"Aiya, Ash, you're back! Well? Surprised? Unexpected?"
Delia, Ash's mother, clapped her hands with a smile as she looked at him.
Ash was dumbfounded inside.
Because the timing really wasn't right yet. If Misty and May were to meet Serena now…
But since it had already happened, there was no turning back. One step at a time.
"Phew…"
Ash thought he wouldn't feel nervous about the Kalos League at all.
And indeed, during the battles he wasn't nervous. But now that this situation had happened, even he couldn't help but feel the tension.
Luckily, to his relief, neither Misty nor May said anything. Instead, everyone's eyes were fixed directly on him.
"Ash, it's been a long time. How have you been?"
At that crucial moment, when all eyes were on Ash, Brock appeared with Lucy at his side.
"Misty, May, long time no see."
Brock greeted everyone warmly, Lucy by his side.
"Well then, let's not stand here. Why don't we find somewhere to sit?"
"Pika…"
Pikachu glanced at Ash, chuckling softly.
"That's true. Since everyone here is either Ash's family or friends, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Clemont, also Ash's friend. Please, why don't you all come to my home and rest a bit?"
Clemont politely introduced himself and extended the invitation.
"Yay, yay! Bonnie approves!"
Bonnie raised her hand eagerly in support.
And so, the whole group made their way to Clemont's home.
Ash looked at the girls around him, bracing himself as he began to make introductions.
Anabel and Sabrina exchanged amused glances at Ash, secretly laughing to themselves.
Ash didn't yet realize that Misty and May had already changed a lot.
Because the harder they trained, the more they understood the gap between themselves and Ash.
When Ash became stronger or shone brighter than ever, sure, Misty and May might feel a little jealous at first. But soon after, they would no longer mind.
Because they had already accepted Anabel and Sabrina.
After all, both Misty and May had spent their travels in the Kanto region. (May later challenged the Johto Pokémon Contests while based in Kanto.)
So, they often visited Ash's home from time to time.
And at Ash's house, both Anabel and Sabrina were around. Whenever Sabrina came, she would always stay with Anabel, helping Ash take care of his Pokémon.
Both Anabel and Sabrina were the gentle type.
Especially after Sabrina returned to her normal self—she was just like a kind older sister from next door.
All the efforts these two girls made for Ash… Misty and May had seen it all clearly.
But Serena, on the other hand, wasn't feeling quite right.
After all, she wasn't foolish. The way the four girls across from her were looking at Ash was more than enough to explain some things.
Even so, she didn't say anything out loud, nor did she question Ash about it.
She knew Ash was competing in the Kalos League right now. So everything had to revolve around his tournament.
As for the rest, she planned to deal with it after the League was over.
The quarrels or interrogations Ash had expected never actually happened…
Delia, however, secretly shot her son a sharp glance. Ash only gave a sheepish smile in return.
And so, everyone stayed temporarily at Clemont's home.
Although Ash had all his Pokémon stored in the system space, the Kalos League battles consisted of only five matches before the top four were decided.
And in those five matches, Ash had used completely different Pokémon each time.
That made a total of fifteen Pokémon.
Three from the Indigo League, three from the Johto League, three from the Hoenn League, three from the Sinnoh League.
The remaining ones were chosen at random.
Ash had tried his best to be fair, but he still couldn't resist the enthusiasm of his Pokémon.
There was no helping it.
In the end, Ash promised that after the Kalos League ended, he would regularly return home.
And once he did, he would spend good quality time with all of them—training together, growing stronger together, and living happily side by side.
Only then did their excitement finally calm down.
The next day, the remaining sixty or so trainers battled in the morning to determine the top thirty-two. By the afternoon, the top sixteen and top eight had been decided.
And by nightfall, the top four were revealed!
Ash's Lapras, Swellow, Bayleef, Pignite, Torterra, Glalie, Gengar, Donphan, Primeape, and many other Pokémon all took part in the battles. During those clashes, Pignite evolved into a mighty Emboar, while Bayleef also reached its final form as Meganium, adding even more strength to Ash's team.
That night!
Ash successfully defeated his opponent and entered the semifinals.
The next match was Sawyer versus Tierno!
Tierno relied on his unique dance rhythm, performed in perfect sync with his Pokémon, to disrupt many opponents' strategies.
When Sawyer fought Tierno, their last Pokémon came down to Sceptile versus Raichu!
Earlier, Tierno had used Blastoise. Before Blastoise went down, it had used Rain Dance.
The battlefield was now pouring with rain.
His plan was clear—during the rain, Raichu's Thunder would be stronger, and with the ground soaked through, there would be no way for his opponent to dodge.
But what Tierno didn't expect was that before the Kalos League even began, Sawyer and his Sceptile had already prepared a secret weapon: the Mega Evolution stone and a Key Stone.
When Sceptile Mega Evolved into Mega Sceptile, its ability changed…
It became Lightning Rod…
Tierno was doomed.
He was eliminated miserably.
Sawyer advanced smoothly into the top four!
Next up would be tomorrow's semifinals!
"The final four have at last been decided! After one intense battle after another, the strongest four trainers of this year's Kalos League will clash tomorrow in the semifinals! First, Alain versus Remo! Then, Ash versus Sawyer! Let us all wait in eager anticipation!"
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals