The vast majority of the world did not believe Ash could win—
And honestly, that was perfectly reasonable.
In Ash's previous battles, like with Charizard and Pikachu,
The most shocking thing was their raw stats.
Even if they were at a disadvantage early on against legendary Pokémon,
Their bond with Ash would explode with temporary power
that allowed them to close that gap.
But Greninja right now…?
Even if it "burst," it wouldn't win.
Again, the difference between 1 → 3 is NOT the same as 0.1 → 3.
Greninja and Gardevoir were simply TOO far apart.
Even Ash's special ability couldn't bridge a gap this massive.
"This is more like Ash's dark history than Diantha's."
Gary folded his arms, expression strange,
watching Greninja get completely dominated on-screen.
That presence, that elegance, that sheer style—
The moment Gardevoir appeared, she stole the whole spotlight.
How was this supposed to be a dark history for Diantha?
This was free PR!
"Ash, I…"
Diantha hesitated, showing a concerned expression.
After all, in the footage, Ash was getting crushed—
completely suppressed without even the chance to fight back.
Of course, while she looked worried on the surface,
inwardly she was thrilled.
'This Tally system must have no idea what a dark history even is.
Not only will I get rewards this round,
I'll even gain a wave of new fans!
A perfect win-win!
Well… sorry, Ash.'
"It's fine, Miss Diantha! Failure exists so we can aim for an even greater success!"
Ash wasn't disheartened at all.
A single defeat was never enough to break him.
If anything, before this Heavenly Tally appeared,
he had experienced far more failures than victories.
"And besides… if it's me and Greninja,
I'm sure there's always some way!"
Whenever Ash talked about his Pokémon,
His eyes lit up with determination.
Even though he'd never actually met Greninja yet,
the moment he first saw it in the footage,
He instantly fell in love with the Pokémon.
A ninja Pokémon—
How could that NOT be cool?!
"Confidence is a good thing."
Leon gave Ash an encouraging nod.
Naturally, he believed Diantha would win—
The gap was simply too enormous.
But—
Ash always finds some unexpected tactic,
always shows some astonishing power.
So maybe—just maybe—
This time would be no different.
After all…
The whole reason Diantha wanted to battle him
was because Greninja was special.
And so far, that Greninja
hadn't shown anything special at all.
Meaning—
This wasn't its full power.
"Ash… will a miracle descend upon you again?"
In the footage—
Greninja charged in once again, and once again—
accomplished nothing.
Diantha frowned slightly.
'This Greninja is well-trained, but…
That's all.
Still can't see anything special…
Let's test it with an attack.'
"Gardevoir, Shadow Ball!"
"Garde~!"
Gardevoir clasped her hands before her chest,
condensing a pitch-black Shadow Ball
and firing it like a cannon!
Ash instantly called for Double Team to evade.
Multiple Greninja appeared across the field.
The Shadow Ball only dispersed one clone.
Ash barely had time to feel relieved when Diantha spoke again:
"Destroy all the clones."
"Garde——"
A flurry of smaller Shadow Balls erupted all at once!
Every Greninja—real or illusion—was hit simultaneously!
The real Greninja took damage, blasted several meters back!
It survived only because the attacks were spread out—
but barely.
"Moonblast!"
"GARDEVOIR!!!"
Radiant light wrapped around Gardevoir,
starlight streaming down as a massive pink energy sphere formed.
Then—
Moonblast fired like a meteor!
Ash barely commanded Greninja to dodge in time.
Greninja slipped away from the main attack—
But the explosion wave swallowed it whole!
Greninja was hurled dozens of meters,
slamming into a tree!
"Yeah… the gap is WAY too big."
"Even just the shockwave, almost one-shot Greninja—Champion Diantha is insane!"
"Ash has zero chance this time!"
Viewers worldwide shook their heads.
Even miracle-maker Ash
could not fight back against a Champion.
This was the power of a Champion.
Completely unlike all his previous opponents.
Greninja was close to utter defeat…
Fairy-type STAB, super effective—
Even the shockwave alone dealt terrifying damage.
"Greninja, are you okay?!"
"Ge… ge-koga…"
Greninja stood, trembling, covered in wounds.
"Miss Diantha is too strong… I have an idea…"
"Ge-koga…"
After a moment, Ash and Greninja braced themselves again.
Diantha, however, was already losing interest.
To her, Greninja still had shown nothing special.
Perhaps the "strange transformation" the others mentioned
was just their imagination—
"Greninja, Water Shuriken!"
"Ge-koga!"
Multiple spinning shuriken tore down from above.
Once again, a subtle glance from Diantha—
and Gardevoir instantly understood, body shifting gracefully,
dodging all of them.
But—
The shuriken struck the ground, kicking up a thick white smoke!
And then—
Another shuriken whistled through the smoke!
Gardevoir froze for half a second, forced into an awkward dodge—
but then—
"Cut!!"
"GE-KOGA!"
Greninja burst out of the smoke,
white blade slicing the air
and striking Gardevoir full-force!
The attack—
actually connected!
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