March 13, Thursday.
The day of the World Electric-type Expert Tournament finals.
Although it was a weekday afternoon, the people of Levincia were even more enthusiastic than they had been during the previous two rounds.
After all, Iono's first-round exit last year had left some people afraid she would embarrass herself spectacularly on home turf.
So they had buried their heads in the sand and pretended they didn't know the tournament was happening.
Then they watched the highlights of the first and second rounds.
Holy shit, change of plans. We're going for the championship!
Their attitude immediately became-
"Our hometown Gym Leader? Of course I'm supporting her!"
"You know, I've always been an Iono fan. She has incredible talent."
And so on.
Xia Chi's verdict on this was:
You can't only love Levincia when Iono is winning!
Still, Iono herself was delighted by the turnaround in public opinion.
After all, she was a Levincia native through and through. Winning such a prestigious championship in front of her hometown crowd would bring honor to her ancestors.
Well... that expression might not be popular in Paldea, but the meaning was more or less the same.
Her opponent in the finals was, unsurprisingly, Volkner.
The Sunyshore Gym Leader from the Sinnoh Region had a particular character setting in the games.
He really wanted to challenge the Elite Four but fell a little short in strength. With no strong Gym Challengers visiting Sunyshore City, he grew bored and lost his fighting spirit.
Stuck in limbo, Volkner gave up trying and spent his days tinkering with his Gym's electric gear traps.
The Volkner in this timeline had none of those bad habits. Like any normal, powerful top-tier Trainer, he was brimming with fighting spirit!
Like "healthy Itachi" or "Jiraiya with intel," he was practically an