He knows Pokémon better than me.

After the inspection was completed, the Rotom drone took off again, and the final verdict was announced in a loud voice:
"Dragonite is unable to battle!"

"Since all of Yuji's Pokémon are unable to continue fighting, Ash Ketchum wins this World Championship High Ball Ranked Match!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in cheers!
Countless gazes fell upon Mega Magearna—what kind of Pokémon is this that even the mighty Mega Dragonite was defeated by it?

Upon hearing the final verdict, Yuji's face darkened.

He then lowered his gaze, let out a long breath, and gave a wry smile.

The current situation is exactly the same as the scene of the Orange Alliance a few years ago.

Although the game appeared to be evenly matched, the actual gap in skill was obvious!

"We finally won."

On the other side, Ash also let out a big breath.

It's really not easy.

Yuji's Mega Dragonite strength is such that if he hadn't become the Mythical Beast Man this time, he might not have been able to handle it.

The drone, Rotom, circled in mid-air and added loudly:
"The World Championship rankings for both athletes have been updated. Please check them yourself!"

After saying that, he flew down to the side of the field to rest.

The two immediately pulled out their encyclopedia entries to check—

Yuji's ranking dropped from 70th to 79th in the advanced ball class, which made him look utterly ashamed.

As for Ash, he improved from 77th to 69th!
"Hehe, not bad~"

He grinned and put away the illustrated guide.

If this momentum continues, and he wins another five or six games in a row, he'll be close to master level!

Just then, Yuuji caught a glimpse of Yuuji taking out a Poké Ball, preparing to recall the unconscious Dragonite on the field.

So Ash raised his hand and interrupted:
"Wait, Magearna, use Flower Therapy on Dragonite!"

Upon hearing this, Mega Magiana's cross-shaped eyes narrowed instantly, and the corners of her mouth turned down.

It hasn't even had a proper fight yet, and now it has to heal its opponent?

That would be better to just fire a flower cannon shot.
However, Ash's request still overwhelmed his burning desire to attack after Mega Evolution.

"Chirp!"

Magiana, her face grim, raised one arm, and a pink beam of light suddenly shot from the cannon—

The pink cannon startled Yuji, who thought Magiana was going to desecrate a corpse.

After all, given Maya's sullen expression at that moment, it's entirely possible!
Of course, he was overthinking it.

Puff-!
The pink beam of light landed on Dragonite, instantly transforming into countless tiny flower petals, both dazzling and gentle. A layer of warm green light enveloped Dragonite's entire body, and its stamina rapidly recovered.

Before long, he had woken up peacefully.

Seeing that there was no more fighting to be had, Magearna also withdrew her fighting spirit, her body shone with light, and she withdrew from her Mega Evolution form.

"Chirp chirp~?"

Once things returned to normal, Maya's eyes immediately became harmless.

Looking at the Dragonite that had just recovered, she even showed a tender expression of heartache and worry, and then proactively used Flower Healing.

Yuci: "."

He looked at Ash with a strange expression.

Isn't your Pokémon's personality changed too much?

competition is over.

The discussion in the audience was noisy and intense, with many people gesturing about the details of the battle as they walked out.

It was truly spectacular, the only pity was...
I didn't see any Dynamax! But it's not a big deal. I'm thinking about the Raihana Gym Challenge at the Hammerlocke Stadium tomorrow, where there will be plenty of Dynamaxes to feast my eyes on!
Two people who had been watching the entire match from the sidelines also came up.

Kibana walked over to Yuuji, patted the latter on the shoulder, and offered a word of comfort:
"Old friend, what a pity that you're facing a phantom beast this time."

Yuji's performance far exceeded his expectations!
If he hadn't run into Ash, with this level of fighting ability, he could have put up a fight against the top 20, or even the top 10, in the World Championship.

In the previous edition, reaching the Masters level wouldn't have been a problem!
Unfortunately, he ran into the Phantom Beast Man.

Yuji shook his head and gave a dry laugh:
Actually, it's not a pity.

His gaze passed over Magearna on the field and landed on Ash's feet, on the Electric Mouse that had been standing there watching the whole time.

Yuji knew that Magearna was not Ash's ace.

The real danger should come from the seemingly inconspicuous Pikachu.

On the other side, Mary also walked up to Ash and congratulated him with a smile:
"Congratulations, you've moved up another rank."

There wasn't much surprise on his face, as if the result was only natural.

Ash chuckled, temporarily recalling Magearna, then looked at Marie and encouraged her:

"Then it's your turn to compete tomorrow, good luck!"

Mary nodded.

Looking back, his gaze met that of Cibana on the other side of the field.

Their eyes sharpened, and before the match even began, they were already locked in a standoff.

That night, Yuuji asked Satoshi out alone.

The night in Motogakure was much quieter. The streetlights along the castle road cast a warm yellow glow as the two walked side by side and chatted.

In a way, they were from the same hometown—

Strictly speaking, the Orange Islands actually belong to the Kanto region.

The two chatted about their experiences in the years since they parted ways in the Orange Islands, and as they talked, Yuji couldn't help but sigh:

"Looks like we've taken similar paths. It's a bit of a shame though, we've all gone in opposite directions."

For example, when Ash was challenging the Sinnoh League, he was traveling in the neighboring Unova region.

Yuji fought his way through the battles without any obstacles, and even the Twin Dragons Gym couldn't stop him.

Except for one time near Unova City, when I encountered a mysterious, silent man wearing a red hat who looked like a roadside NPC, and was overwhelmingly lectured.

Oh right, I think the other person was also using Pikachu back then?

Afterwards, when Ash arrived in the Unova region, he went to challenge the Lily of the Valley Conference, and then went to the Hoenn region.

—Back and forth, their travel routes completely diverged.

Yuji even won the league tournament during that time, but he's no longer the country league champion he once was.

The league championship is far less prestigious than the regional championship.

For experts, winning a regular tournament trophy is a piece of cake.

So he wasn't satisfied and didn't continue challenging the alliance conferences in various places, but instead looked for more challenging places.

This time, I finally intersected with Ash's path.

"Then Mr. Yuji——"

Xiao Zhi stopped and smiled as he extended his palm towards him:

"Let's continue to challenge the World Championship together and strive to reach the Masters level!"

Although this year's competition features many regional champions, their strength is extremely high.
However, given Yuuji's strength, it's not entirely impossible for him to break into the top eight! (End of Chapter)