Chapter 339 – Asahi: Truly Unbothered
After dinner, Asahi finally remembered the Rocket grunts Silver had brought back earlier.
He headed to the holding room.
By now, the two grunts had regained consciousness.
To them, today had been a nightmare.
They'd been dispatched by Giovanni himself to investigate Silver's whereabouts at the Battle Frontier.
They did find Silver.
And then promptly got knocked unconscious before they could say a word.
Now, they saw Asahi approaching and started trembling uncontrollably.
"…Am I that scary?" Asahi turned to Sabrina in confusion.
"I haven't even done anything yet."
Sabrina rolled her eyes.
You? Not scary?
You've wiped the floor with Rocket so many times, they have you listed as a disaster-class threat.
The fact that these two were merely trembling and not passed out again already spoke volumes about their mental fortitude.
"Sigh… the price I pay for peace."
Asahi sighed dramatically, then slammed his hand on the table.
"Talk. What's Rocket planning in the Battle Frontier?"
"By the way, do you know Midori? She ticked me off, and now she's locked in League prison eating milk and cupcakes for three meals a day and crying herself to sleep."
Sabrina: "…"
'Slandered?' That was just… facts.
But Asahi's routine worked like a charm.
Where Silver's interrogation failed, Asahi's sheer psychological pressure shattered their resistance in under five minutes.
The two grunts spilled everything they knew—like an open bag of beans.
Asahi listened to the report and sighed, not out of joy—but disappointment.
Turns out Rocket wasn't plotting anything major. Their mission was simply to monitor Silver's condition and gather intelligence on the Kanto branch of the International Police.
They didn't even know Giovanni had already fled to Alola.
"…So that's the extent of Giovanni's ambition now?"
With a wave of his hand, Gardevoir knocked the two grunts unconscious again.
Asahi called up Scott.
"Hey Scott, it's Asahi. I've got two Rocket agents for you. Can you send someone to pick them up?"
To Scott, hearing that Asahi had captured Rocket operatives at the Battle Frontier was a relief.
Sure, according to the intel, Rocket wasn't planning anything big.
But who could guarantee that was true?
Even if it was true now—who's to say they wouldn't receive new orders tomorrow?
Asahi catching them gave him peace of mind.
Just as Scott was about to thank him, Asahi casually added:
"By the way, we also picked up traces of Team Magma and Team Aqua remnants skulking around the area…"
Scott's heart immediately jumped into his throat.
The disaster they stirred up in Hoenn still haunted people to this day.
Seeing his reaction, Asahi chuckled. "Relax. One of my subordinates used to be a Team Magma admin. She knows all their tricks. They won't be a problem."
That did ease Scott's nerves a little.
Though… why did the International Police have ex-Team Magma admins on staff again?
...
Rocket and Magma sidequests were just that—sidequests.
The World Championship was the real deal.
On the battlefield, Swampert's massive frame barreled forward, swinging its arms and dominating the close-range exchange. Despite Machamp's physical prowess, it was overwhelmed and slammed into the ground.
Machamp tried to recover with Bullet Punch, but Swampert's slippery skin made it nearly impossible to land a solid hit.
The attack whiffed.
Swampert seized the opportunity and delivered a crushing Hammer Arm.
Boom!
Machamp was sent flying and crashed down hard.
This time, no matter how much its Trainer shouted, Machamp didn't get back up.
[Machamp is unable to battle!]
[Your rank has increased. Congratulations on reaching the Ultra Ball Tier!]
Asahi glanced at the newly unlocked Ultra Ball icon on his app, took a screenshot, and posted it to the group chat.
[GardevoirIsNumberOne: Whoops, Ultra Ball Tier already…]
At that exact moment, Gary had just finished a match himself and had finally broken into the Super Ball Tier.
He opened his app, planning to take a screenshot and post it with pride.
Only to see Asahi's message.
His thumb froze above the send button.
Deleted the screenshot. Typed a new message instead.
[Gary TheGreat: Ultra Ball? Meh. I could reach that whenever I feel like it.]
[Asahi: Sure.]
[Gary TheGreat: I mean, am I wrong?]
[Asahi: Heh.]
[GaryTheGreat: Just wait. I'll reach Ultra Ball soon!]
[Asahi: Coping.]
Blue gritted his teeth so hard the nearby Trainer—who had just arrived to battle him—nearly dropped their Poké Ball in fear at the sight of his face.
Meanwhile, Asahi felt like he had just cleared his daily quests. Refreshed and satisfied.
One hour and thirty-two minutes of effort well spent—he had officially reached the Ultra Ball Tier!
Now the real championship began.
From this point on, the format changed.
Instead of matchmaking, the League would now assign opponents directly.
The battle location? No longer random. It would be an officially selected site.
And every match would be broadcast live to the world.
Battles would now vary randomly between 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 formats.
Asahi glanced over at Iono, who was still recording, then tapped the "Apply for Ranked Battle" button on his app.
The response was swift.
[Ultra Ball Tier Trainer: Asahi]
[Based on your current rank, your next opponent will be: Sabrina – Saffron City Gym Leader]
[Please arrive at the Battle Pyramid in the Hoenn Battle Frontier before 13:00 tomorrow. Failure to arrive will be considered a forfeit.]
Asahi blinked at the notification.
He slowly looked up…
Only to see Sabrina staring at him with an unreadable expression.
The air grew strangely quiet.