In the Black World —
Ash came to the next room and woke up Sabrina and Misty. It was already one in the morning. Both women had been sleeping soundly when Ash roused them. However, when they saw the pretty girl next to Ash, any lingering sleepiness vanished instantly.
Then, Ash spent two minutes explaining the general situation to them.
"…So this is… Latias?"
"Mm-hmm~"
Latias nodded, then reverted to her true form in front of everyone, shocking Brock, Misty, and Sabrina, who were seeing Latias's real appearance for the first time. After changing back, Latias did not transform into Kanon again. After all, she needed her natural form to fly quickly to Latios later. If she turned into Kanon, how long would that take?
"I've asked Dark Lugia to take us there to rescue Latios as soon as possible… We're all going together!"
As he spoke the last words, the eyes of the other three lit up. Forget whether they could help or not; just being able to go along was enough. Before, they hadn't even been qualified to get close to the battlefield—no, they couldn't even watch from a distance. Now they could at least go and see…
Latias looked at Ash in confusion. What did he mean, asking Dark Lugia to take them? Wasn't she supposed to carry Ash there?
"Latios is in the Grand Cathedral now, right?"
Latias nodded.
"Okay, let's go!"
With that, Ash led the group outside. However, the door of the Pokémon Center was suddenly blocked by countless iron bars. Not just the door, but the windows and every possible exit!
"Ash, what's going on?"
"I don't know either… It must be those two, using Latios's power…"
Ash's expression darkened. He walked to the door and touched the raised iron grating.
"The hardness isn't low. A normal peak-Gym level attack probably couldn't blast through it… They're really playing dirty!"
After speaking, Ash curled his palm into a fist and struck the iron bars at point-blank range—
BOOM!!!
The black, steel-hard grating was punched clear off its hinges, and the torn black fragments clattered into the small river not far away. Rian, who was controlling the huge machine in the cathedral, instantly turned ashen.
"Wh-what was that?! What is this thing?!"
"What's wrong, Rian?!"
Hearing Rian's sharp scream from the driver's seat, Sanna shouted over to her.
"Sis, that kid isn't human! He's not human!!"
"Huh??"
Sanna's face was full of questions. What in the world was she talking about? What did she mean, 'not human'? What on earth had she seen?
The machine in the Grand Cathedral used the power of the Heart Dew and Latios to control the entire city of Alto Mare. Just as Ash had guessed, those iron bars were indeed Rian's doing. Not only that, she had also dispatched two fossil Pokémon, intending to bring Ash and the others back. They thought they had their prey trapped!
And since this machine could control the entire city, it could naturally survey a panoramic view of it. So… the scene of Ash smashing the iron bars with one punch was also seen by Rian. She could have accepted it if Ash had used a Pokémon to smash them, but… Ash's physical body shattering them with one punch simply shattered Rian's worldview! What the hell was that? Was this a human?! If that punch landed on them, their internal organs would probably be torn apart!
Now Rian was starting to feel some regret. Shouldn't she have just considered seizing the power, taken the Heart Dew and Latios early, and traded them for immense wealth? Why had she messed with him?! And now… it was too late to leave. With the speed Ash was coming, wanting to evacuate with Latios was impossible; that Latias would surely catch up. So… now she had no choice but to grit her teeth and defeat Ash! She could only hope the hidden power of this machine and the two fossil Pokémon could defeat him. Otherwise… there was no other way!
Thinking this, a fierce expression crossed Rian's face. She had to finish off this kid today! Otherwise, even if she escaped, she'd probably live in this kid's shadow for the rest of her life. For a proud woman like her, that was utterly unacceptable!
...
[Lance:] Tsk tsk, that thief named Rian clearly hasn't realized what kind of opponent she's facing.
[Bruno:] Fight! Hit them hard! Beat up this wretched woman—no, beat up both these wretched women!!
[Cynthia:] The atmosphere is obviously very solemn, but I don't know why I feel a little like laughing.
[Professor Oak:] It's because Black Ash gives people such a sense of reliability. This kind of crisis isn't even a crisis to him. For him, it's just a matter of how to solve it.
[Professor Kukui:] Indeed, Black Ash really can give people that kind of confidence… It's the mark of true strength!
Ash (White World) pursed his lips and said nothing. After experiencing many blows, he wouldn't be easily discouraged anymore. After all, if the live stream didn't stop, he couldn't start training his Pokémon. What he could do now was learn as much as possible from Black Ash's traits—whether it was battle strategy, ideas, or cooperation with his Pokémon… these were things he needed to learn. The rest… he'd have to wait and see how much he could grow after the real world was unblocked. Besides, Ash also couldn't stand the two thieves, especially from a third-party perspective. So he was also looking forward to seeing his other self beat up the two female thieves!
...
In the Black World — After Ash smashed the iron bars, he jumped out with everyone and took the black feather from his person. The black feather glowed with an ink-dark light, and the next moment, a gigantic creature appeared before Ash and the others!
Latias subconsciously changed back to her human form and hid behind Ash. If Ash gave people a feeling of warmth and sunshine, then the figure before her gave a feeling of bottomless darkness!
"Huh? Ah, don't be afraid, Latias. It only gives you an uncomfortable feeling because of its typing. Actually, it's a gentle being."
Seeing Latias hiding timidly behind him, Ash was briefly puzzled, then realized. Dark Lugia's typing was Dark, and so far, it wasn't very adept at completely restraining the energy it radiated, which made the Psychic-type Latias feel uneasy.
After he explained to Latias, trusting Ash, Latias slowly stepped out from behind him. Then, like a curious child, she poked Dark Lugia. Instantly, Latias, timid as a fawn, felt her heart melt. Dark Lugia gently moved its head and slowly nuzzled Latias's cheek. After it showed a friendly demeanor, Latias was no longer afraid of this new acquaintance. She took the lead in climbing onto Dark Lugia's back. Setting aside the Dark-type energy, she was actually quite comfortable on Dark Lugia, and she could adapt to that little bit of escaped Dark energy in a minute or two.
"Okay, let's go!"
Seeing that Latias had adapted to the energy radiating from Dark Lugia, Ash waved his hand, and they set off.
Because Dark Lugia's back was extremely broad, even with five people riding, it didn't feel crowded at all. Led by Dark Lugia, the surrounding scenery blurred past. In just a few seconds, everyone could almost see the Grand Cathedral.
However, at that moment, two uninvited guests arrived. In the sky, a giant fossil pterosaur positioned itself in front of Dark Lugia. On the ground, a gigantic scythe-helmet Pokémon, much larger than an ordinary one, stared eagerly at Dark Lugia.
"They have no life force. You can crush them directly!"
Ash's Aura power swept over them; he sensed no life in these two Pokémon. They weren't living creatures but puppets temporarily revived by some kind of power.
Understanding Ash's instruction, Dark Lugia held nothing back. It opened its maw, and a massive golden beam of light brimming with destructive aura erupted from its mouth! The golden light pierced the heavens and the earth, illuminating the dark night with extreme brilliance. In an instant, the fossil pterosaur in the sky completely vanished within the light of destruction. Meanwhile, the scythe-helmet Pokémon on the ground silently glanced at its companion in the sky and decisively turned to flee.
To be precise, it was Rian controlling the Kabutops to run away!
You'll die… if you get hit by that attack, you'll die! The entire city would probably be turned to ashes in an instant!!
What on earth is that Pokémon?! Why does that kid have that kind of Pokémon?! Why does he have that kind of power?!
While controlling the Kabutops to escape, Rian roared hysterically in her heart! If she could still voice her shock at Ash's earlier physical feat, then Dark Lugia's devastating attack left her utterly speechless. If Sanna could see Rian's condition in the cockpit, she would be extremely shocked. In this cool weather, Rian's forehead was already drenched in sweat, and her short silver hair was slightly damp.
From a god's perspective, Dark Lugia's use of the destructive beam—even if not at full power—was more than enough to terrify someone like Rian, who hadn't experienced many high-level battles. She had never imagined Pokémon could wield such power!
Gods and legendary Pokémon… aren't they all just legends?!
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