It's nearly evening at Wyndon Stadium and it's filling up fast. Ash and Goh are chowing down on curry before the big event. On the other side though, Leon, Darren, and the rest of their group headed for two separate areas. While Delia, Brock, and Misty head to Ash and Goh, Leon, Hop, and Darren headed to the lockers to get ready for a battle and part of the "surprise". As of Darren's knowledge, he doesn't know that Ash is in the stands. Likewise, Ash and Goh don't realize that Darren is in the locker room, with the champion and his brother. As Darren slips off his regular clothes, he puts on a special attire that Leon and the Pokémon League worked on. As he puts on the outfit, Raiden notices a note fall out of the coat pocket. "Hey, Darren, this note is for you," Raiden alerting his trainer, "It's from Leon, want me to read it?" "Now, I will admit, this outfit is something," Darren says to his friend, "But yes, you can read it to me." As Raiden reads this note, Darren's emotions start to run high, "Hey Darren, it's me Leon. I wanted to be the first to show you this unique and official Gym Battle Wear. This'll surprise not only the people of Galar, but also Ash Ketchum. I have faced him, but I want to see what you have against Ash myself. Everyone will be watching and no doubt, it'll be a champion time! Can't wait to see your full power, Leon." As Raiden finishes the note, Darren releases everyone to tell them the news. Eruptor is extremely fired up as he's going to face Pikachu, once again. "Ash...", Darren tremblingly says, "This is going to be, as Leon says, a champion time!" All of the Pokémon cheer and jump for joy at the news.
At the stands, Delia is trying to find Ash and Goh in the stands as they fill up. "Wait... is that?," Delia says as she squints at Ash on the other side of the stadium. Delia smiles as the she heads over to where they are. "Hey, Ash?," Goh says, getting the trainer's attention, "Is that your mom?" Ash then looks over to indeed see his Mom heading over to him. "Yeah, it is...", Ash says as she heads over to the two boys. "Hello, Ash and Goh," Delia says it's been a while hasn't it?" "It certainly has, Mom," Ash says to her with a confused, yet happy smile. "What you doing here, Mrs. Ketchum?," Goh asks her while shaking her hand. "It's a special day and I couldn't miss it for the world," Delia tells the young trainer. "However, I can't tell you what it is," she says to both with a stern look on her face. Ash and Goh look to each other, confused at first, but smile as they nod to Delia.
As Delia joins the two boys, she takes her seat as Ash and Goh release their partners. Ash has Pikachu and Lucario come out, while Goh has Sobble and Cinderace come out. Soon, the stadium dims as spotlights come up for two figures. "The surprise has begun," Delia thinks to herself, "Good Luck, Darren." As she thinks that, she spots Leon and Hop in their official Gym Battle uniforms. The focus now heads to the locker rooms, where Brock, Misty, and Darren are changing into their uniforms provided by Leon and the staff themselves. Thanks to the Rotom phones, the three communicate about the whole surprise. Just then, Leon comes on the other line, "Hey guys, I'm taking the field with Hop, are you all set?" As they all confirm with nods and their teams joining in, Leon and Hop disconnect, and take the field. "Darren, Raiden?", Misty says to their friend and leader, almost taunting them. "Can't say that I am, Misty," Darren says as Raiden joins him on his shoulder. "I'm ready, but also nervous too," Raiden responds to her in a nervous tone. "Let's try and keep our cool, guys," Brock announcing to the group, "We're all nervous, but this is a surprise we can't spoil." As the group nod, they finish their call, and head outside.
The stadium is now full of people and filled with life. The Jumbotrons are showing footage of not only the crowd, but also of past battles in the Galar Stadiums. The spotlights are spinning over the battlefield and the crowd. The pyrotechnics are sparking all over the stadium, causing even more excitement. At the final pop, the spotlights shine on Leon and Hop. "Welcome one and all," Hop announcing to the entire audience, "Welcome to a special edition of the Pokémon World Coronation Series!" The crowd cheers as they are excited about the news. Ash and Goh however, are a little confused as to why it's special. Leon then steps forward, "Why is it special tonight, you might ask? Well, let me tell you!" Leon continues to explain that not only are their special guests, but some lucky trainer in the WCS and in the audience, will be battling a tough mystery opponent. As the crowd roars with jubilee, Ash is extremely excited, "A mystery opponent?! I can't wait!" Delia smiles as she thinks to herself, "Just you wait, Ash, you've got no idea who's coming to face you." As the night goes on, Ash is surprised to see his friends Brock and Misty come out. While Brock is wearing a brown and grey striped shirt, Misty is wearing a cerulean and pink striped athletic shirt. "Goh, that's Brock and Misty down there!," Ash announces to his friend, Goh. As they come out, two other people come out as well. One man is a huge, muscular young man. He has peach-colored hair, green eyes, and fair skin with some slight freckles. He wears a beige sun hat with a green brim, a white t-shirt with some multicolored triangles and the Gym Challenge and Grass-type symbols on it, green and black shorts, and matching black and green boots with a bush design. He also wears a matching green-and-black glove and a Dynamax band To carry his Poké Balls, he has a black contraption that he sets on his hip. The other person is a slender, fit young girl with black skin, grey eyes, and grey hair cut into a bob. She wears a skintight black bodysuit (through which the imprint of her navel and abs can be seen) and a uniform that slightly resembles a modified karate gi. It consists of a cut-off white shirt with a black collar and some designs on it, including the Fighting-type and Gym Challenge symbols. The shirt also has a black bow that sits just below her bust- when she is defeated in battle, she can be seen adjusting it. To complete her uniform, she wears a pair of white shorts with orange and black details and the number "193" on them, along with a black and orange glove on her right hand. For accessories, she wears a black and orange hairband in her hair that slightly resembles rabbit ears, a Dynamax Band, and grey kneepads. Finally, she is also barefoot, which is unusual to some people.
"Everyone," Hop announcing to the crowd, "Please welcome our next participants! From Kanto, we have the Pewter and Cerulean City Gym Leaders, Brock and Misty! The crowd applauds for the Kanto participants and then Leon steps forward to announce their opponents. "Ladies and Gentlemen, meet their opponents, the Turffield and Stow-on-Side Gym Leaders, Bea and Milo!", Leon introducing the two Galar Gym Leaders to the audience. As the lead referee heads down to the field, he lays down the rules. Each trainer can only use one Pokémon, no switching, and which ever side has no more Pokémon that can fight, the other side wins the fight. They agreed to the rules and released their Pokémon to join them on the field. On the Kantoian's side, Brock has a Steelix with resembles a giant snake, but made out of steel. Meanwhile, Misty has a vicious Gyarados, it resembles a mix of a Chinese dragon and a serpent. On the other side, there was a flower-like Pokémon(Gossifluer) and a octopus-like Pokémon(Grapploct) for Milo and Bea.
As the battle raged on the stadium, at the locker room, Darren is still waiting for a signal from Leon. Raiden is looking at his best friend, unsure about him and what he is thinking. "Darren?", Raiden says as he jumps up on the bench to meet him, "Are you happy that Ash is going to battle you?" The trainer shakes his head as he looks down, "It's just... it's been so long... I just don't know what to do... when we see him." Raiden cuddles on his lap and the other Pokémon join together causing a smile from the trainer. "Thanks, you guys. You always make me smile." As they smile back, the team watches the action unfold with the Rotom Phone showing it. Soon, the crowd roars with amazement and shock as one by one, the trainers Dynamax their Pokémon. "Wow, they are not messing around," Braixen says peeking at the action. Darren shakes his head as the Gym Leaders kept on using their Pokémon's Max Moves to deal destructive damage and cause powerful side effects to occur on the battlefield. As the battle finished, there is a call from Leon. "Hey, Darren!," Leon announcing to the entire team, "It's time!" Darren looks at his team, "You guys ready?", they cheered as Darren told Leon that they were ready for the big battle.
As the team slipped on their armbands, back at the stadium, Leon stepped into the spotlight. "Everyone, the time has come!", he announces to the audience, "Time to see who is going to battle the mystery opponent!" Hop then steps forward as he announces the process. "Every trainer here, please turn on your WCS app and get ready for the selection!" Ash takes out his phone and selects the mentioned app. Once on, it shows him his Great Class Ranking, and now a raffle button. As he pushes the button, the spotlights shine over the entire stadium. Ash, like every trainer in the stadium, is anticipating their fate. As Leon looked at Hop, he shook his head, giving his brother a signal. Hop then selects Ash's Profile, as the spotlights stopped moving and proceeded to shine on Ash. "Our winner is, from the Kanto Region's Pallet Town, and Great Class ranked trainer, Ash Ketchum!", Leon says pointing at the now shocked trainer, "Come on down, bring your friends, and meet us here!" As Ash comes down, he is joined by Goh and Delia. They soon join the brothers, along with Brock and Misty. Ash then looks at Leon, "Thank you so much for the opportunity, Leon!" "Ash, you are very welcome, but it's not me nor my brother, Hop that you'll be facing tonight." Ash then looks at the entrance tunnel where Leon is gesturing for him to look at.
"Everyone," Hop announcing to the crowd, "Please help us welcome Ash's mystery opponent!" As the lights dim, Ash looks in confusion through the entrance tunnel. Next, music plays and the shadow of a trainer and the Pokémon appear before Ash. "Wait, I know that music... but... it couldn't be him," Ash thinks to himself, as Pikachu's expression shows more excitement as the figure comes into view. Soon, the Pokémon team and the hooded figure come into view. As the music swells, the Jumbotron shows past battles of the figure, which just happens to be Darren. Darren then flips off his hood from his blue jacket, showing his face and his full outfit consist of a yellow and black striped shirt, with the Nexus Logo on the back and the number 16 on the front. The Gym Battle shorts that Darren is wearing are brimming ruby and black. Darren is even wearing a gauntlet on his right hand with his black Nexus armband on. The crowd cheers as the trainer and his Pokémon wave at the crowd, as they make their way to Ash and Pikachu, who are flabbergasted at the sight of their friend. "Darren?! Is that you?!", Ash calls out as Darren turns to face him. "Ash! Pikachu! Is it really you?!", Darren calls out to his friend. As the two happily notice each other, Darren runs up to Ash and both share a special moment as Leon announces the opponent to the crowd. Ash and Darren are embracing each other, shedding a few tears. "I can't believe that... this is happening, you're really here," Ash says looking at someone who he hasn't seen in a long time. "It's not a dream, Ash," Darren says looking at his hero and rival, "I'm really here. I'm the surprise opponent."
Everyone in the stadium is still standing up and applauding as the trainers confidently smile and take their places on the battlefield. Leon and Hop then announce the rules, 6 on 6, trainers can switch out Pokémon at any time, and when one side is unable to continue, the other side wins. As the two friends throw out their Pokémon, the crowd cheers as the main event begins. Round 1 has Ash's Gengar taking on Darren's Braixen. The ghost Pokémon gives the fox Pokémon quite a scare, but lights her twig in aggression. With one wave of the referee's hand, the battle was on and the crowd roared. As Braixen braces for Gengar's Shadow Ball, it hits her, but with not much damage. She then retaliates with a fiery Flamethrower that hits Gengar smack dab in his chest. Gengar shakes it off and with a little courage from Ash. "Yikes, this is not looking good," Braixen says to her friend, Darren, "Ash's Gengar is one tough customer." Darren nods as he knows a secret weapon, as he calls out Braixen to do Dazzling Gleam. As Braixen twists and turns, rainbow sparkles surround her and comes in for a kill shot. Gengar dodges out of the way twice, but on the third time, he braces himself. Despite everything, the third time is too much for Gengar, as he gets hit and flies across the stadium ground before slamming into the stadium wall. Gengar looks up, blurry vision, and with one last gasp tries to get up. "(This... isn't... possible...)", Gengar says as he falls in exhaustion. Ash is surprised as he returns Gengar, the 1st and quick elimination of this match. "Wow, you've gotten better, Darren," Ash says under his breath. Darren smiles as he calls back Braixen, "Cmon, Ash! Show me what YOU got!" Ash smiles after shaking his head, getting back into the battle. Both trainers then toss out new Pokémon to start battle number two of this event.
The trainers each show their Pokémon to their opponent. As Ash has Dragonite come out, Darren has his trusty Fujin come out. "A Dragonite?," Darren mutters as he's in complete shock of the new sight, "Fujin, keep your guard up. I don't know what he's capable of." With a wave of the referee's hand, Fujin immediately takes to the sky and so does Dragonite. Dragonite spins in the air, as Ash commanded him to use Dragon Dance. Fujin also spins using a similar move, Swords Dance. Now that the two Pokémon energized themselves, they head straight into their opponents. Dragonite has a Dragon Claw coming in, but Fujin just dodged both strikes. Fujin then counters with a beautiful series of Air Slashes and this is despite Dragonite's Hurricane. Everyone is bracing and shocked at the surprising moment. Ash is shocked by the move but is happy that Dragonite is through, with as a few scratches and bruises. Fujin looks impressed and scared at the damage count. "(Man, this dragon... is one tough customer...)", Fujin says, heavily breathing after the attack. Darren grins as Ash returns the favor. "Cmon... Dragonite... we can do this," Ash says to his partner, "Use Dragon Claw and clip his wings!" As Dragonite comes in for Fujin, green glowing claws come straight in for the bird...