Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

"Let's assume they're employed by Larus for now," Ash said after thinking for a moment. "Daigo asked May to convey his apologies, so I should at least give him some face."

While it was said to be out of respect, Ash actually felt a bit sorry for Steven.

He was a wealthy and handsome young man, with great strength and good looks. Apart from sometimes being distracted by his side job of digging stones, he was generally a man who cared about his family and country.

But what did he get in return for his hard work and dedication to Hoenn?

The families on Larus's side are now completely ignoring him. Because of the incidents that happened in Farns and Chimney Mountain, several factions within Hoenn that were originally on good terms with Devon have gradually begun to outwardly comply with his wishes but inwardly defy him.

Oh right, we should also add Mikoli, who, despite having championship potential, is even more irresponsible.

That guy isn't very bright or quick-witted; he's the typical naive and innocent type who gets sold out but still has to help count the money.

Yes, a naive and innocent guy, and he's been spoiled rotten by Daigo to this extent~

...

After dinner, Biko specially arranged a venue in the athletes' village to hold the upcoming press conference.

Actually, "press conference" might be a more accurate term.

Xiao Zhi and his friends just wanted to announce some decisions and didn't intend to let the reporters ask questions... but everyone knows that you can't control this group at all.

When the Alora executives arrived, the scene was already set up with cameras and microphones, and various flashes were going off incessantly.

The press conference was led by Beeko, who first gave a general introduction to the high-level organizational structure of the Alola League, including Champion Ash, the Elite Four, the four Island Kings, and the captains who held positions equivalent to Gym Leaders.

Hala and Kukui both hope to revive the Island Tour, and Ash needs to use Biko's words to spread the word throughout Alola.

The League Conference and the Island Tour will be merged into a single process in the future, and Ash has provided two options for this.

One factor is the number of Z-Crystals. As long as you can collect eight different types of Z-Crystals, you will be qualified to participate in the Alliance Conference without having to pass all the tests on the four islands.

Of course, the collection process will be strictly controlled; cheating and deception are unacceptable.

Another option is the traditional island pilgrimage process, where challengers can go directly to the Alola League headquarters to challenge the Champion Road after passing all the trials of the four islands, including the grand trial of the island king.

Whether you are the tournament champion or a participant who has cleared the islands, as long as you can defeat the guardian king, you can choose to take his place; if you defeat all four guardian kings in a row, even if you fail to defeat the champion, you will still qualify to participate in the champion's title defense battle!

At that time, he will be able to challenge for the championship repeatedly at the permitted frequency!

It is conceivable that once these resolutions are announced, they will greatly stimulate the fighting spirit in Alola, and the League can take this opportunity to select talent.

At the same time, Biko also explained the current shortage of captains.

The Island Tour originally had seven captains to preside over the tests, but Ash now wants to increase the number of tests to eight. However, there are only three captains available: Molly, Acerola, and Kiawe, plus one candidate, Ilima.

There are still half vacancies. Even if we fill in Mamane, Mao, and Shuilian like in a game, we're still short one.

However, this matter cannot be rushed. The alliance has already been established, so why worry about not having officials?

The press conference then drew to a close, and the reporters, who had been holding back for so long, finally threw out a variety of questions, most of which were quite friendly.

Ask Ash about his specific plans after becoming champion, and whether he will continue to serve as an investigator in Kanto, etc. There are no particularly sensitive topics.

There were also some joking and gossipy people, wondering when Ash would get married and how many he would marry at once... Then he was muted because the reception couldn't stray from the topic.

However, just when everyone thought the press conference would end in a relaxed atmosphere, the troublemakers finally jumped out.

"Mr. Xiaozhi, I have a question." A female reporter who was somewhat attractive suddenly spoke up, and the male photographer next to her also cooperated by pointing the camera at Xiaozhi's face.

"In your previous exhibition match, you took on three opponents single-handedly, even defeating two long-established champions. Are you sure it was all due to your own strength?"

"Miss reporter, what do you mean by this?" Biko, who was in charge of the process, suddenly changed her expression. "I ask you to immediately retract your question!"

"It's okay, I will take responsibility for my words and actions." The female reporter looked resolute, continuing to target Xiaozhi.

"One person defeating two champions working together is a feat that has never been achieved before. I have serious doubts about its authenticity. I would like Mr. Ash to explain this clearly... Did you collude with certain people—such as the champion of Kanto—to deliberately lose to you in order to create hype?"

"Madam, you're a reporter from Hoenn TV, right? Your name seems to be Mary? And this gentleman next to you is your cameraman, Dai... Am I right?"

Unexpectedly, Xiao Zhi did not answer, but instead directly revealed the woman's identity!

Upon hearing the name 'Hoenn,' many people at the scene showed expressions of 'I see,' indicating a sense of 'annoying' gossip...

Chapter 855 Ash: I am the strongest in the world, who agrees, who disagrees?

To jump out at a press conference to show off one's presence and openly accuse a champion-level fighter of fixing a match... most people would never do something so brainless.

But journalists are different after all.

Xiao Zhi certainly wouldn't generalize, but some individuals in this group—like the two in front of him—do have truly unusual thought processes.

They have a sense of superiority, claiming that they are on the mission of revealing the 'truth' to the public. They can point their cameras at anyone at will, and spout nonsense regardless of time, occasion, or place.

As long as they hang their work badges around their necks, they transform into the most awesome people in the world, even ignoring champions.

After all, they can expose the dark secrets of the championship at will, even if it's just a tiny bit of unsubstantiated information.

But if the champions dare to go against them, they'll have to pretend to be the underdog in front of the cameras.

However, Ash won't give them a chance to play dumb today.

Taking advantage of this press conference, Ash also planned to show people in Alola and even the world his usual style of doing things.

Before the name 'Red Devil' became widely known, Ash's title in Kanto was "The Lawyer"!

Such clowns only get one chance to show off in front of him... because they'll soon be sent to jail.

"Miss Mary, do you know anything about the Champion?" Ash asked calmly, without any anger at being provoked.

"Of course..."

“Of course you don’t understand.” Before the other person could speak, Ash interrupted, “As far as I know, your strength isn’t even at the elite level. Even in your Hoenn region, you can’t successfully challenge any gym.”

"Mr. Ash... what you just said constitutes a personal attack on me!" Mary's expression changed instantly. She was really unhappy about being attacked in return.

As a reporter, she was always the one making things difficult for others; how dare this young man turn the tables on her?

Just because he's a champion, does that make him so great?!

“I’m just stating the facts. If you’re not convinced, you can test your strength on the spot… Anyway, your Hoenn Gym Leader, the Cuckoo, is here too. Why don’t you have a practice match with her and let us all see what she’s made of.”

Ash borrowed Steven's influence here. He really didn't want to put this young master in a difficult position, but the other party also needed to give something in return.

“You…” Mary’s expression froze.

She's good at talking big, but when it comes to fighting... knowing that Du Juan won't hold back, she decisively runs as far away as possible.

"Mr. Ash, you're just dodging the question!" Mary retorted with a forced smile. "Even if I'm not very strong, I have the right to suspect you of throwing the match!"

"You have the right to doubt, but it's my freedom to explain or not." Ash shook his head slightly. "I won't explain this to you because at your level, you simply can't understand a battle at the champion level."

"Of course, if you're still not satisfied, you can find some champions to challenge me and prove my true strength... Whether it's the two of you from Hoenn or champions from other parts of the world, I'll accept them all."

"Oh, Mr. Ash, you mean you're already the strongest in the world and don't take the other champions seriously at all?" A hint of contempt flashed in Mary's eyes as she began to mock him with a slightly sarcastic tone. "You'd better not forget that there's another undefeated champion like you, Mr. Leon from Galar... Do you think he's inferior to you?"

She seemed to want to stir up the other reporters present, but after glancing around, she realized that no one was paying any attention to her.

Of course, otherwise why would Ash reveal her identity in the first place?

Let everyone know that the cause of this incident was his personal grudge against Hoenn, so that no more sycophants will stick around.

After all, no one wants to be used as a pawn by Hoenn.

As for the other party's claim of being the strongest in the world, Ash doesn't care to admit it and will take it as a sincere compliment.

"Thank you for the compliment. I accept the title of the world's strongest today." Ash's words revealed extreme confidence. "I'll say it again: any strong person from anywhere in the world who disagrees can come to Alola to challenge me, including Mr. Leon, whom you mentioned."

Ash's words finally caused a stir at the scene. Almost none of the reporters present expected that this newly crowned champion would be so arrogant as to challenge the world's champions!

However, recalling his previous performance of taking on three opponents at once, as well as those miraculous feats, many people feel that he might not be arrogant.

Meanwhile, in the players' village lounge, the women who were watching the meeting live were also concerned about Ash's response.

"Could Leon really have come to Alora?" Misty seemed a little worried. She had briefly met Leon in Galar before and admitted that he was indeed exceptionally powerful.

"Don't worry, he won't come now." Blue waved his hand dismissively. "Even if he wants to battle Ash, that Rose will stop him. After all... if he really fails because he can't Dynamax, Galar will make the whole world laugh."

"They won't run into them unless Ash goes to Galar." Bea was also very certain of this.

The reason she gave was even more laughable.

"Leon often got lost in Galar; he simply couldn't find his way to Alora."

...

Back at the press conference, Xiao Zhi didn't answer Mary's question, but everyone could see that the female reporter had made a fool of herself.

At this point, one should ideally know when to stop.

It's better to slink away with your tail between your legs than to be completely humiliated.

The female reporter, whose IQ wasn't completely zero, was secretly regretting that now might not be the right time to confront Xiao Zhi head-on...

Unfortunately, his companions didn't 'think' that way.

"Ash, we know you're incredibly strong, even surpassing most champions... but that's no excuse for your reckless behavior!" Dai, who had been carrying a camera, suddenly demanded righteously, "You wreaked havoc on the city of Larus, even destroying the Battle Tower, causing countless humans and Pokémon to suffer... How do you explain this?!"

(Xiao Dai?) The female reporter was completely numb at this point. She couldn't understand why her companion was so stubborn as to continue.

They failed to stir up emotions at the start, so they've already lost half the battle. Their best option now is to leave.

But because of her partner's actions, she had no choice but to continue arguing with Ash... and when her partner opened his mouth, it confirmed her previous slander!

Knowing that he is incredibly strong, far surpassing the average champion, isn't that just admitting that he knew it wasn't a fixed match, yet he still insisted on making trouble?!