When did humans become so strong, being able to contend with beasts of this level barehanded?
"Hah!" Ash applied a little force with his palm and let out a light shout, sending the Aura Sphere directly upstream against the Hyper Beam!
The golden destructive beam was slowly broken inch by inch by the tiny Aura Sphere, approaching Dragonite's head under its horrified expression, and then... vanished!
Watching the slowly disappearing Aura Sphere, a trace of lingering fear flashed in the eyes of the ancient Dragonite, and she also stopped her intent to continue mobilizing energy to attack.
Even a fool would calm down now. The first punch of the fight could be said to be fueled by anger, but if she couldn't see the gap between the two sides in this bout of moves, it would be somewhat insensible not to recognize if the opponent was holding back.
'Dragonite, we mean no harm. Imitating your partner's voice was unintentional. We just wanted to see who the Pokemon hidden in the mist really was.' Seeing that normal communication wasn't working, Ash directly used Aura to transmit his thoughts, communicating mentally.
In the past, he didn't need to communicate in this way with Pokemon because only humans couldn't understand Pokemon language, not the other way around.
Today he encountered one, where in ancient times, it wasn't certain if humans were fully developed. Even if they could speak, their language would assuredly be different from modern language, so it was only natural that the ancient Dragonite couldn't understand.
But telepathy disregards language barriers, automatically converting one's language into one the other can understand.
After hearing Ash's words, the originally cautious eyes of the ancient Dragonite relaxed significantly, restoring her to a simple-minded appearance. However, no matter how gentle the ancient Dragonite was, her large size was still intimidating to others.
"Rooo~~" I want... to find friends.
Dragonite's voice reached Ash's ears, transforming into language he could understand.
This Dragonite's desire was very simple—to find friends... To find a companion to interact with, play with, and walk alongside.
As an ancient Pokemon, having lived from ancient times till now for who knows how long, loneliness seemed to be her greatest pain. That's why she was so eager to come out of the mist upon hearing sounds related to her kin, only to find she was deceived...
The fact that she calmed down now reflected Dragonite's good-tempered nature. Where in ancient times could you find such a gentle Pokemon?
'Can't you shrink yourself? There are many Dragonite in this world, but none as big as you. Language can be learned, habits can change over time, but your size...' Ash said, with a hint of melancholy on his face.
Ancient Pokemon are incredibly rare, and perhaps this is the only ancient Dragonite left, so finding an ancient partner is quite unrealistic.
Dragonite's only option might be to resize to a normal Dragonite's stature and make friends with normal Dragonite, since kin is the easiest to communicate with.
Even if not communicating with kin, the ancient Dragonite needs to find a way to restrain her current size. Otherwise, how could she find friends with such a huge figure?
Unless she goes to the Galar Region to Dynamax and interact with other Dynamax Pokemon, but Dynamax cannot be maintained indefinitely, and having a body like this in the modern world is certainly very inconvenient.
Therefore, if Dragonite wishes to engage in normal activities now, she absolutely needs to change to a normal size.
However, upon hearing Ash's words, Dragonite showed a troubled expression, closing her eyes and looking constipated. Moments later, she reopened her eyes and shook her head.
Transforming into a normal size, she couldn't do it!
Seeing this, Ash sighed helplessly and went to find help.
...
[Newbie Ash: Guys, urgent situation, I encountered an ancient Dragonite at Bill's Lighthouse. She's...]
When in doubt, seek help from the group!
After Ash retold the situation about the ancient Dragonite in the group, he received a response in less than ten seconds.
[Psychic Specialist Ash: It's actually quite simple. An Elite-level Psychic Type Pokemon should be able to help the ancient Dragonite. Psychic powers possess the ability to reduce size, but this reduction requires strength—one must at least be at Gym Level to learn it, and the opponent's level cannot exceed one's by a full grade, otherwise, even with consent, you can't shrink them.]
The wonder of psychic abilities again!
Ash had already witnessed the marvel of psychic abilities from Sabrina. Not only could Sabrina shrink people, but she could also turn them into dolls, practically changing a species, an impressive power.
This Psychic specialist in the group, Ash was seeing for the first time. It seemed he had notifications set for his updates. Previously, he mostly watched from the sidelines, but now it was within his knowledge comfort zone, so he piped up.
[Newbie Ash: Thanks, I'll let Dragonite know. I'll have my Gardevoir reach Elite level first, so let her wait a little longer!]
Finishing, Ash exited the group chat and conveyed the method to the ancient Dragonite through telepathy.
Now, after the last battle, Gardevoir's level was already at Professional Senior Level. Another few days of training and she'd reach Professional Peak, just a grade plus a half-grade away from Elite.
With Gardevoir's talent, she should successfully reach the Elite level within half a year. So Ash informed the ancient Dragonite to wait for another half year here and that he'll definitely return to help find her a partner.
"Rooo~~" Thank you, human. If you can really do that, I'm willing to serve under you, as your servant for fifty years.
Fifty years are just like taking a few more naps for the ancient Dragonite, hardly a cost.
But after hearing this, Ash quickly waved his hands: 'That's not a thing anymore. Now, Pokemon... or the beasts, as you call them, coexist peacefully with humans, with no one being superior. If you're willing, when you recover, let's have a battle. If I win, you become my partner, how about that?'
Partner... Equals...
Ash's words puzzled the ancient Dragonite but also intrigued her with these terms.
This era indeed had many differences compared to hers, the most apparent being... humans of her time didn't possess such monstrous combat capabilities.
"Rooo~~" I understand, then let's have the battle you mentioned when the time comes...
Dragonite said half, then scratched her cheek, seemingly unsure how to address Ash, as continually calling him 'human' seemed inappropriate.
'I'm Ash.'
"Rooo~" Alright, Ash, but I can't battle against you. I can't beat you.
Dragonite said with slight bashfulness, making Ash's mouth twitch with a slight embarrassment on his face.
'Ahem, typically, I don't engage directly. It's just that the situation was sudden!' Ash explained earnestly.
In reality, had Dragonite not attacked suddenly, Ash wouldn't have countered himself. Even to suppress Dragonite, he preferred using Pokemon for battle. Although an Elite Peak is a bit over the top for him right now...
But to protect Misty and the others, there was no time for buffing his Pokemon gradually. Taking direct action was the best choice at the moment; battling Dragonite later would definitely not involve him directly!
Otherwise, wouldn't that completely disregard the spirit of a Trainer?
That said, Ash didn't believe that after Gardevoir reaches Elite, she still wouldn't be able to defeat the ancient Dragonite!