At this time, Lugia, who was usually kind and unwilling to fight back even when being beaten by three sub-Legendary-tier Pokémon, had a look of anger on his face.
His mate had been used by others and turned into the so-called Dark Lugia. Her strength was greatly improved, but he was not happy at all.
If it hadn't been for Ash, his mate would have become a tool in the hands of the man named Vicious. By then, that guy would probably take his mate everywhere, burning, killing, looting, destroying the world, and even fighting with other Legendaries! Until her life was exhausted.
Thinking of this, no matter how good-tempered the Sea Guardian was, he couldn't help but burst into anger.
Regarding Lugia's doubts, Ash shook his head helplessly.
"I don't know where he is. Originally, he should be on his way to the Whirl Islands. But since the fight between you and Jing was so loud, he might not come back again."
The final result of the battle was that Lugia won, and Dark Lugia was seriously injured and fell into a coma. If Vicious came here now without a top-tier Legendary in his hand, he would be seeking death! So unless he was certain, he likely wouldn't return.
Moreover, Ash had eliminated the evil power from Dark Lugia's body. No one knew whether Vicious had the power to sense that dark energy. If so… he was even less likely to come.
So now, trying to find Vicious was wishful thinking. How could such a cunning and evil guy reveal himself so easily?
But… there was no other way! Dark Lugia would wake and riot unless a Dark Ball was used to control her first, but how could Ash use a Poké Ball of unknown origin and with strong side effects?
Hearing Ash's words, Lugia lowered his head in disappointment. Not being able to personally avenge his mate might become a knot in Lugia's heart. His mate had been turned into that state by someone else, but he couldn't do anything about that person.
...
"Leave Vicious to me, Lugia! Although I can't find where he is now, as long as we keep fighting against his organization, we'll run into him sooner or later! When the time comes, let me help you vent your anger!"
As he said that, Ash held out his right fist. A bright smile appeared on his handsome face.
As if infected by Ash, Lugia also put down his bitter expression and couldn't help but laugh. He then extended a wing and bumped it gently against Ash's fist.
On a nearby island, Sabrina and the others kept looking into the distance anxiously. Ash and Lugia had been gone for nearly half an hour since the battle ended. Although Lugia had won, Sabrina and the others were still very worried about Ash's condition.
After another five minutes, just as Sabrina and the others couldn't help but want to go search, a silver-white figure flew quickly into view from over the sea. Ash and Pikachu stood on the silver-white figure, waving to them.
"It seems he's safe and sound!" Brock finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the energetic Ash. The two women almost slumped and sat on the ground. They looked at each other and saw peace of mind in each other's eyes. Ash was fine….
Soon, Lugia landed in front of everyone. This enormous incident seemed to have finally come to an end.
On Silver Rock Island—unknown to Ash and the others—a tall man wearing a golden mask, with only his chin exposed, looked thoughtfully at the sea.
"The World's Malice has been removed… Has this world's Child of Destiny appeared? What a coincidence. But… it's useless no matter how hard you struggle. Sooner or later, this world will become the property of our Team Rocket. Legendaries? Mere toys..."
After murmuring to himself, the middle-aged man flicked his cloak and left.
[Lance:] That person is… Vicious, right? Why does he look so… composed?
[Flint:] Opening the door to outrageousness with more outrageousness! If Legendaries are toys, how does that 'V' guy have the nerve to say that?
[Volkner:] Isn't it because Vicious is just sour grapes? If he didn't care about Legendaries, why would he capture Lugia?
[Professor Oak:] But… the disdain in his tone when he spoke of Legendaries didn't seem fake… Moreover, there are many doubts about what he said!
[Cynthia:] 'World's Malice', 'Child of Destiny', 'Team Rocket'… these three terms don't quite fit.
Why is the power that corrupted Dark Lugia called the 'World's Malice'? And why is Ash, who can purge that power, called the 'Child of Destiny'? Also, Vicious should call his organization Team Universe. Why did he say 'Team Rocket'?
After all… is he really Vicious?
Cynthia's silver-gray eyes were full of thought and solemnity. Although the Vicious from the White World was arrogant and somewhat capable, the pressure he gave off—to her, at least—was only average. Moreover, White World Vicious felt more… forced in his aura. Judging by how he knelt and begged for mercy after his mask was removed, that guy was just an ambitious paper tiger. Once the façade was pierced, he turned into a cowardly fool.
However, Vicious in the Black World gave off a completely different feeling! Even as a Champion, she could feel it through the screen. An immense, breathtaking aura, and a composure that seemed accustomed to grand scenes, making him look dismissive of Legendaries. Of course, Cynthia didn't believe he was truly that calm when he first saw the two Lugia fighting. In short… Cynthia felt that Black World Vicious and White World Vicious were completely different! If she had to give an example, it would be… the difference between Black and White Ash! Of course, the gap between the two Viciouses shouldn't be that vast, but it was still significant.
[Professor Oak:] Champion Cynthia is right. Is he really Vicious?
[Giovanni:] What do you mean? Isn't he Vicious? I'd recognize that traitor even if he turned to ash!
[Professor Oak:] I don't know. I have a rough guess, but I'm not sure if it's accurate. Let's see what happens next. While I don't know if Vicious will be drawn to Celebi later, Ash will run into him sooner or later.
As he spoke, Professor Oak began browsing the information in his data room. Finally, a book titled The Cave of Extremes appeared in his hand.
"I hope… my suspicion is wrong..."
In the Black World —
After the Lugia incident, Ash's temporary team with Harrison also disbanded. Harrison was preparing for the Silver Conference, but with only three badges, he wasn't sure he could collect them all in time.
The Team Rocket trio had successfully destroyed a Team Universe base and naturally wanted to report to their boss for credit.
As for Dr. Namba, the sole survivor of Team Universe, Ash handed him over to the police. How Officer Jenny and the others dealt with him was beyond Ash's concern.
Afterwards, the group of four spent two days returning to Ecruteak City. Ash took stock of his current gains and the status of his Pokémon.
After that battle, the bottleneck Pikachu had been stuck at was finally loosened and even broken. Now, Pikachu had Elite Four–level power under normal conditions. If they performed Aura Fusion, it was estimated to reach Champion-level. In terms of raw power, they should be able to fight evenly with Lorelei's ace Pokémon.
Furthermore, Little Yin's strength was also rising steadily, now almost reaching Gym Leader–level. Truly a growth rate achieved by just eating, drinking, and playing!
As for Dark Lugia, there was little to say. Her strength hadn't fully recovered but was still stronger than the average sub-Legendary. If she forced an all-out burst, she could reach top-tier Legendary strength, though it would slow her recovery.
Additionally, Misty, Brock, and Sabrina grew even more enthusiastic about training their Pokémon. Ash keenly sensed they were doing it because of him. He didn't know what to say about this… There was nothing he could do but use his Aura to help everyone's Pokémon after training and give them massages himself.
After returning to Ecruteak City, Ash and Sabrina challenged and defeated Morty, the Ecruteak Gym Leader. Morty's Steelix wasn't weak, but it was no match for the steadily improving Quilava and Heracross. As for Sabrina… she was even more ruthless, seemingly venting the anger she'd been holding onto. Poor Morty became her punching bag.
After obtaining the sixth badge, everyone headed for their next destination: the Mahogany Gym in Mahogany Town! The leader of that Gym was Pryce, who possessed Champion-level strength! Meeting such a powerful trainer was rare, and Ash had no intention of using only the Pokémon he'd caught in Johto. If he was going to fight… he would go all out! Ash already had a rough idea of his team composition; he'd finalize it upon reaching Mahogany Town.
Then, in a forest on the way to Mahogany Town, they encountered a new event—Celebi, and a young boy with it!
The boy and Celebi suddenly appeared before them, both unconscious. However, Celebi seemed to have some strength left. Upon seeing Ash and the others, it subconsciously tried to flee, but when Celebi saw Ash, its eyes glazed over in a trance.
Had it… gotten it wrong? Why did this person have so much power from Legendaries? Ho-Oh… the Legendary Birds… Suicune, and… the aura of multiple Lugia!! Being recognized by so many Legendaries, he couldn't be a bad person… This was the last thought that flashed through its mind before Celebi completely fainted.
….
Ash quickly dashed forward, catching Celebi as it fell from mid-air. After exchanging looks with Misty and the others, Ash decided to take the boy and Celebi to a nearby cabin first.
An old woman and a mature older sister lived in the cabin. The grandmother was named Junsa, and the sister was named Miki. They lived in this forest year-round and had pointed out the way for Ash's group when they entered.
As Ash carried the boy on his back and Brock carried Celebi toward the cabin, Ash was also a little confused.
Why did he feel… the young Aura from the boy on his back was exactly the same as Professor Oak's?
Ever since he learned to use Aura, Ash had never seen anyone with an identical Aura signature. Theoretically, everyone's Aura was different. There couldn't be two exactly the same in the world. So what was with the person on his back?
By the time Ash brought the boy and Celebi to the cabin, the boy had just woken up and began to struggle violently, but his arms were no match for Ash's strength. In Ash's opinion, his struggle was no different from a Magikarp flopping on land.
To avoid hurting the boy, Ash finally set him down. The commotion outside made the old woman—Junsa—run out to check, and upon seeing the young man facing Ash, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
After some explanation, everyone sat calmly in the cabin drinking tea. The young man, Sammy, touched the photo album in his hand. This album was given to him by his grandmother. She said it was an item he had left there forty years ago. In other words… he had traveled forty years through time to the present!
When Ash heard about the time travel, he thought of the Aura signature identical to Professor Oak's and instantly understood. The person before him… was the young Professor Oak! Otherwise, there was no way to explain the identical Aura.
However, Ash did not reveal this. He didn't know much about time. He didn't know whether revealing Sammy's identity here would affect the future Professor Oak, setting off a chain reaction that could change the entire world's future…
[Ash:] Wow! The other me recognized Professor Oak so quickly!
[Gary:] With a convenient power like Aura, of course. There are no identical Auras in the world. Recognizing Grandpa through that isn't hard.
[Lillie:] Hey, I want to ask: if Ash points out Professor Oak's identity here, will it change the future?
[Professor Oak:] Well… by my guess, probably not.
I don't know if you've heard the saying: 'What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again.' This phrase can be used to explain temporal theory. In other words, so-called time travel is something that must happen. It is because I traveled through time that the future becomes what we are now. In other words, no matter what Ash does, it is actually something bound to happen. There will be no butterfly effect at all.
Lillie looked at Professor Oak's words, her eyes seeming to swirl like confused spirals. She listened… but didn't understand. Too profound!
[Professor Kukui:] In other words, no matter what Ash does now, it won't change the future at all. Time and the future aren't things that can be changed so easily.
[Cynthia:] Actually, think of it another way: Celebi's power might not allow for time travel that changes history. If it were Dialga… perhaps history could be altered, affecting the future.
Celebi and Dialga are both masters of time, but the latter's control over time is arguably superior to the former's. As for whether it can change the past and thus the future, Cynthia didn't know and could only make an educated guess.
In the Black World —
During the conversation, Junsa also told Ash and the others about a place deep in the forest called the Lake of Life. That place could heal Celebi and restore its strength, allowing Celebi to send Sammy back.
Ash immediately agreed and took Celebi and Sammy deeper into the forest. To avoid affecting the flow of history, the young Professor Oak had to be sent back as soon as possible.
Soon, under Miki's guidance, everyone arrived at the legendary Lake of Life.
At the same time… a dark figure was approaching them!
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