At the Hoenn League's Ever Grande Conference, 32 tickets to the final tournament were waiting for the 64 Trainers in the venue. Whether they could claim one depended entirely on themselves and their Pokémon—and perhaps a little luck.
To the spectators, Dian's luck seemed to have taken a sudden turn for the better. His opponent was neither Liangguang, a championship favorite and disciple of Elite Four member Drake, nor the famous Gym Leader Elesa, nor Tobias, hailed as "the greatest dark horse in history"...
Standing across from him was merely a beautiful woman with burgundy curls. She was lovely enough to make Brock swoon and flail about, but that was not why most Trainers were paying attention.
After all, in the eyes of quite a few Trainers, Slaking was probably far more beautiful than she was. Ash, whose sense of romance had finally become normal, was naturally among them.
Of course, whether his opponent was beautiful had never been Dian's concern. Something else was on his mind.
It was simple: though he could not call the Trainer before him familiar, she was no stranger either. A tenuous, complicated connection lay between them—faint, yet unforgettable, surfacing when he least expected it.
It was part of his journey and a memory of his inexperienced past. He closed his eyes and recalled it.
"So Chinami has been with her all this time." Understanding dawned on Dian, and his expression grew complicated.
He had guessed what she intended, leaving him with feelings he could hardly put into words.
It was neither grief nor melancholy, but something close to the nervousness of returning home after a long absence.
"No wonder he's such a well-known Trainer these days." Anna glanced around and spotted several strong contenders who had distinguished themselves at the conference. Some had asked