Tokiko recalled Serperior quietly.
She stood on her side of the arena while the crowd noise washed over her, looking at the Poké Ball in her palm, and didn't move for a long moment.
In the VIP section, Delia watched her son on the screen and pressed both hands to her cheeks, exhaling slowly.
"He keeps doing that," she said.
Professor Oak smiled beside her. "Every time I think I have a benchmark for where he is, he raises it."
"He was like that at ten," Delia said softly. "I just didn't know what I was watching yet."
...
In the main stands, the group had dissolved into overlapping reactions.
"One Pokémon," Ferb said. "Three opponents."
"And Ninetales didn't take a single clean hit," Blake said.
"He was managing the battle from the first move," Nathan said, scrolling back through his mental notes. "The Will-O-Wisp to stop the Flame Wheel, the Ash Flame trap, the flamethrower spread timing. Every decision was three moves ahead."
"Every time I watch him I have to recalibrate," Blake said.
"That's going to keep happening," Sam said, leaning back. "Get used to it."
Jessica Blackstone leaned sideways toward her brother. "So you're all just training to be second best?"
"We're training to be the best version of ourselves," Nathan said, without any particular defensiveness. "Ash is a separate category."
Jessica considered this. "That's either very healthy or very sad."
"Bit of both," Blake said.
...
Ferb elbowed Sam with a significant look toward the arena, where Tokiko was finally moving toward the exit.
Sam caught the look and raised an eyebrow.
"She came a long way," Ferb said, very casually.
"From Unova," Sam agreed.
"For a specific reason."
"So she said."
Ferb looked at him. "You know who Kami is, don't you."
Sam adjusted his glasses. "I have some ideas."
"Are you going to tell Ash?"
"When it becomes relevant," Sam said serenely.
...
On the arena floor, Ash was heading for the exit when Tokiko fell into step beside him, uninvited.
"You're good," she said, as though reporting a fact rather than paying a compliment.
"Thanks."
"I'm going to be better."
"I know."
She glanced at him sideways. "You don't know that."
"Good trainers always get better," Ash said. "You're a good trainer. Therefore."
Tokiko was quiet for a few steps. "That's a very annoying thing to say."
"Sorry."
"No you're not."
"No," Ash agreed. "I'm not."
They walked in silence for a moment. Then Tokiko stopped at the fork in the corridor.
"My father wanted me to meet you," she said, not quite looking at him. "He said our family might need your help. I don't know the details." She paused. "But I want you to know that whatever arrangement he's thinking about, I intend to earn my own standing. Not trade on anyone else's."
Ash looked at her properly for the first time since the match ended.
"What's your family name?" he asked.
"Varenza," she said.
Ash filed it.
"I'll remember that," he said, and meant both things at once.
Tokiko nodded once, pulled her cap down, and walked away in the other direction.
Ash watched her go for a moment, then turned toward the tunnel and the semi-finals waiting beyond it.