“Here, we present flowers to Ms. Sakurai Tomo, the voice actress of Zhu Lan.”
“Ms. Sakurai Tomo passed away on August 13th at the age of 53.”
“Approaching you is the Champion of the Sinnoh region, a senior Sinnoh archaeologist, one of the Pokémon Eight Masters Tournament, and the owner of the strongest Garchomp. He has participated in saving Sinnoh multiple times and is also the first female Pokémon Champion, Cynthia, also known as Zhu Lan or Sister Cabbage. We pay tribute to the eternal Sister Cabbage, Sakurai Tomo.”
“Good evening, the strongest Champion of the Sinnoh region.”
“The author's typing skills are not high, and I've always handwritten on my phone, so I often use voice input to write novels, which may result in some typos.”
“As for the detailed parts, I will try my best to write them. I have never used AI to continue writing. I believe that a novel I conceive should be completed with my own ideas; this is my unique journey, and I hope readers will also have a better experience witnessing it.”
…………
“Next up is Ash versus Steven.”
In the audience's rest area, Zhu Lan proactively posed a question to Gui Ling this time.
“Are you very concerned about Ash?”
“Of course.”
“Is he your friend?”
“Rather… he is my idol.”
“Oh? It seems there are things I don't know about.”
“I hope he keeps his promise to me and brings them.”
“Them?”
Zhu Lan looked at Gui Ling, who was staring intently at the screen, with a puzzled expression.
“Now is the time to find out.”
…………
Just then, the arena announced the entry of both contestants. Ash walked onto the stage full of spirit, and Steven stood opposite him with a dignified air. Gui Ling stared intently at Ash's Poké Ball, his eyes filled with anticipation.
The match began, and Ash was the first to throw his Poké Ball.
“Go, Charizard!”
“Nice! Ash, you didn't disappoint me! Use your proudest partners to win this battle!”
Zhu Lan looked at the excited Gui Ling and seemed to understand something.
“This Charizard?”
“It's one of Ash's strongest Pokémon! My initial request to him was to use his strongest team to fight me, and he kept his promise, excellent!”
Gui Ling looked at the screen, his eyes sparkling.
“An All-Star team!”
The Charizard on stage was majestic; this Charizard was definitely stronger than Alain's ace Charizard!
The result was as Gui Ling expected; Charizard took down two opponents and even consumed half of its health before falling when facing Metagross. Finally, Pikachu used 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt to secure the victory.
In the battle between Lance and Kalunai, Dragon types inherently have a clear disadvantage against Fairy types, and Kalunai ultimately won.
As for Diantha against Iris, Diantha also ended the battle with her Charizard.
The semifinalists for the Eight Masters Tournament were determined, and the final draw showed—Gui Ling against Diantha, and Kalunai against Ash.
In the first match, Kalunai against Ash, Gui Ling watched the screen from the rest area and smiled as he looked at the Key Stone on Ash's hand.
Half an hour ago…
“Hey Ash, how do you feel?”
Ash and Pikachu turned around to see Gui Ling leaning against the wall, warmly greeting them.
“Gui Ling? Haha! How was it? Was my performance good? I'm following your promise; this time, I'm definitely going to defeat you!”
“Not enough yet, catch this.”
Ash caught two shining glass beads. He picked them up and found they were two Mega Evolution ites.
“Mega Evolution ites for Charizard and Sceptile, they're for you. Don't disappoint me, Ash. Of course, Mega Evolution requires training and psychic manipulation. As for its limits… I believe you will gain a new understanding during this tournament.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you something. Currently, only you and I in all regions can use Bond Phenomenon. This ability does not belong to any of the three systems. Although it's very similar to Mega Evolution, its essence is not the same.”
“So?”
“So you can exploit a loophole and achieve a second 'Mega Evolution'!”
…………
This battle exceeded everyone's expectations. Charizard and Sceptile directly swept through Kalunai's first five Pokémon, leaving only her ace Gardevoir.
After Gardevoir defeated Sceptile with a Moonblast, Ash's third Pokémon officially appeared.
“Go, my ace Greninja!”
“Kou! Ga!”
In the rest area…
“I understand now why you value Ash so much. The combat skills of that Charizard and Sceptile were too exaggerated. It's my first time seeing Kalunai so frustrated.”
“Don't be modest; I don't believe you can't beat her.”
“Haha~ Speaking of that Greninja… I also watched the crisis in Kalos before. That Greninja is quite remarkable.”
“Originally, Greninja's ability was to see through the roots of vines, so it should have been left in Kalos to cut down trees. However, this time it was different. The auras of the three major First-level God of Kalos, X, Y, and Z, were fully unleashed, directly eliminating all the vines in Kalos. I spent these past six months cleaning up the aftermath before participating in the Eight Masters Tournament.”
“You've worked hard. I was wondering why you retired for half a year; so that's what it was about.”
“It's not hard work; rather… it's what I should do, just so Greninja doesn't leave Ash again. Their outcome shouldn't have been like that.”
Previously in Kalos, Kalunai had battled Ash's Greninja with her Gardevoir. Although Gardevoir wasn't using its full power last time, an unexpected move led to her defeat. This time, facing the complete Bond Phenomenon, Gardevoir eventually fell after dozens of rounds.
Ash successfully won the match and advanced to the finals, and the venue erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
Gui Ling looked at the spirited Ash on the screen, a relieved smile on his lips.
“This is… the Ash I've always admired!”
Next, it was Gui Ling's turn to battle Diantha. Whether Gui Ling would continue to win based on the inherent strength of his Pokémon, or if Diantha would defend her honor, everything remained unknown.
“This chapter has fewer words, and the segments are quite short. But it's time to sleep; I've had a bit of a cold recently, and I have to work tomorrow. I'll try to take a day off, and I'll continue with a big update on that day.”
“Seeing that people are still supporting me, I don't want to keep delaying. I also hope everyone doesn't 'hoard' the book, lest you 'starve' the author to death (*´I`*)”