After hearing Agatha’s evaluation—
Lorelei quietly muttered to herself,
“Three months ago…
I thought exactly the same thing.”
If she hadn’t witnessed it with her own eyes—
She never would have believed it.
Three months earlier—
Noah had been nothing more than a complete nobody.
Yet now—
He had actually defeated Diantha.
His growth was simply unbelievable.
Lorelei suddenly remembered what Noah had once said back at Indigo Plateau.
That one day—
He would make Lance kneel down and call him ‘Grandpa’.
A faint smile appeared on her alluring lips.
Although she technically stood on Lance’s side—
She had to admit—
Watching the perpetually arrogant Lance kneel and call someone ‘Grandpa actually sounded rather entertaining.
…
Pokémon Center, Shalour City.
After the battle against Diantha ended—
Noah and his ‘family of three’ didn’t immediately return to Alola.
Instead—
They remained at the Pokémon Center alongside Diantha, quietly waiting for Gardevoir’s treatment to be completed.
After all—
He had just beaten her partner half to death.
Leaving immediately afterward would have been rather inconsiderate.
According to Noah—
Battles weren’t just about fighting.
They were also about courtesy and human relationships.
It absolutely had nothing to do with the fact that Diantha had incredibly beautiful legs…
Definitely not.
Around noon—
Nurse Joy returned Gardevoir’s Poké Ball to Diantha.
“Champion Diantha.”
“Gardevoir is no longer in any danger.”
“However, she needs at least one week of complete rest.”
“No battling.”
“And preferably no strenuous exercise either.”
“I understand.”
Diantha nodded.
“Since Gardevoir is fine now…”
“We should be going.”
Seeing that everything was settled, Noah stood up from the sofa.
Watching Serena faithfully following behind Noah—
Diantha couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
‘Kalos had truly lost an outstanding young talent.’
Still—
A bet was a bet.
She accepted defeat and had no intention of pestering them any further.
“Mr.
Noah.”
“You’re incredibly strong.”
“With someone like you, Alola will definitely be accepted into the League.”
Diantha smiled as she extended her hand.
“It’s not about joining the League.”
Noah smiled as he shook her hand.
“It’s about becoming the strongest League.”
Even after losing—
Diantha still felt Noah’s goal was hopelessly unrealistic.
She even wondered whether she should explain Kanto’s true strength to him.
One glance at her expression—
And Noah immediately guessed exactly what she was thinking.
Displaying the bold confidence of someone who refused to play pirated games, he declared,
“They’re nothing more than relics of the old era.”
“What is there to be afraid of?”
“Champion Diantha…”
“Kanto has already frightened you far too much.”
The Kanto League was undoubtedly powerful.
But it wasn’t so overwhelmingly strong that it should inspire hopeless despair.
For one thing—
Giovanni, the supposedly strongest Gym Leader—
Was an undercover enemy.
Furthermore—
Noah still didn’t know where Sabrina, Koga, and Lt.
Surge stood in this world’s continuity.
If this world followed the games or the anime—
Then all three supported the League.
But if it followed the manga—
All three of them were undercover agents as well.
And even if they truly stood with the League—
So what?
He would still surpass them.
…
Diantha’s lips parted slightly.
She remained frozen for more than half a minute.
Not a single word came out.
She had to admit—
She was shaken.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Ridicule.
A flood of emotions surged through her mind.
Yet the strongest feeling wasn’t any of those.
It was shame.
Compared to Noah—
She suddenly felt deeply ashamed of herself.
Kalos was the birthplace of Mega Evolution.
Yet despite possessing such an incredible advantage—
It was universally acknowledged as the weakest of the eight regional Leagues.
Instead of feeling humiliated enough to work harder and erase that embarrassing reputation—
The Kalos League had collectively chosen to coast.
Rather than training Pokémon—
Diantha spent much of her time filming movies and attending commercial events.
The Elite Four member, Siebold, spent more time cooking in his restaurant than battling.
Malva was constantly traveling around as a news reporter.
…
Not a single one of them seemed properly focused on their duties.
Meanwhile—
Noah’s own region couldn’t even gather eight Gym Leaders.
It wasn’t even qualified to join the League.
Yet he still dared to set the goal of surpassing Kanto.
Thinking back to how she had mocked Noah earlier that morning—
Diantha felt even more ashamed.
“I’m sorry, Mr.
Noah.”
“I was far too arrogant.”
Someone who had chosen complacency had no right to laugh at someone who still possessed dreams.
By the time she finished speaking—
Tears had actually begun welling up in Diantha’s eyes as she bowed deeply to Noah.
Noah stared at her in complete confusion.
If he had known what Diantha was actually thinking—
He probably would have immediately explained,
Hey, you’ve completely misunderstood.
His goal had nothing to do with the noble ideals Diantha imagined about strengthening his homeland.
He simply wanted to repay Professor Kukui for taking him in.
And—
Lance and the Kanto League had been unbelievably rude.
They needed to be knocked down a peg.
He absolutely had to slap them in the face.
And besides…
Poaching all those beautiful female Trainers over to his side—
Now that was a wonderful thing.