Chapter 557

November, League Calendar 2026.

More than half a year had passed since the Ultra Beast invasion at the beginning of the year.

The advanced technology brought over from Ultra Megalopolis had already had an enormous impact on the entire Pokémon World. Vast amounts of knowledge and cutting-edge technology had sent every aspect of the world into rapid, flourishing development.

Amid such a technological leap, the dark organizations stirring in every region had settled down considerably.

After all, insufficient productivity was the root of all conflict. Compared to causing petty trouble in the shadows, the profits brought by embracing the dividends of a new era were far greater.

Dark organizations, with their large numbers of members and Pokémon, were essentially gray-market enterprises operating outside the law. As they actively cleaned up their image, the Pokémon League tacitly allowed it.

Only a small number of high-ranking League officials knew what undercurrents lurked beneath the prosperity and peace brought about by this technological revolution.

On November 11, the Hoenn Region Champion Challenge came to an end.

Twenty-three-year-old Steven Stone defeated the elderly Drake by a commanding score of 6–2, successfully ascending to the championship.

The intensely popular match, watched live by nearly two hundred million people, instantly became the most talked-about Pokémon Battle of the year.

It was not only because Steven had broken Cynthia's five-year record as the youngest Champion, nor because of his impeccable background, looks, and bearing, but because of the overwhelming dominance he displayed during the match—

Mega Metagross, a Dynamax Aggron, a Fairy Tera Type Cradily, and the newly caught Kartana's miraculous Steel-type Z-Move, [Supreme Spiral Combo Slash].

These four battle mechanics, each explosive in both strength and spectacle, had countless viewers crying, "Sir, the times have changed."

And the one cast aside by the tide of the