[Professor Oak: Champion Leon—is that you?]
[Leon: Yes. Looks like I've been chosen by this so-called light curtain as well.]
[Ash: Champion Leon? What's that? Is this Leon guy famous or something?]
[Professor Oak: Ash… could you please watch the news once in a while? Leon is known as the strongest Champion in Galar's history!]
[Ash: Galar… strongest in history? What's Galar? Anyway, if he's that strong, then—Leon, I challenge you to a battle!]
Misty, watching the scrolling chat, covered her fair face with one hand, unable to bear it.
Seriously? You don't even know the guy and you're already throwing down a challenge?
He's a Champion, for crying out loud! And you? You barely made it to the top sixteen in the Indigo League!
Even if he agreed to fight, you'd be flattened in seconds!
Did you forget how badly you lost to Lorelei last time?
[Gary: You idiot, Ash! Mr. Leon's a Champion—the Champion of an entire region! You haven't even won a league yet! What right do you have to challenge him?]
[Ash: Eh… since when does battling require permission? The moment two Trainers' eyes meet—that's when the battle begins!]
[Leon: Well said! I don't know who you are, but just for that line alone—if fate ever lets us meet, I'll battle you myself!]
[Wattson: Pardon me, but when exactly did your eyes meet?]
[Ash: …It's a figure of speech! A metaphor! And, uh, who are you again?]
[Steven: He's Wattson, the Electric-type Gym Leader from our Hoenn region.]
[Sawyer: Whoa!! That's Mr. Steven Stone—the Hoenn Champion! You were chosen too? No—of course you were! A Champion should be chosen!]
[Steven: It does appear I've been selected. But what exactly is this "Comparison Livestream" supposed to do? Weren't we told it would show a video?]
[Cynthia: Yes, I was in the middle of filming when it suddenly appeared. From what it said, this curtain is supposed to show the legendary journey of a certain boy… I wonder who it'll be.]
[Raihan: As much as I hate to admit it, when you say 'legendary,' only one name comes to mind—Leon. He's the undefeated Champion, after all.]
[Leon: Haha, my journey might've been unusual, but I wouldn't call it legendary. Besides… this curtain said it'll show two parallel worlds, didn't it?]
As everyone discussed the strange event, the white light curtain suddenly began to move.
At the same time, that mechanical voice echoed once more in everyone's ears:
"Now commencing broadcast. First to play is the White World, representing this reality."
"During playback, questions will appear. Each question will have four participants. Correct answers will earn rewards—items, Pokémon, or even objects unknown to this world. Please pay close attention."
The voice faded, and the white curtain lit up with an image.
On the screen appeared a dark-skinned young boy.
Ninety-five percent of people worldwide didn't recognize him—
but those who did, remembered him deeply.
[Professor Oak: Wait… isn't that—Ash?!]
[Ash: Eh?! That's me?! So the 'legendary journey' it mentioned… is about my story?!]
[Raihan: This is just the prologue. The real story hasn't even begun. Don't jump to conclusions.]
[Gary: You got a problem with Ash, huh, Raihan? Listen, even if that guy's always been my rival and my punching bag, he's still not someone just anyone can step on!]
Ash was his rival—his to tease, not for random strangers to mock!
[Professor Oak: Raihan is one of Galar's Gym Leaders—actually, the strongest Gym Leader there, second only to Champion Leon in power.]
Second only to Leon—that meant he was at least on the same level as an Elite Four, possibly even a Champion.
[Gary: My apologies! I was being too arrogant!]
Sorry, Ash—this one's not on me. The enemy's just too strong!
Champion-tier, man! That's a whole galaxy above us!
[Ash: …]
I liked you better when you were cocky, Gary. Please go back to normal.
——
The footage showed a young Ash attending a summer camp.
Among the familiar faces in the scene was none other than Professor Oak,
hosting the event, which brought together children from different regions.
At this time, Ash was just an ordinary boy—aside from his tanned skin.
He laughed, played, and ran around like any other kid.
Until something unexpected happened.
The Poliwag he was playing with suddenly ran off, and Ash immediately chased after it.
By the time he caught up, he realized he was lost.
As he wandered in confusion, he heard the sound of someone quietly sobbing.
Following the voice, he found a little girl who had fallen to the ground.
She wore a straw hat tied with a pink ribbon,
and a pale pink dress that matched her delicate, doll-like face.
Her large eyes were brimming with tears, but when she saw Ash, her fear turned into surprise.
There was a scrape on her knee—red and swollen, likely from a sprain.
Ash quickly took out his handkerchief and wrapped it gently around her injury,
then took her hand and led her back to the summer camp.
The final image froze on the girl's gaze—
a look filled with gratitude, admiration, shyness, and… affection.
[Delia: Ohoho~! My little Ash was already charming girls at that age? Why didn't you ever tell me you met such a cute girl at summer camp?]
[Ash: Ah… I kinda forgot! I was just really excited back then. Watching this, I just remembered—I thought, "Huh, so I wasn't the only one who got lost!"]
[Serena: I wasn't like you, Ash! You got lost chasing a Pokémon—
I got lost because a Pokémon chased me!]
[Ash: Huh? So your name's Serena? You got chosen by the light curtain too?]
[Serena: Mm-hmm~ That means I'm a strong Trainer too!]
[Grace: Strong Trainer? You haven't even picked up your first Pokémon yet!]
[Serena: Mom! Don't say that in front of everyone!]