Mr. Gasai had invited Yuga to oversee things during the final exchange battle. Since it was still the learning phase of the exchange program, Yuga didn't need to make an appearance for the time being.
However, on the second day after Hau'oli University's student arrived in Verdanturf City, Ash came straight to the YoYo Day Care after finishing a day of classes.
He originally wanted to surprise Yuga, but as soon as they met, Yuga said with no hint of surprise, "I knew you'd come today."
Ash was stunned and said, "Huh? How did you know? I didn't tell you I was coming to Verdanturf City!"
Yuga put on a serious face and said, "Hmph... Is it really that hard for me to find something out if I want to?"
Ash scratched the back of his head in his usual silly way and said, "That's true." In his heart, Yuga was an incredibly amazing person. Of course, if Yuga wanted to know something, he could easily find it out in advance.
Then the two of them started chatting casually. Yuga even told Ash that Serena had recently visited Verdanturf City.
They got so caught up in conversation that they didn't realize how late it had gotten. As evening fell, Yuga took the opportunity to invite Ash to stay for dinner. He even made a phone call to bring back Ayaya, Anlin, and Anmu from school to introduce them to Ash.
Now all four of them were studying at the same school. Even though Ash was only here as part of the exchange program, he could still be considered a classmate of Ayaya and the others—more or less.
Although the four had never met before, Ayaya, Anlin, and Anmu had already heard of Ash. What they didn't expect was that Ash turned out to be one of Hau'oli University's exchange students, and even more shockingly, he was their top student. For a moment, they were completely astonished.
When Ash and the others arrived at Verdanturf University yesterday, Ayaya and his group had something come up and didn't join the crowd. That's why today was the first time they saw Ash in person.
Likewise, Ash was very interested in Ayaya and the others. After learning that they were apprentices of the Verdanturf Gym, he wanted to spar with the three of them after dinner, but they firmly refused.
Both sides' students were well aware that there would be an exchange battle at the end of the program. Since Ayaya and the others were definitely going to participate in that battle, they didn't want to reveal their true strength to their opponents, so they didn't want to battle in front of Ash.
This left Ash feeling extremely frustrated. He was a straightforward person, simple and single-minded from head to toe. He couldn't comprehend all these twists and turns. But Ayaya and the others hadn't known Ash for long, so they didn't understand his personality.
With no other choice, Ash ran to Yuga and asked him to give him some pointers to scratch his battle itch. Yuga didn't refuse. It was a good way to work off dinner anyway.
Just like that, Ash stayed at Yuga's place until late at night before heading back.
After watching the sparring between Ash and Yuga, Ayaya and the others finally understood why this seemingly goofy young man (barely considered one) could become the top student of Hau'oli University's freshman class. His strength was truly nothing to underestimate. At the same time, they felt a great sense of pressure.
Could they really beat this guy in the exchange battle?
On the way back to school, Ash was chattering away non-stop to Ayaya and the others, while the three of them remained relatively silent.
Mainly, they had been a little crushed by Ash's performance.
However, Ash didn't notice their odd mood. He happily said goodbye to them at the dormitory entrance. Once the three of them returned to their room, they swore to redouble their efforts. They couldn't bring shame to the Verdanturf Gym.
After that, Ayaya and his friends left early and returned late every day, always busy like spinning tops. Their roommate Ryota was utterly baffled by this sudden change and eventually had no choice but to join them in working hard too.
But that's a story for later, and we won't get into that for now.
The next morning, while Yuga was eating breakfast, a spatial portal suddenly appeared beside him, startling Ninetales and Nana, who were eating with him.
When they saw Hoopa emerge from the spatial portal, Yuga and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, it's you. What brings you to me so early in the morning?" Yuga asked. Hoopa hadn't shown up yesterday, so Yuga had assumed it didn't come to Hoenn with Ash.
Little Hoopa put away its summoning ring and grinned, saying, "Ash has to go to class. It's so boring. Hoopa came to play with you. Surprise or not? Surprise or not?"
Because of the special nature of Legendary Pokémon, Ash rarely used Little Hoopa at school, so it wasn't surprising that it felt bored.
"Surprised, surprised!" Yuga laughed and replied, then noticed Little Hoopa staring straight at the food on the table, drooling, so he asked, "Want to eat with us?"
"Yes, yes!" Little Hoopa nodded quickly.
"Tasty! Tasty! So tasty!"
Very soon, Little Hoopa was completely conquered by Duoduo's cooking and ate like a wolf devouring its prey.
After breakfast, Little Hoopa lay on the table with a round belly, looking like it couldn't move a muscle. Yuga was worried it might have overeaten, so he had Duoduo brew it a cup of digestion tea.
Since Yuga had to go to the new store to practice making Pokéblocks and incense, he left Little Hoopa in Duoduo's care.
After its stomach felt a bit better, Little Hoopa started wandering around the YoYo Day Care and quickly ran into Gothita, Cubchoo, Chatot, and the others.
In a certain sense, Little Hoopa and Gothita had quite similar personalities—what people call "birds of a feather flock together"—so they quickly hit it off and started playing together.
Since the facilities at the Day Care weren't very convenient, the Pokémon spoke with Duoduo and then all headed off together to the Verdanturf Gym.
Over at the Gym, the Pokémon happily began playing games together, and the atmosphere was very friendly.
After getting more familiar, Little Hoopa started boasting to its new friends.
"I have a little bro who's super strong. He looks really scary, but he listens to everything I say!" As Little Hoopa said this, it raised its head high, and its nose was practically pointing to the sky.
Gothita, Cubchoo, Chatot, and Fletchinder had spent a long time at the YoYo Day Care, so they were considered quite knowledgeable and experienced. None of them really believed Little Hoopa's story. Gothita even loudly questioned it.
"You're lying! I don't believe you!" How powerful could it be? Stronger than Ninetales and the others?
Hearing that, Little Hoopa panicked. It couldn't lose face in front of its new friends. It stiffened its neck and said, "I'm not lying! If you don't believe me… don't believe me… I'll show you!"
As it spoke, it threw out a summoning ring. The ring kept enlarging, and a space portal appeared. From within it emerged a confused Hydreigon.
This Hydreigon was the same one Ash had taken back from Hoopa's evil thoughs. Although it had now been fully subdued, to call it Little Hoopa's "little bro" was definitely an exaggeration—Little Hoopa was just bragging.
Because Hydreigon was so powerful and Ash hadn't captured it through battle, Ash usually didn't use it. Otherwise, it would just be bullying other Pokémon. So most of the time, Hydreigon stayed home and slept.
Although Hydreigon are generally aggressive and combative, a top-tier one like Ash's had gone through countless battles and become nearly invincible. So instead of looking for fights, it preferred long naps—unless it encountered a worthy rival in battle.
So under normal circumstances, Little Hoopa and Hydreigon had little interaction.
Being pulled out while sound asleep, Hydreigon was furious and about to lose its temper. But suddenly, it seemed to sense something, turned its heads in a certain direction, and with a flap of its wings, took off.
"Hey… hey… don't go!" Little Hoopa panicked when it saw Hydreigon flying off. If it got lost, how was it supposed to explain that to Ash!?
So it quickly chased after it.
"Why did it suddenly fly off?" Fletchinder asked in a daze.
"It probably sensed something," Chatot said more maturely, thinking deeply. Something flickered through its mind, but the thought came and went so fast that it couldn't recall it at all.
Gothita, always excited for drama, said energetically, "Let's go, let's go! Let's follow it!" As it spoke, it poked Chatot, trying to get it to carry it to chase after Hydreigon.
Seeing that Little Hoopa had already flown off chasing after Hydreigon, Chatot didn't hesitate any longer. It grabbed Cubchoo with both claws and then motioned for Fletchinder to carry Gothita on its back.
Although Chatot usually seemed unreliable, it was actually very considerate at crucial moments. Since Fletchinder was a Fire-type Pokémon, carrying an Ice-type like Cubchoo would definitely be uncomfortable—especially with Cubchoo carrying a Never-Melt Ice—so Chatot decided to carry Cubchoo itself.
Even though it didn't like getting too close to Ice-type Pokémon either, at least it wasn't a Fire-type, so it was a better choice than Fletchinder.
And so the group of Pokémon all flew off together, chasing after the Hydreigon that had suddenly flown away.
Hydreigon flew onward, and before anyone realized it, it had reached the skies above the Sunflora pasture.
At the same time, in the pasture below, two Salamence simultaneously lifted their heads. The smaller one was Yuga's, while the larger one was its father.
It turned out that today just happened to be the day the father Salamence came to visit its son. Its powerful aura had been sensed by Hydreigon, which explained why Hydreigon had suddenly flown off like that.
Actually, Salamence had also sensed Hydreigon's presence, but since it noticed the other party flying toward it, it simply waited quietly in place.
"Roar~"
"Roar~"
The two level 100 Dragon-type Pokémon let out earth-shaking roars at the same time, their eyes brimming with surging battle intent.
From far away, Chatot and the others could already hear the roars. By the time they arrived at the Sunflora pasture, what they saw was the two Pokémon locked in a standoff.
Their fighting spirit was burning fiercely, and the overwhelming aura of two level 100 Pokémon had been fully unleashed. Even the young Salamence couldn't get close to its father. It had to fly far off to the side and watch from a distance.
At that moment, Chatot finally remembered what it had forgotten earlier—today was the day the elder dragon came to visit its son. No wonder Hydreigon had been drawn here.
As the saying goes, "Two kings cannot share the same throne." When two pseudo-Legendary, level 100 Dragon-type Pokémon meet, there's bound to be an epic battle!
Chatot had of course known that Salamence came regularly to visit its son, but since the matter didn't concern it, it hadn't paid much attention. That's why it hadn't remembered until now.
It had been a long time since Salamence had encountered a worthy opponent. Staying in Meteor Village had gotten boring, and all it could do was occasionally coach the "new recruits" training there for the League. But that held no real interest.
Today, encountering a Pokémon it could truly battle excited it to the core—it felt like its blood was boiling.
"ROAR!!!"
Salamence was the first to attack Hydreigon. It soared into the sky and dove at Hydreigon at high speed, its massive claws slashing down with force.
Dragon Claw!
Hydreigon quickly retreated. It wasn't a Pokémon skilled in close combat. Dodging Salamence's Dragon Claw, it opened its mouths and unleashed a stream of Dragon Breath.
Salamence reacted with lightning speed. It spun mid-air and lashed its powerful, elongated tail, using Dragon Tail to scatter the breath attack. It wanted to rush forward again, but Hydreigon had already launched its next move.
It opened its mouths wide, and waves of sound burst forth along with its roar, sweeping toward Salamence in an instant and knocking it back.
That was the move Boomburst.
Unable to fight close-range, Salamence also switched to long-range. It opened its mouth and unleashed a bluish-purple dragon-shaped energy wave, with claws and fangs bared, charging straight toward Hydreigon.
Hydreigon was not willing to show weakness and used Dragon Pulse as well.
Boom!
The two attacks collided midair, triggering a violent explosion. The resulting shockwave not only blew Chatot and the others away but also startled the Sunflora basking in the distance, making them cry out in fright.
The battle between two level 100 Pokémon was incredibly intense. The fight between the two Pokémon grew fiercer and fiercer. Little Hoopa was so anxious it was stomping its feet. Just as it was about to use its summoning ring to stop the two Pokémon, Hydreigon seemed to sense something. It turned its head and glanced at Little Hoopa as if to say: You dare?
Little Hoopa immediately put the summoning ring away.
Mr. Harrison, upon returning from the power station, immediately noticed the commotion here. When he saw the Sunflora trembling in fear, he quickly dialed Yuga's number and told him everything he saw.
Mr. Harrison recognized Salamence, but he didn't know Hydreigon. He thought it was a wild Pokémon that had wandered in from somewhere.
As soon as Yuga heard the name "Hydreigon," he immediately knew it must be Ash's, so he had no choice but to put down his work and rush toward the Sunflora pasture.
The battle between the two heavyweights was still ongoing. Ultimately, Hydreigon was slightly inferior to Salamence, and soon it began to fall behind—this only further ignited Hydreigon's bloodthirsty instinct.
But just because Hydreigon was ferocious, did that mean Salamence wasn't? Salamence was even more ferocious. So as time went on, Hydreigon's defeat became more and more evident.
At this point, Yuga finally arrived.
Seeing the once-beautiful grassland of the Sunflora pasture now shredded like a torn-up cloth by the two Pokémon, Yuga was a little angry and quickly shouted to stop them.
The two Pokémon might not care about others' authority, but Yuga's authority—they didn't dare to ignore. They were well aware of Yuga's strength. If they angered this man, they'd definitely be in for a beating.
Salamence stopped happily. Although there hadn't been a final victor, for it, this was enough. At least it had a good workout.
Hydreigon, on the other hand, was clearly dissatisfied. It hovered to the side, panting heavily, eyes locked on Salamence without blinking, its battle spirit still burning fiercely.
It wasn't that it couldn't accept losing—it was just that the fight hadn't been finished. It felt unsettled, as if something was stuck in its chest.
Yuga said irritably, "Even if you two want to fight, at least go far away! Just look at what you've done to this place. Can you fix it back to how it was?"
The two Pokémon looked at each other, speechless and subdued—they really didn't have that ability.