"..."
The host was enthusiastically praising Ash in front of the camera. She was quite familiar with Ash's previous records, but since Ash hadn't appeared recently, her impression of him had become more and more vague.
However, when Ash made his appearance, it seemed to tell everyone that Ash was still the same Ash. His talent would continue to shine, and within just a month and a half, he had become even stronger and captured new Pokemon.
This kind of improvement was not good news for the competitors participating in the Quartz Conference. The type and strength of this unknown Pokemon would soon become the focus of everyone's investigation as the Quartz Conference was about to begin.
Some people, who were preparing to participate in the Quartz Conference half a month later, watched the live broadcast and quietly compared themselves to Ash, only to despairingly find that they were not on the same level as him.
Forget three-on-three or six-on-six matches; even if Ash faced six opponents, they might not be able to win. They could not fathom the level of that Pokemon, but it was at least of the Elite Level.
Having an Elite Level Trainer participate in a league competition, which only those who have traveled for two years can join, is like slaughtering the younger ones, isn't it?!
The problem was they couldn't criticize Ash because someone of Ash's age participating... was almost unheard of.
Unheard of!
So far, none of the Trainers participating in this year's Quartz Conference are younger than Ash. If we strictly follow the rules, it wouldn't be Ash's turn to participate.
The Trainers who watched this live broadcast could only silently pray in their hearts that at least they'd meet Ash in the semifinals of the Quartz Conference. Otherwise, they wouldn't have any chance to enter Dragon Island.
The Quartz Conference does not have a double-elimination system; if you lose, you really lose. There's no second chance, and if they can't make it to the top three, then participating in this year's Quartz Conference would be completely meaningless.
The reason this year's Quartz Conference is so popular is because everyone is aiming for Dragon Island, but now, a monster has appeared in the League Conference!
One monster is one thing, but even if Ash takes the championship, there are still the second and third places to vie for. As long as you can get second or third place, you can still go to Dragon Island.
But if you're unlucky enough in the draw to face Ash, having the strength for second or third place means nothing if you're eliminated immediately!
So now, the nature of the Quartz Conference has changed. The competition now tests not only strength but also luck!
Even if your luck isn't good, strength alone won't help unless your strength can surpass Ash's; that's a different story.
But who else besides Ash could train a Pokemon to the Elite Level in just two years?
Honestly, no one.
Even Cynthia started training Pokemon before her debut, and in two years, she couldn't train Elite Level Pokemon.
In conclusion, this year's Quartz Conference has become hellishly difficult for the many participating Trainers!
...
On the other side, the Elite Four of Kanto, who were hurrying back, had turned around after receiving a call from Ash. Within minutes, their communicators received a message that the two giant Pokemon had been dealt with.
Lance wore a look of "I knew it" on his face: "Thankfully, Ash called me; otherwise, I wouldn't have known that those two Pokemon appeared near Pallet Town. What kind of person asks me to go around Pallet Town for something like this?"
Upon receiving the notification, Lance rushed to the location without looking at the map. If Ash hadn't called him, he wouldn't have known the location was near Pallet Town.
Damn it, asking him to return near Pallet Town for such nonsense wasted his, or rather their, time!
He had already felt it, that Dragonite's MEGA Evolution Stone was about to appear. Still, because of a call, he had no choice but to leave helplessly.
Fortunately, Ash's call meant he hadn't left the Kalos Region too far. Although Lance believed Ash could handle it, for safety's sake, Lance didn't immediately return to the Kalos Region but stayed where he was, quietly waiting for information.
After confirming that the crisis in Kanto had been resolved, Lance then had Dragonite return to the Kalos Region.
Now was the best opportunity!
Because Lorelei and others hadn't heard from Ash, they hurried back. By the time they found out that the issues were resolved, it was too late for them to turn back.
Dragon Master Lance was destined to be the first to obtain the Evolution Stone!
...
On the other side, Ash had already returned to Pallet Town. They first reported their safety to Delia and then went to Oak's Research Institute. Ash wanted to have Professor Oak research these two items in his hand to see what specific effects they had.
The spoon obtained by Mewtwo could directly be used in conjunction with its dedicated item, so whatever effect it had, it was usable anyway. But Ash needed to figure out the use of the black dumbbell, and in this regard, Professor Oak was the expert.
Upon arriving at Oak's Research Institute, Ash handed the black dumbbell to Professor Oak and explained the situation. After hearing that the black dumbbell could absorb energy and materialize into gigantic Pokemon, even the knowledgeable Professor Oak was surprised.
He asked Ash to wait a moment while he explored the function of that thing.
Ash, with nothing else to do, went to the backyard with Misty and the others, gathering his Pokemon and Misty's Pokemon to assemble them.
During this month and a half, apart from Ash leaving his Pokemon at Oak's Research Institute, Misty and Brock's Pokemon also stayed there for training. During this time, their Pokemon significantly improved in strength!
Among Misty's Pokemon, Starmie had successfully reached the Gym Junior Level. Don't underestimate the fact that before training, Starmie was already at the Professional Peak. In a month and a half, it only reached the Gym Junior Level, seemingly a slow improvement, but in reality, the leap from Professional Level to Gym Level is a chasm that countless Trainers cannot cross.
Just getting from Professional Level to Gym Level made this training a great success.
Staryu's level was still stuck at Professional Peak. It reached this level more than half a month ago, but it couldn't break through, which is actually a very normal phenomenon.
The levels of Seadra and Dragonair have recently just reached Elite Peak, both Pokemon having evolved early in their training. Moving forward one more level would put them at the Professional Level.
Blastoise had entered the Professional Level. Although it was just at the Professional Junior Level, it was already quite good. As for Psyduck... its level remained a mystery, visible only to Ash. Psyduck's spiritual power was constantly accumulating; if fully erupted, it could temporarily contend with Gym Peak-level Pokemon.
But wanting Psyduck to fully erupt... it's easier just to develop a Gym Peak-level Pokemon.
This was the result of Misty's special training over the past month. Forget about Ash; just the improvement Misty made would shock the world if it got out!
Even Misty herself didn't expect that she could elevate her Pokemon to such a level in just a month and a half. Now, if she were to resume her role as the leader of Cerulean Gym, the Cerulean Gym would definitely rank among the top Gyms in Kanto!
The last-place Gym had become a thing of the past!
Even the Goldeen in the Gym had already evolved into Seaking, now possessing the strength of Elite Peak.
If Seaking had been trained under Misty, it might be at Professional Mid-Level by now. This was the difference between training next to Ash and not training alongside Ash.