[Here's a bonus chapter dedicated to our reader, Kashimiro_Andres]
Kalos Region, Vaniville town—
A beautiful girl with soft, flax-colored hair stared intently at the screen.
Her name was Serena.
She hadn't started her journey yet—
She would be old enough next year,
but for various reasons, she didn't want to go.
(In this setting, Serena is one year younger than Ash.)
But after the Heavenly Tally appeared,
her decision changed.
All because of the boy on that screen.
When Serena was little, she attended a Kanto summer camp.
She got lost after a small accident…
just when she was frightened, helpless, and on the verge of tears—
A young boy appeared.
That boy was Ash.
He tended her injury, wrapped her wound,
and brought her back to the campsite.
His bright smile carved itself deeply into her heart.
From that day on, Ash became her ideal—her hero.
Even after so many years apart, she never forgot him.
But she never expected that the next time she saw Ash…
would be on a mysterious, celestial screen.
And not only him—
She herself appeared on the screen too!
More mature, short hair—but unmistakably her.
'In the future… do I end up traveling with Ash too?'
In the video—
Ash, exhausted from chasing Greninja, collapsed onto the ground, panting hard.
Serena hurried over and offered him a pink water bottle.
In Vaniville Town, Serena had just taken a sip from her own water bottle—
—and nearly sprayed it all over the floor.
The bottle she saw on-screen…
…it was the same design as the one she was holding right now!
What the heck?
What exactly was her future relationship with Ash?!
So close??
Ash didn't hesitate—he took the bottle and drank the entire thing.
Watching this in the present, Serena's face was practically steaming.
Thankfully, her mother wasn't nearby…
Lumiose City, Lumiose Gym—
"Brother! Brother! Look, that's us! Are we traveling with Ash too?!"
A little blonde girl tugged excitedly on her older brother.
The blonde boy pushed up his glasses; the reflection hid his eyes.
"Looks like in the future, the two of us will travel with Ash.
Honestly, going on a journey with such an incredible boy… sounds fun~"
The boy was Clemont, the Lumiose Gym Leader—
lover of inventions.
The girl was his little sister, Bonnie.
Back to the video—
After drinking, Ash chatted casually with the three of them.
But the content of the conversation was odd:
Greninja's "power"…
How to "control that power"…
Did Greninja have some special form?
Before the audience could figure it out, the scene shifted—
A helicopter approached from the sky, halting above Ash.
And then, from nearly ten meters up, someone jumped out!
One hand gripping a rope, she slid downward at high speed—
released at the perfect moment—
and landed gracefully on her white boots.
The newcomer was none other than Diantha, Champion of Kalos.
[Steven: …Impressive!]
[Drasna: Diantha is as reckless as ever~]
[Cynthia: Don't mind it. We're used to it.]
[Leon: That landing… isn't that about as good as Ash's?]
[Wikstrom: …I believe she really could kill me with her bare hands.]
"Don't stop me! I'm going to slaughter that man!!"
Diantha exploded in fury.
"What does he mean? Did he just imply I'm violent?!
Is this how you talk about a lady?!"
"Calm down, calm down. Even if you want to kill him, you'll have to wait until we return to Kalos."
Cynthia—Diantha's best friend—quickly soothed her.
(Wikstrom: Thank you… I guess.)
After landing, Diantha exchanged greetings with Ash.
Upon learning about Greninja's strange condition,
Diantha expressed interest in battling him.
The footage paused.
A series of subtitles appeared.
[Special Tally: Diantha's Dark History]
[To uncover the truth behind Ash's Greninja's unusual transformation,
Diantha proposed a battle.
But… Ash had only captured Greninja after arriving in Kalos,
and it hadn't even been half a month since its evolution!]
[Meanwhile, Diantha prepared to use her ace Pokémon—
her Champion-level Gardevoir!]
[So… who will win this battle?]
[This special tally includes no quiz and no betting.
Whoever wins the battle will receive the reward!]
The Champions immediately reacted.
[Lance: I see. So the "dark history" is Diantha bullying a rookie!
Using your ace Gardevoir against a newly-evolved Greninja?
Tsk tsk. I couldn't bring myself to do that.]
[Brandon: You are not alone, Lance!
Don't say that about Champion Diantha!
She simply never holds back, no matter the opponent—
just like me!]
If this counted as dark history,
then his own battle—using Regice against Ash's Pikachu—would count too!
Naturally, he sided with Diantha.
Fighting at full strength is a warrior's honor!
Do these people not understand!?
[Bruno: Brandon has found his tribe.]
[Alder: Hahaha! True enough, but I still feel bad for Ash.
Whether it's Pikachu vs Regice,
or this freshly-evolved Greninja vs Gardevoir…
Diantha is ruthless.]
[Diantha: I was testing Ash. Testing, understand?!
How is that a dark history at all?!]
After sending the message, Diantha finally exhaled.
For her, this really didn't count as dark history—
She made her intentions clear from the start.
She only wanted to examine Greninja's power.
How is that dark history?
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