[Steven: Everyone, what's your take this time?]
[Lance: Ash loses this one!]
[Diantha: Oh? And why is that?]
[Lance: What are you, Bruno? You really can't see it?]
[Bruno: ???]
Seriously, enough already!
Argue all you want, but why is my name suddenly everyone's go-to insult?
Since when did "Bruno" become a derogatory term?!
Even Diantha twitched at the corner of her mouth.
Good. Good!
If not for this Heavenly Record, she never would've realized just how petty Lance really was!
All she did was jab at him once in the comments… and he's been holding a grudge ever since!
[Brandon: Let's hear your reasoning then, Lance.]
Brandon didn't want to agree with Lance, not at all.
If Pikachu lost again, it would only make Brandon look worse—after all, he was the only "god-tier Trainer" who actually lost to that Pikachu.
Still… Lance was a Champion of Johto, and a famous investigator besides.
If anyone had noticed a crucial detail, it'd be him.
[Lance: Since you insist, fine—I won't keep it in suspense. From that 'special highlight,' we learned Pikachu could no longer use Electric attacks.]
[Lance: And that highlight happened after this battle with Latios. Which means… Pikachu must have suffered serious, irreversible damage in this fight.]
[Lance: Not only did it lose its electric moves—it probably lost stamina and vitality too!]
The Champions went quiet.
When he laid it out like that… it actually did make sense.
[Diantha: But what if Pikachu managed to win—at the cost of such a heavy price?]
[Lance: See, see?! Classic contrarian!]
[Diantha: Say that again and I'll end you.]
[Lance: Cough—ahem. Anyway, for why Pikachu can't win against Latios, I'll let Professor Oak explain.]
Lance decided to back off—not because he feared Diantha, of course.
No, no… he just didn't want to "burn bridges."
Definitely not because Diantha (and her Gardevoir) were glaring daggers at him.
[Professor Oak: First, let me explain Latios.]
Latios, known as the Eon Pokémon, is legendary.
It can sense the hearts of humans, and draws close to those who are kind and just.
Though it dislikes conflict, it will fight to protect those it accepts.
Its wings fold back to reach speeds faster than a jet plane.
Its power is nothing to underestimate.
[Professor Oak: …and most importantly, Latios is Dragon/Psychic-type. While Pikachu… is Electric.]
The world's viewers quickly digested this info.
Then they compared Latios to Regice.
Conclusion? Not even in the same league!
At least, not for Pikachu.
Because unlike Regice, Latios had two deadly advantages:
– Dragon typing resists Electric attacks.
– It could fly freely at blinding speed.
Sure, Pikachu was fast too…
But against a jet plane? Yeah, no.
Now everyone understood why Lance was so certain Pikachu would lose.
In the last highlight, Pikachu had barely scraped through against Regice by going berserk.
Here? No favorable conditions, no type advantage.
How could it possibly defeat a Latios soaring through the sky?
"Sigh… Brother Ash, it's not that we don't support you. It's just… this matchup looks hopeless!"
"Yeah, it's not about us lacking faith—it's about the opponent being too strong."
"…To avoid getting wiped out, I'll just bet half my points. Three hundred!"
"Same here, half in!"
"…"
Though most people believed Pikachu had no chance, few dared to go all-in against it.
Betting points were far too precious—better to play it safe.
After all, even if you dumped everything on Latios, how much more could you really profit?
…
[Cynthia: By the way… who even is this Tobias? I've never heard of him. What kind of no-name brings a legendary to a League?!]
[Steven: The world has many hidden masters. It's not strange we don't know them all.]
[Wallace: Exactly. For example, Steven plans to hand me the Champion's seat after the World Championships and go into hiding. The man lives only for his rocks!]
[Steven: Ahem—I call it archaeology! Archaeology!!]
[Diantha: Enough. Save the bickering—who are you all betting on?]
[Leon: Ash!]
[Alder: Ash!]
[Lance: ???]
Are you people insane?!
I literally just explained the logic to you! And you're still betting on Ash?!
You're just throwing your points away!
[Leon: I don't know if Ash can win. But I admire his never-give-up spirit. And his Pikachu has limitless potential. So I'm going to gamble on that.]
[Alder: Hahaha! Great minds think alike!]
…
Meanwhile, aboard a jet, Giovanni smirked coldly at the scrolling comments.
These Champions? Nothing to fear.
All tied down by useless emotions—they'd never achieve greatness.
The smarter bet was clearly on that mysterious Tobias.
Giovanni went all-in, every point on him.
As for that nonsense about "ordinary Pokémon can challenge gods"?
That only applied to his Beedrill.
He had no doubt his Beedrill could slay a god.
But that Pikachu?
A fluke.
Its humiliating loss to a Snivy was proof enough!
…
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