[Lance: Black Ash has also gotten eight badges. It was only a matter of time, but now that he has them, I can say this—Silver Conference, your emperor has arrived!]
[Cynthia: Ahem, Lance, are you usually this much of a chuunibyou?]
[Wallace: Haha, actually, what Lance said is right. For Black Ash to go to the Silver Conference… isn't that just seal-clubbing?]
This wasn't just ordinary seal-clubbing—this was seal-clubbing with nukes! A normal Elite Four–level trainer… who even goes to a League Conference?! Generally, if someone with an Elite Four–level Pokémon shows up at a Conference, it's a done deal. Those people usually come for the exhibition matches. After winning those, they can apply to officially join the Elite Four. So, normally, those types can steadily win the championship. But this time… it's not an Elite Four member coming to club seals—it's a Champion-level trainer! And the kind who can defeat Pryce in a 2v2 battle! Therefore, what Lance said is correct—Silver Conference, your emperor has returned.jpg!
[Gary: Some people have decided to go seal-clubbing, and some people might have been the seals getting clubbed in the past.]
[Ash (White): Huh? Are you talking about yourself, Gary? Even though you're indeed not as strong as me, isn't calling yourself a 'seal' a bit too harsh?]
[Gary: ???]
[Gary: I'm specifically talking about you!]
[Gary: To be precise, it's the you in this world! Don't you dare lose to me when we meet!]
[Ash (White): What nonsense are you spouting? Who got clubbed like a seal? Someone didn't even make the Top 16!]
[Gary: We're at the Silver Conference already, and you're still bringing up that old story! Don't you know people need to look forward?!]
How outrageous! It's been over half a year, and he's still bringing up the Top 16! This guy wouldn't plan to use my "Top 32" to attack me for the rest of my life, would he? Gary wondered silently if he should remove the word "friend" from "Ash's best friend and rival." Whose best friend exposes their shortcomings to the whole world every day?
[Lance: Haha, alright, alright, no arguing. Whether it's Black Ash or White Ash, Black Gary or White Gary, I'm looking forward to your performance at the Silver Conference. Also… Black Ash should be heading to Water City next, right?]
Water City… that is, Alto Mare! Now, when Lance mentions Water City, many think of Latios, who sacrificed itself for others. It saved Water City, saved Alto Mare, and the culprits behind it all were the Phantom Thief sisters!
I don't know if the two Phantom Thief sisters can't speak in the live chat or don't dare to. If they dared to show themselves, they'd probably get ganged up on! If it weren't for them, Latios wouldn't have sacrificed itself…
[Ash (White): I believe in the other me—he can definitely save Latios and change its fate!]
[Misty: That's right! Those two bad guys will definitely be caught by Black Ash's Aura power and finally brought to justice!]
[Kanon: It's been a long time since I've answered a question… I wonder if there could be a question about Water City. The best reward would be something that could resurrect Latios…]
[Lance: Well… judging by this live broadcast room's capabilities, it might be possible to resurrect Latios. But the rewards are random, and we might not answer correctly even if a question appears, so… don't get your hopes up too high.]
[Kanon: I know it's a difficult thing… but at least there's hope now, right? It's better than before when there was no hope of Latios recovering…]
No one wanted to pour cold water on Kanon, but it had been too long since a Q&A session. Even if one appeared, the reward might not be resurrecting Latios. Resurrecting a Legendary, one that had been dead for so long… even if Arceus came, it would likely come at a cost. As for whether Arceus could resurrect Latios… they had no doubts about that. How could Arceus, who created the world, not be able to resurrect one Legendary?
And so, under everyone's watchful eyes, Black Ash also arrived at the city known as the city of dreams—Water City, Alto Mare!
...
In the Black World —
After Ash got his badge, Sabrina also challenged the Gym the next day. This time, she also asked Clair to go all out. The battle between Clair and Ash yesterday made Sabrina feel—the sky is clear, the rain has stopped, and I can do it again! She thought she could handle the low Elite Four–level Dragonite if she found the right strategy.
So this time, Clair got her wish for an all-out battle against Sabrina. The first two rounds ended with one win each. In the end, both had only one Pokémon left: Sabrina's Alakazam and Clair's Dragonite. Sabrina's Alakazam was only at peak Gym-level at first and was completely suppressed by Dragonite. But then, Sabrina fused her psychic power with Alakazam—the same trick she used against Ash—temporarily boosting Alakazam to mid Elite Four–level, and finally managed to defeat Clair's Dragonite!
After this battle, Sabrina's Alakazam finally officially broke through to Elite Four–level! Since the Orange Islands, Alakazam's progress had been stuck at peak Gym-level. After countless exercises and battles, it finally reached Elite Four–level today! Taking about three months to go from peak Gym-level to Elite Four–level was already considered extremely fast. Not everyone was a freak like Ash, who could raise a Pokémon from zero to Elite Four–level in a short time… That wasn't called a genius anymore; it was called a monster!
After losing to Sabrina, Clair wasn't too unwilling. After all, she'd just suffered a major defeat yesterday, and today's match was evenly matched. After Sabrina got the Rising Badge, the group bid farewell to Clair and began heading toward Silver Town!
There were still several months before the Silver Conference started. They were just going to Silver Town to register their qualification. After that, they could either stay in Silver Town for training, return to Pallet Town, or travel elsewhere.
So… they came to Alto Mare~
Initially, Brock heard there was a Water Race competition in Alto Mare. Plus, Alto Mare was known as the most beautiful city in the world. Both Misty and Sabrina wanted to visit, and Ash also wanted to participate in the competition, so the four of them hit it off and set off for Alto Mare.
Upon arriving, they first booked two rooms at the Alto Mare Pokémon Center and signed up for the Water Race. Both Ash and Misty signed up. As competitors, their rooms at the Pokémon Center were free. The competition would start in two days, giving them time to explore Alto Mare.
And so… Brock abandoned Ash, saying he was going to look for his "youthful encounter." Whether he was really looking or just pretending… was unknown.
Ash, Misty, and Sabrina began touring Alto Mare. In one day, they saw most of the city's landmarks and learned many legends about Alto Mare.
"…A city protected by Latios and Latias? I've only heard of these two Pokémon, never seen them! If I get the chance, I'd really like to meet them."
The three came to the Grand Temple and looked up at the huge statues of Latias and Latios, sighing in awe.
"Haha, if it's Ash… maybe you actually can meet them~"
"With your kind of luck… it might just be possible."
Misty and Sabrina both affirmed Ash's legendary luck. If the "Child of Destiny" couldn't meet Latias and Latios, then who could?
"You guys don't actually take that 'Child of Destiny' stuff seriously, do you? If possible, I really don't want to bear such a heavy fate!" That's what he said, but Ash didn't have a choice. Moreover, since he enjoyed the conveniences brought by his status as the Child of Destiny, he naturally had to bear the corresponding responsibilities! He shook his head, putting aside those heavy thoughts, and prepared to continue touring Alto Mare with Misty and the others. The sights were almost done, but there were still many places to eat and shop they hadn't visited… Funds were a bit tight. Whether they could replenish their travel funds depended on whether they could win the Water Race championship! Yes, the Water Race also had a cash prize; otherwise, it wouldn't attract so many people to come compete.
At that moment, a bald old man with a white beard, named Ben Gable, watched Ash and the others leaving the Grand Temple, a thoughtful look in his eyes…
Two days passed in a flash. During these two days, Brock wandered alone. He went out happily in the morning and came back listlessly in the evening. Sabrina and Misty were busy dating Ash, completely absorbed in each other, so they didn't pay attention to Brock. So… Brock once again faced reality: even if Sabrina didn't usually use her psychic powers to stop him, he probably wouldn't have any chance of getting close to the ladies. In these two days, the number of women who rejected him had reached double digits, and that double digit started with a three… This was the power of the "Confession God".jpg!
Ash and the two girls had a great date in Alto Mare. They did almost everything couples do: shopping, eating barbecue and shaved ice, playing games at festivals, taking turns carrying Sabrina and Misty piggyback to look at the scenery, and even went on a small rafting tour in Alto Mare… These two days were like a mini-vacation for both the Pokémon and for Ash himself.
However… while Ash was having fun, he always felt a vague gaze watching him. But when he looked, he found nothing. With so many people around, using his Aura to detect was pointless. He simply thought he might be imagining things.
After the fun came the official competition… The Water Race officially began on the third day! To ensure victory, Ash had Blastoise sent over.
Seal-clubbing—commence!
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