Just as Cynthia had said—
There are plenty of hardworking people in the world.
But not everyone's efforts hit the mark.
More often than not, one's sweat and struggle may not yield the desired results.
Yet Black World Ash…
At least so far, Cynthia hadn't seen him make a single meaningless effort.
Hard work isn't scary.
What's scary… is when that hard work is purposeful.
[Lance: Indeed. As Champion Cynthia pointed out, if every ounce of effort always translated into growth, then the world wouldn't have so few truly powerful Trainers.]
[Steven: That might just be Black World Ash's greatest talent—his will drives him to work hard, and his gift turns that effort into results!]
[Professor Oak: If that's the case… then our Ash should possess the same quality.]
[Brock: Professor Oak is right. Actually, during our journey together, Ash rarely ever trained his Pokémon systematically—he mostly let them grow freely.]
[Brock: But every time Ash suddenly came up with a special training idea, his Pokémon's strength would improve dramatically in a very short time!]
[Brock: That might be exactly what Steven meant—the ability to turn every bit of effort into tangible progress.]
Everyone knew Brock had traveled alongside Ash.
So his words carried weight—almost certainly true.
Which could only mean one thing—
that the Ash of this white world had been wasting his own natural gift all along.
[Ash: I… I get it already! I'll start taking my Pokémon's training more seriously from now on!]
As the saying goes—"No comparison, no pain."
And when that comparison happens to be with another version of yourself from a parallel world…
the sting cuts especially deep.
For the first time, Ash truly understood just how far behind he was compared to Black World Ash.
To put it bluntly—even the Ash who'd made it to the Silver Conference probably wasn't as composed… or as strong… as Black World Ash was at the very start of his journey.
His Pikachu, aside from the early Thunderstone overcharge incident that taught him Thunderbolt, had barely undergone any formal training.
No Grass Knot, no Iron Tail—only Quick Attack and a handful of standard Electric-type moves.
A pitifully limited offensive range.
If not for the Light Ball he'd later obtained,
his Silver Conference Pikachu wouldn't even stand a chance against Black World Ash's first-day Pikachu.
The difference was staggering.
But it also lit a new fire inside him.
"If another me could do it… then so can I!"
The Black Curtain World segment had come to an end.
Now, the live broadcast shifted once more—to the White Curtain World.
In the White Curtain World—
Ash and his companions had just crossed Mt. Moon and arrived at Cerulean City.
Through a series of coincidences, Ash learned that Misty was actually the youngest sister of the Cerulean Gym family—and ended up challenging her in battle.
However, Team Rocket soon interrupted the match.
After blasting them off once again, Misty's eldest sister, Daisy, awarded Ash the Cascade Badge as thanks.
[Lance: Uh… Ash, both of your first two badges were given to you?]
[Ash: That's not true! I didn't get them for free—I earned them! My sincerity moved both Brock and Misty!]
[Brock: Ah yes, of course, you're totally right.]
[Misty: Yep, exactly as you say.]
[Ash: You two!!]
In the White Curtain World—
After earning two badges, Ash's confidence began to swell.
But soon, he was harshly humbled by a formidable opponent—Joe, the Beast Tamer.
The defeat cooled his ego, and the journey continued.
Later, the trio encountered a Pokémon Training School deep in the forest.
There, Ash met a girl so stunning that even he blushed on sight.
Still, battle came first—and he defeated her without mercy.
Not long after, Ash met one of the three Kanto starters—Bulbasaur—and, after a heartfelt encounter, successfully caught it.
Then came the second starter, Charmander—and with him, a most detestable Trainer named Damian.
Charmander had originally belonged to Damian,
but after failing to defeat a Poliwag, Damian cruelly abandoned him.
When Ash's group overheard this, Brock scolded Damian fiercely,
while Ash immediately rushed out into the pouring rain to save the poor Pokémon.
Thunder crashed above as the storm raged.
In the end, Charmander was rescued safely—and even helped blast off Team Rocket afterward.
Then, Damian had the audacity to try and reclaim Charmander.
In response, Charmander torched him into a pile of blackened charcoal.
He held back only out of old loyalty—
otherwise, Damian might not have survived that day.
[Bruno: Good! Burn him good! That bastard makes me sick! How could someone like that even be allowed to become a Trainer?!]
[Lance: I've already called in some favors to locate this 'Damian.' Hah… keeping more than six Pokémon and abandoning one? Those two charges alone are enough to bury him in prison!]
[Professor Oak: Ash, if you ever encounter something like that again, just call me directly. I think I have enough influence to make sure scum like that get exactly what they deserve. Report them next time—don't hold back!]
[Ash: Honestly, I wasn't thinking that far at the time. I just wanted to save Charmander as fast as possible.]
[Ash: And afterward, since Charmander already taught him a lesson, I didn't push it any further.]
The live chat exploded with outrage.
Beyond Lance and Professor Oak, numerous powerful figures and Pokémon advocates voiced their anger—
each one vowing to make sure Damian and his family faced consequences.
Meanwhile, in his own home, the very same Damian—who had long since buried that shameful memory—was trembling.
He had barely recovered from the humiliation of being roasted by his own Pokémon,
and now this live broadcast had dragged it all back into the light—
drawing the wrath of half the Pokémon world down upon him.
"It's over… it's all over…"
The audience's focus remained fixed on Damian's punishment,
completely overlooking that beautiful girl from the Pokémon school who had made Ash blush earlier.
After all, he was just a kid—getting flustered around a pretty girl was normal, right?
What they didn't realize was that…
anyone capable of making White World Ash blush was as rare as a legendary Pokémon.
In the White Curtain World—
After capturing Charmander, Ash continued on toward his third Gym challenge.
Along the way, he encountered a mischievous Squirtle Squad, eventually winning over their leader and catching him.
The remaining four Squirtles joined the police force soon after.
Thus, before even reaching his third Gym,
White World Ash had somehow managed to capture all three Kanto starters—
a feat incredibly rare for any Trainer!
And interestingly enough…
in each case, Team Rocket had played a part in helping him.
Author's Notes:
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