Seeing the look of utter surprise on Blaziken's face, Ash couldn't help but smile.
However, he didn't dwell on Blaziken's reaction for long.
Compared to that, there was something far more important he needed to do.
And that was—
"System, scan Blaziken's data."
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Ash silently issued the command.
[Ding! Scanning... Please wait...]
[Pokémon: Blaziken]
Level: LV.73
Type: Fire / Fighting
Nature: Brave
Ability: Blaze
Potential:Blue (Perfect)
Held Item:Blazikenite
Allows Blaziken to Mega Evolve by resonating with its trainer's Key Stone once the required bond has been established.
Moves (Can Be Copied)
Mastered (1/5000):
Double Kick, Fire Punch, Brave Bird, Flamethrower, Quick Attack, Flame Charge, Blaze Kick, Bulk Up, Flare Blitz
Proficient (1/1000):
Feather Dance, Scratch, Ember, Detect, Aerial Ace, Slash, Bounce, Focus Energy, Reversal, Aura Sphere
Skilled (1/500):
Growl, Sand Attack
Novice (1/100):
—
Levels 70–79 represented the Champion Tier.
Blaziken's level was LV.73.
That confirmed Ash's previous speculation.
Meyer truly was a Champion-level trainer.
Moreover, with Blazikenite equipped and the ability to Mega Evolve, Blaziken ranked among the elite even within the Champion Tier.
Still...
No matter how powerful Blaziken was, it wasn't Ash's Pokémon.
And with enough time, Ash believed he could raise Champion-level Pokémon of his own.
To him, Blaziken's greatest value wasn't its overwhelming strength—
It was the Aura Sphere in its move pool, a move that had already reached Proficient mastery.
Having briefly lost himself while staring at Blaziken's status screen, Ash quickly snapped back to reality.
"System... copy Blaziken's moves."
[Ding! Copying moves... Please wait...]
10%... 30%... 50%...
70%... 90%... 100%...
Although Blaziken knew a large number of moves, the system completed the copying process in only a few seconds.
Every move in Blaziken's arsenal—including Aura Sphere—was successfully copied.
Blaziken, of course, had no idea what Ash was doing.
Ever since releasing it from its Poké Ball, Ash had greeted it once...
Then simply stood there in silence, apparently lost in thought.
With nothing else to do, Blaziken found itself alternately observing Ash and studying the Pokémon around him.
And the more it looked...
The more shocked it became.
Before coming here, its trainer had already told it quite a bit about Ash.
A six-year-old prodigy.
An exceptionally gifted trainer.
Someone who had received his first Pokémon only three months earlier after graduating early from Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp.
Before sending Blaziken away, Meyer had also given it a mission.
Besides cooperating with Ash's Aura Sphere research...
It was to quietly test Ash.
To see whether the boy truly deserved the reputation of being a once-in-a-generation genius.
Blaziken already had a clear standard for what counted as a prodigy.
Its own young master—Clemont—was famous throughout Lumiose City as an Electric-type genius.
Blaziken knew exactly how strong a truly talented six-year-old trainer should be after only three months with their starter Pokémon.
Clemont was the perfect benchmark.
So Blaziken began examining Ash's team.
What it discovered left it utterly stunned.
Ash already owned eight Pokémon...
—or nine, if Rotom was included.
And among them...
Four had already reached the Elite Tier.
How could Blaziken possibly remain calm after seeing that?
Its own young master, the celebrated Electric-type prodigy of Lumiose City, currently possessed only three Pokémon—
Heliolisk,
Magnemite,
and Magneton.
Among them, the strongest, Heliolisk, was only Level 35.
Even Magneton had reached merely Level 31.
Both were still within the Advanced Tier.
Yet Ash...
Not only did he possess nearly three times as many Pokémon...
He had already trained four Elite Tier Pokémon, each above Level 40.
Even his remaining Pokémon were far from weak.
As Blaziken continued observing, another fact became apparent.
Although Ash's Pokémon possessed remarkably high levels...
Their foundations were unbelievably solid.
In fact...
Their training was even more rigorous than that of Clemont's own Pokémon.
As a Champion-level Pokémon, Blaziken understood one truth better than anyone.
The sturdier a Pokémon's foundation...
The more it reflected how seriously its trainer valued that Pokémon.
How demanding their training methods were.
And how much confidence the trainer possessed in both themselves and their partner's future.
Only someone overflowing with confidence would dare train Pokémon that way.
At present, Clemont owned three Pokémon.
Only Heliolisk and Magneton were considered his main partners.
Magnemite was merely being developed as a reserve.
But what Blaziken saw before it...
Completely overturned its understanding.
Except for Rotom...
Ash was nurturing every single one of his seven battle Pokémon as core team members.
The sheer ambition behind that decision left Blaziken genuinely astonished.
Before coming here, Meyer had instructed it to gauge Ash's character and measure the breadth of his vision before assisting with Aura Sphere research.
After only a short period of observation...
Blaziken had only one thought.
"Master... forget trying to measure Ash's vision."
"His ambition might already surpass yours."
And then...
Blaziken noticed something else that stunned it even further.
Just moments earlier...
Without meaning to, it had briefly exposed the Mega Evolution bracelet on its wrist—the one embedded with Blazikenite.
The instant that happened...
--------------
T/N:
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