Korrina opened her reward package.
At that very moment, an entirely new world unfolded before her eyes.
Her vision went black, and when she came to, Korrina and Lucario found themselves in a vast arena filled with roaring cheers.
Two Trainers were battling fiercely at the center of the field.
The Trainer on the left had dark skin and stood nearly two meters tall. From the front row, Korrina and Lucario had to look up just to see him clearly.
Korrina shocked, "That's Mr. Raihan!"
Raihan's distinctive appearance made him instantly recognizable.
Facing him on the opposite side of the battlefield was none other than Ash from Pallet Town.
Both sides were down to their last Pokémon. The battle had reached its climax.
"Duraludon, return!" Raihan withdrew his Pokémon, then raised his right arm excitedly. "Now—let's go wild, my partner!"
The Dynamax Band on his wrist glowed brilliantly as it infused Dynamax energy into the Poké Ball in his hand.
"Blow up the entire arena!" Raihan threw the Poké Ball again and shouted, "Gigantamax—now!"
With a thunderous roar, Gigantamax Duraludon appeared.
The massive steel dragon towered over the battlefield—over 40 meters tall, its head almost out of sight.
Korrina and Lucario exchanged stunned glances, pure disbelief in their eyes.
Could such a monster really be defeated by Lucario?
While Korrina and Lucario were pulled into this vision of another world, the Comparison Livestream also updated its broadcast.
A massive new screen appeared — this one specially created by the system to stream the epic clash between Ash and Raihan.
Chatroom:
[Raihan: Looks like this battle's already in the bag. My Gigantamax Duraludon has never lost to anyone except Leon.]
[Gary: Am I seeing things? Ash is fighting Raihan?! And not just a Gym battle — this is an official Ranked Match!]
[Leon: Don't underestimate Raihan's Duraludon. Even I'd lose if I held back.]
[Cynthia: So at this point, Ash already has Champion-level strength? That's insane! How old is he now?!]
[Aaron: Heh, surely no one still thinks the Ash from our world is weak, right?]
[Lance: Depends who you compare him to. Against Black Ash, he's got a long way to go. But compared to anyone else—including me—he's not bad at all.]
[Lt. Surge: And where's Will? Didn't he say Ash's Pikachu starter meant he had no future? Speak up, man! Where's your big speech now?]
Of course, Will stayed dead silent. He wasn't stupid enough to show his face and invite ridicule now.
In the arena, Lucario stood before the towering Gigantamax Duraludon, looking like a speck of dust before a mountain.
But even as tiny as it was, Lucario's courage burned fiercely.
Lucario charged fearlessly toward Gigantamax Duraludon.
Lucario created Substitutes to distract Duraludon, then took the chance to launch a barrage of Aura Spheres.
But it was like tickling a tank. Each Aura Sphere struck, yet barely left a mark. Duraludon's counterattacks, on the other hand, were devastating.
After only two exchanges, Lucario was already on the brink of defeat.
Raihan seized the moment.
Raihan shouted, "Gigantamax Duraludon! Use your ultimate move—G-Max Depletion!"
A surge of crimson energy enveloped the battlefield as G-Max Depletion exploded outward. Any Pokémon struck by this move would have its energy drained rapidly.
Lucario was hit square on. Seeing that, a confident smile spread across Raihan's face. The outcome seemed decided.
[Bruno: Honestly, it's already impressive Ash made it this far. His opponent's Raihan, after all.]
Everyone knew that while Raihan was technically a Gym Leader, his true strength was on par with the Champions themselves.
Losing to such an opponent wasn't shameful in the least.
[Lorelei: To fight Raihan to this extent, Ash's Lucario must be at least Elite-level. Getting a portion of its battle experience really isn't that bad a reward.]
[Lance: True. It's no Legendary Pokémon reward like Ash and Professor Oak got, but it's acceptable.]
Just as everyone thought the match was decided, something incredible happened.
Lucario, weakened and battered, suddenly closed its eyes.
So did Ash.
At that moment, Trainer and Pokémon's auras merged as one.
A radiant blue light burst forth.
The Aura within Lucario surged wildly, forming an enormous Aura Sphere in its palms.
But Lucario didn't stop there — it continued pouring more and more Aura into the sphere until the energy waves cracked the very air around it.
Raising the glowing sphere above its head, Lucario shattered the incoming G-Max Depletion head-on!
The entire field trembled as the corrupted Dynamax energy dispersed, leaving only the pure blue Aura blazing in its place.
"Wh—What is that?!" Raihan stared at Lucario in the arena, lost in thought.
For a split second, Raihan could only stare, dumbfounded.
When he snapped back to reality, he roared. "Duraludon, defend with Max Rockfall!"
But it was useless.
The colossal Aura Sphere blasted straight through the rock barrier — and then through Duraludon itself.
A single, devastating hit.
The massive dragon collapsed to the ground.
Silence.
The entire arena froze in disbelief.