After roaring, the ancient Dragonite immediately swung its massive fist downward. That mountainous punch carried enough force to shatter Bill's Lighthouse and the entire cliffside in one blow. Just as terror flashed across Bill's face, he suddenly saw a figure dash out from beside him, leaping straight toward that descending fist.
In mid-air, Ash took a deep breath and threw his own punch upward. That tiny human fist collided with Dragonite's meteor-sized fist!
"BOOOOM!!"
A deafening shockwave exploded outwards, rippling across the air in visible waves. And then, something that left Bill completely dumbfounded happened:
Instead of Ash being crushed, it was the ancient Dragonite whose fist was blasted backward, her entire huge body staggering several steps through the air.
Only now did everyone realize that although Dragonite looked like she was walking on the ocean's surface, she was actually floating. Only her feet dipped into the water, yet the sea level should have been far deeper. In other words, she wasn't walking on the ocean at all, but hovering above it.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was…
Ash actually punched back such an enormous Dragonite!
For Misty and Brock, the shock was still huge, but not entirely unbelievable, after all, they'd witnessed Ash knock out a Magmar with one punch before. So seeing him pull off something absurd like this again, while shocking, still fit his pattern.
But Professor Bill?
This was his first time witnessing such madness.
What kind of monster of a human could do this? Forget repelling a giant Dragonite, just fighting a normal Dragonite, or even a Rattata, barehanded was already beyond human limits!
Bill felt his worldview crumble. He finally understood, Ash's real terrifying strength wasn't just his Pokémon…
It was Ash himself.
Up above, Ash wasn't blown away from the impact because he had redirected all the recoil outward. Only the Dragonite felt it; he didn't.
But he still couldn't fly.
So in mid-air, Ash instantly released Pidgeot, landed neatly onto its back, and stared solemnly at the enormous Dragonite, who had finally stabilized herself.
"You're an ancient Dragonite, right? I can hear that you're looking for your companions! And I know we were wrong to imitate their calls… but we didn't mean any harm!" Ash shouted, his voice projecting across the entire sea, clearly reaching the giant Dragonite.
A normal Pokémon would've understood him, but she was an ancient species. Human language meant nothing to her.
To her, Ash was just yelling aggressively at her, as if trying to challenge or threaten her.
That only fueled her rage.
With another furious roar, she opened her massive jaws, and a terrifying golden light began condensing inside, Hyper Beam!
"Whoa, whoa, hold on! I was just greeting you, do you need to escalate this far?" Ash muttered with a strained expression as he watched the attack charge.
This Dragonite wasn't just any Dragonite, she was far beyond her kind. Her massive ancient body wasn't for show. Every move she used carried power far beyond a normal level Pokémon.
"BOOOOOM!!"
A blinding column of golden energy blasted out, tearing through the sky and turning the dim dusk into blazing daylight.
Ash raised one hand, forming a bright blue Aura Sphere in an instant. Compared to the Hyper Beam, his Aura Sphere was like comparing an ant to an elephant.
Still, Ash didn't dodge.
He hurled the Aura Sphere head-on.
"BOOM!!"
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!!"
Bill squeezed his eyes shut, unable to watch. He deeply regretted this, because of his curiosity, this prodigious child was about to die, and afterward, he and the others would be wiped out by Dragonite too.
But after a few seconds, although the scorching light still flickered, Ash's screams never came.
Bill forced his eyes open, and froze.
High above, the tiny blue Aura Sphere, was actually holding back the Hyper Beam that was the size of Bill's Lighthouse.
Completely blocking it.
How was this even possible?!
Although small, Ash's Aura Sphere was locked in place by some invisible force, preventing the colossal Hyper Beam from advancing even a millimeter.
Up in the sky, Ash held out one hand, maintaining the Aura Sphere with sheer will, stopping the Hyper Beam in its tracks.
The ancient Dragonite was stunned.
This was her strongest attack. She hadn't battled seriously in ages, but one Hyper Beam from her could blow apart an entire mountain.
Yet this tiny blue orb was standing against it?
Impossible!
And worse, it was from a human.
When did humans become capable of contending with monsters of her level with their bare hands?!
"Hmph!" Ash exhaled sharply and pressed his palm down slightly.
The Aura Sphere suddenly surged upward, pushing back against the Hyper Beam!
The golden beam shattered inch by inch under the pressure, crushed and swallowed by the tiny blue sphere, until, under the horrified gaze of the ancient Dragonite, it reached her head, and then dissipated harmlessly into the air.
As the last traces vanished, Dragonite's eyes trembled. Fear flickered within them.
And she stopped gathering any more energy.
When reason returned to her, even a fool could tell the situation.The first punch could be blamed on being overwhelmed by rage, but in a direct clash of attacks like this, if she still couldn't see the difference between their strength, and couldn't tell that the human was actually holding back, then the ancient Dragonite would just be acting ungrateful.
Ash realized ordinary words weren't getting through, so he switched to Aura telepathy, directly transmitting his thoughts.
'Dragonite, we don't mean you any harm. We didn't copy your companion's cry to trick you on purpose. We only wanted to know who was hidden in the fog.'
Normally, he never needed telepathy, Pokémon understood human speech perfectly well.
But this Dragonite came from ancient times. Humans back then likely hadn't even developed modern languages, so it was only natural she didn't understand a single word Ash shouted earlier.
Telepathy, on the other hand, bypassed the barrier of language entirely. Thoughts became thoughts.
Upon hearing Ash's genuine intentions, the ancient Dragonite's wary eyes visibly softened. Her huge body still looked intimidating, but her expression regained that simple, innocent "gentle giant" look.
"Woooo… ohhh~~" I want… a friend.
The translated voice entered Ash's mind directly.
Her wish was heartbreakingly simple, she just wanted a friend.
Someone to talk to. Someone to travel with. Someone to be by her side.
As an ancient Pokémon, she had lived through ages alone. From prehistoric eras until now, her greatest pain had always been loneliness.
So when she heard a cry that sounded like one of her own kind, she rushed out desperately hopeful… only to discover it was man-made.
The fact that she could still calm down showed she had an unbelievably gentle temper. Ancient Pokémon were not known for gentleness.
Ash sighed softly.
"Can't you make yourself smaller? There are plenty of Dragonite in the world today, but none anywhere near your size. Language can be learned. Habits can be changed. But your body size…"
The truth was cruel.
There were likely no other ancient Dragonite left in the world.If she wanted companionship, she needed to be able to interact with modern Dragonite, or any modern Pokémon.
But with her titanic size, simply existing near others caused fear.
Unless she moved to Galar and communicated only with Gigantamax Pokémon… but that wasn't sustainable, and she couldn't Gigantamax herself.
Modern society simply couldn't accommodate a creature of her scale.
Upon hearing Ash's words, Dragonite's expression became troubled.She clenched her eyes shut, her enormous face twisted in effort. Then she opened them again and shook her head.
She couldn't shrink herself.
Ash let out a helpless sigh, and immediately sought help the way he always did now:
Newbie Ash: Seniors, emergency! I met an ancient Dragonite at Bill's Lighthouse. She…
When in doubt, ask the group chat.
He summarized Dragonite's situation, and within ten seconds, replies arrived.
Psychic Specialist Ash: It's actually very simple. You just need an High-level Psychic-type Pokémon. Psychic power can shrink a Pokémon's physical size, but there are conditions:
The target cannot exceed their strength by more than one major tier.
Otherwise, even with the target's consent, shrinking them is impossible.
It was that all-powerful Psychic ability again!
Ash had already witnessed Psychic's absurd capabilities through Sabrina. Sabrina could not only shrink people, she could even turn them into dolls, that was practically altering a species' form.
This "Psychic Specialist Ash" in the group was someone Ash was seeing for the first time. The only reason he instantly responded was because Ash had marked him as a priority member. Before this, he was probably just lurking, watching the chaos… but now that the topic landed perfectly within his specialty, he finally appeared.
Newbie Ash: Thank you, Senior! Then I'll tell Dragonite to wait until my Gardevoir reaches that level. She'll have to endure a little longer!
After saying that, Ash left the group chat and conveyed the same method to the ancient Dragonite through telepathy.
With Gardevoir's talent, she should be able to reach that within half a year. So Ash explained the situation to the ancient Dragonite and asked her to wait here for half a year. At that time, he would definitely return and help Dragonite find her companions.
"Woo-oh~~" Thank you, human. If you can truly do that… then I am willing to become your subordinate and serve you for fifty years.
For the ancient Dragonite, fifty years was nothing, just a few long naps.
But Ash waved both hands in panic and quickly refused:
'That's not how things work anymore. In this era, Pokémon, or "monsters," as you call them, live together with humans as equals. No one is above or beneath anyone. If you're willing, when you recover, let's battle. If I win, you can become my companion. How does that sound?'
Companion… equality…
Those words confused the ancient Dragonite a little, but at the same time, stirred something warm inside her.
There were countless differences between this age and the era she lived in long ago. The most obvious one being… humans back then absolutely did not have this kind of terrifying combat power.
"Woo-oh~~" I understand. Then we'll battle as you said…
Dragonite paused halfway, then scratched her cheek awkwardly. She suddenly realized she didn't know what to call him. Constantly calling him "human" felt impolite.
'My name is Ash.'
"Woo-oh~" Alright, Ash. But… I can't battle you. I can't beat you.
Her innocent, almost cute tone made Ash's face twitch with embarrassment.
'Ahem, well, normally I don't step into battles myself, this was just an emergency!' Ash hurriedly explained.
In truth, if Dragonite hadn't suddenly attacked, he would never have fought her directly. Even if he wanted to subdue Dragonite, he would have used his Pokémon. But a High level Dragonite was far too powerful for his current team. And in that moment of crisis, with Misty and Brock's safety on the line, he didn't have time to slowly power up his Pokémon. Personally intercepting the attack had been the fastest option.
But later? Absolutely not! Fighting Dragonite himself would violate the entire spirit of being a Trainer.
Besides, Ash firmly believed, once Gardevoir high level, she would definitely be able to defeat the ancient Dragonite!