with Psychic Elite Saturn from three days ago.
Of course, while it was called an exhibition match, it was actually a complete one-sided crushing victory.
Champion Cynthia's chosen Pokémon was naturally her ace—Garchomp!
Wielding two sharp scythes, its body covered in sharp scales, it aimed at its opponent and let out an earth-shattering roar.
Its opponent was Bronzong, which had once battled Pikachu, hovering as usual on the field, emitting a dull chime, and staring at the shark-like Garchomp.
Perhaps due to its battle with Ash, Saturn immediately had Bronzong use Trick Room, intending to switch their speeds.
"Dragon Rush!" Cynthia's cold voice came, seemingly not in a particularly good mood!
Garchomp instantly leaped high, straightening its massive body, fully extending its scythes, and its tail spewed white smoke, transforming completely into a jet bomber.
Its body was covered in a light blue energy, forming a massive dragon that swooped downwards.
It not only crushed Trick Room like glass but also charged towards Bronzong with irresistible force.
Fortunately, Bronzong managed to use Iron Defense in time to boost its defense, otherwise it might have been knocked out in a single turn.
But even so, with Trick Room shattered, it meant Saturn was already facing defeat.
This could be seen from Saturn's helpless yet calm and unsurprised complex expression.
"So amazing, so beautiful!"
Dawn, who had become interested in Pokémon battles because of Ash, was instantly captivated by the cool and beautiful Cynthia, becoming her loyal fan girl.
"Yeah!" Brock agreed wholeheartedly, already staring at the TV like a pervert, constantly mumbling, "This Pokémon battle is so good to watch!"
Was it the Pokémon battle that was good to watch? It was clearly Cynthia herself who was beautiful!
Hearing Brock's "nonsense," Ash couldn't help but inwardly complain.
He just thought Cynthia was beautiful; he couldn't take his eyes off her.
But honestly, Garchomp truly lived up to its reputation as Cynthia's ace!
Dragon Rush directly shattered Trick Room. How strong must Garchomp be to achieve that? It was simply unimaginable to him now.
Although in the future Kalos, Ash managed to defeat Fairy Gym Leader Valerie's Trick Room with Hawlucha.
But Valerie and Saturn's strengths were vastly different; one was a beautiful Gym Leader, the other was Psychic Elite Saturn. The difficulty of shattering Trick Room was also different.
Even with a breakthrough Pikachu, he couldn't be certain it could shatter Bronzong's Trick Room.
Unless Pikachu had a power surge, it would be absolutely impossible with Pikachu's current strength.
"I wonder if I'll have a chance to meet Champion Miss!" Dawn said with some anticipation, crossing her hands.
"Heheheh!" Brock chuckled pervertedly, "I really want to meet the beautiful and powerful Champion Miss too!"
Seeing the two of them like this, Ash also couldn't help but look forward to meeting this beautiful, powerful, and somewhat scatterbrained Champion Miss.
As luck would have it, just as the three of them were lost in thought, someone suddenly shouted, "Champion Cynthia is at National Park!"
Click~
Thud~
Suddenly, there was the sound of people opening doors, the creaking of Trainers pushing chairs, and the continuous sound of footsteps from fast running.
All the Trainers in the entire Pokémon Center vanished in a flash, as if their feet were greased.
"This is too exaggerated…"
Before he could even finish his exclamation, Dawn, who had already become a fan girl, and Brock, the pervert, dragged him by both hands and ran wildly.
"Ash, what are you spacing out for? Don't you want to see Champion Miss?!" Dawn's face was filled with excitement, eager to see her newly recognized idol.
"Exactly, that's Champion Miss!" Brock, whose first priority was Big Sister, even used Brute Force to drag Ash.
"Alright, Brock, don't pull so hard!" Ash couldn't help but shout, feeling the pain in his arm.
And so, Ash was dragged by the two of them to the nearby National Park, which seemed to have been an ancient ruin in its past, but unfortunately couldn't withstand the erosion of time.
It had been converted into a National Park by the local citizens for people to visit.
Soon, led by Ash, they arrived in front of an ice cream cart.
Standing in front was a tall, mature woman with waist-length golden hair and a black trench coat.
Her index finger was currently placed on her lips, and a hint of hesitation was written on her exquisite face, as if she was deliberating which flavor of ice cream to choose.
Having difficulty choosing when faced with ice cream, a mature woman in demeanor but with a childlike mentality when making choices—it was none other than the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia!
And in front of Cynthia were surprisingly the Team Rocket Trio, serving ice cream.
"Oh no, why is it Little devil!" James, who had been sent flying multiple times, was a bit flustered and pulled Jessie and Meowth behind him to discuss.
"What should we do, Meowth? Should we just run?" Meowth also appeared very panicked, instinctively saying to the two.
"Idiots~" Jessie heavily gave each of them a Million-Ton Punch to cool down their CPUs. "We're doing legitimate business, what are you afraid of?"
"Soga~" X2
The three of them stood confidently in front of the cart again, looking at the still-hesitating Cynthia with a headache.
"Amazing~ It's really Champion Miss!" Finally seeing her in person, Dawn happily stomped her feet in place, excitedly hugging Ash's arm and shaking it continuously.
"Dawn, stop shaking me, I've already seen her!" He really wanted to steady himself and witness Champion Cynthia's true appearance, but the excited Dawn gave him no chance.
Pikachu!!
Pikachu took the opportunity to jump off the swaying Ash, looking at the excited Dawn with a bit of exasperation.
"Oops, sorry~" The girl finally realized, sticking out her tongue apologetically and winking playfully, "I got a little too excited!"
"You're such a little dummy!"
Ash couldn't do anything about Dawn's apology; after all, he couldn't educate her in public.
He could only forgive this excited girl!
But as the two made such a fuss, Cynthia had already chosen her ice cream.
"Mmm~"
She licked the strawberry-flavored ice cream with her tongue, and the sweetness in her mouth made Cynthia's beautiful eyes curve into crescent moons, a satisfied smile on her face as she left.
The three of them immediately ignored the Team Rocket Trio and quietly followed behind Cynthia.