Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

Chapter 214 Successor, The Current State of the Alliance

How would Xiaozhi answer?

With this in mind, Hikari turned her attention to Ash.

At this moment, she must have felt both excited and somewhat worried.

The exciting part is that the famous Mr. Wallace actually offered to train Ash to become a champion, or rather, to make him his successor.

As for Xiaoguang's worries, they are actually very simple, yet also quite inexplicable.

She was still somewhat afraid that if Ash agreed to Wallace's request here, he would leave Sinnoh with Wallace and go to the Hoenn region.

After all, that's where Wallace's home turf is, and if he wants to train a successor, it would be only natural for Wallace to bring Ash to the Hoenn region.

Does that mean their trip ends here?

Even without realizing it, Xiao Guang's hands, which were behind his back, were clenched tightly, and a little sweat appeared on his palms.

"Becoming the champion? That's certainly tempting..."

Xiao Zhi crossed his arms and nodded, saying:

"But never mind, I'm not suited to be a champion. If I were to become one, it would be better to become a Pokémon Master directly. If I were to become a champion, my time would be compressed a lot, wouldn't it? Rather than being restricted everywhere, I prefer the feeling of getting stronger while traveling."

"Phew~ It really didn't work out? What a pity. I was hoping you would agree, which would have made things much easier for me."

"easy?"

Hikari, Brock, and Pikachu looked at each other, not quite understanding what Wallace meant, but if they thought about it carefully...

Perhaps it's because he's under too much pressure? After all, Michael has to juggle both the Hoenn League Championship and the Grand Contest, which must be quite tiring.

"Finding a successor shouldn't be too difficult, right? Once the news gets out, there should be countless people wanting to apply."

Ash said this to Wallace.

Although Ash's suggestion sounded reasonable, Wallace waved his hand and said:

"It's a pity that this kind of thing can't be discussed openly. After all, throughout history, the handover ceremony of the regional champions has always been determined by Pokémon battles. To put it nicely, the existence of a successor is because the champions in each region are afraid that the next champion will not be capable enough, so they go to the trouble of cultivating a talent themselves. But to put it bluntly, this is a kind of cheating."

"Cheating...?"

"If you really think about it in this direction, it does seem to have a bit of a... "

After hearing only a brief account from Michael, Xiao Guang and Xiao Gang had a general understanding of the nature of the matter. When facing Ash and his companions, whom Cynthia and Gosho both acknowledged, Michael clearly didn't hold back and frankly stated:

"Although there are too many trainers in this world, too many to count, there are far too few geniuses among them... Countless people, even with more than ten years of Pokémon battle experience, still cannot obtain eight badges and step onto the highest stage to showcase themselves."

"There are also countless people whose abilities are limited to defeating the eight major dojos. If they are unlucky, they may be eliminated in the first round after entering the League Tournament. If they are lucky, they may have a chance to further showcase their talents in a six-on-six battle."

"But it seems to be a year of poor harvests now. There are very few true geniuses appearing in various places. The situation is slightly better in Sinnoh, but in places like Unova, which is worse... I wonder when Mr. Alder will be able to retire in peace."

......

"I never expected this..."

"Wow, there's such a hidden story."

Mikoli's words silenced the group. They never imagined that the seemingly vibrant alliance was now facing a shortage of top talent.

It's so difficult to even find a trace of the next champion in various regions. If it weren't for Wallace, the champion of the Hoenn region, telling them this in person, I believe no one would believe this fact.

"Mr. Namicori, after becoming the number one contestant in the Grand Contest, did you become the champion of the Hoenn region because there was no one strong enough to succeed you, so you insisted on holding this position?"

Mikoli: "......"

Now it was Wallace's turn to fall silent. Although the other two were unaware of the situation, Ash, who knew a little about Wallace's situation, noticed that the corners of Wallace's mouth were starting to twitch slightly.

"Alright! Let's leave it at that. Miss Xiaoguang, didn't you just want me to critique your performance design? Shall we begin now?"

"Is that okay? I'm always fully prepared!"

Seeing Mikoli stand up and say this, Hikari's attention was successfully drawn away. With Tsuyoshi still looking on with some curiosity, Hikari sent Patchlitz to start her performance.

........

A few minutes passed, and the forest returned to tranquility.

The lightning faded, but the campfire still burned alone by the lake, casting a fiery red glow on the surroundings with the evening breeze.

"Um......"

Mikoli closed his eyes, looking completely absorbed, and murmured to himself, seemingly savoring Patchlitz's performance.

Then, under Hikaru's tense gaze, Mikoli opened her eyes and said:

"This performance is not something a newcomer could produce. You have a complete understanding of what the Grand Contest is all about. The entire performance highlights Patchlitz's charm at every moment. I would give this level of performance a high score in any Grand Contest."

"Really? Thank you for your confirmation!"

Having received recognition from the winner of the Grand Contest, Hikari's mood naturally brightened. She picked up Patchlitz and bowed to Michael to thank him.

"This is the result of your and your companions' hard work. I'm just giving the most objective evaluation. I really like your cheerful attitude. If a trainer is trembling with fear and lacks confidence on stage, I'm afraid I won't give a high evaluation no matter how badly the Pokémon's performance drags down the score."

"Yes! I understand!"

Ash has said something similar, and Dawn understands it.

Mikoli wanted her to maintain this mindset in private, so that she wouldn't start to doubt her efforts on stage and thus ruin all the hard work she had put in.

"Okay, I'll head out now. I'm really looking forward to your performance on stage."

With a smile, Mikkuri bid farewell to the group, then went to the beach and released his signature Pokémon, Milotic, sitting on its back as he prepared to head straight to Lake Tadashi.

"And you."

"?"

At the last moment, Ash's eyes met with Wallace's, and a question mark flashed across his head. But before he could ask what Wallace meant, he had already left, leaving the others to reluctantly try to figure out what he meant.

.......

P.S.: Daily gift request~!

(Zhu Zi is so funny, I've farmed over a dozen five-star pits and haven't gotten a single secret material!)