Azumarill struggled to climb back to her feet. In front of her, Empoleon was already sprawled on the ground, unable to move.
Seeing this, the referee finally let out a sigh of relief and brought the thrilling battle to an end.
"Empoleon is unable to battle. Azumarill wins."
Luther recalled Azumarill and sent out Kirlia for the final battle.
With the type disadvantage, and Hitmonlee still asleep, there was basically no chance of victory. Even if Sleep Talk Lottery managed to roll a decent move, it still wouldn't matter. Not to mention that Luther's Pokémon had preserved their stamina extremely well, as if he had been carefully planning ahead for the later matches.
Hitmonlee appeared on the battlefield fast asleep, snoring loudly. Barry shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping to wake it up.
Unfortunately, his "revival roar" was clearly nowhere near Ash's level. Hitmonlee continued sleeping soundly.
Kirlia's Dream Eater had already been unleashed, and Barry gritted his teeth as he called for Sleep Talk Lottery.
The result was Close Combat.
Seeing the "prize," Barry let out a long sigh.
Still asleep, Hitmonlee charged toward Kirlia, only to have its body restrained by Psychic. Without the slightest effort, Kirlia hurled Hitmonlee high into the air.
The still-sleeping Hitmonlee slammed onto the ground and completely fainted. Even the experienced referee couldn't help but wait a few extra seconds. Only after confirming that Hitmonlee no longer reacted at all did he announce the result.
"Hitmonlee is unable to battle. Kirlia wins."
"Barry has lost all six Pokémon. Therefore, Luther advances to the semifinals of the Lily of the Valley Conference."
Rather than appearing in the VIP seats, Cynthia and Diantha were watching the match from inside a house. The two exchanged a knowing glance and smiled.
"Darkrai is improving, Azumarill is too. The other Pokémon may not have progressed as dramatically as those two, but judging from the battles, they've all changed. During this Lily of the Valley Conference, Luther has evolved again," Diantha said.
Lying on the sofa with a giant bag of snacks in her arms, Cynthia spoke while eating.
"Evolution? You make him sound like a Pokémon. Can't you just say he's improved?"
"Then think back for a moment," Diantha said as she stood up and stretched lazily. "Does the Luther we first met look anything like the Luther now? A person who's changed that completely… I can't think of any word besides 'evolution' to describe it."
Cynthia froze for a moment.
"Now that you put it that way… he really does feel like a humanoid Pokémon."
Gardenia, Hakuya, Candice, and then Misaki.
Luther had suffered quite a bit at the hands of those people, yet every time afterward, he became even stronger. If one had to describe it, it was remarkably similar to a Pokémon's evolution.
By stepping over Misaki, Luther had entered an entirely new realm.
Cynthia began to wonder, what if Misaki had never appeared in this tournament? What if she had quietly continued training her Pokémon, waiting for the perfect moment to challenge Luther at her strongest?
How would things have turned out then?
If Luther hadn't encountered Misaki right at the start of the tournament, if he hadn't been bombarded by her two different battling styles and forced to go all out, would he have realized the flaws he had carried for so long? Would he have discovered Darkrai's weaknesses?
Perhaps he still would have. After all, there were many capable trainers on the tournament stage.
But discovering a problem early versus late made an enormous difference. The proof was how Luther had used the rest period to intensively train Darkrai and had already achieved results.
Cynthia envied how happily Luther could clash with trainers of the same level and improve alongside them.
She and Steven were known as the Champions who meddled the least, the freest Champions.
But who had ever considered that, as Champion, she was actually the least free of all?
Champions from the various regions rarely battle officially. Even when they do battle, it is usually against challengers for their own regional Champion title.
A Champion represented the face of an entire region. If Champions from different regions fought an official battle and truly went all out until the very end, then no matter who won or lost, both sides would come out losing.
There were no official tournaments between Champions, an unwritten rule silently acknowledged by every regional Pokémon League.
Even when Cynthia had enthusiastically fought an intense battle against Lance inside Diantha's villa, she still had to patiently explain to Luther afterward that it had only been "for fun."
For fun?
Cynthia scoffed at the idea. That day, both she and Lance had clearly gotten fired up and were completely serious.
Garchomp and Dragonite had practically been on the verge of deciding the winner, yet they had still been forced to stop short.
In some ways, Lance was so rigid it was downright unbearable.
Cynthia truly envied Luther. She envied Ash and Paul as well. Having a rival who could constantly verify your own strength was a kind of blessing.
That was why Cynthia had been paying close attention to Ash and Paul for a long time. She wanted to know what kind of sparks this pair of rivals could create, how they would influence one another, and just how far they could grow together.
And if Luther still retained his drive to climb higher after the tournament, Cynthia was also curious whether he and Misaki would develop a similar rival-like relationship… or perhaps an even deeper bond.
"Let's go. The next match is Ash versus Paul. I need to watch this one properly in person."
Cynthia stood up and began fixing her appearance.
Luther walked out through the passageway and looked up at the bright sky, taking a deep breath.
Luther's excitement always arrived a little late. Earlier, when the audience had been shouting his name and the commentator had been recounting his achievements throughout the tournament, he had remained astonishingly calm, waving to the crowd as usual before leaving the stage and handing the spotlight over to Ash.
But now, his heart was pounding wildly…
Was this feeling… secretly reveling in the moment?
Perhaps he had been too immersed in that wonderful feeling, because Luther hadn't even noticed Barry walking over.
"Congratulations. That was an incredible battle."
Barry's voice startled Luther, making him jump slightly before he hurriedly replied,
"Thanks. You weren't bad either."
Barry's mentality was genuinely impressive. Even after losing the match that decided advancement, he still wore a bright smile and chatted with Luther with as much enthusiasm as ever.
Barry, who had already "reserved" himself as the champion of the next Lily of the Valley Conference, gave Luther a thumbs-up before taking off at full speed toward the Pokémon Center.
Knowing that Luther had a habit of standing outside the arena alone after matches to zone out for a while, Mai merely informed him of her location and chose not to disturb him.
After every battle, Luther would replay the match in his head and review everything mentally. This time was no exception.
While spacing out, Luther suddenly noticed that a young boy seemed to have been secretly watching him from afar the entire time.
Luther looked over. The moment the boy realized he had been noticed, he froze awkwardly before hurriedly turning around and leaving.
Luther felt like he had seen him somewhere before. Ever since entering the main tournament, this person seemed to have been cheering for him from the stands behind him the whole time.
But if he was just a fan, there was no reason to run away after being noticed, right?
"Sinnoh League Lily of the Valley Conference semifinal match two: Paul of Veilstone City versus Ash of Pallet Town in the Kanto region. The battle will begin shortly."
Luther looked toward the electronic screen outside the stadium. Paul and Ash had already taken their positions.
"So it's finally here… the legendary scene."
(End of Chapter)
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