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Sinnoh Region—
Cynthia sat on the sofa, swinging her little feet. Her jade feet, painted with nail polish, glowed with a delicate luster under the light.
The TV was off now. Ash and Koga's battle was over, so there was nothing left to watch.
However, Cynthia was still replaying Ash's last words in her mind.
"The power of Victini? The legendary Pokémon is said to bring victory to its Trainer. It's said that it appears beside righteous Trainers who strongly desire victory. This reason sounds quite plausible, but I always feel there's something a bit off… It seems I'll have to go watch this Indigo Plateau Conference."
For a Champion of Cynthia's caliber, the Indigo Plateau Conference was merely a children's game. A Trainer who had debuted two years ago, no matter how strong, could only be so strong.
Trainers like her, who started their journey at fifteen with Gym-level Pokémon, could probably be counted on two hands across the entire world.
Not every family could allow someone to acquire a Pokémon early and train it to Gym-level.
Therefore, the Indigo Plateau Conference had never caught Cynthia's eye. To be frank, even in her debut year, she could have swept the Indigo Plateau Conference!
However, if her debut self had met the current Ash, whether she could win would be an unknown.
Even if Bulbasaur's final power truly came from Victini, what about Charizard and Pikachu before that? They couldn't have relied on Victini's power, could they?
Such a weak Bulbasaur, after gaining the power of the God of Victory, could directly thrash an Elite Four Class Pokémon.
If Charizard and Pikachu had gained that power, would they have won with such difficulty?
So, the current Ash, relying on his inherent strength, could at least contend with an average Elite.
The premise is that the Elite battling Ash doesn't have information on Ash, otherwise… Ash would still be no match for an Elite.
If one were to treat Elites as mere roadside pebbles just because Ash defeated Koga, a potential Elite, today, that would be greatly underestimating Elite Trainers.
Any Trainer with even a little skill should have seen the weaknesses Ash displayed in this battle.
Charizard and Pikachu, after their enhancements, indeed possessed formidable strength, but to say they were on par with Elites was still a far cry.
Koga lost because he kept attacking. If he had stacked some buffs, then slowly drained his opponent's stamina, he could have easily won.
If he found that winning method ugly, he could also choose to stack some buffs and then attack with wide-range moves.
With his own attack power boosted, even if a move only grazed the opponent, it would still inflict considerable damage.
Ash's Charizard and Pikachu's biggest weakness lay in their defense and stamina. Against such attack methods, they wouldn't last long at all.
Besides the two methods above, Cynthia could think of ten or more ways to deal with Ash. This was the result of knowing the opponent's information.
So, the current Ash is strong, but compared to an Elite… finding an Elite who hasn't watched the battle might still offer a chance to win.
"Hello, Lorelei, give me a special viewing seat for the Indigo Plateau Conference… Yes, I want to go watch… Haha, isn't that asking the obvious? Of course, I'm going to see that little guy… Hmm, I'm quite interested… You're the one who's robbing the cradle. Alright, I'm hanging up."
Cynthia smiled, retorted, and hung up the phone. For the first time, she felt a certain anticipation for Kanto's childish competition… Besides Cynthia, many other Elites around the world also paid attention to this battle. They all called the Kanto League, expressing their desire to watch this year's Indigo Plateau Conference.
What was once known as a rookie cradle, a chicken-pecking contest, and a forgotten amateur tournament has now become bustling with activity.
The Kanto League's phones were almost ringing off the hook.
Meanwhile, the perpetrator of all this had already quietly left Fuchsia City.
Led by Gardevoir, Ash and the others left Fuchsia City and arrived at a mountain path a little further ahead. There were no people here, and the three of them could finally sit down and rest.
After just finishing the battle, they should have gone to the Pokémon Center in Fuchsia City to restore their Pokémon, but Fuchsia City had completely exploded!
With Ash's fame, it was impossible for him to appear in Fuchsia City; otherwise, he would definitely be surrounded immediately.
After all, he had defeated a potential Elite as a Rookie Trainer, and the third battle was a crushing victory!
Although Ash eventually concocted a Victini excuse, the number of people in the world who knew about Victini was definitely a minority of minorities. In all of Fuchsia City, probably only Koga knew.
Others probably took Ash's mention of Victini as a casual excuse. Only those truly familiar with Victini's characteristics would take Ash's seemingly casual words seriously.
"Is this the trouble with being famous? It's too scary; those people really don't care about other people's feelings!!" Ash wiped the sweat from his forehead, caused by the surging crowd, and complained.
In the past, Ash really liked being famous. After all, when you're young and reckless, who doesn't like to show off in front of the public? Putting on a big show in front of a crowd was definitely one of his dreams since childhood!
Although it wasn't as strong as his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, the idea of making a name for himself had always been deeply buried in Ash's heart.
However, now that he was truly famous, Ash felt a bit at a loss.
He walked out and was immediately surrounded by a group of people, all chattering questions. Some ill-mannered individuals even tried to snatch his Pikachu. If this was the consequence of being famous, then he'd rather not be famous!
"Actually, this is because you, Ash, only have fame, but not the corresponding position and strength," Brock explained from the side.
"Look at Mr. Koga, or other Elite and Champions. When they go out, even without bodyguards, the crowds drawn by their fame wouldn't dare to do anything to them. They would even politely ask for photos and autographs, never being as chaotic as it is now."
"This is the result of their status. The positions of Elite and Champion make many people aspire to and admire them, while also not daring to be presumptuous. But you, Ash, are different. You… only have fame!"
Hearing this, Ash rubbed his head helplessly. Was this a classic example of status not matching fame? Had he become an example?
It seemed he would have to be low-key when out and about in the future, at least until he won the Indigo Plateau Conference Championship.
"By the way, Ash, what exactly happened with Bulbasaur? And when did Pikachu learn two more special moves? What exactly is Charizard's colorful flame? You wouldn't hide it even from us, would you?!" After catching her breath, Misty bombarded Ash with a barrage of questions.
This battle not only baffled Koga, but even they couldn't understand it at all!
You see, they had been companions with Ash for two months, walking side by side. Ash's debut was only two months ago, which meant they had been with Ash, inseparable, since he started his journey.
Yet, every time Ash battled, he would pull out things they had no knowledge of: the partner form at Cerulean Gym, Surf at Vermilion City Gym, Saffron… they knew a little about Saffron. Evolving two Pokémon during the Celadon City Gym battle—that could be overlooked. But the most significant was this time at Fuchsia City Gym!
All three Pokémon displayed unprecedented moves and power. When the heck did Ash train his Pokémon to such a degree?!
Hearing this, Ash awkwardly scratched his head, then brought out the excuse he had prepared long ago.
"Charizard's flame is Sacred Fire. Yes, that's right, it's Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire. Because the rainbow wing has been on Charizard for a long time, he also inherited this flame. However, he couldn't use it before. This time, under the pressure of an Elite Level Pokémon, he finally managed to use it. Fully mastering this flame later is only a matter of time."
The colorful flame was Ho-Oh's flame… Although they had already suspected it, when they heard this answer directly from Ash's mouth, both of them were incredibly shocked!
That was a divine flame, yet it was mastered by a professional-level Pokémon like Charizard!
No wonder he could rely on this flame to defeat an Elite Level Pokémon beyond his own rank.
"As for Pikachu's moves… I actually only discovered them recently. 'Floating Drop' allows Pikachu to fly briefly in the air, but the duration is very, very short. Rather than flying, it's more like floating in the sky, so I named it Floating Drop."
"'Sparkling Lightning' is a move whose power is determined by the bond between me and Pikachu. The bond theoretically has no upper limit, so this move theoretically also has no upper limit. As of now, this move's power is at least stronger than Thunderbolt, and when using the move, the opponent will be Lock-On by the lightning, so this move comes with a guaranteed hit effect."
Floating Drop, Sparkling Lightning—these two moves were incredibly exaggerated. One move allowed Pikachu to fly in the air, albeit for a very short time, but that alone made its strategic significance far more important than its raw power.
Sparkling Lightning, on the other hand, was a guaranteed-hit, no-upper-limit move.
Plus soaring surf and Electric Terrain… Is this seriously a move pool a Pikachu can have? Don't be too exaggerated; is this Pikachu really not some legendary Pokémon reincarnation or something?
And even a typical legendary Pokémon reincarnation shouldn't be able to achieve this level; it would have to be a legendary Pokémon like Mew.
Ash ignored Misty and Brock's shocked expressions and continued, "As for Bulbasaur's increase in strength, didn't you just hear Mr. Koga mention it? That's the power provided by Victini. It's said to be a mythical Pokémon, known as the God of Victory, who provides infinite power to righteous Trainers who desire victory!"
"But why would Victini come to you? Didn't Mr. Koga say Victini usually appears in the Unova region?"
"Hey, who knows where a legendary mythical Pokémon will appear? Legendary and mythical Pokémon all love freedom and soaring freely, right? Maybe Victini was soaring to Kanto and saw how I gave my all for victory in the first two battles, so it granted me power!" Ash said, lying through his teeth.
The Victini excuse was naturally provided by Champion Ash. In reality, he didn't even know what Victini was, nor did he know what kind of legendary Pokémon Xerneas was, which Champion Ash mentioned before leaving.
He could just learn about these in the group later. For now, he'd temporarily pull them out as an 'all-powerful' excuse.
However, after Koga gave a general description of Victini, Ash also understood why Champion Ash wanted to use Victini as an excuse. If it truly was as mysterious as the legends said, its ability would be equivalent to an Aura Fusion Pro Max version.
Even pulling Bulbasaur up to Champion-level would be considered normal in the eyes of those in the know, far more normal than the explanation of 'ghost possession.'
"That's not right, Ash. If Victini only came after you had won two battles, then in your original proposal of a three-on-three, what would you have used for the third Pokémon to defeat Mr. Koga?" Misty pressed on.
Ash spread his hands, a helpless expression on his face: "I never intended to defeat all three of Koga's Pokémon. If I had brought Gengar, maybe I'd have a chance, but without Gengar, I couldn't win. I just wanted to use Mr. Koga's Pokémon to give my partners some pressure and a boost, but surprises always happen faster than expected."
Misty rolled her eyes and said, annoyed, "Only you would think of using Elite Level Pokémon as a whetstone. Aren't you afraid of breaking the blade?!"
"My partners aren't that fragile. Let's heal Charizard and the others first, then get going." Ash said, releasing Charizard, then used Viridian Power to heal Charizard and Pikachu… This battle was quite significant for Ash. Firstly, Charizard advanced another level, from Superior Peak to Professional Level!
Charizard had only reached Superior Peak two days ago. Logically, crossing such a major stage, even with Ash's methods and Charizard's training intensity, would require at least ten days or more.
Yet, one battle allowed Charizard to cross it, and it didn't overly affect its ability values; he almost ascended with full ability values!
However, this battle itself was also very difficult. Winning it was entirely due to Charizard's desperate efforts. Such an improvement could only be said to be well-deserved for Charizard.
Pikachu also advanced from Professional Junior to Professional Intermediate, and the biggest improvement was Bulbasaur. The progress in this battle was more than that of half a month of normal training, even comparable to three or four months for an average Trainer.