Help Ash Win the Championship

Not long after Tobias left, Ash and Brock finally returned. Brock noticed the strange look on Mingyou's face and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing much. I just saw a seriously strong competitor walk by. He has a Darkrai, and he's entered in the Lily of the Valley Conference. You might be in for a rough time."

Mingyou looked at Ash and smiled.

Dawn, who had just been teasing him about the photo, looked stunned. "Darkrai? Seriously?"

"Actually, while I was buying lunch, I heard some competitors talking about it," Brock said. "Apparently, a Trainer with a Darkrai defeated every Gym Leader in the Sinnoh Region in less than half a month. Looks like it's true..."

Brock's expression grew grave. If so, this competitor named Tobias would surely be the biggest obstacle to winning the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Ash, however, didn't grow cautious at all. He only got more excited. "Darkrai, huh? All right, Pikachu! Let's go beat it!"

"Pika!"

"Now that's the spirit!"

Watching him, Mingyou took a sip of soup from the table and smiled calmly. "Beating Darkrai isn't out of the question, but you also have to account for the rest of his Pokémon. If you face him in the tournament, you'd better bring your strongest Pokémon and have them learn some powerful moves. Then you'll stand a chance!"

He was also saying it to drum up business. More importantly, he wanted someone who could promote his products... and the tournament champion would do nicely!

He had come all this way. He might as well get all the publicity he could.

"Exactly," Brock added. "We need to study all the favorites and come up with strategies. That way, if you're matched against them, you'll know how to respond."

"Good point!"

Ash nodded. Once they finished eating