As Ash's battle against Norman began, Aiden sat in the audience and watched with great interest.
Naturally, May and Max had also come to the stadium and joined him.
Compared to the past, May's strength had undergone a complete transformation.
Once, she had been frightened simply by encountering Pokémon.
Now, however, she was renowned as the—
Princess of Hoenn.
Had it not been for the demands of the plot, there was no way May would have lost to Dawn during the Wallace Cup Grand Festival.
It was worth mentioning that the opening of the World Coronation Tournament had caused major competitions such as the Lily of the Valley Conference and the Wallace Cup to be postponed.
They would now be held only after the Great Ball Tier had completely concluded.
Once the regional Pokémon Leagues finished hosting their major competitions, the most anticipated stage would finally begin—
The Ultra Ball Tier.
The sixty-four strongest Trainers in the world would compete for the honor of entering the Masters Eight.
As for why there were exactly eight Masters...
That was naturally because the Pokémon League currently consisted of eight major regions.
The Kanto League.
The Hoenn League.
The Sinnoh League.
The Unova League.
The Kalos League.
The Galar League.
The Alola League.
And the Paldea League.
Since there were eight regions, only eight positions existed at the highest Master Ball Tier.
When the battle began, Ash immediately sent out Pikachu.
Seeing this, May and Max became worried.
"He's starting with Pikachu?"
"Dad might be in trouble."
Although both May and Max greatly admired their father, neither of them was particularly confident in his chances against Ash.
After all, during Ash's journey through Hoenn, the only Trainer he had lost to was Aiden.
Aiden had now become a legendary Trainer known throughout the world.
Ash had also become a famous regional Trainer with tremendous strength.
Rumor had it that Ash's Infernape had even defeated the ace of one of Sinnoh's strongest Elite Four-level Trainers—
Volkner's Electivire.
That alone demonstrated how terrifying Ash's current strength had become.
Facing Pikachu, Gym Leader Norman sent out his own ace—
Slaking.
Yet fewer than ten exchanges passed before Pikachu struck with Iron Tail and sent the enormous Pokémon flying.
Slaking crashed to the ground and was completely defeated.
The remainder of the battle was just as one-sided.
Ash overwhelmed Norman's team and secured victory.
With that, Ash earned his place in the Ultra Ball Tier.
Of course, although Norman had lost, there was still a losers' bracket that would determine the final advancement positions.
Norman still had a chance.
By this stage of the tournament, even Gym Leaders such as Brock and Misty had already been eliminated.
Only Gym Leaders possessing truly top-class strength remained.
After Ash's match ended, it was Tobias' turn to battle.
As always, Tobias used only Darkrai.
That single Mythical Pokémon defeated all three of his opponent's Elite Four-tier Pokémon, displaying extraordinary strength and earning Tobias the title of the tournament's greatest dark horse.
Alain also swept through his opponents with Mega Charizard X.
Although he might not have deserved his original position among the Masters Eight and could be accused of merely filling an empty slot...
At the Elite Four tier, he was still nearly unmatched.
Aside from those two previously unknown Trainers, N—the mysterious green-haired young man—also demonstrated his powerful bonds with Pokémon.
He crushed his opponent with overwhelming ease.
Every one of them was a monster.
Eventually, all of the matches concluded.
The final roster of Trainers advancing into the Ultra Ball Tier was announced.
The referee stood upon the main platform and officially revealed the competition list.
The identities of every regional representative, along with their most famous partner Pokémon, appeared across the massive screen.
Kanto League
Champion Lance.
Vice Champion Lorelei.
Vice Champion Brandon.
Former Ice-type Elite Four member Pryce.
Poison-type Elite Four member Agatha.
Fighting-type Elite Four member Bruno.
Psychic-type Elite Four member Sabrina.
Former Fire-type Elite Four member Blaine.
Orange League Champion-level Trainer Drake.
Rising star Ash.
Renowned young researcher Gary.
Blackthorn City Gym Leader Clair.
Battle Factory Head Noland.
Battle Tower Salon Maiden Anabel.
Fourteen Trainers in total.
Noland had qualified largely because his primary Legendary Pokémon, Articuno, greatly increased his combat strength and allowed him to break into the Ultra Ball Tier.
Anabel had once served as the Battle Tower's Frontier Brain.
Later in the story, she would become a high-ranking officer within the International Police.
Although the Battle Frontier was originally associated with Hoenn, it was technically under the jurisdiction of the Kanto League.
Hoenn League
Champion Aiden Flint.
Vice Champion Steven.
Vice Champion Wallace.
Dragon-type Elite Four member Drake.
Ice-type Elite Four member Glacia.
Ghost-type Elite Four member Phoebe.
Dark-type Elite Four member Sidney.
Former Water-type Elite Four member Juan.
Petalburg Gym Leader Norman.
Renowned Trainers Harrison and Tyson.
Eleven Trainers in total.
Sinnoh League
Champion Cynthia.
Psychic-type Elite Four member Lucian.
Electric-type Elite Four-level Trainer Volkner.
Fire-type Elite Four member Flint.
Bug-type Elite Four member Aaron.
Retired Ground-type Elite Four member Bertha.
Renowned Trainers Paul, Reggie, and Barry.
Dark horse Trainer Tobias.
Ten Trainers in total.
Unova League
Champion Alder.
Fighting-type Elite Four member Marshal.
Psychic-type Elite Four member Caitlin.
Dark-type Elite Four member Grimsley.
Ghost-type Elite Four member Shauntal.
Renowned Trainer Cameron.
Nimbasa Gym Leader and superstar Elesa.
Opelucid Gym Leader Drayden.
Virbank Gym Leader Roxie.
Dark horse Trainer N.
Ten Trainers in total.
Kalos League
Champion Diantha.
Dragon-type Elite Four member Drasna.
Steel-type Elite Four member Wikstrom.
Water-type Elite Four member Siebold.
Fire-type Elite Four member Malva.
Dark horse Trainer Alain.
Six Trainers in total.
Alola League
Island Kahuna Hala.
Island Kahuna Molayne.
Island Kahuna Olivia.
Island Kahuna Acerola.
Island Kahuna Kahili.
Five Trainers in total.
Their ability to advance this far was largely due to the tremendous power of Z-Moves.
Galar League
Champion Leon.
Leon's greatest rival and Hammerlocke Gym Leader, Raihan.
Two Trainers in total.
Although only two Trainers from Galar had advanced, both possessed the strength to enter the Masters Eight.
Raihan had ranked eighth in the inaugural Masters Eight.
Leon had ranked first.
Paldea League
Top Champion Geeta.
Dragon-type Elite Four member Hassel.
Flying-type Elite Four member Larry.
Steel-type Elite Four member Poppy.
Ground-type Elite Four member Rika.
Five Trainers in total.
These sixty-four Trainers formed the complete roster of the Ultra Ball Tier.
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