"Miss Diantha, is the Eevee by your side really the same Eevee from Miare City?"
An Eevee capable of freely changing between evolved forms—there was probably only one like it in the entire Kalos Region.
But the Eevee that had saved him in Miare City should have been Mega Sylveon Eevee. This one beside Miss Diantha, however, was Mega Umbreon, so Ash could not be sure whether it was his savior.
Diantha had not expected Seiya to know Ash and the others, so she turned to look at Seiya.
Once Seiya nodded in confirmation, Ash and Pikachu eagerly thanked him. Then, after hesitating for a moment, Ash made an unreasonable request of Diantha.
"Miss Diantha, could you let Eevee have a Pokémon battle with me?"
This was not actually Ash's first Pokémon battle against Diantha.
Previously, because of Olympia's prophecy, Diantha had taken the initiative to seek out Ash and Greninja and battle them.
In that battle, he and Greninja had even gained a slight advantage against Miss Diantha's Sableye, but the match had ultimately been interrupted by an accident.
It was also because of that Pokémon battle that Diantha had been saddled with the title of "weakest Champion."
After all, the Ace Pokémon of League Champions in other regions could crush heaven, earth, and everything in between. Even if they could not contend with Legendary Pokémon, they could at least fight some Grade 2 Legendary Pokémon.
Yet Diantha's Ace Pokémon, Sableye, had nearly lost to Greninja. Though her opponents were Ash, wrapped in protagonist plot armor, and the frog god.
Still, for a League Champion, that kind of record was simply too embarrassing.
Faced with Ash's request for a match, Diantha did not agree immediately. Instead, she turned to glance at Seiya, who was sprawled across her shoulder.
"Eevee!