Inside the Tower of Mastery.
Baimu silently watched Korrina and Alain battle.
Mega Charizard had sent Mega Lucario flying into a wall with a single Dragon Claw. Alain had clearly reached his Pokémon X and Y peak.
"Lucario is unable to battle! Charizard wins! The challenger, Alain, wins this Gym battle!"
The referee's voice rang out.
Just as Baimu had trained under Juan and Wallace, Lysandre had lined up plenty of powerful trainers for Alain to battle.
He had even brought in Pachira of the Kalos Elite Four.
After a month of hard-fought battles, Alain and Mega Charizard had grown visibly stronger.
Of course.
Alain's resolve had played a part too.
He wanted to protect Mairin and Professor Sycamore, help Chespin recover from the coma caused by Team Flare's experiments, and face Ash, who had inspired him, at the League Conference. So many goals drove him and Charizard forward.
In game terms, those were three massive buffs!
Whether Alain would still have those buffs after Team Flare made its move was another question.
After all, Ash and Ash-Greninja had lost to Alain and Mega Charizard by a single move. They had only fallen short in the final clash of attacks.
With circumstances changing, could Alain hold on to that resolve?
Baimu found himself looking forward to finding out.
The Kalos League final was a sore spot for many anime fans. The buildup had been so strong, and the episode title had even promised "Kalos League Victory! Ash's Ultimate Match!"
Without knowing the result in advance, nine out of ten people would have thought Ash had it in the bag.
Who could have guessed...
The production team had really played them. Every fan hoping to see Ash win had been made a fool.
Baimu was on Ash's side too.
He had