"So, Lord Wikstrom, the final spot among the three exhibition-match slots?" the assistant asked tentatively, leaning closer.
"Give it to Ash. For a super-talented trainer of his caliber, simply knowing that he has come to Kalos would already make me want to battle him, even if he hadn't signed up. And now he's gone out of his way to submit an application. If I didn't choose him, I'd feel like I was being rather unreasonable."
Wikstrom said this with a smile.
"Understood. Then the three participants are confirmed: Lumiose Gym Leader Clemont, the trainer of the Elite-level Chesnaught, XXX, and Ash."
"And regarding the order of the matches?"
"Hmm... XXX will take the first match, Lumiose Gym Leader Clemont the second, and let Ash headline the third and final match."
"Ash already has quite a reputation in Kalos thanks to the livestream of the Pokémon Summer Camp. Now that people know he'll be taking part, I'm sure there will be plenty of anticipation for tomorrow's battles."
Wikstrom smiled as he spoke.
To be honest, it wasn't only everyone else who was looking forward to it. Wikstrom himself was equally eager to battle Ash tomorrow.
...
Back at Serena's house in Vaniville Town, Ash had no idea that his application for tomorrow's exhibition matches at Wikstrom's Knight's Way seminar had already been selected.
Even when Clemont had brought up the subject earlier, Ash hadn't been completely confident that he would make the cut.
It wasn't until Serena's birthday celebrations were over, after they had eaten cake and lunch and everyone was sitting together having afternoon tea, that Trevor suddenly announced the news.
"Ahhhh!! Ash, look! The three exhibition-match slots for tomorrow's Knight's Way seminar with Wikstrom have been announced!"
"Ash, you got selected! Clemont got selected too!"
Trevor, who had been playing with his phone on the living-room sofa, looked extremely excited.
"Really?"
Hearing Trevor's words, Ash was delighted as well. Getting the opportunity to battle a powerful Elite Four-level trainer like Wikstrom was something that couldn't be passed up.
"Yep! Look, the official website has already published the lineup."
Trevor handed him his phone.
Ash took it and looked at the announcement. Sure enough, the page where he had submitted his application during his morning training had now published the names of the three trainers selected for tomorrow's exhibition matches.
Exhibition Match Participants:
Lumiose City — XXX — First Match
Lumiose City — Clemont — Second Match
Kanto, Pallet Town — Ash — Third Match
"Just as I thought... I made it. And I'm even the final match."
Seeing his name listed last, Ash couldn't help but grin happily.
However, the exhibition matches wouldn't begin until tomorrow, and now that he knew he had been selected, Ash wasn't particularly nervous.
Today was his girlfriend Serena's birthday, so he simply stayed in Vaniville Town and spent the day with her.
It had already been more than half a year since Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp had ended. Although Ash and Serena video-called each other every day, they hadn't actually seen one another in person for all those months, and Ash had genuinely missed her.
Now, using Serena's birthday as an excuse, he had brought Clarissa and Misty all the way from Kanto to Kalos.
Aside from giving Clarissa and Misty the chance to meet Serena in person, Ash had also come because he himself had been missing Serena and wanted to take the opportunity to visit her.
Wikstrom's Knight's Way touring seminar was merely something he had happened to encounter along the way. As for having Clemont accelerate the development of the intelligent Gym-management robot, that was only a secondary objective.
The main reason Ash had come to Kalos this time was still to spend Serena's birthday with his girlfriend.
...
That afternoon, Ash and the others wandered around Vaniville Town for a while before returning to Serena's backyard, where everyone followed Serena's instructions and tried riding the Rhyhorn used for training.
However, while Ash was leisurely enjoying his time with his girlfriend in Vaniville Town, the trainer community in Lumiose City was becoming extraordinarily lively.
For Ash, Wikstrom's Knight's Way touring seminar was merely something he had happened to encounter and decided to participate in along the way.
But for the trainers of Kalos, the event was a major occasion.
Ever since the touring seminar had begun, it had attracted the attention of countless trainers.
The tour had traveled from city to city, one stop after another, and the great metropolis of Lumiose City was the final destination of the entire tour.
Because of that, Lumiose City's trainers had been eagerly anticipating it for quite some time.
Tomorrow was the day the seminar would begin, and once registration for the exhibition matches opened, countless trainers throughout Lumiose City submitted their applications.
Today at noon, 12:00 PM, was the registration deadline—and it was also when the official list of selected exhibition-match participants would be released.
After so many stops on Wikstrom's tour, the trainers already knew the rules and usual procedures.
One of the three spots was reserved for the local Gym Leader.
That meant the huge number of trainers who had submitted applications throughout the city were actually competing for only the remaining two positions.
The competition was fierce.
XXX already had a certain reputation within Lumiose City's trainer community, and the Chesnaught he had submitted for registration was at the peak of the Elite level. Therefore, the local trainers had no complaints about his selection. Given his strength, they felt that his selection was perfectly reasonable.
But when they saw the name "Ash", the trainers of Lumiose City immediately began whispering among themselves.
"Who is this Ash? I don't remember anyone by that name among the famous trainers in Lumiose City!"
"Where did this guy come from? Why did he get selected when I didn't?"
"..."
"..."
Of course, the confusion and discussion didn't last very long.
Once the trainers opened the attachment beneath the public registration announcement and looked at the information each selected participant had submitted, everything became clear.
Ash — Pallet Town, Kanto — Pidgeot, Lv. 59
When the trainers saw that the Pokémon Ash had submitted for the exhibition match was a Level 59 Pidgeot, placing it firmly at the peak of the Gym Leader level, every trainer who had initially questioned his selection immediately fell silent.
And then, one after another, the trainers of Lumiose City remembered.
Ash.
He was none other than the famous young genius and star trainer who had become a household name throughout the Kanto region.
The televised livestream of Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp six months earlier, combined with the increasing economic and cultural cooperation between the Kalos and Kanto Leagues, had given trainers from both regions far more opportunities to learn about and interact with one another.
And Ash's name had naturally spread far beyond Kanto.