Forty-eight hours. That was all the time that had passed since Ash and Serena's relationship became public at the Hoenn Grand Festival—yet the world behaved as though an entirely new era had dawned. Across every region, in every city, and in each bustling Pokémon Center lobby, their names shimmered across giant screens, paraded along scrolling banners, and blazed from glossy printed displays with a brilliance neither of them had ever imagined.

The revelation had ignited a storm far beyond anything coordinators, trainers, reporters, or even the Festival organizers had anticipated. What began as a single spark had erupted into a phenomenon—swift, voracious, and impossible to contain. And now, two days later, that wave still surged across the world: relentless, deafening, and unyielding.