After Pikachu defeated Arbok, Lorelei made another call, and only then did Cynthia learn Ash's detailed information from her.
The opponent was even younger than she had guessed, he had only debuted two months ago!
Moreover, he hadn't trained any Pokémon before embarking on his journey.
Don't let her being the youngest Champion in history fool you; she had actually been training Pokémon for more than three years.
Before setting out on her journey, she already had a Garchomp at Gym Leader level. Over the next three years, she gradually raised Garchomp to Champion Level, and some of her other Pokémon also slowly reached Champion Level.
The year she became Champion at eighteen, she didn't solely possess Champion-level Pokémon. It was simply that Garchomp was too strong, allowing her to narrowly defeat the reigning Sinnoh Champion that year.
Now, after several years of refinement, she has truly become a Champion worthy of the title.
Under her presence, the Sinnoh League has become one of the top leagues.
If there were a ranking among the regional leagues, the Galar League, home to the strongest Champion, would be ranked first, with the Sinnoh League coming in second.
As for the league at the bottom, there's no doubt: it's the Kanto League.
After all, two of the Kanto League's four Elite members are from other regions, which clearly illustrates how much Kanto is struggling with a lack of new talent.
Furthermore, the Kanto League doesn't even have a Champion. If they aren't at the bottom, who is?
If the Kanto League continues down this path, it might transform from once being the strongest league into one forced to merge with the Johto League.
But now, things seem to be taking a turn for the better.
The young man named Ash on TV, if given a little more time to grow, would undoubtedly become a Champion-level Trainer, or even a Champion.
No, it should be said that he will definitely become a Champion. If he maintains this momentum, he might even become a Champion Trainer younger than she was.
"What will you use for your third Pokémon? I'm truly looking forward to it," Cynthia murmured, her beautiful eyes filled with interest.
Fuchsia Gym
Ash picked up Pikachu and handed him to Misty, who was standing nearby.
"Pikachu is in your care."
"Mm… but Ash, what will you use for your third Pokémon? It won't be Gardevoir, will it?" Misty asked with concern as she took Pikachu.
If Ash used Gardevoir, to put it bluntly, this third match would almost certainly be a loss.
Gardevoir's strength was on par with Charizard's. Even if she had a trump card similar to Charizard's special flames, she couldn't defeat a Champion-level Pokémon.
Koga now had only one Pokémon left, and it was impossible to expect him to go easy and use a weaker one. That wasn't realistic.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. This third battle… is a guaranteed win!" Ash grinned, confidence written across his face.
After speaking, he took his hat from Pikachu's head, placed it back on his own, and turned to walk toward the battlefield.
Misty and Brock exchanged glances, both wondering where Ash's confidence came from.
Did he still have something hidden that they didn't know about?
As Ash returned to the battle arena, the field was once again enveloped by a transparent barrier.
In fact, every time the barrier shattered, the surrounding machinery would reallocate stored energy to repair it.
However, the battle between Pikachu and Arbok earlier had completely exceeded the barrier's defensive threshold, causing it to be utterly destroyed before it could even repair itself.
Although the barrier began to reconstruct afterward, it was immediately shattered again by the residual shockwaves before much progress could be made.
As a result, the barrier wasn't fully restored until after the battle concluded.
This type of barrier, designed for Gym Leader–level battles, was clearly inadequate for Champion-level clashes.
If Ash hadn't released his Aura as a protective shield around the area beforehand, the entire Fuchsia Gym would probably have been blown apart by now.
Even Ash couldn't afford to divide his focus to protect the surroundings while engaging in such an intense battle.
If he and Pikachu hadn't been in perfect sync and focused on the same goal at that time, the power of Thunder would have been reduced, and it wouldn't have been Arbok that lost.
Therefore, Koga's initial guess was correct: the one who had protected the Gym was indeed Ash.
As Ash returned to the arena, Koga also took out his last Poké Ball. His gaze toward Ash was filled with mixed emotions.
Emotion, surprise, admiration… Everything Ash had displayed today had far exceeded Koga's imagination. And even now, Ash hadn't used the Pokémon he had sent out against Sabrina.
Sabrina's strength was no secret among the top Gym Leaders. Her Alakazam possessed power comparable to a Elite Four, and even Lorelei couldn't defeat it in a one-on-one battle.
Ash's ability to defeat Sabrina certainly couldn't have been due to Charizard, who barely beat a low-level Champion, or Pikachu, who only managed to defeat a mid-level Champion Pokemon after using every trick in the book.
This meant Ash still had a trump card.
At this point, Koga couldn't hold anything back. For this third Pokémon, he had to use his ace!
Otherwise, if he really lost this battle, it would be a huge problem!
Did he still want the Johto Elite Four position?
"Ash, I've actually been looking forward to battling you for a long time, but I never expected it to be like this. I never thought I'd end up in a three-on-three with you, and to be pushed to such a desperate situation. This Pokémon is my strongest ace. If I lose even this match, then I suppose I'll be 'famous for all eternity,'" Koga said with a sigh, using a joking tone to hide his genuine frustration.
If he were truly defeated by a Trainer who debuted two months ago, then it wouldn't be "famous for all eternity," but more like "infamous for ten thousand years." Such a record would absolutely be nailed to the pillar of historical shame. So, for the sake of his pending appointment as a Johto Elite Four member, and to avoid becoming "infamous for ten thousand years," he could not lose this battle!
"Mr. Koga… good luck!"
Ash called out suddenly, and actually cheered him on.
Koga, who was just about to throw his Poké Ball, stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.
What was that supposed to mean? His opponent was cheering him on? Did he not want to win?
If it had been anyone else, Koga would've thought they were mocking him. To be honest, Ash now had every right to mock him, given the situation.
But based on what he knew of Ash's personality, that wasn't the case. From the moment they met, Ash had left a good impression. Even after defeating Koga's Pokémon again and again in battles far beyond his level, he never once showed arrogance, sarcasm, or pride.
Instead, after every match, he immediately ran to his Pokémon's side, encouraged them, praised them, and then carefully recalled them to their Poké Balls or helped them off the field.
Koga hadn't seen a young Trainer with that kind of heart in a long time.
Because of that, he couldn't help but be puzzled by Ash's unexpected "good luck."
Meanwhile, Ash, after wishing Koga luck, closed his eyes. Outwardly, he seemed to be resting, but in truth, he had entered the chat group.
Newbie: Seniors, I've won two matches! For the last one, Mr. Koga's probably sending out his ace. Who's taking this one?
Champion Ash: I'll do it. It's been a while since I've fought an Elite Four, I'll relive the feeling a bit.
Tactician Ash: Tsk, since you spoke first, I'll let you have it. But next time, you owe me a turn. No one on my side even wants to fight me anymore.
Champion Ash: Heh, come on. How many people in the group do you think want to fight you?
Aura Hero Ash: That's not true, I fought him last time!
Champion Ash: Yeah, and you were complaining for a full day afterward
Aura Hero Ash: Don't act like you didn't feel the same way!
Newbie: Ahem, okay, okay, since we're all 'Ash,' let's not bully each other, alright? Champion, how do I operate this?]
Champion Ash: Look to the right side of the group chat. There should be an icon lit up.
Upon hearing that, Ash's virtual self looked to the left side of the chat window. There were many icons there, but before, no matter how many times he tapped or focused his thoughts, nothing happened.
Now, however, one of the icons was glowing, a hat-shaped symbol.
Ash lightly tapped it with his finger, and instantly, countless options appeared before him.
These were the names of each Ash in the group, and now, Ash was to choose one to descend upon him.
This was a one-time A-rank ability he had drawn a few days ago, called [Proxy].
This ability allowed Ash to select a "Ash" from the group to possess him, to help train his Pokémon or assist in battle.
What descended wasn't just another Ash from a parallel world, it also brought along one of that Ash's Pokémon.
As mentioned before, all draws in the chat group never produced physical objects, for example, held items couldn't be drawn from the group.
So having another Ash's Pokémon descend physically was impossible.
But, strictly speaking, it wasn't a physical descent. These Pokémon could appear as energy bodies.
Ash's first draw from the group had been Aura Hero Ash's Aura, and the group had infused that power into his body, granting him the strength to stand against Champion-level Pokémon and beyond.
This time, the same principle applied. Ash could designate one of his Pokémon to receive the energy of a parallel-world Pokémon belonging to another Ash from the group.
Simply put, if Ash chose Champion Ash to possess him, and selected his own Charizard, then that Charizard could be imbued with the energy of Champion Ash's Charizard.
However, this power was strictly one-time. Once the possession period ended, all the energy would vanish without a trace.
At first glance, this ability didn't seem all that useful, other than pulling it out in a pinch to turn the tide of an unwinnable battle. It didn't grant any lasting, substantial boost to a Pokémon's strength.
But with Ash's current Aura, unless two God-Tier Pokémon appeared at once, there really wasn't much that could threaten him.
As for relying on others to win battles… that wasn't Ash's style.For him, a victory gained through someone else's power didn't count as a real win, unless it was a situation where losing would cause catastrophic consequences, like the world being destroyed.
Otherwise, even in the Masters Eight Championship, if he had to depend on help from others, even from alternate versions of himself, Ash wouldn't consider that a genuine victory.
So, while this ability might look like a gimmick at first, it actually wasn't.
Besides being a one-time assist in battle, it had an additional and far more valuable effect: the Pokémon that received the possession would retain a portion of the talent and power of the possessing Pokémon afterward.
That residual boost was the real treasure of this one-time skill.
Ash hadn't originally planned to use this ability in his fight against Koga. If he had used it right from the start, even in a one-on-six, Koga might not have been able to win.
But the "sseniors" in the group had advised him differently: if he wanted to grow faster, he should save this power for a high-pressure challenge, like the Fuchsia Gym.
Ash's growth had already reached a certain limit. His progress was incredible, but it could be pushed even further.
His potential was limitless by nature, and now that he had the chat group, a literal cheat code, it would be unacceptable if he couldn't reach Champion Level within a year.
To break past that bottleneck, Ash needed to face true high-stakes battles, fights that would force his potential to erupt. And what better way than challenging an Elite Four-level Trainer?
A simple one-on-one wouldn't be enough pressure. His Pikachu was just too strong, combined with Ash's Aura fusion, they could stand against nearly anyone short of a true Champion.
A two-on-two might be tougher, but Fuchsia Gym's official format was three-on-three. Perfect.
This setup could give two of Ash's regular Pokémon the chance to fight difficult opponents and grow, while the third match could be handed over to one of the "Senior Ashes" through possession.
If Koga's two Champion-level Pokémon were already defeated, he would definitely send out his ace for the last match.
That way, Ash's Pokémon, temporarily empowered by the possession, would get the rare chance to battle an Elite Four's ultimate trump card.
Koga himself wasn't necessarily a top-tier threat, but for Ash's current goals, he was the ideal opponent. And beyond that, there was another purpose to this match: resolving the inner turmoil of one particular "problem child" on Ash's team.
That was why Ash had ultimately agreed to the full three-on-three Elite Four-style battle with Koga.
From the start, he had already decided: if he could win two matches, that would be enough. The third wouldn't really be his fight, and even if he won, he wouldn't count it as his victory.
After defeating two of Koga's Pokémon, his personal challenge would be complete. The rest would be the showtime for the "Seniors" in the group.
And that was why, before the final battle began, Ash had said to Koga;
"Good luck."
It wasn't mockery or arrogance. It was genuine encouragement.Because what Koga was about to face… might just become the greatest nightmare of his career.