The Lily of the Valley Conference.
With one day left before the finals, Ash took his brand-new lineup to see his strategist first thing in the morning.
And his strategist was none other than-Shinji!
Unlike in the original timeline, Shinji had already planned to stay until after the finals to watch Ash face Li Wei.
Although he knew Ash had almost no chance of winning, Shinji wanted to see what kind of battle Ash could put up.
With his silver tongue, Ash successfully persuaded Shinji to serve as his strategist and help him study Li Wei.
"Show me your Pokémon first."
White light flashed as Ash's lineup emerged from their Poké Balls one by one.
Charizard roared at the sky,
then promptly performed the time-honored ritual of scorching Ash black with Flamethrower before haughtily turning away.
"It's fine, it's fine. Charizard's just saying hello."
A question mark slowly formed on Shinji's impassive face.
Is that how you people from Pallet Town greet each other?
With a leaf in its mouth and its arms folded, Sceptile glanced at Shinji.
Confirmed: just as arrogant as Shinji!
Then came Garchomp, a familiar sight to Sinnoh Trainers.
Even after evolving, Garchomp still loved biting Ash's hat.
But with its newfound strength, Garchomp could now lift Ash into the air in its jaws...
"Hey, hey, hey! Put me down!"
"Graaah!"
┗|｀O′|┛ Roaaar~~
Then came Infernape, whom Shinji knew all too well.
Compared with the Pokémon before it, Infernape actually seemed like a normal Pokémon.
Pikachu perched on Ash's shoulder.
"Pikachu!"
Having already seen part of Ash's lineup, Shinji wasn't surprised by these Pokémon.
Videos of Ash challenging Brandon could even be found on the Eevee Network.
But the last Pokémon was one Shinji had never expected.
Lucario radiated powerful Aura the moment it appeared!
Lucario