Pokémon: Ascension Trainer System

"Holy crap!! It's Ash!"

"I know him! He's a household-name star trainer from the Kanto region. He's even known as the 'Light of Kanto' and the 'Future Champion of the Indigo League.' I saw something online before saying that he'd reached the Gym Leader level, but honestly, I didn't really believe it at the time."

"I didn't expect him to not only reach the Gym Leader level, but already reach its peak! At this point, calling him a genius isn't enough. He's practically a monster!"

"Exactly! If I remember correctly, Pidgeot isn't even Ash's starter Pokémon. His starter was that Froakie he received after being named an outstanding student at the Summer Camp, right?"

"That's right! That Froakie has already evolved into Greninja, and it's incredibly strong."

"But I read an interview with Ash. He said that his Pikachu wasn't caught much later than Greninja, and its current strength is about equal to Greninja's—or perhaps even stronger."

"...It really feels like geniuses and ordinary people aren't even the same species. Less than a year after receiving his starter Pokémon, he's already reached this level. That's insane."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"But I never expected Ash to actually come to Kalos, let alone sign up for tomorrow's exhibition match. Now I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Same! I remember Ash's girlfriend is from our Kalos region. He's probably here to visit her."

"Whoa!! Are you kidding me? He's not only incredibly strong, he even has a girlfriend! I'm so jealous! Why am I still single?"

"Do you know why you're single?"

"Why?"

"Because you're too weak. Scrubs don't deserve girlfriends."

"Holy crap!! That was way too brutal!"

"..."

"..."

As one of the Kalos League's Elite Four, the Steel-type Elite Four member Wikstrom had been traveling throughout Kalos, giving seminars on the spirit and principles of knighthood.

After passing through numerous cities, the tour had finally arrived at its final stop—the great metropolis of Lumiose City.

The atmosphere in Lumiose City had already been extremely lively. But after word spread that the famous Kanto star trainer Ash would also be participating, the city became even more boisterous.

Compared with the excited trainers throughout Lumiose City, however, Ash—the very person everyone was talking about—remained remarkably calm and composed.

That entire afternoon, Ash stayed in Vaniville Town, with his girlfriend Serena taking him around and showing him the sights.

It had been half a year since they had last seen each other. Serena cherished every moment she could spend with Ash now that they were finally together again, and Ash felt exactly the same way.

It wasn't until 4:30 PM that Ash finally decided to leave.

The Knight's Way seminar hosted by Wikstrom would take place in Lumiose City the following morning, and 4:30 PM was also the last bus departing from Vaniville Town for Lumiose City.

Ash could have simply waited until later and ridden one of his Flying-type Pokémon back to Lumiose City.

But after thinking it over, Ash, Clemont, Trevor, and Tierno—the four boys who would be attending tomorrow's event—ultimately decided not to stay in Vaniville Town for dinner. Instead, they caught the final bus back to Lumiose City.

Ash deliberately left Clarissa and Misty behind at Serena's house.

Since they had traveled all the way to Vaniville Town, it would be a shame for them to leave so quickly. Clemont's younger sister Bonnie also stayed behind to play with them.

The girls could simply take their time and return to Lumiose City together the following morning.

Of course, there was another, more important reason Ash had arranged things this way.

He wanted to give Serena, Clarissa, and Misty some private time together—to become more familiar with one another and actually spend time together without him constantly being the center of their interaction.

Because of Ash, these three girls, who originally had absolutely nothing to do with one another and had never even met, had been forced into each other's lives.

And now, because of him, they had to get to know each other and eventually become close sisters.

Ash didn't want this complicated, multifaceted relationship to exist solely because of him.

He hoped the three girls could gradually get to know one another, become familiar with each other, and discover the good qualities in one another.

Even without Ash connecting them, he wanted the three of them to be able to become genuine close friends.

Of course, there was another selfish motive behind his arrangement as well.

He wanted his own "harem" to remain peaceful and harmonious so that he could enjoy having multiple beautiful girlfriends without unnecessary trouble.

Regardless of how noble or practical his reasons might sound, Ash had to admit one thing:

At its core, what he was doing was also for his own benefit.

His original motivation was, indeed, selfish.

After returning to the bustling Lumiose City, even Ash and the other three boys were infected by the city's lively atmosphere, and their excitement grew considerably.

That evening, the four of them once again went to Clemont's house for dinner.

However, after dinner, Ash didn't go out to book a hotel.

Instead, he, Tierno, and Trevor stayed overnight at Clemont's Lumiose Gym.

If there had been as many people as the previous night, it probably wouldn't have been possible. But with only the four boys, squeezing into one room wasn't a problem at all.

Two people would sleep on the bed, while the other two would make beds on the floor.

Although it was winter, the room had heating and underfloor heating, so they didn't have to worry about getting cold.

Clemont and Trevor weren't exactly as physically robust as Ash and Tierno, so Ash had the two of them sleep on the bed.

He and the chubby Tierno took the floor.

Thinking about tomorrow's battle against Wikstrom, all four boys were filled with excitement and anticipation.

"By the way, Ash, you're using Pidgeot tomorrow. What Pokémon are you planning to send out, Clemont?"

Tierno suddenly remembered that he hadn't checked the information on the published participant list and asked curiously.

"Heliolisk," Clemont replied.

"As a Gym Leader, I'm allowed to officially possess Pokémon before turning ten. However, there are still restrictions on how many Pokémon I can have. I'm only allowed to have three in total."

Clemont explained, "Right now, the only Pokémon I have are Heliolisk, Magneton, and Electrode. Among the three, Heliolisk is my starter Pokémon, and it's also the highest-level and strongest one."

"Oh, I see."

Tierno nodded.

"Mm."

Whenever Clemont talked about his own Pokémon, there was always a hint of pride in his voice.

But then he thought about the strength of Ash's Pokémon, and that pride quickly turned into a sigh.

"Heliolisk may be my starter Pokémon, and I've been working hard to train it ever since I received it. But even now, it's only Level 45—the middle stage of the Elite level."

"But Ash, not only do you have more than twice as many Pokémon as I do, the strength of your Pokémon is also far, far beyond mine."

"Sometimes when I think about it... the citizens of Lumiose City call me a child prodigy, and the trainers around the city all call me a genius Electric-type trainer."

"But now that I think about it, perhaps this title of 'genius' really isn't deserved."

Clemont's expression became somewhat dejected.

He was naturally introverted and preferred spending time with machines and inventions, but he had grown up surrounded by praise and admiration.

For the first time, facing someone around his own age had made him experience such a crushing sense of defeat.