Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

Pikachu's ears were twitching back and forth, and its little paws unconsciously gripped Ash's shoulders.

"Spectacular, isn't it?"

A familiar voice sounded from behind.

Ash turned his head and saw that Gary had somehow appeared next to him.

Even when being jostled in a crowd, Xiao Mao kept his hands in his pockets with his usual confident smile on his lips.

However, his tone was unusually serious this time.

"This is the Quartz Conference..."

"Oh? Xiao Mao, you're here too?"

Without being led astray by Gary, Ash went straight to the point and asked the question.

"I haven't seen you for the past couple of days?" "Pikachu?"

"........"

Xiao Mao's lips twitched, and he said dryly.

"I am preparing for war."

"Oh, I see." Ash nodded innocently, even adding, "So, how's the preparation going? Are you confident?"

"……good."

Lillie, standing to the side, secretly observed Shigeru's expression and was inwardly amazed.

After something like this happened, how could someone still come to talk to you without batting an eye?

What incredible mental fortitude!

She still thought that Xiaozhi's statement about "I have a friend" was just something he made up to comfort her.

I never expected that Ash would actually have a friend like that!

As the crowd moved in, a few people took their seats.

Before they had even finished their discussion, the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.

It was as if an invisible hand had pressed the mute button, and the clamor subsided in an instant.

All eyes were drawn to the cauldron above the arena.

On the sacred flame platform, an elderly man with extremely thick hair and beard walked up.

With a full head of silver hair, a kind face, and a steady gait, he was none other than Damaranchi, the chairman of the Pokémon League.

"Everyone—!"

Damaranchi's voice resonated throughout the arena through the loudspeakers, deep and infectious.

Welcome to the Quartz Convention!

The entire audience immediately erupted in thunderous applause and cheers in response.

"President! It's President Dama Lanqi!"

"The old man is still in such good spirits this year!"

"The Quartz Conference—! I've been waiting for three years!"

Dama Lanqi smiled and gestured with his hands to signal everyone to be quiet.

He continued speaking only after the cheers had subsided somewhat.

"Today, outstanding trainers from all regions have gathered here, along with their partners with whom they spend every day, for the same dream—"

"For victory!!!"

"For the championship!!!"

The audience erupted in cheers once again.

Dama Lanqi: "......."

This does fit the stereotype of the Kanto region.

He originally wanted to say it was for the sake of friendship, since trainers from other regions were also there to participate and observe.

But since most of us are from the Kanto region, and I'll be retiring in a couple of years...

Oh well, it doesn't really matter.

"Cough cough!"

He coughed twice.

"Now, before we officially begin, please allow me to introduce the special guests of this conference!"

Damaranchi turned around and reached out his hand towards a special viewing area behind the platform.

"Let us give a warm round of applause to welcome—the pinnacle of combat power in the Kanto region!"

"Four Elite Four level trainers!"

For a moment, the entire venue seemed to be struck by something, falling into a second of silence.

Then it suddenly exploded.

"The Four Heavenly Kings?! All Four Heavenly Kings have arrived?!"

"Really? Usually, there's only one at most!"

"The last time we appeared together... that was back then!"

"This conference is so exciting?!"

"Just seeing the Four Heavenly Kings on stage together makes the ticket price worthwhile!"

The audience erupted in a cacophony of screams, chatter, and cheers.

Xiaoxia excitedly grabbed Xiaozhi's arm.

"Did you see that?! There really are four! All four of them are here!"

Xiao Zhi nodded, his eyes fixed on the stage, and couldn't help but sigh.

"A true man should be like this!"

Xiao Mao was also staring intently at the stage, secretly clenching his fists.

One day, he too will stand in that position and receive the cheers of the entire audience.

These four people may not be irreplaceable!

Looking at the crowd with their varied but excited expressions, Lillie tilted her head.

A strand of golden hair slipped down from behind her ear, and she asked, somewhat puzzled.

"that......."

"Is it something very rare for four Heavenly Kings to appear at the same time?"

In Alola, although there is no Elite Four, the island kings are roughly of the same rank.

Getting the four of them together isn't that difficult, is it?

Sometimes, to celebrate the opening, it's not uncommon for three or four island kings to get together for an event.

"That's how it is."

Excited, Xiaoxia finally let go of Xiaozhi's arm and turned around to explain to Lillie.

"Here is the situation regarding our own areas in the Kanto region!"

"Among the Heavenly Kings, besides Ferry Dragon who frequently appears... there's the one wearing a cloak with a cold expression."

"The other Heavenly Kings are usually never seen in public!"

Remembering what his brother Dragonite had said about his three colleagues, Ash nodded in agreement.

"really."

They're all experts at slacking off.

"Let alone showing up," Xiao Gang added from the other side, putting down his binoculars, his face showing the vicissitudes of someone who's been through it all, "sometimes you can't even find them online."

"I have a friend who spent a whole six months in Kobe Bryant's fan club, waiting for her to post photos every day, but I never saw her post a single one. It's such a shame..."

"Oh, I mean my friend thinks it's such a shame."

Xiaoxia: "........"

Ash: "........"

Pikachu: "........"

Your friend...

Could it be that he has dark skin, squinty eyes, and even owns a rock gym?

.......

In the special viewing area, the four men stood up one by one and waved to the audience.

The first to stand up was Kikuko, a true veteran of the Kanto region.

As a Ghost-type Elite Four member, she wore a deep purple robe and leaned on a cane.

Beneath his full head of blond hair was a serious face, probably because he spent all his time hanging out with Ghost-type Pokémon.

In short... he just gives off the impression that he doesn't seem like a good person.

But the applause from the audience was still enthusiastic.

After all, in the Kanto region, strength reigns supreme, and with her power undeniable, no one dared to underestimate this old lady.

The second tall and burly man was someone Ash was more familiar with; it was none other than the Fighting-type Elite Four member, Brother Shiba, whom he hadn't seen for many days.

He was wearing a simple brown training uniform, and he grinned broadly, waving his fist at the audience.

This immediately caused a large group of burly men to scream in alarm.

Ash was a little disappointed to see that Shiba was only wearing a shirt and couldn't show off his impressive muscles.