The Manalo Conference.
Aside from Lillie, the only other match Baimu watched from start to finish was Ilima's.
A year had passed since Ilima faced him in the Ever Grande Conference quarterfinals, yet he had shown no "growth" at all. He lost to Guzma.
"That guy... never learns."
Baimu remembered using Baby Kangaskhan to limit Mega Kangaskhan when he fought Ilima.
Guzma's tactics were not exactly the same, but the underlying idea was similar.
Scizor kept moving so that Baby Kangaskhan stayed between it and Mega Kangaskhan, making it hard for the latter to attack at full strength.
That was why Ilima lost.
Baimu had nothing to say.
The remaining quarterfinals and semifinals were not especially interesting.
He watched a few matches here and there, including Hau's battle against Ash.
The adorable Rowlet made a name for itself in that match.
Why?
Because Disguise, the Everstone, and Grass Z all came into play during the battle.
It was only natural that Hau could not win.
Without a doubt, that was what made Ash special.
Just when you thought the anime's battle system followed the games, Ash would show you that they operated on entirely different rules. He would shatter an already fragile balance on the spot through the miraculous power of "I reckon this should work."
The final was no different.
Gladion's strength had soared thanks to Baimu and the Orre Tournament, but Ash's—or rather, Pikachu's—strength could slide up and down as needed.
Instead of meeting Zoroark's attack with Pulverizing Pancake as it should have, Pikachu used 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt.
And came out on top.
It was as though an "invisible hand" had corrected the timeline.
Even though Midnight Lycanroc endured a Counter against its own Counter, held on by sheer will, and fought Lycanroc to a draw,
Pikachu had