On the giant screen, four portraits were lined up side by side, and the atmosphere in the arena was blazing hot.
"Damn it!! I even got four friends to help me grab tickets, and I still couldn't get one!"
"Tell me about it. Tickets for the Indigo Stadium are ridiculously hard to get right now."
"Champion Dylan is basically guaranteed to advance—so which of the remaining three will make the finals?"
"No idea. Just judging by strength alone, it's really hard to tell."
The livestream's viewer count was nearly maxed out, with discussions almost entirely focused on who would advance.
"It all comes down to the matchups. Hopefully today we'll get some amazing battles."
Leon looked up at the big screen.
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"That's for sure. Giovanni and the others are all top-tier trainers."
Gloria's gaze lingered on Giovanni for a moment longer. Losing to him still bothered her.
When she reviewed the battle afterward, she knew that if she'd handled certain moments better, she might have won.
But she also understood—there were no "ifs."
All she could do was make sure that in the next World Championships, she'd take this loss back from Giovanni!
For now, though, she focused on spectating.
She was genuinely curious about who would advance.
In a special room, Rainbow Giovanni stared grimly at the television.
"Tch—this world's Giovanni already made it to the semifinals, huh. Not bad at all."
Rainbow Archie cracked sunflower seeds, glancing sideways at him with a wide grin, his tone full of mockery.
"It's a meaningless competition. So-called trainer honor—completely useless,"
Rainbow Giovanni said calmly.
He knew Archie was deliberately provoking him. After all, as a parallel-world counterpart, he was now a prisoner.
While that Giovanni was covered in glory and admiration.
But Rainbow Giovanni truly didn't care.
A World Championship to decide the strongest trainer? What a joke.
"Oh really? Then why does someone keep watching his battle videos every day?"
Rainbow Archie's expression was pure villainy.
Rainbow Giovanni: "..."
He didn't respond.
It was true—he often watched Giovanni's matches and studied his data during breaks.
But it wasn't out of envy.
He wanted to know why the Giovanni of this world was so different from himself.
And… he also genuinely wanted to see how far that Giovanni could go in the World Championships.
"Hahaha—still, Kanto in this world is seriously terrifying."
Rainbow Archie laughed loudly, then smacked his lips when he saw the four portraits on the live broadcast.
"That's true. The trainer level here is frighteningly high."
Rainbow Lysandre, washing dishes nearby, couldn't help recalling that old man.
Compared to Kanto's young trainers, that guy terrified him the most.
It was insane—freezing his Xerneas solid with just a Piloswine. Who would even believe that?
Compared to this world, Rainbow Lysandre felt like his own world was basically a beginner's tutorial zone in a game…
Nearby, Rainbow Maxie and Rainbow Ghetsis, watching the broadcast while working the sewing machines, both froze at the same time.
They couldn't agree more.
Indigo Stadium.
"Alright! Without further ado, let's reveal the matchups for the semifinals!"
The slick-haired announcer's excited voice echoed across the stadium.
As he spoke, the four portraits on the screen began to spin.
Since this was already the semifinals, there was no need to drag things out—once one matchup was decided, the other was guaranteed.
So the pairings were revealed simultaneously.
All eyes were fixed on the screen—Selene, Red, and Giovanni included.
Even Dylan was curious. He didn't mind facing any of them; they were all excellent opponents.
Under everyone's gaze, the two matchups finally locked in.
"…What? This…"
Selene was completely stunned, eyes wide as saucers.
Dylan vs Selene!
Red vs Giovanni!
Pfft—!
Seeing the result, Leaf burst out laughing without holding back.
A trace of amusement appeared in Red's eyes, while Giovanni smiled faintly, teasingly looking at Selene, who stood frozen in place.
After all, before today, Selene had been absolutely certain she wouldn't meet her Gym Leader Brother at this stage.
"Why is it like this?!"
Selene was furious. She wanted to face Dylan in the finals!
"Your bond with Dylan is deep, right? Three choices—so the deepest bond gets matched together."
Leaf joked, enjoying the chaos.
"Ugh!!"
Selene's fair little face turned into (︵).
Blue and Lillie couldn't help laughing—the smiles just wouldn't go away.
Half an hour later.
"Both sides are ready! Now, let us welcome—with the loudest applause—the two trainers entering the first semifinal match!"
The announcer's voice boomed through the microphone.
"Dylan!"
"Selene!"
WOO—!
The entire stadium erupted in cheers. Countless spectators waved their glow sticks wildly, venting their excitement.
Two figures slowly emerged from the players' tunnel.
"Waaah—why does it have to be our adorable Selene?! I was waiting for Selene vs Champion Dylan in the finals!"
"So the master–disciple bond doesn't save you after all. Yellow already got 'educated,' and now it's Selene's turn."
"Go, Selene!! Take down the Demon King Dylan! You're the chosen one! The only one!"
"If even you can't beat this otherworldly demon, then who can?!"
The entire arena roared. The livestream chat was almost entirely cheering for Selene.
People loved this kind of matchup—master versus disciple. Pure hype.
"Hahaha—looks like little Selene's in trouble. She ran into Dylan after all."
In the stands, Mustard laughed so hard his eyes disappeared.
He liked Selene a lot, enjoyed watching her battles—but…
He could never forget that battle from the past.
"What a shame. With her strength, Selene definitely could've made the finals,"
Leon said, feeling sorry for her.
"That's not necessarily true, big bro. Giovanni and Red aren't weaker than Selene either."
Gloria disagreed. She personally supported Red more.
She thought Red was really cool—quiet most of the time, but absolutely ferocious in battle.
"A battle between two 'underworld' types—my favorite kind of episode."
Wallace smiled.
Even though he hadn't personally been beaten by Selene's dirty tactics, that didn't stop him from categorizing her as an "underworld-style" trainer.
After all, Selene was extremely skilled at that sort of thing.
"Yeah, as long as Dylan doesn't use any out-of-spec legendary Pokémon, this fight will definitely be amazing,"
Steven nodded in agreement.
On the field.
"We now begin the semifinals of the Masters Eight of the World Championships. The battle will be between Dylan of Kanto and Selene of Kanto."
The referee stepped forward and began announcing the rules.
"The match will be a 6v6 full battle on a standard field. All power-up methods are allowed. Both sides may freely switch Pokémon. When one side's six Pokémon are all unable to battle, the other side wins."
"Battle—begin!"
The referee waved the flag, bowed slightly to both trainers, and retreated from the field.
On the big screen, half-body portraits of Dylan and Selene appeared on opposite sides, with a pointer spinning in the center.
It finally stopped on Dylan.
Dylan glanced at it and smiled, casually tossing a Great Ball in his hand as he looked at Selene.
"Fate really is unpredictable, Selene."
Selene shot him a resentful glare. Why did it have to be Gym Leader Brother of all people?
A one-in-three chance—could it really be this unlucky?
Their bond was so deep… was that really the reason?
"You don't have to look at me like that. I didn't control the matchmaking."
Dylan chuckled, amused by her expression.
"If it weren't you, I'd definitely make the finals. I could've become the Kanto Champion!"
Selene muttered gloomily.
"I'm your precious disciple!"
"With all due respect, it's not like you're guaranteed to beat Giovanni or Red,"
Dylan rolled his eyes.
"Tch—I won't lose to them."
Selene pouted.
Aside from Dylan, she was invincible!
She had absolute confidence in this—there was no way she'd lose to anyone else now.
"Well, whatever. I was bound to face you sooner or later anyway."
Selene patted her cheeks and perked up, her eyes shining with renewed resolve.
No point overthinking it. Worst case, she'd wait another year—Kanto Champion would be hers eventually.
As for now…
"You otherworldly demon king! I've put up with you for a long time! Come at me! I've been waiting for this destined battle!"
Selene declared proudly.
"???"
Dylan stared at the suddenly chuunibyou girl, his head full of question marks.
"What are you on about?"
"I'm not crazy!"
She protested indignantly—she'd thought about that line for ages!
"This is the brave heroine declaring war on the Demon King!"
"I see. Very nice, Selene. Looks like your teacher still hasn't been strict enough with you."
Dylan watched the straw-hat girl for a moment, then slowly smiled warmly.
Selene shivered.
"Let me test how strong you are now. But if you fail to entertain me… I won't go easy on you."
Dylan spoke calmly and flicked his Poké Ball forward.
A flash of white light—
A massive, dark-purple cobra landed in front of him, its tongue flicking as cold eyes locked onto Selene.
It was one of Dylan's veteran Pokémon—Arbok.
"Just an Arbok!"
Even though Selene's legs were trembling, she wasn't afraid!
"Gengar!"
She immediately threw out one of her signature Pokémon.
And without hesitation, she triggered Mega Evolution—her standard opening combo.
But at that moment, an even wider smile spread across Dylan's face.
"Selene fell for it."
Lillie sighed helplessly.
Because the Rotom Dex's analysis showed something completely different.
Beep—Zoroark (Hisuian Form), Normal/Ghost type, Spiteful Fox Pokémon
Ability: Illusion
Moves: Bitter Malice, Shadow Ball, Trick, Nasty Plot, Shadow Claw…
Description: With its white mane dancing wildly like a grim reaper, it attacks its enemies with a resolve for mutual destruction, driven by hatred so deep it could tear itself apart.
That's right.
What Dylan sent out wasn't Arbok at all—
It was Hisuian Zoroark.
The Arbok appearance was nothing more than an illusion.