Minutes later, the leader Krabby was beaten black and blue, half its body buried in the wet sand. Meanwhile, the small Krabby standing beside Ash stared down at its own pincers in disbelief.
Even though it had won, the whole thing felt surreal.
It had simply followed every command given by the human behind it, and every strike landed perfectly on the leader Krabby's weak points.
And that human… every movement was as if he could see the future. No matter how the leader attacked, Ash predicted its trajectory and issued precise counter-commands, turning every attack into an opportunity.
This overwhelming level of battle command was what allowed a weaker Krabby to defeat its own leader.
"Kuka…" The leader Krabby finally regained its senses, flipped itself upright, and looked at the little Krabby with a complicated expression.
The anger from earlier was gone. Its tone had softened.
Clearly, it had been convinced. While most of the credit went to the Trainer behind it, this Krabby had still needed courage, trust, and a surprising amount of innate talent to follow such complex commands.
Thus, the leader officially acknowledged Ash's Krabby as a member of their clan.
This should have been a joyous moment. Ash crouched down beside the little Krabby with a grin.
"That's great! They recognize you now. You can go back to your family."
But the small Krabby glanced at the group, then turned fully toward Ash, raising its pincer: "Kuka!"
"You… want to come with me?" Ash froze, suddenly troubled.
The truth was, he already had many Pokémon. Even with careful rotation, it was hard to give each one proper training time. A few were his main battlers; the rest formed a second team who got much less time with him. If he kept catching more, there would soon be a third team waiting their turn.
That was why he hadn't caught anything lately, until this Krabby asked to follow him.
Ash genuinely liked this Krabby. Their compatibility was unusually high. Even without being caught, it followed his commands so naturally, that level of trust was rare.
But taking it in without guaranteeing proper training felt irresponsible…
"Hey, it's not that I don't want you," Ash quickly explained when Krabby's face fell. "It's just, after I catch you, you might have to spend most of your time at Professor Oak's lab training with everyone else. I can't rotate you in too often at first."
The Krabby brightened immediately, waving both pincers enthusiastically.
It didn't mind at all.
Ash exhaled, smiling.
"Alright then, since you insist, how can I turn you away?" He placed a Poké Ball on the sand.
"Welcome to the team. I promise, even if things start slow, I'll make you the strongest Krabby, and one day, the strongest Kingler in the world."
"Kukakuka!"
Krabby slammed its pincer onto the Poké Ball. A beam of red light engulfed it, the ball clicked shut after three shakes...
"I caught a Krabby!"
"Pikachu!!" Pikachu immediately struck its usual victory pose beside him.
"Kuka…"
The leader Krabby watched quietly, a faint loneliness in its eyes.If possible, it also wanted to follow that human.
Not only because he smelled safe and trustworthy, but because his ability to command Pokémon was terrifying.
Under that human… it could have grown into a legendary Kingler.
But the little one beat it to the punch.
Fair is fair.
After a short while, Krabby's Poké Ball was automatically transferred to Professor Oak's lab. Ash turned back to the clan, and seeing his gaze, the entire group of Krabby panicked and scrambled sideways in retreat.
Misty and Brock walked up just then. Misty frowned with concern.
"Ash, that Krabby you caught looks, kinda malnourished. Are you sure it doesn't have a physical problem?"
Judging by appearance alone, the little Krabby was indeed much smaller than normal. And although it defeated the clan leader, that was entirely due to Ash's commands. A Trainer-guided Pokémon and a wild one were on completely different playing fields.
And not just any Trainer- Ash.
Against wild Pokémon, as long as the gap wasn't too wide, his command skill could always compensate.
Ash waved dismissively.
"Nope. He's perfectly healthy, just undeveloped. Once he grows, he'll be the strongest Krabby, the strongest Kingler ever."
And he wasn't just bluffing.
Species: Krabby
Gender: Male
Level: Low–mid
Type: Water
Ability: Sheer Force
Moves: Vice Grip, Water Gun, Bubble Beam, Stomp…
Base Stats:
Attack C (A)
Sp. Atk D (B)
Defense E (B)
Sp. Def D (C)
HP B (A)
Speed D (C)
With two A-grade stats, this Krabby was already a one-in-tens-of-thousands talent among its species.
And despite looking a bit goofy, its execution in battle showed clear intelligence, otherwise, it couldn't have followed Ash's complex commands so cleanly.
It was a late bloomer. And with the right training, it would be a monster.
If there really had been a defect, it would've shown up clearly in Krabby's stat potential.
And with an A-rank HP stat, there was simply no way a Krabby like this could have any flaw in its stamina or overall constitution.
Seeing how confidently Ash spoke, Misty stopped asking. Ash always had some strange ability to read a Pokémon's aptitude at a glance, and everything he caught turned out to be an absurdly high-potential monster that grew at terrifying speed. She and Brock had long since gotten used to things that were "normal for Ash" but unbelievable for everyone else.
After catching Krabby, Ash and the others finally arrived at Bill's Lighthouse, where they met the young Pokémon Researcher: Dr. Bill.
Compared to Professor Oak, Bill really was young, much closer to Professor Cerise's age. With his bright green hair, dressed not in a lab coat but a brown suit, he looked more like a clever young professional than a stereotypical researcher.
Becoming a Doctor at such a young age, "promising" didn't even begin to cover it.
After greeting them, Bill wasted no time and explained the situation.
For weeks now, a haunting, sorrowful cry had echoed from the ocean. Through his telescope, Bill had only managed to make out a massive silhouette, thick fog always obscured the details. By analyzing the cry, he created a sonar transmitter designed to mimic the same frequency and call the mysterious Pokémon toward him.
A few days ago, he finally succeeded.
But as the creature drew closer, a crushing pressure swept over the lighthouse, so suffocating that Bill knew instantly: If that Pokémon reached shore and discovered there were no others of its kind… the one who faked its call would be the first to suffer its wrath.
Terrified, he immediately contacted Professor Oak for help.
Instead of coming himself, Oak sent Ash.
Bill had heard the rumors, how Ash fought an Elite-four as a newcomer, how he supposedly had a special battle-boosting method. Although the internet was now full of people calling those feats fake, Bill trusted Professor Oak's judgment far more than the internet's noise. A student Oak personally approved of would never fabricate achievements.
So when Oak said, "Let Ash go," Bill, after thinking it over, agreed.
Surely, someone who could fight an Elite would be able to protect him... right?
"That's everything. Just say the word, and I'll start the transmitter. Today, we're going to uncover the identity of that Pokémon!" Bill finished, fists clenched with determination.
Ash looked at his companions. They exchanged a nod.
"We're ready. But Dr. Bill, when it comes, you may want to step back. We don't know how strong it is or how it'll react to being called. If it gets agitated, we might not be able to restrain it."
Bill nodded gravely. Whether he actually would stay back later depended on his sense of self-preservation.
After dinner, Bill led them to the cliffside platform of the lighthouse and activated the device.
Instantly, that distant, mournful cry returned across the foggy sea.
Ash and the others tensed.
Ash activated his Aura, instantly sensing a tremendous, suffocating presence approaching. Whoever this was, it wasn't just Elite-level… it was at the very peak.
As the silhouette drew closer, Ash's Eye of Insight finally triggered.
Name: Dragonite (Ancient)
Gender: Female
Type: Dragon/Flying
Level: Peak
Ability: Multiscale
Moves: Hyper Beam, Outrage, Dragon Rush, Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, Air Slash, Dragon Dance…
Base Stats: Atk A (A), SpAtk A (A), Def S (S), SpDef S (S), HP S (S), Speed A (A)
An… Ancient Dragonite?!
Ash's pupils shrank sharply.
That enormous, fog-shrouded form looked nothing like the friendly, pudgy Dragonite everyone knew. Size-wise, it rivaled a Gigantamax Pokémon, but Gigantamax only worked in Galar.
So this Dragonite's gigantic size had nothing to do with that system.
As it approached, Ash sensed the emotion in its cry more clearly, it wasn't aggression.
It was calling for its kin.
Ancient Pokémon were nearly extinct. The fact that even one Ancient Dragonite still survived was already an incredible miracle. Imagining that it still hoped to meet others like itself, Ash's heart tightened.
But when it reached the shore, what it found instead was, a machine imitating its ancient call.
And a handful of humans on a cliff.
No kin. No companions.
Nothing.
The moment realization struck, all the loneliness and grief it'd buried for who-knows-how-many centuries erupted at once.
"WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
A roar like a collapsing mountain exploded across the coastline. The entire lighthouse shook violently as the fog was blasted away, evealing the towering form of the Ancient Dragonite.
Brock staggered back, eyes wide.
"D-Dragonite?! That huge thing is a Dragonite?!"
Misty and Bill were speechless, frozen in shock.
And then, the Ancient Dragonite raised its fist,and slammed it down.