The Trainer named Yuji is a young man wearing a jacket vest, appearing to be in his twenties. To become the Chief Trainer at this age, it's evident that he is also a talented Trainer.
When Yuji ran up to Ash and his friends, he only panted slightly before catching his breath, indicating that he was someone who regularly exercised, as seen from his well-built muscles.
However, the physical quality of some people can't be discerned from their appearance. Take Ash, for example. If he were to take off his shirt, you might only see that his body is relatively lean and muscular, but compared to those musclemen, he doesn't seem to be in the same league at all.
But if Ash were to arm wrestle them, they might just end up questioning their existence.
"Are you Ash? I've long admired your name. I'm Yuji, the Chief Trainer of the Orange Archipelago!" Yuji extended his hand to greet Ash.
"Uh, well, you're being too kind. I'm not that amazing really. I'm Ash, a Trainer from Pallet Town. I've come here to battle upon invitation. Please take care of me!" Ash scratched his head awkwardly, humbling himself before responding seriously.
After a friendly handshake, Yuji also said with a face full of emotion, "When I heard the news of you coming to the Orange Archipelago, Ash, I was quite surprised. I never expected you to come here, and my first thought at that time was wanting to battle with you."
"Technically, only those who have collected all the Southern Cross Star badges can challenge me, but this situation is a bit special. You are not the challenger; I am."
The guard who didn't recognize Ash showed an extremely bizarre expression. To hear these words from the Chief Trainer of Ganju Island, just who on earth was this kid? Was he perhaps someone like the Elite Four? That would be even more unlikely, right!
However... since becoming the Chief Trainer, Yuji had not lost even once despite facing various challengers. It's fair to say that Yuji is the strongest Chief Trainer in the history of the Orange Archipelago.
Yet, this level of Trainer wanting to challenge a kid seems a tad absurd, doesn't it? Just how strong is this kid?
"Then let's set the battle for tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, is that alright?" After some brief pleasantries, Yuji and Ash agreed on the time for the battle the next day. As for the venue, there was no doubt it would be the Pummelo Stadium right in front of them.
Ash nodded and said, "Alright, I'll be there on time tomorrow!"
"I still have some matters to attend to. You guys go ahead and explore Ganju Island yourselves. This island is considered the central one in the Orange Archipelago; its urban development is more thriving compared to the other islands. However, coming from a big city, you might not find anything particularly extraordinary."
"Oh, no, each island in the Orange Archipelago has its own unique customs and cultures, which have broadened our horizons!" Misty waved her hand from behind Ash.
"That's even better. Well then, everyone, see you tomorrow." Yuji waved and turned to leave.
...
The news of Ash and Yuji's battle quickly spread across Ganju Island. While some might not know who Ash is, there's absolutely no one who doesn't know Yuji.
Yuji's name was household on Ganju Island. Though Ash had his popularity in Kanto and some fame in the tourist destinations of the Orange Archipelago, Ganju Island wasn't particularly one of them, attracting relatively fewer tourists.
The island primarily consisted of locals, who weren't very familiar with Ash. Only a few knew of Ash's experiences, so when the locals heard of Ash and Yuji's battle the next day, their first thought was that another person who passed the Southern Cross Star test was here to challenge Yuji.
But in all likelihood, Yuji would still be the winner, simply because since becoming the Chief Trainer, Yuji had never faced defeat. In fact, in recent times, no one had even managed to drive out Yuji's last Pokemon.
The entire island knew that Yuji's last Pokemon was his strongest trump card, on a completely different level compared to his other Pokemon.
Failing to bring out Yuji's last Pokemon meant that the challengers couldn't even push Yuji to half his strength, indicating how low the challengers' levels actually were.
No, that's not quite right; those who could pass the Southern Cross Star test weren't exactly weak. It's just that Yuji was too strong.
So this time, the battle held no suspense. This Ash? Never heard of him.
But soon, a new message spread. This time, it was not the challenger who was challenging. What did this mean?
It meant that this time, their Chief Trainer Yuji was the one issuing the challenge, and the one named Ash was actually being challenged by Yuji.
What was going on, why had their Chief Trainer become the challenger?
After nearly a whole night of investigation, the locals on the island finally learned about Ash's credentials.
Within just six months of debuting, he had won the fiercely contested Quartz Conference and even had multiple records of battling the Elite, not just any Elite, but the Elite Four of Kanto with Champion-level strength.