All right, here's Chapter 9. It's a little over six thousand words, and quite a bit happens. It's not for those with weak stomachs, admittedly, but there's nothing that I think would justify an M rating.

I would like to once more express thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed. It means the world to me, it really does! And as always, if you wish to contact me off this site, find me at SnowLabrador #7822 on Discord. Enjoy!

Current music: Other Worlds Than These - Starset

For the next several weeks, "getting the message out" was all Ash and his team focused on. The objective, as Brock explained, was no longer trying to persuade voters, but rather to make them remember that an election was about to happen. As such, only those voters considered "likely Ketchum" or stronger were contacted.

Despite their best efforts, Kodai was catching up. One morning, during Ash's routine check of the delegate count, the candidate noticed that the top two candidates were tied.

"We don't like that," Brock said during one of their war room meetings. "Being tied with the other person having the momentum is never where you want to be."

"So what do we do about it?" Serena enquired. "Do we just tell Senator Chilacoth to drop out?"

Indeed, a cursory glance at the candidate table told them that this strategy, if it could even work, would be ideal. It wasn't guaranteed that all of Chilacoth's delegates, or even a majority of them, would re-pledge themselves to Team Ketchum. But if they were looking for a "Hail Mary" pass, this might be it.

"Would he drop out?" Brock asked neither of them in particular. "If it didn't work, we'd just be wasting our time and getting the campaign negative press coverage. What are the chances that we'd coax him out of the race?"

"Less than zero," Ash said sadly. "He probably thinks this is his last chance to run for President, and he might be right. I'm sure that, to him, he's already spent too much money to stop what he's doing."

"So, sunk costs," Brock confirmed. "I have to say, I'm afraid you're right. I guess we need to step up our ad game."

"Indeed, we do," Serena told Ash. "It would be a terrible thing if Kodai won the nomination. A terrible thing."

"Pika pi…" came from a familiar voice from the corner of the room.

Ash didn't pay attention to what Pikachu was saying, but judging by the tone, it could hardly be anything positive. Really, Ash didn't blame his companion if he had a hard time being optimistic.

"I don't need you to tell me that," Ash muttered, looking at Serena. "Believe me, I'm working as hard as I can. I just…" he trailed off, feeling his nose clog up.

"What is it?" Serena asked her boyfriend, rubbing the back of his neck. "You can tell me, Ash."

"What if it's not enough? What if, despite all our best efforts, Kodai wins the nomination and hands the presidency to the Republicans? Then it'll all be for naught!" The candidate was practically crying by now, and he thanked his lucky stars that only his best friends were in the room.

"Hey, don't panic," Serena whispered. "We all know that we're doing everything we can. And if Unova goes to the Houndoom after this, well, at least we can say we tried. It won't be our fault."

Ash let out a deep sigh. "I guess that's all we can expect of ourselves."

Indeed, that's what the campaign's mantra was as the next few primaries played out. By now, the gap between Ash and Kodai, in terms of delegates, was virtually non-existent, but Chilacoth was still winning a few!

Although he had a team dedicated to nothing but opposition research, Ash found himself increasingly tempted to take matters into his own hands. The computer was right there, and just a few taps and clicks would immerse him in a world of information. Yes, no search was private, but that's what a VPN was for, was it not?

The candidate stayed awake at increasingly ungodly hours, straining his eyes in order to parse through all the info on the screen. His sleep suffered. He didn't care.

Ash's birthday, April 26, passed during this time. Other than a few well-wishes from Serena and Pikachu, as well as a special fundraising email (which contained the same plea as the others, just more fervent), he barely acknowledged the special occasion. Twenty-six… nothing happened at that age, did it?

He was acutely aware of the passage of time; the campaign had probably aged him three years in less than one chronological year. That being said, if elected, he'd still be by far Unova's youngest President.

And it'll all be worthwhile, Ash repeated mentally. I have to believe that. Because if I don't, I'll have nothing left to keep me going.

As the days became warmer, as the flowers bloomed in Crown City's numerous urban parks, Ash gazed increasingly longingly at the landscape outside the apartment's walls. What wouldn't he give for a day off, just to appreciate being alive?

He was quite certain he'd be granted said day off, with Brock filling in. But then he wouldn't have as much control over his own campaign's fate, and he didn't want to give that up.

So, just as Brock had instructed him, Ash redoubled his efforts. There were nights when he fell asleep in front of his laptop, but he fervently believed that sooner or later, he'd arrive in the promised land of damaging intel on Kodai. And then he'd unleash that tidal wave all at once; it might be more impactful to drip it gradually, but time was running out.

However, the chances that this information would be found, if it existed at all, seemed to grow more remote with each passing day. It didn't help that Serena took to frowning whenever she saw Ash staring at the screen. She was probably losing faith as well.

In early May, however, the unexpected happened.

The day started like any other. Ash sat in a swivel chair in his home office, clicking and scrolling on his… actually, you don't need me to tell you what device he used.

The candidate tugged at his black hair, which had abandoned any pretext of being anything other than unruly. It now stood on end like he'd just rolled out of bed, and Ash thanked Arceus above that he wasn't in front of a camera at the moment.

Suddenly, the laptop emitted a rather obnoxious beeping sound, not unlike a diminished version of a fire alarm. However, Ash knew not to panic, for this wasn't an alarm at all. It was just an annoyance, because it meant he had to answer the call.

"Good morning?" Ash began, raising his voice just enough to where he sounded awake. In reality, he had yet to rub all the sleep out of his eyes, and he was still in his pajama pants, with no shirt.

"Good morning, Candidate Ketchum!" one of Ash's employees, a young man by the name of Cyrus Damasen, exclaimed.

Ash flinched; not because this was bad news, but rather because Cyrus wasn't normally this exuberant. Something had to be different this time.

"What's going on, Cyrus?" Ash asked. "I mean, I can tell you're pleased, but -".

"I am," Cyrus responded. Fortunately, Cyrus couldn't see that Ash had no shirt on. (This cut both ways, of course; Ash could only see Cyrus' profile picture on the messaging service, a quick selfie that looked more like a mugshot than anything else.)

"Why?" Ash asked. As far as the candidate was concerned, Team Ketchum's hopes of winning were hanging by a thread, and Senator Chilacoth was holding it.

"Because I have excellent news," Cyrus replied. "You're going to love it."

Damn right. I could use some excellent news right about now. Staying in the hunt will take little short of a miracle.

"So what's the news?" the candidate asked breathlessly. He didn't want to regret asking, but it seemed Cyrus was determined to answer.

"Do you remember the rumors you came up with about Kodai?" Cyrus asked. "The ones you voice aloud at the first debate?"

Ash snorted. "How could I forget?"

It was then that the black-haired man understood exactly why Cyrus was calling him, and precisely what that "excellent news" was. It was obvious!

"Well, your opposition research team, including myself, has been doing some digging. During the debate, you claimed that Grings Kodai has been exploiting Pokémon for his own gain. That is correct, right?"

"Uh… yeah," Ash replied. "Just spit it out, Mr. Damasen. Was this confirmed to be true?"

"It was!" Cyrus exclaimed cheerily. "I'll send you the files, and it'll be your call when to deploy this info. Choose wisely, Candidate Ketchum."

Ash grinned, a trace amount of levity, no, joy, having entered the atmosphere. At a minimum, he now had a source of hope that simply was not present twelve hours ago.

Sometimes being right sucks. Sometimes we wish we could be oblivious to the truth, but sometimes we don't. Being right can be amazing!

A seed of reservation surfaced in Ash's gut, but he pushed it back under, trying to drown it in the proverbial bathtub before it grew too big. He thanked Cyrus one more time before ending the call. Not more than ten seconds later, an item appeared in Ash's DOWNLOADS folder that hadn't been there previously.

Okay… it's called the "Kodai Files." Arceus. Could they not have come up with a more creative name? Oh well, at least I'll know exactly what it is!

As soon as Ash clicked on the Kodai Files, he was greeted with a long document purporting to contain every instance of exploitation and/or wrongdoing that Grings Kodai had committed over his scientific career. There was so much of it, probably enough to fill a copy of the Book of Arceus and then some!

Okay, maybe not that much. Still, five seconds of scrolling through the document and Ash knew Team Ketchum would have a field day with it. There was so much there!

One of the revelations was as follows: A year prior to the beginning of the Hoenn War, before the tensions in the region had reached a boiling point, Grings Kodai had sold most of his stock in Hoenn's tourism and manufacturing agencies, instead buying thousands of shares in defense contractors. The document made it clear that they couldn't prove insider trading here, but it still looked awfully suspicious.

A cursory Internet search revealed that, if convicted of such a crime, a person could expect to spend several years behind bars. But in Kodai's case, it was just white-collar crime; he was extremely rich and somewhat famous, so did the rules truly apply to him?

After that search, Ash returned to the document. There were any number of paragraphs relating to business activities Kodai had engaged in, all of which sounded somewhat shady, but few of which Ash truly understood. He'd have to ask Brock what it all meant.

But then he arrived at perhaps the most disarming part of the document: What Kodai had done to Pokémon.

Supposedly, the man had conducted experiments that had involved draining copious amounts of blood from Pokémon for testing. While taking blood from any species was common for medical diagnoses, the sheer amount of red stuff Kodai collected could cause health problems in his subjects. Some went to sleep and never woke up, and those were the lucky ones.

It didn't seem that the deaths of Kodai's subjects were intentional, though one could never be sure. If one applied voltage to a non-Electric-type just for fun, or even to test a hypothesis one had, one shouldn't be surprised if the Pokémon's heart just can't cope.

Other subjects had died as a result of being injected with experimental drugs that hadn't been tested. Ash gasped as he read the grisly details; a Pichu had foamed at the mouth and developed a fear of water, basically the symptoms of rabies, and then thrashed around until he died.

On some level, Ash knew that he didn't have proof of any of this. The Kodai Files were not evidence that these events had actually occurred; rather, they were claims that the man had been involved in these actions. No photos were provided, nor were any audio files of the Pokémon suffering (not that Ash would have wanted to see or hear them.)

Still, Ash found himself short of breath as he scrolled further down. And that's when his reservation, which he'd already been vaguely aware of, kicked in.

I shouldn't be happy that this information was made available to me, Ash thought, his stomach churning. Even if it'll help me politically, the fact that Kodai did all of these things - and got away with them until now! - is just so sick. It's sick, and not in a good way, like those skateboarders say.

The coffee Ash had consumed recently no longer sat peacefully in his stomach. Rather, the man's intestines churned, and he was forced to clutch his belly and stare off into space.

Just then, Serena walked in. She was still in her nightclothes as well, and she wore a smile on her face. Under some circumstances, Ash would have thought that nothing in the world could please him more than that look.

But this wasn't one of those times.

"Good morning, Serena," Ash said weakly, spinning around in his swivel chair.

Serena could immediately tell that something was bothering her boyfriend. They understood one another perfectly, after all.

"What's going on, Ash? I heard you talking to someone earlier."

Ash gasped. "Have you been eavesdropping on me this whole time?"

"No!" Serena exclaimed, holding her hands in the air like a criminal suspect. "Well… maybe, actually. But I'm concerned about you. When I heard you gasp earlier, I was frightened. Did you find something?"

"There's good news and bad news," Ash replied, clasping his hands together on his lap. "Which would you like to hear first?"

"The good news."

"Okay, then," the candidate said. "The opposition research team came through for me in a big way. Cyrus sent me a huge document filled with all of Kodai's misdeeds, and it'll make for some effective attack ads."

"Ash, that's wonderful!" Serena announced, practically doing a jumping jack.

"But…" Ash responded. "There's also bad news."

Serena sighed. "I knew you were going to throw this on me. So here we go: What's the bad news?"

Ash considered breaking the news slowly, but elected instead to drop it all at once, before he could talk himself out of being honest with his romantic partner.

"Some of the items in the document are pretty heinous."

Serena's mouth hung agape. "Heinous, huh? What level of heinous are we talking about here?"

"See for yourself," the candidate replied, stepping out of the chair and offering it to Serena. "But it's pretty disturbing, so I guess a trigger warning is in order."

The young woman sat down and began scrolling through the Kodai Files. Every few seconds, she let out an audible gasp. But she was a strong woman; she could handle the truth, no matter how odious and uncomfortable it might be.

"He really did that stuff, didn't he?" Serena all but gasped, her mouth hanging open wider than one does at a dentist's office.

"I mean, there's no proof here," Ash admitted. "But it sounds like something he'd do - why would all this be written here if it didn't actually happen? These allegations are pretty horrifying."

"I agree," his girlfriend responded, taking a step back from the computer screen. "And do you know what's even more horrifying?"

"That he can still win? In fact, that he's gaining?"

Serena nodded grimly. "We'll need to put a stop to his momentum. If he's allowed to become President, who knows how dangerous he'll become? And if he loses, it'll be a Republican, which might be even worse."

After that morning, the stakes became far clearer for Team Ketchum. It was no longer merely a question of getting Ash Ketchum elected President, but rather stopping his chief rival from winning the nomination. As far as he was concerned, the future of Unova depended on it.

The next few weeks weren't fun.

Ash spent even more time at his computer. This time, though, he wasn't using it to scour the Internet for more opposition research, because it was hard to imagine anything more damaging than what his employees had already discovered.

Rather, Ash was constantly calling his field organizers to tell them to work harder. He grimaced at how harsh he no doubt sounded, especially since he was afraid to tell them the exact reason why they needed to step up their game.

"If you think it would help them work harder if they knew, then you should tell them," Brock advised the candidate. "If the stakes are as high as we think they are, isn't it worth it?"

"Well, yes," Ash acknowledged. "But…".

"But what? Ash, this is not a simulation. If Kodai wins the nomination, let alone the presidency, there will be consequences. We have to prevent that at all costs, and if that means letting the truth out, you should at least consider it."

"I guess," the candidate told Brock. "It's just… I don't want to sound overly aggressive. That might turn voters off." In the back of his mind, Ash knew this was a poor excuse for, well, an excuse.

"Ash, this world favors the bold, and that's even more true for politics. If you don't adapt to the realities of a campaign, it will chew you up and spit you out. Just like that."

In a separate window from the video call, Ash pulled up the delegate count, which he was still checking obsessively every few hours, even when it was obvious nothing would change. Kodai now led in this count, but Robbie Chilacoth's total was far greater than the margin separating the top two candidates.

"Senator Chilacoth is splitting the vote," Ash said blankly.

"No fucking shit," Brock responded sharply, dropping the rare F-bomb. "Ash, you've got four options. You can either go scorched-Nexus in these last few weeks, try to persuade Chilacoth to drop out, or do both."

"Chilacoth's not dropping out," the candidate muttered. "I'm sure he still believes he can win."

"Well, if you never try, you'll never succeed," Ash's campaign manager snapped. "There is a fourth option, too, though it's not really an option at all. You can refuse to do either of these things, in which case you'll lose."

Ash, in his heart of hearts, knew this to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt. If nothing about the race's trajectory changed, Kodai would be the nominee, and then he'd lose to whatever clown the red team had put up. (He hadn't been paying any attention to the Republican primary.)

"There's one primary left," Brock continued. "And it's right here in Crown City. If anything, this is your home turf, so you'll have the advantage. But…".

"...but it might not be enough, since Kodai's got the overall momentum," Ash finished. "Yeah, I know. We need to get him to drop out, and we have to release the information in one massive dump. We've just got to figure out when it would be most impactful. The night before the primary, at our last debate?"

"That would be pretty risky," Brock replied. "Some people will have voted early, or by mail. Those votes will already be banked."

Ash winked. "Well, I'm nothing if not a daredevil. I'm going to take that gamble, and we'll see where it gets me."

After hanging up with Brock, Ash ate lunch with Serena and Pikachu. The overall tension in the air was so thick that a machete would not have been sufficient to cut it, as evidenced by everyone's silence.

Eventually, Ash broke said silence. "I'll confront Kodai about it on the debate stage" he announced.

"Why not sooner?" Serena enquired. "The effect of scandals diminishes over time, yes, but you don't have very much of it. Time, I mean."

"I'm well aware of that," the candidate told his girlfriend. "And I'll talk to Chilacoth, work on getting him to drop out. I'll probably have to share the Kodai Files with him, though."

Serena sighed. "I think you're taking a risk, Ash."

"Well, duh."

"In fact, I think you're making a mistake. A big mistake. But I can't tell you how to run your campaign - you're the one running for President, after all, I'll just be your First Lady."

Ash had a sudden mental image of how attractive, not to mention friendly, Serena would look in Unova's national sash (which was given to the spouse of the President.) With that image lingering for several seconds, Ash knew that he'd do whatever it took to make it come true.

"Pika pi! (You've got this, Ash!)"

Ash sighed. "I hope so, Pikachu. I sure hope so."

Serena frowned. "What did he say?"

"Not to gate-keep, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, I'll talk to the Senator after lunch. I'm not sure when he eats lunch, but after a meal might be when he's most amenable to the idea."

"Are you going to show him the Kodai Files?" Serena asked.

"Only if he doesn't believe me at first. I'll tell him that I have the information, but won't tell him what it is. Just say that Kodai can't be allowed to be our standard-bearer, because it would be catastrophic. Something like that."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, Serena," Ash replied sheepishly. "I'm going to need it."

Since the candidates had been legally required to disclose the phone numbers for each of their offices, it didn't take Ash long to find Senator Chilacoth's number. The candidate dialed with considerable trepidation, knowing that he was about to conduct a hard sell.

"Hello, this is the office of Senator Robert Chilacoth. What can I do for you?"

"Good afternoon, ma'am. This is Ash Ketchum."

Ash didn't state that he was a rival candidate in the same election as the Senator. Needless to say, that was pretty obvious, and it showed in the gasp that Chilacoth's staffer emitted.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot speak to you any further. To do so would be a conflict of interest, which is against the law. I represent Robert Chilacoth, not you and the Senator. You understand that, right?"

Ash gulped, but affirmed that he understood. "I get it. Trust me. You don't have to talk - I understand."

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice day."

Ash returned to Serena's side, hanging his face towards the floor. His girlfriend could no doubt tell, with absolute certainty, what the response from Chilacoth's office had been.

"Well, there's the other option that Brock laid out," the candidate muttered.

"What was that?" Serena enquired, as her boyfriend recalled that she hadn't been present for that conversation between Ash and Brock.

"I have to go into our last debate with guns blazing. I can't leave anything unsaid on that stage. So I'm going balls to the walls here, and I'm not taking any prisoners. If there's any time to disclose the Kodai Files, it's on stage."

Serena nodded. "I'm proud of you, Ash. No matter what happens, I'll admire your perseverance in this campaign."

Ash snorted. "That's an odd word to use, but okay?"

"Well, it fits you to a T. Let's face it: Most candidates would have dropped out by now if they were facing your odds. But you're not giving up, are you?"

The candidate shook his head feverishly, his hair flying all over the place. Ironically, as it became more important to make a good impression, it also got harder and harder to do so. His hair would not be tamed today.

"No. Short of getting my supporters to storm the Unovan Capitol, I'll do whatever it takes. And if I thought I was saving the region from Kodai - which I am - I'd consider even that. I'm not going quietly out of the race."

It was now 8:00 prime time at Crown Of Thorns Stadium. Every media station anyone in Crown City had heard of, as well as many others most people hadn't heard of, was present. And why wouldn't they be? There was nothing to cut to, nothing more noteworthy happening that night.

The final primary debate between Ash Ketchum and Grings Kodai was headline news, and nobody was going to ignore it just because something more interesting was on TV. (Of course, the showdown preempted every regularly scheduled program anyway.)

Ash stood at his podium, glancing out at the darkening sky. This debate was held with an expansive crowd of spectators, ostensibly so that the people of Unova (well, as many as could fit in the field) would get a chance to experience it firsthand. Unovan democracy might be ailing, but it still soldiered on, and the key to maintaining faith in it was transparency in the process.

"Good evening, candidates. You'll each have sixty seconds to answer the questions you are given, followed by forty seconds for your rebuttals. There is to be no talking over one another, nor are there to be any appeals to Senator Robert Chilacoth, who is not present tonight."

Ash smiled. Yes, he didn't yet have Chilacoth's endorsement, but if nothing else, it was good on principle that the Senator had dropped out yesterday. Yes, it should have happened when his name could still be taken off the ballot, but better late than never.

That boyish smile on Ash's face was soon to be replaced with grim determination. As he seized his microphone, he mentally prepared to lash out at his opponent, to throw everything at the wall and see what ended up sticking.

The number one goal tonight was to damage Kodai. How much damage Ash took in return was irrelevant. The businessman's actions could not go unpunished; that was the line in the sand.

"The first question goes to Candidate Kodai. Mr. Kodai, if you are elected President, will you divest from your businesses, including the Kodai Network Group that you currently hold a majority share in? You have sixty seconds."

Kodai smirked as he stood back to his full height. He then showed off his perfect white teeth and began his answer.

"Well, of course I will," Kodai announced. "I'll make that commitment to every citizen of Unova. I don't want anyone to think I'm profiting off my presidency, and I won't accept one last cent of income from the Kodai Network Group. In fact, I'll donate all of my salary, every red cent of it, to charity. I'll make that promise to you all, right here and right now."

Although Kodai's tone of voice projected utmost confidence, a closer look at the man's face showed that beads of sweat ran down his temples. If he was lying (and Ash thought that likely), he sure didn't seem to find it easy.

"In fact, I will refuse to be paid in the first place. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure the people of Unova trust me, because that's what they deserve, whether they'll vote for me or not."

BZZZZZT.

"Thank you for your answer, Candidate Kodai. Mr. Ketchum, it is your turn to respond. You have forty seconds."

Ash was sweating bullets. He hadn't given enough thought to how he'd respond to this, simply because he'd focused all his energy on the Kodai Files. Now wasn't the right time to deploy that weapon, though.

"Mr. Kodai… I don't know why the people of Unova trust you. Even if you haven't broken the law, even if there are no conflicts of interest, billionaires shouldn't have political power. You've got enough power already."

"Are you attacking me for my wealth, Mr. Ketchum?"

"What? No! It's great that you've been successful, just -".

BZZZZZT.

The buzzer went off, a stark reminder that Ash had wasted precious seconds with his indecision. Some political instincts were easy to hone, while others took a lifetime to master; thinking on one's feet was absolutely in the latter category.

"Mr. Kodai, I will give you a yellow card," the moderator, a young woman this time, snapped. "It is completely unacceptable to interrupt your opponent when they are answering an important question. And you know what happens if you receive another yellow card, correct?"

Kodai nodded grimly, putting his hands in the air. Those hands were a lot bigger than Ash remembered, though it was probably just his perception.

"Very well. Here is our next question, and it's for both of you: Name one thing you admire about your opponent."

The audience, who were mostly standing, were nonetheless on the edges of their proverbial seats. Almost all of them tilted their heads skyward, not unlike Watchog scouting the horizon for predators.

This was when sparks would fly. At a minimum, video of the next few exchanges was likely to go viral on the Internet, and both Ash and Kodai would be household names globally, not just regionally.

"First, Candidate Kodai. What is something you admire about Candidate Ketchum?"

Kodai cleared his throat before giving his answer.

"It's an open secret," the businessman began, "that Ash Ketchum and I don't agree on everything. Indeed, it seems we don't agree on very much at all. However, I admire the fact that at only twenty-six years old, he's sticking his neck out there for what he believes in.

"Of course, I believe he's misguided. I believe he hasn't thought many of his policy positions through. But if you ask me whether he believes in the causes he champions - the answer is unquestionably yes.

"So I wonder why Ash turned against Unova like that."

BZZZZZT.

"Your turn, Candidate Ketchum."

Ash glared at Mr. Kodai. "I appreciate the compliments, even if they were qualified with statements that assaulted my intellect. In all honesty, though, that's not nearly as offensive as some other things you have done."

Here they were. Ash pressed against his podium so forcefully he wondered if it would move. He wouldn't give up the spotlight so easily, because this was his best chance to seize on his opponent's vulnerabilities. It was a risk, yes, but it was one worth taking.

Before he could think about how best to word his accusations, the buzzer went off. But that was okay, because that meant it was Ash's turn to name something he admired about Kodai.

"Okay, Candidate Ketchum. Now, you must name one thing you appreciate about Candidate Kodai. You have sixty seconds. Begin."

Ash narrowed his eyes, turned to Kodai, and focused like a laser beam on his target. He could not miss.

"Mr. Kodai, I've tried to come up with something I admire about you. I really have. I'm sure you're a successful businessman, and your determination is certainly admirable. However, that determination is clouded by its result."

There were many gasps from the audience. As Ash stared Kodai down hard, he saw that the businessman's face was pink from fury, his tuxedo soaked with sweat. Ash almost felt bad for the guy, because Kodai clearly knew what was coming.

Almost.

"My opposition researchers have done some digging, and what they've found is that you've been involved in some truly depraved behavior. You should be ashamed of yourself, running away from this debate with your tail tucked between your legs. Because there's no way to justify it - look what you've done!"

"What have I done, Ash?" Kodai snarled.

Here it was. The moment everyone Ash had been waiting for.

"You've engaged in business practices such as insider trading, for one -".

BZZZZZT.

"- and why does the damn buzzer have to go off at the worst possible time? I swear to Arceus, I'm just trying to give everyone cold hard facts!"

Kodai gave Ash a stone-faced expression. Clearly, he didn't know how to express his anger, since there was just so much of it. Instead, when Grings Kodai replied, it was in little more than a deadly whisper.

"Please provide evidence that I've taken part in insider trading. If it's as horrible as you claim - and it is a despicable thing to do - that's a pretty serious allegation to make without a shred of proof."

"It's simple," Ash retorted. "My campaign has the receipts. But it's not just that you're a crook, Mr. Kodai. That would be bad enough already, but you're also a serial Pokémon-abuser."

There were many more gasps from the crowd. Even the moderator, who had been furiously scribbling on her notepad, had now put her pen down.

Ash was well aware, of course, that this might amount to nothing. Worse, it could backfire on him, make him look like he was acting aggressive just for its own sack. But it did not seem that way.

Within seconds, the crowd was silent. All of them were waiting with bated breath for the specifics of Ash's accusations, and the younger candidate was more than happy to oblige.

"I'll authorize my campaign to publish the files online," Ash said coolly. "In fact, Brock, if you're listening, and I know you are… just post the damn things on Pokélife. You know how to do it."

"This is all fake news!" Kodai exclaimed. "The idea that I did all those things… it's an alternative fact!"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "It's very telling that you're denying it like that. In my view, there's less shame in admitting the truth than there is in covering it up. So just own it, Kodai."

"Why wouldn't I deny it if it wasn't true, which it isn't?"

"Because you'd fully support an investigation if you had nothing to hide," Ash asserted. "If they truly are "alternative facts" as you claim, then you have nothing to fear."

Ash then gazed at the crowd. At that point, the pattern came to him right away.

He couldn't consider this crowd's reaction a proxy for the Crown City primary result - that would be ridiculous. But slowly but surely, the gasps had morphed into a tense silence. Each audience member had to process for themselves what Ash had just told them.

Little by little, the mood was shifting. And once Brock had published the Kodai Files on the Internet for all to see, the mood was likely to experience a major seismic event - a tsunami, if you will.

"You, as the voters of Crown City, have a choice to make. You can either go with Grings Kodai, a very sleazy swamp monster, or you can pull the lever for me. I'll drain the swamp, because people like Mr. Kodai belong in a certain place, and it's not the Crimson Chamber!"