"Ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon fans from all over, I am your commentator, Ota! Welcome to the grand stage of the Hoenn League Ever Grande Conference!"
From the commentator's platform, Ota's passionate voice boomed through the speakers and instantly ignited the entire stadium.
The audience stands were completely packed, and wave after wave of cheers and excited shouts surged together like a roaring ocean of celebration.
Swinging his arm enthusiastically, Ota spoke with undisguised excitement:
"This is the highest level Pokémon battling tournament in the Hoenn region! Every single match over these past days has left my blood boiling with excitement!
Every day, I have looked forward to reuniting with all of you once again, using the hottest commentary possible to accompany everyone as we witness battle after battle at the highest level!
After the incredibly intense preliminary rounds some time ago, thirty two elite trainers successfully stood out from the competition and advanced to the finals stage.
One fierce six on six full battle after another allowed us to personally witness the unfathomable strength of every contestant!
And now, we have finally arrived at the second half of the semifinals!"
After taking a short breath, Ota raised his voice even further with overwhelming enthusiasm.
"In yesterday's first semifinal match, contestant Theo from Hoenn's Dewford Town delivered to us a super battle that could only be described as pure art itself! He defeated Sato Kenji and secured the first ticket to the grand finals!
And today's battle will determine the second finalist!"
"The challenger from the Kalos region, Alain!"
"Against Hoenn's own local powerhouse, Morrison!"
"Which one of them will emerge victorious and advance to the final championship match against Theo?!"
"And now, let us welcome both contestants onto the battlefield!"
The spotlights suddenly illuminated the two sides of the battle arena.
"On the red side, representing the Hoenn region, is contestant Morrison!"
"I believe everyone here is already very familiar with him!"
"In last year's Ever Grande Conference, he successfully advanced into the Top Sixteen and displayed astonishing potential!"
"And this year, he has returned with an even stronger lineup and a brand new Mega Evolution, determined to challenge for even greater glory!"
"And on the green side is the biggest focus of this entire Ever Grande Conference, perhaps even the greatest dark horse of the tournament itself!"
"Contestant Alain from the Kalos region!"
"His strength is so overwhelming that it leaves people breathless!"
"Throughout the tournament so far, relying solely on his Mega Charizard X, he has repeatedly achieved one against six sweeps, crushing every opponent with absolute ease!"
"Up until now, nobody has been able to force him to use a second Pokémon!"
"So today, can contestant Morrison break this deadlock?!"
"Can he finally force Alain to reveal his true full strength and send out the rest of his Pokémon?!"
"Let us wait and see!"
The audience instantly erupted into deafening cheers that shook the entire stadium.
Up in the viewing platform, Ash tightly clenched his fists, looking as though he wished he could rush down onto the battlefield himself as he loudly shouted:
"Morrison, you've got this!"
"Teach that arrogant Alain a lesson! You absolutely cannot lose!"
"Don't let this guy look down on trainers from our League!"
Morrison turned around and gave Ash a heavy nod.
His chubby face was filled with determination as he tightly clenched his fist and made a confident gesture that he would definitely win.
Beside them, Brock frowned slightly and sighed in a low voice.
"...I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
"That Alain is seriously too strong."
"Trainers from the Kalos region have apparently also developed technology that allows Pokémon to Mega Evolve."
"That Mega Charizard X of his is practically perfect, whether in terms of training or battle techniques."
"To be honest, aside from Professor Oak's Charizard, this is the strongest Charizard I've ever seen."
"What do you mean by that, Brock?!"
The moment he heard Brock's words, Ash abruptly twisted his head around and glared at him angrily.
"Are you saying my Charizard isn't as strong as that arrogant guy's Charizard?!"
"It's all this stupid tournament system's fault! If I were allowed to compete, I'd definitely make him understand whose Charizard is truly the strongest!"
The more Ash spoke, the more emotional he became, and the angrier he grew.
"And it's also Professor Oak's fault for not explaining the timing properly! I thought staying in Hoenn for half a year would be enough, so I never planned to challenge the Ever Grande Conference again!"
"For most of last year, I had Charizard training at the Charicific Valley the entire time!"
"After that ended, I was already preparing to head off to Sinnoh!"
"Then I got held back again to research Pikachu's Mega Evolution…"
"If I had known I'd be staying in Hoenn for this long, I definitely would've challenged the Gyms and entered the Ever Grande Conference! Then it wouldn't be Alain acting all arrogant here right now!"
Seeing Ash speak so recklessly, May immediately smacked him on the head.
"Ash, how can you say something like that about Professor Oak?"
"If it weren't for Professor Oak, how could your Charizard have obtained its Mega Evolution Keystone and corresponding Mega Stone so smoothly?"
"Didn't you notice?"
"Other than the newly established League academy districts, where outstanding graduates can directly receive a complete Mega Evolution set…"
"Every other trainer has to complete a huge number of extremely difficult League missions and accumulate merit points just to exchange for one."
"Even now, trainers who possess Mega Evolution tools are incredibly rare."
"Even Morrison and Tyson had to push themselves to the limit and complete super difficult League missions before they barely managed to obtain a Mega Evolution set."
"You got something so precious this easily, yet instead of properly thanking Professor Oak, you're actually blaming him. That's really too much."
"Oh, and your Pikachu too."
"The League has already researched Mega Evolution for Raichu, but because your Pikachu refuses to evolve…"
"Professor Oak has spent all this time desperately trying to specifically research a unique Mega Evolution for your Pikachu alone in order to help you improve its strength."
"And now you're still saying things like this about him. That's really unfair."
Ash immediately became embarrassed after being lectured.
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"I know Professor Oak treats me really well. I didn't mean to blame him…"
"I… I was just anxious for a moment!"
"Seeing that Alain acting all high and mighty like he's above everyone else is seriously irritating!"
"If my Charizard could battle him, it would definitely teach him a proper lesson…"
Nearby, Max held Treecko in his arms as he looked up and gently tugged on Theo's sleeve.
"Big brother Theo… can Morrison really win?"
"I feel like that Alain guy is really, really strong…"
Before Theo could answer, Ash immediately shouted first:
"Of course he can win!"
"Morrison is my rival! He'll definitely win!"
Theo still did not respond.
Because he knew very clearly in his heart.
For Morrison to win…
It was simply too difficult.
After the incident at Forina ended, Theo had returned to Hoenn with Jirachi's Cocoon of Slumber in preparation for participating in the Ever Grande Conference.
Ash and the others had also stayed behind to cheer him on.
Originally, Theo believed this tournament would merely be a formality.
He had thought he could casually win the championship before moving on to challenge the Elite Four.
But what he never expected…
Was that an entirely unforeseen participant would appear in the tournament.
Alain from the Kalos region.
(End of Chapter)