"The tournament's finally begun! I'm so pumped—this is it!"
"Yeah! Let's go, Ash! Let's go, Pikachu!" Misty cheered enthusiastically, waving her arms wildly from the spectator stands.
Pikachu remained perched on Ash's shoulder, tail twitching with energy and excitement.
Just off to the side in the arena's corridor stood Tyson, and beside him—someone new had arrived.
Steven Stone.
"Tyson," Steven greeted casually, "what do you think? Ash—he's grown, hasn't he?"
Of course Tyson recognized Steven. After all, he was already in line to become Hoenn's next Elite Four. It was only a matter of time before the League formally granted him the title.
"He's changed a lot," Tyson said, his eyes fixed on the battlefield. "Ash isn't the same person anymore. I think he's going to win this League. If he does… I wouldn't be surprised if Sinnoh itself tries to recruit him."
Steven said nothing in reply. He knew the Sinnoh League wouldn't act until the whole Mega Evolution business was wrapped up.
But he was curious—how would Ash handle what came next?
....
The first official match kicked off.
On one side: a Nidoqueen.
On the other: a Staraptor.
"Nidoqueen, use Hidden Power!"
"Staraptor, Hurricane!"
The powerful clash between these two fully-evolved Pokémon rocked the battlefield. After every match, the stage had to be replaced due to the sheer intensity—typical League-level combat.
Next up: Nando.
Calm and composed, strumming his harp, he breezed through his first-round opponent with elegance and ease.
Then came Barry.
He wasted no time and led with Empoleon right from the start. Compared to Kenny's version, Barry's Empoleon was on a whole different level—dominant.
Then… Paul.
His strategy was clever.
He used one extremely powerful Pokémon alongside two mid-level ones. With careful planning and crisp execution, he pulled off a clean 3-0 sweep.
And then—
Ash's name lit up the display board.
It was his turn.
From the Champion's seating area—Cynthia, Lance, Wallace, Alder, Diantha—and even Tobias, all turned their attention toward the arena.
Ash had become the eye of the storm.
__
His opponent: a bubbly girl from Veilstone City named Himee.
"You're sooo handsome! Please don't go too hard on me, okay?" she said sweetly, with a coquettish tilt of her head. "It took me so long to beat eight Gym Leaders. I don't wanna lose nowww!"
Ash blinked.
Seriously?
You don't want to lose… and I'm just supposed to go along with that?
Just because you struggled to get your badges doesn't mean I did too. Well, okay… maybe I did get mine easily—but still!
"…Go, Rapidash!"
"Neiiighhh!"
Ash's very first Pokémon in this new life—the Ponyta he caught during his trip to retrieve Pidgeot—had long since evolved into a sleek, majestic Rapidash.
After training back at Professor Oak's lab, its level had risen to 43.
Himee pouted when Ash didn't reply. What kind of guy just ignores a cute girl like that?!
"Fine! Go, Feraligatr!"
She was clearly aiming for a type advantage. A smart move on paper.
The judge raised their flag—and the battle began!
"Feraligatr, use Water Gun!"
The blast of water roared toward Rapidash.
Ash didn't even flinch. "Agility."
In a flash, Rapidash vanished from sight.
"Neiiighhh!"
Its galloping cries echoed across the arena as it darted around at breakneck speed.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
When a Pokémon looked that good, the crowd couldn't help but love it. Compared to the bulky Feraligatr, Rapidash was like a comet streaking through the arena.
"Flame Charge!"
Before Feraligatr could react, Rapidash spun mid-air and slammed into its opponent, flames trailing behind.
"Now—Horn Drill!"
"Neiiighhh!"
With a powerful cry, Rapidash drove its horn straight into Feraligatr's back. The Water-type stumbled and nearly collapsed from the impact.
It had no chance to retaliate.
"Megahorn, finish it!"
The crowd gasped.
BOOM!
Feraligatr was sent sprawling across the field.
"Feraligatr is unable to battle. Rapidash wins!"
Ash stood silently as the crowd thundered in applause.
In his mind, he could already hear it—
Ding!
["Congratulations, host! Rapidash has defeated Feraligatr. 10x Experience Multiplier activated. Gained 65,000 battle experience points!"]
Rapidash leveled up on the spot.
Ash nodded slightly. As expected.
The system's reward didn't trigger at the start of the match—just like it hadn't on Iron Island against Byron.
That meant the real reward would likely come after the tournament was over. It also meant this conference might unlock the system's next evolution…
And for that reason—
He'd decided to activate 10x Experience Multiplier cardsfor the entire tournament.
Each one cost millions of Poké Coins.
Thirty cards? Roughly 100 million.
No problem—Ash had over 200 million saved up.
Money is meant to be spent, after all.
...
"Urgh! You're not getting away with that! Go, Ursaring!"
Himee's second Pokémon was her ace—a Level 50 Ursaring.
This big brute had carried her through most of her Gym challenges.
It was actually kind of funny that such a delicate girl had such a brute for a main partner.
"Heh, don't underestimate my Ursaring! He's a beast!"
Ash returned Rapidash and readied his next Poké Ball.
He had a goal this tournament—to make sure every one of his Pokémon got battle experience.
"Let's go—Primeape!"
Hmm… maybe this is overkill.
After reuniting with Primeape and training for a while, Ash had boosted its level to 57. That might be a bit… unfair.
He scratched his chin in mock thought.
"Ursaring, use Hammer Arm! Go go go!"
"Close Combat."
"PRIME!!"
The two Pokémon charged toward each other, fists drawn.
And with that—Ash's first match had only just begun…
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T/N:
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