"Dragonite, Thunder Tiger!" Blake wasn't about to let Hariyama land a hit with two Focus Energy stacks loaded. Letting him close the distance now would be suicidal.
"ROARRR!" Dragonite's antennae crackled, and twin bolts of golden lightning launched from his forehead. Midway across the arena the energy shifted, the lightning pulling itself into the shape of a tiger, vivid and snarling, streaking toward Hariyama like something alive.
The crowd went absolutely wild.
"Lightning Style, Thunder Tiger! That's one of Ash's self-created techniques!" the commentator shouted. "And Blake's Dragonite can use it!"
...
In the stands, Mr. Blackstone leaned back with undisguised envy. "Blake really lucked out getting one of Ash's Dragonite's eggs."
"Nathan," Maya Redwood said pointedly, turning toward Nathan Glacienne beside her, "Ash is practically your brother-in-law now. You really can't put in a good word for the rest of us? Don't be stingy."
The others all turned to look at Nathan simultaneously.
It wasn't exactly a secret in their circle. Lorelei had become one of Ash's people, and Ash's strength and resources were on a completely different level from anything their families could match. The more they'd been let into the family inner circles recently, the clearer that gap had become.
Nathan just smiled, slow and unbothered. "I haven't figured out my angle yet. Next time I won't lose."
"Unbelievable."
"Selfish."
"No team spirit at all."
The group's collective groan washed over him. He didn't look remotely bothered.
...
The battle played out to its conclusion in a blaze of Eight Gates and sheer willpower.
Blake lost.
Shirō's trump card, the Eight Gates formation, was what sealed it in the end. But Blake hadn't walked away empty-handed either. His Blastoise had put on a display that reminded the entire stadium why Squirtle's evolutionary line belonged in the same conversation as Charizard and Venusaur. The Kanto starter rivalry was alive again, and new trainers in the crowd were already reconsidering their choices.
Blake had come in with a goal. He'd achieved it.
...
Ash watched the final exchange from above and turned away before the award ceremony began. "Let's go. Shirō's solid, but he's shown his hand now. Eight Gates has a time limit, everyone knows it exists, and the next opponent who pushes him to use it early wins."
Sabrina fell into step beside him. "He'll figure it out."
"Yeah," Ash said. "That's what I'm counting on."
He opened the vortex and they stepped through together, leaving the Indigo Conference behind.
...
Fantasy Island felt like exhaling.
Ash stood at the top of the central tower, the tallest point on the island, and looked out over the whole stretch of it. Below, the Dream Forest rustled quietly in the sea breeze. The task board inside the tower was packed as usual, trainers cycling in and out to pick up assignments and trade in points for technique scrolls.
"Ash! It's been a while."
Two large shapes and one smaller one moved toward him from the direction of the shoreline. Lugia and his mate, and trailing behind them, Silver, the young Lugia who had only recently come to the island.
Silver had filled out noticeably since the move. Regular high-nutrition meals, no predator pressure, Pokémon at his level nearby to spar with. He'd made friends in the Dream Forest already. Things were moving in the right direction.
"Yeah," Ash said, smiling. "All the badges are in. Two months until the Johto Conference. I'm planning to actually rest for once."
Lugia's expression shifted slightly. "I reached out to Ho-Oh before coming here. He wanted to join us after we moved, but..." He glanced across the island. "Fantasy Island is getting crowded. I manage fine since I live in the water. But Ho-Oh won't."
Ash followed his gaze. The Dream Forest was already near capacity. Between the Legendaries, the Lightning Birds, and the resident Pokémon population, there wasn't much room left to breathe.
"Then we expand," Ash said simply. "My abilities have been improving and I haven't had a chance to test the range yet. Tell Mewtwo to move everyone to the center of the island, residents included. I want a clear perimeter."