—On screen—
The chaos caused by Team Rocket was quickly resolved.
And surprisingly… they had actually done something good for once.
Because of their meddling, the runaway Piplup reconciled with its Trainer.
Team Rocket… honestly, they make me want to cry sometimes.
As for the Water Race championship?
No suspense there—Ash claimed it with ease.
Do you not understand the value of the Champion Collector title?
Having lost too many tournaments in the past, Ash had now sworn:
he would never again let a single championship slip through his fingers!
[Ash: Hey, Gary! That's four championships I've got already. What about you?]
[Gary: Oh, you little—! Fine then! Just wait until the Silver Conference. I'll beat the snot out of you!]
[Ash: Hah! We'll see. Don't go crying when you lose!]
[Lorelei: Yes, fight! Fight!]
[Lance: Lorelei, aren't you too old to meddle in kids' quarrels? There's a generational gap, you know.]
[Lorelei: LANCE! You're dead meat!]
[Cynthia: …ah, this Swiss roll is delicious. Anyway, watching you Kanto folks argue is the best entertainment.]
In Celestic Town, Sinnoh—
Cynthia's golden eyes gleamed as she watched the barrage of comments on the screen.
In public, she was the aloof and elegant Sinnoh Champion.
But privately?
She was a bit of an airhead.
That cool persona was just for show.
With the live chat, she could finally relax and reveal her true self.
Slurp! Cynthia's eyes sparkled.
This Swiss roll was too good.
And this Ash?
Far too interesting.
Once he came to Sinnoh, she'd definitely treat him to Swiss rolls from this shop.
—On screen—
After claiming his victory, Ash finally had a rare moment of free time.
He was just about to take Koharu to meet some of his "old friends" in Sinnoh—
but one by one, the doors closed.
Champion Cynthia? Off in Hoenn, attending a symposium on legends.
Flint? He'd taken Volkner to Kalos to challenge the Champion Diantha, inspired after hearing Lance became the Johto Champion.
If he couldn't beat Cynthia, then maybe he could topple Diantha!
And Dawn? She had apparently tagged along with Flint to Kalos as well.
The thought made Ash's head hurt.
May, Dawn, Serena—all in Kalos.
If they all ran into each other…
He didn't even want to imagine that scene.
At least he managed to run into Paul.
Same as ever, Paul wore his eternal scowl,
as if the world owed him money.
"Koharu, don't mind his gloomy face," Ash said cheerfully. "He's actually a good guy deep down. Too bad he's my defeated rival and can't make it to the big leagues."
Koharu stifled a laugh behind her hand.
Paul's face, meanwhile, darkened.
"Ash… if you've got nothing nice to say, then just shut it."
He was almost laughing from sheer frustration.
Defeated a rival?!
Sure, Ash had beaten him once at the League.
But before that? Paul's win rate against Ash had been 100%!
"Details, details," Ash waved it off with a grin.
Truthfully, he was happy to see Paul again.
"How've you been? Gotten any championships?" he asked, oh-so-casually showing off the Water Race trophy he'd just won.
Paul's fists clenched.
This guy!
He used to be so hot-blooded…
Why was he now so infuriating?!
"…No championships yet. But I'm preparing to become a disciple of Brandon. Before long, I'll inherit his title."
"The Pyramid King, Brandon? Oh, I beat him once. His Regice was strong, but I still came out on top."
Paul was speechless.
This guy!!
Watching the two bicker nonstop, Koharu smiled warmly.
Perhaps she'd been overthinking things—
not all of Ash's rivals were girls, after all.
After parting ways with Paul, Ash and Koharu boarded a plane back to Vermilion.
They had planned to return to Galar—
But then a frantic call came from Professor Sakuragi.
"Ash, hurry! Ho-Oh has appeared!"
[Brandon: Why?! Why am I just a background character?!]
[Flint: Don't be sad, Brandon. I'm a background character too!]
[Steven: By the way, doesn't Brandon look a lot like Paul?]
[Bruno: You noticed too, Steven? I almost thought they were father and son.]
[Reggie: Don't spread nonsense! Paul and I have nothing to do with Brandon!]
[Cynthia: Regice… So Ash actually defeated Regice? Does this mean he has the power to overcome gods themselves?]
As a scholar of myths, Cynthia knew very well the strength of Legendary Pokémon.
Regice, the Iceberg Pokémon, created by Regigigas as one of the three Regis.
Brandon, the famed Pyramid King, was a master of these legendaries.
And yet… they had fallen to Ash.
Cynthia's curiosity about him deepened.
—On screen—
Back in Vermilion City, Ash and Koharu returned straight to Sakuragi Lab.
The moment Professor Sakuragi saw his daughter,
he fussed over her endlessly.
It had only been a few days apart,
but to him, it felt like an eternity.
Especially since she had been traveling alongside a bright, cheerful Ash…
as a father, he was terrified.
This was exactly why he kept calling them back at every opportunity.
"Professor, have you really found Ho-Oh's trail?" Ash cut straight to the point.
After all, this was Ho-Oh.
Even Ash himself had only glimpsed it a few times.
"Yes! An old man spotted it. Look, I even have a photo!"
Reluctantly letting go of Koharu,
Professor Sakuragi pulled out his Rotom Phone and showed a picture.
Ash took one glance—
and his brows immediately furrowed.
How to put it…
To others, it might look like a shadow of Ho-Oh in the sky.
But Ash, who had seen Ho-Oh with his own eyes,
could tell right away—
This was nothing more than a Fearow cosplay.
From the camera angle, the truth was obvious.
[Lance: Why does this Ho-Oh look so weird? Is it just me, or does it look like a Fearow?]
[Elderly Oak: Not bad. If you don't look closely, it does resemble one.]
[Ash: Yeah, something feels off. It's not the same Ho-Oh I saw, but I can't explain why…]
[Gary: Wait—you've seen Ho-Oh?!]
[Ash: I told you before! On my very first day, in Viridian Forest—I saw Ho-Oh at the edge of the sky!]
[Gary: !!!]
[Bruno: Then it must be true. I've seen Ho-Oh illustrations in textbooks, and this photo looks exactly like them!]
[Steven: …Bruno. You might want to double-check your textbooks. Does this really look the same?]
[Lorelei: Forget him. Bruno's rock brain won't figure it out anyway.]
Utter nonsense.
It was one thing if regular folks couldn't tell.
But Bruno, an Elite Four member of both Kanto and Johto, failed this badly?
Lorelei could only sigh in disbelief.
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