Red reached to his waist and took out a Poké Ball. His gaze darkened slightly, and after gently rubbing it with a hint of nostalgia, he tossed it forward.
Earlier, Ash had already released his own Pokémon.
A flash of red light burst forth, and a massive brown raptor appeared before everyone.
Its feathers were vivid and sleek, faintly shimmering with iridescent, rainbow-like hues. Its fully spread wings spanned over three meters wide, and its sharp hawk-like eyes gleamed with piercing intensity.
"Piiidgeot!!"
The moment it appeared, it let out a deafening cry!
The ferocious aura of a top-tier aerial predator surged skyward, faintly overpowering even the primal, savage presence radiating from the giant beast in the sea.
Pidgeot.
Strictly speaking, this Pokémon originally belonged to Green.
Red had borrowed it for a time back then. Later, he forgot to return it—and so it had stayed with him ever since.
"Eh? When did Ash's Pidgeotto secretly evolve?"
"And… isn't this Pidgeot way too big?"
Brock and Misty whispered among themselves.
Normally, a Pidgeot was only about half a head taller than an adult human.
But this one was clearly a full size larger—exceptionally robust.
Yet despite its strength, it didn't look bulky at all. Instead, its build was sleek, balanced, and perfectly proportioned.
"I'll leave things here to you."
Red nodded briefly toward the three on the shore. Without waiting for a response, he swung himself up with practiced ease onto Pidgeot's back.
"…!"
Just before takeoff, Red seemed to remember something. He tossed another Poké Ball down toward the ground.
It was Ash's Charmander.
"Graaah!"
Charmander emerged, confusion written all over its face.
But the overwhelming draconic aura in the air quickly drew its attention to the enormous silhouette on the ocean's surface.
"GRAH!!"
Surprisingly, Charmander showed no fear at all.
Instead, its eyes widened, locking firmly onto the colossal beast as it released a low, immature growl of defiance.
"As expected… you really are special."
Red chuckled softly. He didn't pay Charmander any further attention—if it could witness the upcoming battle, perhaps it might gain something unexpected from it.
The next instant, Pidgeot beat its wings violently.
A raging gust slammed straight into the three people below, nearly knocking them off their feet.
Whoosh—!
In the blink of an eye, man and bird shot skyward, climbing dozens of meters into the air as they flew straight toward the giant Pokémon.
"…Why do I feel like Ash suddenly became a completely different person?"
Brock stared blankly.
His appearance and clothing hadn't changed at all—yet it felt as though he had become someone else entirely.
"Did his Rock-type resolve just max out or something…?"
"Is it because he narrowed his eyes halfway that he looks cooler?"
Brock tried it himself, squinting until his eyes became thin slits, attempting to look more severe.
Misty, however, felt even more unsettled.
She had experienced this feeling before.
This kid… really does have split personalities!
"Soul transfer… a friend, perhaps."
Meanwhile, Bill stroked his chin, gazing at the silhouette of the giant bird in the sky, a hypothesis forming in his mind.
High above, Red guided Pidgeot up through the clouds.
They rose several meters higher than the giant beast itself, looking down from above.
The distance between man and Pokémon had shrunk to less than ten meters, yet the dense fog still obscured the creature's true appearance.
Red frowned slightly and gave an order:
"Pidgeot, use Defog."
"Piiidgeot!!"
Pidgeot's massive brown wings flapped outward, compressing the air as a storm-like gale erupted from its wingtips.
In mere seconds, the winds swept across hundreds of meters of ocean.
Shaaa—!!
A seasoned Pidgeotto indeed.
The airflow twisted into a vortex, tearing the fog apart and carving out a vast, clear vacuum above the sea. Only then could man and beast face each other directly.
And only then did everyone finally see the giant Pokémon's true form.
Brownish-yellow skin.
A round, chubby head with two yellow antennae swaying gently.
A massive body, nearly two-fifths of it submerged beneath the sea.
A plump upper torso, small wings on its back—
A textbook image of a dragon.
"Beep. Dragonite, the Dragon Pokémon.
A rare Pokémon native to the Kanto region.
Capable of circling the globe in sixteen hours.
Favorite food: Krabby."
Ash's Pokédex announced automatically from the cliffside.
"So it's not some ancient Pokémon…"
Bill muttered, stumbling back half a step in shock.
With the fog gone, the three on the cliff finally recognized the Pokémon.
Dragonite was practically an iconic Pokémon of Kanto.
They just never imagined one could grow this enormous.
Fat?
More like… monstrously huge.
"An ancient Pokémon…?"
Bill frowned thoughtfully. He understood the concept.
Current research on ancient Pokémon suggested that while their forms were similar to modern ones, their sizes were often exaggerated to mountain-like proportions—as if prehistoric Earth had been their true era.
"…Or could it be a Dragonite that snuck in from the Galar region?"
Another thought surfaced.
Bill had visited Galar several times. Its unique Dynamax Pokémon bore some resemblance to this giant Dragonite.
Notably, Dragonite was banned from Dynamax battles in Galar and barred at customs.
Any discovered Dragonite would even be forcibly expelled.
Could it have tried to smuggle itself in… and failed to revert from its enlarged state?
Bill shook his head sharply, rejecting the idea.
That raw, ancient aura smacking him in the face wasn't something ordinary Dynamax could produce.
This Dragonite was old—very old.
"But… can he really capture a Pokémon like that?"
His gaze drifted upward, toward the man standing atop Pidgeot.
Just who exactly… was Ash?
"Dragonite…"
A glimmer of excitement appeared in Red's eyes.
In his memories, Dragonite was the signature Pokémon of Lance, the Champion of Kanto's Flying-type specialists.
And Lance was undeniably powerful.
Though, admittedly, he once got one-shot by his own Lapras while striking a pose—so perhaps he wasn't that heroic after all.
This Dragonite before him, while still weaker than top-tier beings like Ho-Oh or Mewtwo, was plenty strong.
And after crossing worlds, Red wasn't sure how much his Pokémon's strength had changed.
As the first opponent he would face in this world—
It was perfect.
The flames of battle ignited in Red's eyes as he hurled another Poké Ball into the air.
"Come out… my old partner!!"
A flash of red light exploded, and a fiery, winged dragon appeared in the sky.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
It roared skyward, its explosive, domineering presence instantly overwhelming even the stunned giant Dragonite.
The sound shook heaven and earth.
Ripples spread across the sea's surface, expanding outward endlessly.
The entire coastal region seemed to boil, waves rolling violently as if a storm had erupted.
Boom—crackle—!!
Deep crimson flames spewed forth, scorching the clouds until they disintegrated into ash and sparks.
This was a Pokémon Red had brought from another world—
A nearly invincible existence.
Charizard.
Red stepped up from Pidgeot's back, his voice calm and steady as he stared straight at the giant Dragonite.
"Fight me, Dragonite."
This Dragonite carried an obsession of some kind.
Bill noticed it.
And even Red, seeing it for the first time, could tell.
If it had remained here all this time—appearing only when triggered by unusual signals—then it meant it couldn't resolve its predicament alone.
So Red would intervene.
Definitely not because his hands were itching.
The giant Dragonite eyed Charizard warily.
Though the size difference was overwhelming, its draconic instincts screamed a single truth—
This was an unprecedented threat.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
Dragonite roared back in an unintelligible draconic cry, clearly unwilling to surrender without a fight.
Red's lips curled upward.
Exactly what he wanted.
"In that case—Charizard, battle!"
Charizard's eyes snapped wide as it threw back its head and roared once more.
BOOM—!!
Its jaws opened, releasing a magma-like torrent of deep crimson flames that surged forward as a blazing pillar.
Given Dragonite's massive size, precision wasn't even necessary.
The flames struck its neck directly.
RUMBLE—!!
The fire shattered outward, forming a blazing ring that wrapped tightly around Dragonite's thick neck.
As Charizard continued pouring on the flames, the fire surged upward and downward, transforming into a spiraling inferno.
A raging fire tornado engulfed the Dragonite entirely—even its thirty-to-forty-meter-tall body vanished within it.
An apocalyptic vortex of flame.
Above the vast sea, a colossal pillar of fire rose skyward, its red glow scorching the faces of those on the shore.
"Use Flare Blitz."
Red called out sharply.
In the next instant, Charizard's body was cloaked in blazing fire, as if it were about to explode.
With a powerful flap of its wings, it charged forward.
Mid-flight, the flames burned to their limit—
Shifting into terrifying, annihilating blue fire.
Wrapped in azure inferno, Charizard tore open the fire vortex with its claws, plunging straight into the blazing hell!
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!
Towering flames swept the battlefield.
No matter how violently the sea churned, every wave evaporated instantly, turning into plumes of white steam.
When the flames finally dispersed, both figures emerged from the scattered fire.
"Rrrgh…"
Dragonite growled, its chest scorched black—clear proof that the attack had landed solidly.
On the other side, Charizard frowned slightly as crackling recoil energy danced across its body.
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