The next day.
When he woke up in the morning, the first thing Aiden did was open PokéTV.
The backend view count was indeed explosive.
Probably because the Masters Tournament had already been hyped up once, the topic of the Galar region's legends unsurprisingly reached a new high, topping the trending charts.
His choice of subject matter this time was truly mind-blowing. Starting directly from Galar's orally passed-down heroic legends, he used evidence to overturn the ancestral glory that the Galar royal family prided themselves on.
Even though he was telling the truth, clearly, to a small fraction of Galar natives, his proposition was absolutely treasonous.
Especially that duo who looked incredibly childish to Aiden; they had already appeared in the comments section, clearly having their egos utterly shattered.
Actually, he had held back quite a bit. If he were to also spill the beans about Calyrex, the King of Bountiful Harvests, their completely nonexistent ancestral hero might actually end up being revealed as just one of Calyrex's alternate accounts—
If he had the time to meet this ancient king in the future, Aiden wouldn't mind making another video about it, making the lost historical truth known to the public.
The Legends who truly built Galar had long since faded into obscurity, yet the blessings they left behind were hijacked by these "royal descendants" who came out of nowhere. Aiden couldn't quite stand such despicable behavior.
Knock, knock, knock.
Before long, a series of knocks came from outside the room.
Cynthia opened the door and walked in, smiling at Aiden who was still lying in bed.
"Good morning."
"Tomorrow is the qualifiers. It seems there will be an exhibition match between Raihan and Leon at noon to show everyone the charm of Dynamax."
"Want to go watch together?"
"Sure."
Aiden nodded, temporarily tossing aside the irrelevant internet drama.
Right now, he wasn't PokéTV's sole top streamer "Ultramarine Feather," but simply Aiden, a Trainer challenging for the Masters Tournament championship.
Other miscellaneous matters could be dealt with later, but if he missed the Masters Tournament, he'd have to wait another four years!
After a simple wash-up, Aiden changed into a red-and-black authentic Trainer outfit and walked out of the room with Cynthia.
Upon arriving at the spacious lobby outside, they found it already packed with people seemingly chattering away about something.
Out of curiosity, Aiden leaned in to take a look.
It was actually Leon; no wonder the place was crowded with Trainers—
As Galar's current ace and the world's #1 ranked "Strongest Champion," Leon was definitely the favorite to win this Masters Tournament.
In the Galar region, he was the undisputed spiritual leader. Whether he could successfully defend his title on home turf was also one of the most talked-about topics among the locals.
However, Leon's appearance this time didn't seem to be for work reasons, but rather—
"None of your business! Even if you're the Champion, you have no right to control us!"
"Exactly! That video has severely infringed upon our ancestors' right to reputation. As descendants, we of course have the right to question him to his face!"
"As a fellow Galar native, are you going to help an outsider smear our Legendary Heroes?"
The two young men standing opposite Leon, wearing flashy suits and sporting weird blonde hairstyles, were filled with righteous indignation, roaring at Leon one after another.
As the Galar Champion, Leon wasn't affected by them and continued to watch them with a frown.
Just as Aiden was wondering if he should step up and use some "talk therapy" to enlighten this duo, Leon spoke up.
"Enough!"
With just two words, the still-shouting duo immediately shrank their necks, not daring to continue. The surrounding crowd, which had been whispering, collectively shut their mouths at the exact same moment.
"This matter doesn't fall under League affairs, and I originally shouldn't interfere, but you've gone too far."
When Leon's grave gaze fell upon them, Sordward and Shielbert immediately lowered their heads, looking like entirely different people from the ones aggressively arguing just a moment ago.
"If you want to prove Aiden's viewpoint wrong, then produce reasonable and valid evidence to prove it, instead of doing what you were just preparing to do—trying to gag someone."
"Aren't you ashamed? Even if your ancestors truly existed, they would only be disgraced by your behavior."
"Stop bringing shame to your ancestors!"
Leon's few words instantly made the previously arrogant Sordward and Shielbert wish they could bury their heads in the ground; it looked like their heads were about to retract into their necks.
"J-just you wait, we will definitely find evidence!"
After forcing out a tough-sounding parting shot, the older brother Sordward immediately grabbed his younger brother Shielbert's hand, squeezed through the crowd, and quickly disappeared.
"When it comes to needing an imposing aura, Champions are always very reliable~" Cynthia, who had also watched the whole process, teased, making it sound more like she was praising herself along with Leon.
However, she wasn't wrong. Aiden nodded.
Leon usually gave off the impression of being elegant, easygoing, and good-tempered. But when a Champion's aura burst forth, everyone was probably suddenly reminded that the smiling man before them was actually the champion of the previous Masters Tournament and theoretically the strongest in the world right now!
It was quite a contrast.
"Yo, Teacher Azure!"
After the crowd gradually dispersed, Leon quickly spotted Aiden and Cynthia, and took the initiative to wave at them.
"Sorry you had to see that. The Galar League will keep a close eye on those two later; we won't let them affect the contestants' conditions."
Aiden nodded.
He actually didn't care about those two. Because the truth could never be covered up. Even if he hadn't released this video, Professor Magnolia's granddaughter, Sonia, would eventually write a similar thesis, unearthing the dust-covered history step by step. Those two nobles claiming to be royal descendants would ultimately have to admit their views were wrong.
However, having Leon and the entire League backing him up so they wouldn't pester him anymore was naturally a good thing.
"Enough about them. I came to invite you both to watch the match." Leon made an inviting gesture and explained seriously.
"Since our Galar is the host for this tournament, we hope all the participating Trainers can experience the immense power of Dynamax."
"Due to the rules, if one must choose among the four special phenomena, I think Dynamax is indeed the most practical."
"Therefore, we hope more Trainers will experience Dynamaxing in the upcoming matches and fall in love with the feeling."
Aiden was noncommittal about this.
Theoretically, Dynamaxing was indeed very comprehensive. The power of Mega Evolution could currently only be mastered by certain Pokémon; Z-Moves did have universal type-specific Z-Crystals, but could only be used once per battle, which clearly lacked sustained pressure; as for Terastallization, it was indeed more flexible and lasted longer, but once the Tera Orb was used up, the threat was immediately reduced by more than half.
Each had its own pros and cons. Only Dynamaxing, although it couldn't last too long, provided a genuinely massive boost. Not only did durability multiply, but normal moves would also be replaced by powerful Max Moves during the transformation, which provided various buff effects upon use.
The simplest benchmark for strength was Leon. Without Dynamaxing, Leon would probably only be considered a relatively strong Champion, definitely not the strongest in the world. But on his home turf where Dynamaxing was usable, his combat power absolutely lived up to the title of "Strongest Champion." Even Eternatus was almost soloed by him.
Dynamaxing was great, he had to learn Dynamaxing!
Of course, Aiden didn't actually need to deliberately learn it—wasn't it something anyone with hands could do?
As early as the Sword & Shield generation, he already had a profound understanding of Dynamax and Gigantamax. As long as the timeline hadn't reached a new region joining the League and introducing some new mechanic he hadn't experienced in his past life, he was the most comprehensive Trainer of this era!
After coming to this world, memories of his past life had become blurry. But even so, he still clearly remembered—there had already been leaks about the 10th generation of Pokémon, Wind/Wave, and even the designs of the starters had spread across major Pokémon group chats. He didn't know if, more than a year later now, other Pokémon players had gotten to play the new games—
At noon, the temporarily opened Wyndon Stadium was already packed with people.
Although today's match wasn't part of the official Masters Tournament and was at most a pre-tournament exhibition match to warm up the crowd, many spectators still held high expectations—because the two sides facing off were Leon and Raihan.
In the recent Galar Champion Cup finals, their brilliant battles always left a deep impression. This time would be no exception.
Sitting in the lounge box assigned to the contestants, Aiden was also silently looking forward to it.
However, his reason for anticipation was probably different from others. Besides recalling details about Dynamaxing, the focus of his observation this time was where the Dynamax energy would ultimately go after being drawn out. This point was very important.
Because Dynamax energy originated from Galar's ley lines, under normal circumstances, it would dissipate on its own and return to the earth after Dynamaxing ended.
But if this energy didn't disappear, and was instead recovered by some kind of device—then it would match the Sword & Shield plot he remembered.
To solve the energy crisis 2,000 years in the future, Chairman Rose decided to thoroughly solve the problem in his own era. By using accumulated Dynamax energy to awaken Eternatus early and make it submit to humanity, becoming an "infinite energy source" that would continuously provide energy for the people of Galar.
The idea was good, but Chairman Rose overestimated humanity's power, almost causing the Darkest Day to sweep across Galar again. In the end, the protagonist and the two Legendary dogs had to step in to clean up the mess.
If Chairman Rose in this world had the same idea—Aiden didn't plan to stop him, but he might have a better solution.
"Look, it's Mr. Leon!!!"
A burst of intense cheers suddenly erupted from the audience seats above, interrupting Aiden's focused thoughts.
Looking toward the arena, sure enough, Galar Champion Leon and Raihan had entered at the same time.
Leon, as always, wore a cape covered in logos, pretending to wave casually when the camera focused on him. When it came to "calling GG," Leon was probably also the strongest in the world—Aiden silently praised him as a fellow professional.
Perhaps because it was just an exhibition match? The two didn't exchange any pleasantries. The moment the referee stepped onto the field and blew the whistle, they both took several steps back and summoned their respective aces.
Leon's Charizard vs. Raihan's Duraludon.
Previously, when Raihan went to Paldea to challenge the gyms, Aiden had revealed that Duraludon could actually evolve one more stage, and assisted him in evolving the first fully-realized "Archaludon".
However, that Archaludon didn't seem to have mastered the power of Gigantamaxing. So was that why Raihan chose another Duraludon he had trained for this exhibition match? Its strength was obviously inferior to his main ace, but it was enough for an exhibition match. This Pokémon battle wasn't about fighting to the death; it was about social grace!
"Duraludon, Flash Cannon!"
"Charizard, Flamethrower!"
The two Pokémon went back and forth, and after a continuous exchange of beams, both emerged completely unscathed—in Aiden's view, the acting was a bit overdone. But to the majority of the audience, it was just right.
After "fiercely" battling for a few minutes, Raihan was the first to recall Duraludon. After drawing in Dynamax energy, the specially made Poké Ball rapidly expanded several times over, until he could barely hold it up with both hands.
"Go, Duraludon!"
"Bring victory to Galar, Charizard!"
The movements of both sides remained highly synchronized.
After the two giant Poké Balls were thrown, a towering giant silhouette appeared before each of them. Under the influence of Dynamax energy, the sky was gradually covered by a mass of purple-red clouds, and even though it was noon, the light dimmed significantly.
The Gigantamax Duraludon, standing over forty meters tall, already exceeded the stadium, transforming into a skyscraper looking down on all below. On the other side, Gigantamax Charizard was no less impressive. Even if its height wasn't as exaggerated as Duraludon's, its image—engulfed in flames with burning fire forming a pair of golden wings on its back—made it look even more powerful and sacred.
"Charizard, use G-Max Wildfire!"
"Duraludon, let's show our spirit too! G-Max Depletion!"
After the two pointed forward simultaneously, a golden fire phoenix and a silvery-white beam immediately tangled together.
Boom rumble—!
The two forces of energy canceled each other out and fell into a long tug-of-war. The successive explosions caused the glass and the Dynamax barrier in front of Aiden to start trembling.
If they really kept fighting like this, even the Dynamax barrier probably wouldn't be able to block the shockwaves from the battle—Just as Aiden was thinking this, sure enough, the two Pokémon stopped at the same time. The two opposing energies immediately spread upward, erupting suddenly only after passing the stadium's skylight.
Appearing alongside the shockwave was a matrix of fireworks that immediately detonated outside the venue.
"I declare!"
"The Galar Masters Tournament, officially begins!"
Leon's voice transmitted to every corner of Wyndon Stadium through the broadcast, and the scene erupted into another wave of intense cheers.
However—
Aiden followed that dissipating Dynamax energy and noticed an inconspicuous corner of the venue.
As expected, did Chairman Rose still go through with this?
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