Cynthia was the first to arrive at the opening ceremony among the champions from three regions. Steven and Leon arrived hastily only after the preliminary rounds had already started. If you ask why, the answer is simple - they had other matters to attend to.
Now, all three champions are seated in the special audience section, alongside the Kanto Elite Four and the League's president, Charles Goodshow. All of them watch the matches with interest, which to them seem as childish as playground games, yet they don't find it boring at all.
Honestly speaking, it's been ages since they last watched a tournament of this level; the standard is just too low for them. However, upon revisiting this format, they find it has its own unique charm.
After waiting for quite a while, they finally get to see Ash's first battle. In fact, the three champions are there for one person alone: Ash.
It's not just because Ash's fame precedes him, but also because Ash has long been on their radar.
All three had watched Ash's battle against Koga live, and only Cynthia watched the live battle between Ash and Lorelei; the others only saw the recordings.
Ash's strength and talent are evident. They have always wanted to meet this prodigy from Kanto in person, as he represents Kanto's hope for resurgence and their future rival.
However, before witnessing the current battles, they thought Ash still had a long way to go.
Whether it was the battle against Koga long ago or the recent one against Lorelei, Ash's Pokemon were imbued with a special power. This special power is something they learned from the Elite Four and it's called Aura Power.
With the boost from Aura Power, Ash's Pokemon could exhibit terrifying enhancements. But ultimately, it isn't the Pokemon's own power, so achieving that level of enhancement means the Pokemon surely paid a price—most obviously in terms of their physical strength.
As for other aspects, Cynthia and the others have yet to figure them out. But regardless, Ash's Pokemon strength is indeed vastly different from theirs. Without using Aura Power, their Pokemon could defeat Ash's in a single strike.
But today, Pikachu's performance put a bit of pressure on them. It hinted that in a formal match, they might not eliminate Pikachu in one hit.
This was Pikachu's own, pure power. If Ash's previous enhancements hadn't weakened, then Pikachu, on the brink of Gym Peak level and comparable to Elite level strength, could suddenly soar to Champion level!
Now that would be terrifying.
"This Pikachu's actual level has reached Gym level, which is already a big leap compared to back then, possibly even two stages higher. And how long has it been since then?" Steven couldn't help but exclaim.
Besides Pikachu's ability to fight above its level, its advancement in levels is astounding. Even the most talented Pokemon would find it incredibly unrealistic to advance from Professional Middle Level to Gym Peak in just three months.
But Ash's Pikachu did it!
This is just a Pikachu! It achieved what 99% of Pokemon in the world couldn't!
Ash's Pikachu is truly exceptional.
"Lance, with Pikachu's current level, can Ash still push Pikachu up another stage?" Leon asked with great interest, looking at Lance.
If Pikachu could reach Champion level, then he might just feel a spark of battle desire.
"I don't know, it's been ages since I've seen Ash use such power openly. But I think Ash's Aura Power could upgrade a Pokemon from Professional Level to Gym Level; however, it might not necessarily elevate from Gym Level to Elite Level, that degree of enhancement seems unnatural." Lance analyzed sensibly.
Logically, such a power that directly boosts a Pokemon by an entire stage shouldn't exist, but since Ash himself is quite the anomaly, he can boost his Pokemon to that level.
Lance had heard from Lorelei about Ash engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Mewtwo, taking down Mewtwo with just his human body!
Ash's personal combat skills are terrifying in themselves, which is the primary reason he can provide such formidable enhancements to his Pokemon.
Though Ash has not explained the nature of his power, they have speculated that Ash shares his own power with his Pokemon, which explains their significant boost, though this sharing likely has its limits.
Otherwise, if Ash, comparable to the Divine Domain Level, could transfer all his power to his Pokemon, their combat strength would have exploded long ago!
Therefore, there must be limits to Ash's power-sharing, although how much limitation is unknown.
Can the boost for Gym-level Pokemon still reach the previous level of enhancement?
These questions might only be answered when Ash faces an opponent of similar caliber, but will there even be such a rival at the Quartz Conference? That seems quite unlikely.
...
On the field, after Pikachu instantly defeated Kingdra, Mandi numbly retrieved Kingdra, and the commentator's harsh words echoed in the arena once more.