The first semifinal ended with Leon's victory.
The second match followed immediately.
This time, it was a duel between two female Champions—
Cynthia vs. Diantha!
They were not only the League's two female Champions,
but also Champions who held additional roles beyond battling.
Their talent and strength were naturally beyond question.
The battle was fierce—dragon versus tiger.
In terms of tactics and overall Pokémon strength,
Cynthia was clearly a step ahead.
As the fight dragged on,
victory itself seemed to smile in her direction.
With three Pokémon, she defeated five of Diantha's!
At this point, Cynthia still had three Pokémon remaining—
Her ace Garchomp,
along with Lucario and Togekiss.
Diantha, on the other hand, had only Gardevoir left.
And then—
A scene that shocked the entire world unfolded.
As Diantha sent out Gardevoir,
she shouted sharply—
Brilliant light erupted, forming radiant chains
that linked Trainer and Pokémon!
Gardevoir's form began to change.
When the light faded,
a solemn, majestic Psychic Queen stood before everyone!!
MEGA EVOLUTION!!
Diantha had a Mega Evolution!
Even Mustard, watching from the stands, instinctively wiped sweat from his forehead.
This woman had been hiding a trump card.
No one knew when she had obtained the Mega Stone and Key Stone,
but judging by her mastery—
She had possessed them long before this match.
She had likely already had them when she fought him.
What a terrifying woman.
After Mega Evolution, Gardevoir's power surged dramatically.
Coupled with the fact that Gardevoir was Diantha's ace—
She forcefully defeated two of Cynthia's Pokémon in succession!
In the end, Cynthia was left with only Garchomp,
while Diantha still had Mega Gardevoir at over half health.
Fairy-type countered Dragon-type.
However—
Garchomp was Cynthia's ace.
As the ace of the Masters Eight's second-ranked Champion,
even in its normal state it could contend with Sub-Legendary Pokémon,
approaching the level of divine-class Sub-Legendaries!
Even after Mega Evolution,
Gardevoir was still slightly weaker.
And more importantly—
Gardevoir had already consumed too much stamina earlier.
Thus, in the end—
Mega Gardevoir fell beneath Crunch from Garchomp.
The Masters Eight semifinals concluded.
Advancing to the finals were—
Cynthia and Leon!
Tomorrow, the final battle would begin.
Would Leon solidify his title as the world's strongest?
Or would Cynthia rise and become the new queen?
"What a shame… it really felt like Miss Diantha almost won! Mega Evolution is such a powerful technique!"
Ash wasn't siding with Diantha.
After all—
The victor doesn't need consolation.
Had Cynthia lost,
Ash would have felt the same regret for her.
Hearing this, Red shook his head.
"Gardevoir was never going to defeat Garchomp in the end. Even with Mega Evolution."
"Diantha was already slightly inferior to Cynthia tactically. On top of that, Garchomp is simply stronger than Gardevoir."
"And Gardevoir had already spent too much stamina in the earlier rounds."
"Unless I were the one standing on that stage, there was no chance of winning."
Red wasn't being arrogant.
He was stating facts.
If he had been commanding Gardevoir,
the odds would have been at least fifty percent.
Not the near-zero chance it had just now.
What Ash couldn't see,
Red saw immediately.
That was the gap in perspective between them.
After all—
Red was eighteen years old now.
"I see… Oh! Red, you were already that strong at ten! You must be even stronger now, right? How about we battle? I have a Pikachu too!"
The Pikachu lazily sprawled on the sofa, instantly bristling all its fur.
Do you hear what you're saying?!
Yesterday, Pikachu still had a bit of pride left,
wanting to prove itself.
Now?
Not a chance.
Earlier, when it exchanged electricity with Red's Pikachu via their tails,
It had sensed an ocean-deep voltage.
Please.
Even a hundred of him combined
wouldn't match Red's Pikachu.
A battle?
No.
That was called asking for abuse.
Yet Red rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded.
"Let me see how much you've grown."
Red was genuinely curious about Ash's current strength.
He had only just arrived in this world.
Though Ash's name appeared frequently in the comment feeds,
Red didn't really know him.
Judging by Ash's appearance—
probably around ten?
Maybe… Elite Four level?
The two quickly moved to an open area for battle.
Ash sent out Pikachu.
Red did the same.
Less than a minute later—
Ash's Pikachu was defeated.
Ash then sent out Charizard.
Red followed suit.
The result?
About a minute.
Charizard was knocked flat.
After the battle, Ash looked dejected.
He had expected a gap—
But not one this massive.
"I'm sorry… Charizard… Pikachu… I made you lose so badly…"
Ash carefully applied healing spray to both Pokémon.
Red had been very controlled.
Only superficial injuries were inflicted.
Charizard recovered much faster than Pikachu—
After all, it carried the Rainbow Wing.
"Roar~"
"Pika~"
Both Pokémon comforted Ash.
This battle had shown them
just how powerful their parallel-world counterparts were.
They still had a long way to go.
Though—
If possible, they'd rather avoid getting beaten like this again.
No one enjoys seeking abuse.
"Thank you…"
No matter how much they slacked beforehand,
once the battle began, they showed no hesitation.
They executed every command perfectly.
These were his best partners.
Unfortunately—
The gap wasn't just between Pokémon.
The Trainers themselves were worlds apart.
Thus, the defeat was crushing.
Charizard and Pikachu hadn't even touched
Red's counterparts.
Red stepped forward,
slowly suppressing the shock in his heart.
What shocked him?
Ash's strength.
Weak.
Too weak.
Nowhere near how Red had been at the start of his own journey.
Forget Elite Four—
Ash would struggle even against later Gym Leaders from Red's world.
Like Sabrina or Blaine.
But—
Despite the weakness, Red noticed something.
Ash's command style was chaotic, free-form, and unconventional.
If properly harnessed,
it could produce unexpected effects—
Even allowing him to defeat stronger opponents.
This crushing loss stemmed from one root cause—
The massive disparity in Pokémon strength.
As a result, Ash's wild ideas became burdens instead of advantages.
Compared to Red—
Ash lacked power,
but his thinking was more flexible.
Pros and cons.
Red had never watched Ash's ranking videos.
They were easy to find online—
But a Mt. Silver shut-in didn't browse the internet.
So Red didn't know what Ash's future looked like.
Yet from these two battles alone,
he could already tell—
Ash's future achievements would not be inferior to his own.
A gem worth polishing.
A future worth waiting for.
That was Red's evaluation.
"Ash… do you have a guest room at home?"
"Huh? Yeah! We do!"
Why was Red asking this…?
"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay for a while. As rent, my Pokémon will train yours. And… I can also give you tactical guidance."
In other words—
Your cheat code has arrived.
Ash was overjoyed!
"Of course! I'll just tell Mom—she'll definitely agree!"
"She even said yesterday that since you're a parallel-world me, you're basically her other son!"
"Another… son…"
Red felt a stir in his heart.
This world's mother—
It was wonderful too.
"There's still time before lunch. Let's go see Professor Oak."
"Alright."
Red also wanted to see
this world's Professor Oak—
And… Blue.
Ash recalled his mostly recovered Charizard,
Pikachu is hopping onto his shoulder.
He chatted nonstop as they walked.
When Red learned that Misty and Brock were traveling with Ash,
He was genuinely surprised.
This world's him had even brought Gym Leaders along?
Misty and Brock were staying at a nearby Pokémon Center
and had already gone to Oak's Lab.
After lunch, they would head to the Indigo Plateau
to register for the Top 16 of the League Conference.
"Indigo Conference?"
The name sounded unfamiliar to Red.
"Yeah! You need eight badges to enter! If you win, you can challenge the Elite Four! Even the Champion! Though Kanto doesn't have one right now!"
Red: …
This world was indeed different.
In his world,
eight badges meant direct access to the Elite Four.
Every region worked that way.
Here, one had to win a League Conference first.
High EQ:
The Elite Four here had higher prestige.
Low EQ:
The Gyms were weaker.
And—
Kanto had no Champion?
Oh right.
Before Blue took the seat,
his world had been vacant for a long time, too.
Fair enough.
Red suddenly said—
"Since Kanto has no Champion, you should try becoming one."
"Huh?! Me—Champion??"
Ash was completely stunned.
He hadn't even fought in the Top 16 yet!
"Not now. I know your limits. But… one year should be enough."
Ash: …
Are you serious?
One year to become League Champion?!
Tournament Champion, maybe.
League Champion?!
"Don't believe me—or don't believe yourself?"
"I…"
Red patted Ash's head gently.
"You and I are the same existence—just in different worlds."
"If I could do it, there's no reason you can't."
"You're weak now because your talent hasn't fully awakened."
"Leave that to me."
"When you grow strong, we'll fight properly."
Ash's hesitation transformed into resolve.
If Red could do it—
So could he.
"One year… I'll do it!"
"Pika-pi!"
On this ordinary road,
Two future world-class Champions
made a promise.
As for when they would finally fight as equals—
That depended on how fast Ash grew.
Soon, they arrived at Professor Oak's Lab.
At the entrance stood a boy and a girl chatting.
The girl held a small eggshell Pokémon—
The Lucky Pokémon, Togepi.
They were Misty and Brock.
They had agreed to meet Ash at eleven.
Ash hadn't arrived yet.
Misty was already on the verge of exploding—
When she saw two figures approaching.
She stopped mid-conversation
and stormed toward Ash—
Only for her words to catch in her throat.
"Why are there… two Ashes?"
"No—wait… you're not Ash…"
"…Red?!"
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