The global audience was overwhelmed—
On one side, Grovyle's love-powered duel.
On the other hand, Oak's romantic history.
Thankfully, Agatha didn't pursue the topic further.
Just as Grovyle defeated Tropius—
Team Rocket arrived
and released Meganium.
Meganium sprinted straight toward—
Not Grovyle.
But Tropius.
Grovyle turned to stone.
Then slowly… mechanically…
He rotated his head—
Only to see Meganium nuzzling Tropius with worry in her eyes.
"Meowth: Oh my, looks like Meganium likes Tropius after all~ They look perfect together!"
"So Grovyle never had a chance from the start…"
The words stabbed into Grovyle's heart.
He collapsed to his knees.
The flower in his mouth wilted.
Even the twig in his jaw fell to the ground.
"Too painful!"
"This is emotional death!"
"This is… NTR???"
"Hold the tally! Slay the bull-headed demon!"
"Poor Grovyle! Wins the battle, loses the girl!"
"What is this—yellow-hair romance arc?!"
The audience was exploding.
Grovyle was truly, utterly defeated.
Ash and the others arrived.
Seeing Grovyle—battered, broken, hollow-eyed—
Ash shouted at Team Rocket:
"What did you do to him?!"
"Don't slander us, twerp! Grovyle challenged Tropius himself!"
Ash blinked, then looked at Grovyle.
"So… you went to fight Tropius again… and you lost?"
"Nope! He won!" Team Rocket defended.
"Look at Tropius—Grovyle crushed him!"
"Then… why is he like this…?"
Brock spotted Meganium and Tropius cuddled together.
He sighed deeply.
"He may have won the fight…
But he lost in love."
"Won… lost… huh? I don't get it! So did Grovyle win or lose?!"
…
Brock: …
May: …
Max: …
Audience: …
ASH, COME ON.
THIS ISN'T A HINT.
THIS IS A FULL EXPLANATION.
[Lance: From today on, I propose we call Ash— The Wooden One!]
[Bruno: Ash has such high emotional intelligence with Pokémon… Why does it drop to zero in romance?!]
[Diantha: Even Bruno understood it! Ash—you need romance lessons~]
[Cynthia: Actually… Ash being silly is kind of adorable.]
[Leon: Ash is right! Women only slow down battle speed!]
[Sonia: Oh? Is that what you think, Leon?]
[Leon: Ahem—what I meant was, uh—romance is also very vital!]
Sonia—researcher of Galar, with her eyes set on becoming a full-fledged Pokémon Professor.
But compared to her academic title,
there was another name people remembered her by:
Childhood friend of Galar's strongest Champion—Leon.
Rumor had it that before Leon even debuted,
Sonia used to beat him in battles so badly that
He couldn't even lift his Charizard plush.
Though… no one had ever confirmed that rumor.
"So… did Grovyle win or lose??"
Real-world Ash looked at the Champions with genuine confusion.
He didn't understand.
Not in the video.
Not in reality.
If you win, you win.
If you lose, you lose.
How could it be… both?
Brock sighed and patted Ash's shoulder like an old father lecturing a child.
"You're still young, Ash.
You'll understand when you grow up."
Misty's mouth twitched.
Honestly…
She doubted he would.
The footage continued—
Team Rocket ignored the emotionally devastated Grovyle
and faithfully carried out their villainous duties,
capturing both Meganium and Tropius together.
To be fair…
Their machine's grip strength was absurd.
It grabbed those two giant Pokémon
like they were stuffed toys.
Meganium struggled painfully in the robot arm.
Grovyle looked up—
saw her expression—
And his heart twisted sharply.
He stood.
Even if he couldn't be with her…
He couldn't watch her be taken away.
That resolve became strength.
A brilliant white light burst from Grovyle's body.
He—
was evolving.
"What the—
So THAT'S how Sceptile evolves?!"
"Converting heartbreak into power??"
"Bro really said: 'Not only did I defeat your boyfriend, now I'll save both of you.'"
"Stop the slander! Meganium never liked Grovyle in the first place! She and Tropius were always a pair! Strictly speaking, Grovyle is the third party!"
"Yeah, yeah, logic aside—
But doesn't Grovyle look EXACTLY like he got emotionally betrayed?"
"..."
Amid the world's commotion—
Grovyle's evolution is completed.
A tall, sleek, majestic Sceptile stood before everyone.
Ash lit up immediately.
"Alright! Sceptile—let's go save them!"
Team Rocket sent out their battle Pokémon.
Everyone expected—
Now that Sceptile had evolved,
he would slice through foes like melons under tallies.
But instead—
A surprising problem arose.
Sceptile… couldn't use moves.
Leaf… tally.
Quick Attack.
Bullet Seed.
None of them worked.
Not a single one.
In the end, Pikachu had to jump in
to defeat the enemy and rescue Meganium and Tropius.
Then Meganium and Tropius
proceeded to blast Team Rocket away as a duo.
Thus ended the story of Citrus Island.
But viewers across the world were not satisfied at all.
They had expected a newly evolved Sceptile
to unleash the true power of a Hoenn heavyweight.
Instead—
He couldn't even use a single move??
[Lance: I think the heartbreak hit him too hard… His confidence collapsed. He can't even activate his strength.]
[Bruno: Never expected the ending would go like this.]
[Caitlin: I really thought Sceptile's strength came from love boosting him forward~]
[Caitlin: But then we learn Meganium already had someone else… Thought Sceptile would turn heartbreak into power and soar into the sky—
Instead, he can't even use a move now!!]
[Norman: In that case… How did Sceptile later reach that terrifying level of power? Something else must've happened afterward.]
[Cynthia: It must be Ash.
From the battle with Darkrai, it's clear—
Ash is like a guiding light to Sceptile.]
[Cynthia: During their journey, Ash must've helped Sceptile recover. Their bond must've deepened to an unshakable level—
strong enough that even Darkrai's Dark Void couldn't trap him!!]
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