[The four guardian deities of the Alola region all passed through the Ultra Wormhole into the Ultra World.]
[At the moment when the Alola region was on the verge of suffering catastrophic destruction—]
[Two of Ash's Pokémon arrived.]
[Greninja. Charizard.]
The Sunne Altar…
Ash's eyes shone brightly as he looked toward the fiery orange figure in the distance.
Charizard.
His very first fully evolved Pokémon.
That guy had finally completed his transformation in Charicific Valley.
Charizard folded its wings and swooped down into the valley where the Sunne Altar stood, diving toward the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
It and Greninja both looked at Ash, excitement flashing in their eyes, low emotional growls rumbling in their throats. They had missed him deeply.
Without Ash—
Without him, they never could have grown to this point.
Both of them had once been abandoned.
Within their own kind, they had been the weakest of the weak.
It was Ash, the Trainer standing before them, who had taken them in after they were cast aside.
Not only had he never shown the slightest disgust—
He had patiently nurtured them, little by little, into what they were today.
Without Ash, they might very well have died long ago.
Without Ash, there would be no them as they were now.
Pikachu darted back and forth between the two of them, letting out delighted cries.
"Pika~ pika~ pikapi~!"
"Gwa-cha~"
"Roar~"
The two of them stepped forward a little, lowering their heads slightly.
Ash reached out and stroked their heads, just like he had when they were still little and had not yet evolved into their final forms.
Ash said gently, "Welcome back to the team, Greninja, Charizard."
The audience of the Pokémon world was completely stunned when they saw it was Charizard.
It actually wasn't Groudon.
It was Charizard, one of Kanto's three starter Pokémon.
They looked at one another, each face filled with disbelief.
A Charizard's Flamethrower had actually condensed into molten, magma-like substance.
They looked at Charizard carefully. It had been raised incredibly well. Its body was more than twice the size of an ordinary Charizard.
The flame on its tail blazed fiercely.
Its body was covered in many old scars, clearly showing it had gone through countless fierce battles.
Its eyes seemed to carry faint flames within them.
The oppressive aura it gave off was extraordinarily strong.
At the moment it appeared, every Charizard in the world seemed to feel something. All of them let out silent, low roars and lowered their heads, as though paying homage to the emperor of the Charizard race.
As for the other side…
Everyone felt that Greninja had become even stronger as well.
It had appeared before in Hoopa's extra chapter, where it revealed a brand-new form called Bond Phenomenon, using a giant Water Shuriken to block Groudon's attack, leaving an incredibly deep impression on everyone.
But the current Greninja—
Compared to that extra chapter, it had become even stronger.
That giant Water Shuriken just now had been used without entering Bond Phenomenon.
"ROAR!!"
Furious roars rose one after another from the heavens.
Their attacks had been interrupted by Greninja and Charizard, and their rage surged.
Looking at the seven Ultra Beasts in the sky—
The audience in the Pokémon world once again wore gloomy expressions.
Yes, the crisis hadn't been resolved yet.
Even if Greninja and Charizard had arrived, it still wouldn't be enough.
They couldn't solve the danger.
Even if their power was on the same level as Pikachu and they could each contend with one Third-Tier Divine Beast-level Ultra Beast—
There were still seven Ultra Beasts.
The remaining four would still be fatal.
In the video, the seven Ultra Beasts fixed their gaze on Greninja and Charizard. Their combined pressure condensed into one mass and descended upon the valley where the Sunne Altar stood.
A horrifying pressure spread over the sky above the whole valley. Everyone felt as though a mountain were resting on their shoulders. The earth and the surrounding peaks creaked under the weight.
And right then…
Charizard and Greninja exchanged a glance, their eyes sharpening.
Their auras erupted, one red and one blue, visibly intertwining and then surging straight into the sky.
The pressure created by the combined auras of the seven Ultra Beasts—
Was shattered instantly.
Everyone was dumbstruck.
The faces of all Trainers were filled with utter confusion.
Holy crap, the combined pressure of seven Third-Tier Legendary Pokémon had been blasted apart by Greninja and Charizard!?
Those were seven Legendary Pokémon, not seven Caterpie!
"W-What level of existence are Greninja and Charizard exactly?" countless Trainers muttered in disbelief.
"Gwa-cha!"
"Roar~!"
Charizard and Greninja turned toward Pikachu and let out low cries.
In the chat area, everyone immediately urged, "Quick, quick, where's Meowth? Get out here and translate!"
[Meowth]: Greninja and Charizard are saying: A mere seven Third-Tier Legendary Pokémon dared bully our Trainer while we were away? Pikachu, let's wreck them together!
[Leon]: ????
[Cynthia]: ???
[Diantha]: ???
[Lance]: M-mere seven Third-Tier Legendary Pokémon?
[Steven]: D-Legendary Pokémon are trash now? Then should Trainers like us, who don't even have sub-god level Pokémon, just go die?
The magnetic narration sounded from the video.
[Greninja and Charizard are existences that have one foot in the realm of Second-Tier Legendary Pokémon.]
[A mere seven Third-Tier Legendary Pokémon dared take advantage of their absence to bully Ash, igniting their fury.]
One foot in the realm of Second-Tier Legendary Pokémon?
The viewers finally learned their level, and their eyes widened to the limit.
Holy crap, Greninja and Charizard were actually on the verge of becoming Second-Tier Legendary Pokémon.
One was the final evolution of Froakie, one of Kalos's Water-type starters.
The other was the final evolution of Charmander, one of Kanto's Fire-type starters.
To be called starters meant that they were the kinds of Pokémon chosen by countless beginning Trainers.
Throughout the entire world, no one knew how many Trainers possessed these two species.
Countless Trainers who owned Greninja or Charizard began doubting their own lives. They were the same Pokémon species—so why was the gap so terrifyingly huge!?
[Goh]: Why does Ash always have so many high-potential Pokémon? Damn it, Pikachu, Greninja, Charizard—if they could grow into divine beast-level beings, that just means their talent is high! If I had them, I could do it too!!
[Bug Catcher]: Idiot!!
[Brock]: Your brain's broken. Go ahead, try raising them for me.
[Clemont]: Feels like you're mentally deficient. Are Ash's Pokémon the only ones in the world with high potential? Then why are only Ash's three able to fight Legendary Pokémon?
[Goh]: Give me Pikachu, Froakie, and Charmander and I'll raise them for you! Damn it, Ho-Oh, I'm definitely going to catch you someday! You kicked me from the chat before and made me spend another 1000 Dimension Coins just to get back in!
[Diantha]: Good kick.
[Cynthia]: +1
[Lance]: You think you can compare with Ash? You're not even fit to carry his shoes!
[Goh]: Bullshit! He just has Pokémon with high potential, that's why they can become divine beast-level! Just wait—when I grow up, I'll catch every Pokémon, catch every divine beast!
In the chat area—
Everyone looking at this person named Goh felt a deep disgust rising from their hearts.
All bark, no substance.
Catch every Pokémon?
Another collector-type Trainer.
A Trainer who only captures Pokémon to satisfy his own obsession, treating them like trading cards rather than truly caring about raising them.
Could Ash's Pikachu, Greninja, and Charizard have had high potential?
Maybe.
But if someone like Goh had gotten them, would he have raised them properly?
Even the greatest talent would have been wasted.
"Gwa-cha!"
"Pikapi~!"
The cries of the three Pokémon sounded in the video.
Pikachu jumped up onto Charizard's head. The three Pokémon radiated incomparable battle intent as they stared up at the seven Ultra Beasts in the sky.
Then translucent panels appeared over the image—
Pikachu's memories.
"Pikachu, let's go. I'm your Trainer." Ash was dragging Pikachu along with a rope tied around it.
[The Pikachu of the past hated Ash. It disliked entering Poké Balls, had an extremely bad personality, and as Ash's starter Pokémon, it constantly electrocuted Ash until he was covered in burns—yet Ash never disliked it for that.]
[And yet, that same unruly Pikachu eventually acknowledged Ash completely.]
The scene changed—
Pikachu had provoked a huge flock of Spearow and was covered in injuries. Ash, carrying it and riding a bicycle, was fleeing desperately. "Pikachu, hang in there, just a little longer! The Pokémon Center is almost here!"
Ash used his own body to shield the near-dead Pikachu, taking the Spearow's attacks himself.
Then the bicycle crashed into a log and they fell.
The camera shifted to Charizard.
A translucent memory panel appeared.
"Charmander, stop waiting. He's not coming back."
"Are you really going to keep waiting? Then I'll stay here with you."
Heavy rain pounded down from the sky.
A little Charmander stood stubbornly in the storm, the tail flame behind it already terribly weak.
Ash stood beside it, getting drenched together with it.
[Charmander, because it was too weak—even weaker than newborn members of its own kind—had been abandoned by its Trainer.]
[It had stood there for three days and three nights, still hoping its Trainer would come back for it.]
The rain grew heavier and heavier.
The flame on Charmander's tail was on the verge of going out completely.
Charmander collapsed into the mud.
Ash scooped it up and ran toward the Pokémon Center.
The scenes flashed rapidly. Charmander was caught by Ash, soon evolved into Charmeleon, and then into Charizard.
[After evolving into Charizard, because its strength rose too quickly, its personality changed as well.]
[It became disobedient and stopped listening to Ash.]
In the memories, Charmander had become Charizard.
During battles, it often attacked Ash instead, causing him to lose critical matches.
Yet Ash never showed any disgust. He treated Charizard just the same as always, doing his utmost for it.
During one battle, Charizard was frozen solid by a powerful Ice Beam.
Ash built a bonfire around it, but the ice melted too slowly. If it didn't thaw soon and its tail flame went out, it would die completely.
So Ash pressed his own body against the ice, helping to melt it with his warmth.
[And so, the Charizard whose personality had warped due to evolving too quickly was deeply moved by Ash.]
[From then on, it saved Ash from fatal attacks countless times.]
[Later, when they passed Charicific Valley, Charizard faced one powerful member of its own kind after another.]
[It couldn't even defeat the weakest among them.]
[It realized it was too weak—that it had to become stronger in order to defeat powerful enemies and protect its Trainer.]
[But it also didn't want to leave Ash.]
"Go on, Charizard. I know you have the heart of a strong one. With so many powerful members of your kind here, you must feel unwilling to stay weak, right?"
"Don't worry about me. I'm not helpless enough to need you worrying over me."
"If you want to earn the recognition of Charicific Valley, then stay submerged in the water for a full day and night. Come on, I'll stay with you. Back when we first met, I spent the whole night in the rain with you too."
The scene shifted again…
Charizard soaked itself in the water for an entire day and night and was finally acknowledged by the Charizard of Charicific Valley.
[Charizard temporarily left the team and remained in Charicific Valley to become stronger.]
[After countless battles there, Charizard became the strongest of them all, the king of the Charizard race.]
Then the camera focused on Greninja.
"Professor, quick, save this Froakie!"
Ash rushed into a Pokémon Professor's lab holding an injured Froakie.
The Professor treated it.
"This Froakie isn't a wild Pokémon. It was one of the starters from my lab. It was returned by two Trainers in a row because they thought it was too weak."
"After that, it refused to follow any more Trainers. I tried matching it with several, but every time it secretly ran away."
"This time it ran away again. And its latest Trainer already contacted me—he said he didn't want it anymore. He said Froakie was too weak."
[Ash moved Froakie with his actions, allowing it to believe in Trainers once more and become willing to travel with one again.]
[Rejected by multiple Trainers, it eventually met Ash.]
The memories moved quickly.
Ash trained with Froakie all the way, overcoming obstacle after obstacle.
Froakie evolved into Frogadier, then Frogadier evolved into Greninja.
Finally, in one battle, it transformed into the Bond Phenomenon form of Ash-Greninja.
[Later, Ash and Greninja helped stop the divine beast rampage in the Kalos region.]
[Because some aftermath still had to be dealt with, Greninja temporarily left the team, remaining in Kalos to help restore the order of its laws.]
The memories faded.
But the viewers across the myriad dimensions still hadn't recovered.
Within the memories of those three Pokémon, they had all felt a burning sincerity—a heart willing to give everything for one's companions.
"As expected of a man I recognize! I really want to meet Ash someday!! I wonder if I'll get the chance to meet him in the Myriad Realms Void!" In the One Piece world, in Foosha Village, the straw-hatted boy Luffy was deeply moved. That was true resolve.
"My sons, all of us in the Whitebeard Pirates must be like Ash and his Pokémon too—loving one another like family!" Within Whitebeard's territory, Whitebeard roared. Wasn't the bond between Ash and his Pokémon exactly what he had always longed for, but never found in the Rocks Pirates?
"Whoaaaaa! As expected of the guy I admire!" In the Fairy Tail world, Natsu shouted excitedly.
"Kurama, do you think we could be like that too?" In the Naruto world, Naruto asked before the bars of the seal.
"Get lost!"
In short, the memories of Pikachu, Charizard, and Greninja left a huge impact across the dimensions.
And the world most deeply shaken was the Pokémon world itself.
Across the whole world, Trainers fell silent.
Every Trainer clutched at their own chest and asked themselves—
Could they truly do what Ash did?
No matter how much Pikachu electrocuted him, Ash never once showed impatience.
He used his own body to shield Pikachu.
He stayed in the storm with an abandoned Charmander for an entire night.
Even after it became Charizard and changed temperament completely, he still treated it exactly the same.
When Charizard was frozen by Ice Beam, he used his own body to thaw it.
When faced with a Froakie rejected multiple times, he won it over with sincerity, making it trust Trainers again and choose to travel once more.
Could they…
Really do what Ash did?
Very quickly, every Trainer arrived at the same answer.
Do that? My ass!!
Pikachu doesn't listen? So what? It's just a lower-tier Electric-type Pokémon. If it doesn't listen, then forget it. Pikachu isn't rare.
Charmander? Some loser abandoned by another Trainer. Why would I stand in the rain with it? If it becomes Charizard and then attacks its Trainer, what's the point of keeping a Pokémon like that? Charmander isn't rare either. If one's bad, just raise another from scratch.
Froakie? Rejected by several Trainers already. The trash of trash. And I'm supposed to keep persuading it and trying to win it over? Give me a break.
In the Kanto region, in Pallet Town, in the backyard of Professor Oak's Lab…
"So that's how I'll catch the three of them in the future," Ash nodded blankly.
"Y-you don't feel anything about that? Pikachu shocking you, Charizard hitting you with Flamethrower, staying with them in the rain, getting attacked by a flock of Spearow to protect Pikachu…" Gary asked in disbelief.
Ash scratched his head. "No? Isn't that just normal?"
Professor Oak stood in silence.
If anyone else had said that, he would have scoffed.
But coming from Ash—
He believed it.
In Hoopa's extra chapter, Ash had been willing to give up his life to protect Pikachu.
Thinking about it now, the reason Ash had Pikachu, Greninja, and Charizard—three Pokémon who had reached the level of Legendary Pokémon—
Wasn't because they were inherently special while all others were not.
If it had been another Trainer—
That violent Pikachu, those abandoned Charmander and Froakie, the weakest among their own kind—
Most people wouldn't even have chosen them.
If it had been another Trainer, Pikachu, Greninja, and Charizard would absolutely never have grown to this point.
It wasn't their talent or potential that was extraordinary—
It was the Trainer who raised them.
Ash was extraordinary.
In the chat area—
[Bug Catcher]: Idiot Goh, open your eyes and look. Could you ever do that!?
[Brock]: Do that? My ass. If a Pokémon had already been abandoned by another Trainer, he probably wouldn't even bother catching it.
[Lance]: In Hoopa's extra chapter, Ash was willing to die for Pikachu. And now seeing these memories, I realize I'm not even one-tenth the Trainer he is.
[Cynthia]: Same here.
[Diantha]: +1. He's the real Trainer—the kind who treats Pokémon as partners, as family.
[Leon]: It's not that Pikachu, Greninja, and Charizard had insane talent. It's that the Trainer who raised them is insane. Goh? Even if they were handed to you, could you raise them? Can you? Are you worthy?
The whole Pokémon world was convinced.
Truly convinced.
Convinced from the bottom of their hearts.
Though all of this description sounded long—
The memories of the three Pokémon took less than ten seconds in the video.
And no one had forgotten the main issue.
After thoroughly dogpiling Goh in the chat, they all turned their attention back to the ranking video.
The combined auras of the three Pokémon slammed the seven Ultra Beasts down from the sky.
"Pika!"
"Gwa-cha~!"
"ROAR!!!"
Pikachu and Greninja jumped onto Charizard's back.
Charizard flapped its wings and became a streak of golden light, flying out of the valley and charging straight at the seven Ultra Beasts.
In an instant—
The battle erupted.
Each of them picked their opponents.
Charizard vs. Nihilego and Pheromosa.
Greninja vs. Guzzlord and Kartana.
Boom boom boom!!
Without warning, terrifying energy exploded and lit up the sky, one deafening blast after another shaking the heavens.
The Ultra Beasts fighting Charizard and Greninja were being overwhelmed from beginning to end.
That felt normal to everyone.
After all, Charizard and Greninja were beings who had already placed one foot in the realm of Second-Tier Legendary Pokémon.
At the divine beast level, each tier was a heaven apart.
So the fact that they were each able to 1v2 and completely dominate two Third-Tier Divine Beast-level Ultra Beasts felt perfectly natural.
What truly caused everyone's jaws to drop was—
In the distance, Pikachu was simultaneously fighting three Ultra Beasts.
Buzzwole, Xurkitree, and Celesteela.
Watching Pikachu, its body turned into a mass of lightning, agile beyond belief as it instantly dodged three separate attacks—
Everyone across the anime dimensions was dumbstruck.
Was this really the same Pikachu that earlier had only been barely able to hold one Ultra Beast back?
This thing was holding off three at once without losing ground!
"Holy crap, had Pikachu been sandbagging before???"
"Ash: I've got a feeling someone was acting in front of me!"
"I'm numb. Charizard and Greninja rejoined the team and suddenly Pikachu feels its squad status being threatened, is that it? I never expected you to be this kind of anxious little 'Pikachu'!"
"Pikachu: Fine, I'll stop hiding it. I was only using thirty percent before."
Of course, everyone also understood—
Even if Pikachu had gone all out before, it still couldn't have handled all seven Ultra Beasts at once.
Holding off three was probably already its limit.
Boom boom boom!!!
All kinds of attacks roared through heaven and earth.
Bang!
Very quickly, Charizard and Greninja finished off their own opponents.
Four Ultra Beasts were defeated and fell unconscious once more.
After that, they turned to help Pikachu.
The remaining three Ultra Beasts soon met the same fate.
Just moments ago they had seemed invincible.
The crisis posed by the seven Ultra Beasts, a crisis that threatened the whole of Alola—
Was resolved.
And just then—
The sky suddenly turned dark.
Daylight vanished.
The sun had been swallowed.
The whole world plunged into eternal night.
Looking up, the sky was utterly empty.
No night.
No day.
Everyone's pupils widened.
They all knew what this meant.
Daylight had disappeared.
Which meant that Solgaleo, the Sun God who governed the authority of day—
Had been swallowed by Necrozma!!
Looking at the world in the video, now plunged into eternal night—
The entire world had returned to the same condition shown at the very start of the TOP 2 ranking.
There was no concept of day or night remaining.
Though the audience could still clearly make out the scenery in the video—
Everyone in the Pokémon world felt cold all over.
So in the future, the world really did fall into eternal night.
Both night and day—
Gone.
"Wait, the ranking video isn't over yet!" A flash of anticipation appeared in Professor Oak's eyes as he looked toward Ash beside him.
In every ranking video so far, future Ash had always played a crucial role.
The camera had not shifted to the Ultra World.
So maybe Ash would still play a vitally important role next as well!
And indeed—
The focus remained on Ash.
"Kyaa~!!"
At that moment, a crisp bird cry rang out from the sky.
It was a Pidgeot.
Pidgeot landed in the valley and came before Ash.
"You two ran too fast."
A voice came from above Pidgeot's back.
Everyone froze.
A Pidgeot that could talk??
No, not Pidgeot—
The one speaking was the creature riding on its back.
Two green beings.
They looked like tiny cells or slugs.
One had a red spot on its belly, like a ruby.
The other had a green spot on its belly.
W-What kind of Pokémon was this?
All the Trainers were bewildered.
It could talk—
No, not exactly talk.
It was using telepathy.
Surely these couldn't also be Legendary Pokémon, right?
Professor Oak looked at the two strange creatures.
"Squishy, long time no see!" Ash waved at the two tiny beings.
The two small creatures jumped onto Ash's head. "Your Charizard and Greninja sensed the enormous battle happening here and rushed over to save you. They wouldn't wait for us no matter what I said."
"S-Squishy, night and day…" Ash seemed about to say something.
"I know. That's exactly why I came to Alola, because I sensed the world's order beginning to collapse. I brought Greninja with me. But on the way we ran into Charizard, and only then did I learn that it was also your Pokémon."
The little creature said this calmly.
Everyone was stunned.
What was this tiny creature?
Could it be one of Ash's Pokémon too?
Could it actually be yet another divine beast-level combatant?
[Because the authorities of night and day were swallowed, and Lunala and Solgaleo were devoured—]
[The world's order began to collapse into chaos.]
[Thus, the creature Ash calls Squishy came to the Alola region.]
[Its true name is—Zygarde.]
[It is the divine beast that governs 'order.']
[It is responsible for monitoring the order and ecology of the entire world. Once order becomes chaotic and the balance of species is disrupted, it has the duty to set things right.]
[If ecological destruction reaches an irreversible level, it can erase all life, wipe out the ecosystem of diverse species, and allow the world's ecology to begin evolving anew from zero.]
Everyone across the anime dimensions was stunned senseless.
And the Pokémon researchers of the Pokémon world looked as though their eyeballs were about to pop right out.
A divine beast that governed the laws of order, monitoring the balance of all living things—
And it was this tiny, unremarkable little creature?
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