Legendary Pokémon?!
As long as someone was a Trainer—or even had only a little knowledge related to Pokémon—they understood the weight of that term perfectly well.
Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon were collectively referred to as Legendary Pokémon.
They all possessed power far beyond that of ordinary Pokémon.
And their numbers were incredibly small.
In certain legends and myths, some of them were worshipped as gods or divine messengers.
Some were believed to be the creators or guardians of things in the world.
Others were said to have brought about enormous disasters in the past.
Their strength was beyond question.
If ordinary humans really could defeat these Legendary Pokémon…
Then the only ones who could possibly do it would be the Champions and Elite Four, right?
That was exactly what Damaranchi thought first.
The first thing that came to mind was the ace Pokémon of the various Champions.
Lance's Dragonite and his flying squad.
Steven Stone's shiny Metagross.
Wallace's Milotic.
Diantha's Gardevoir.
Cynthia's Garchomp.
Alder's Volcarona.
Leon's Charizard.
Quite a few of those Pokémon were beings comparable to pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
With the intense training given to them by Champions and Elite Four members, defeating a Legendary Pokémon… didn't actually seem impossible.
The others in the chatroom thought the same thing at first.
[Lance: So, while I wasn't looking, which one of you secretly went off to challenge a Legendary Pokémon?]
[Diantha: Not me, absolutely not me, don't go making things up. Kalos has been peaceful and calm. There's no reason for my Gardevoir to fight a Legendary Pokémon.]
[Wallace: Hoenn hasn't exactly been peaceful, but no Legendary Pokémon have shown up either, so it probably isn't Hoenn.]
[Cynthia: Mm. Not Sinnoh.]
[Alder: Ahahaha, this old man isn't too sure. Let me go ask around.]
Everyone denied that any Legendary Pokémon had appeared in their region.
In an instant, everyone's attention turned toward the one Champion who still hadn't spoken.
[Lance: Leon, impressive. Challenging Legendary Pokémon? As expected of you! I can't compare!]
As both the Champion and a member of the Elite Four for Kanto and Johto, Lance had enormous confidence in his own strength.
But challenge a Legendary Pokémon?
Sorry.
Lance didn't think he could do it.
Why go looking for a beating unless it was absolutely necessary?
Whether he could win or not was hard to say.
And even if he really did win, he wouldn't come out of it without paying a heavy price.
If it turned out to be an especially powerful Legendary Pokémon—
He might even lose his life.
Not worth it.
Absolutely not worth it.
[Steven Stone: …That's pretty impressive. Wallace, you should learn from him.]
[Wallace: ??? What is your problem?]
In Hoenn, Wallace—currently serving as a judge at a Pokémon Contest—rolled his eyes in a way that was anything but elegant as he looked at the chat.
Learn?
Learn what?
If anyone was going to learn from someone, it should be learning from Steven Stone, that mining maniac who dumped the Champion's burden onto the next unlucky soul without hesitation!
Just as Hoenn's former and current Champions were about to start sparking against each other in the chatroom—
Leon finally appeared.
[Leon: Huh? No? I was giving a speech at an event just now, so I didn't have time to look at the chatroom.]
[Leon: I haven't challenged any Legendary Pokémon. The Galar region is very harmonious and peaceful. I only need to handle a few minor issues.]
[Leon: No Legendary Pokémon. Really, none.]
As if worried no one would believe him, Leon sent three messages in a row.
If pictures had been allowed, he would probably have spammed a triple "no" reaction image too.
Stop hyping him up.
No meant no!
He had no interest in being roasted alive over this!
Once Leon said that, the others only teased him a little before shifting their attention elsewhere.
So it wasn't Leon?
Then who could it be?
Ordinary Pokémon powerful enough to rival and defeat Legendary Pokémon… plural?
Was that even real?
Not just one?
But several?
The more they thought about it, the more unbelievable it sounded.
…
At the Viridian City Gym—
After hearing that mechanical voice, a glint flashed through Giovanni's eyes. His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
"Ordinary Pokémon that can rival Legendary Pokémon?"
"Heh… now that's interesting."
"This is worth paying attention to. Maybe… they can be captured…"
Giovanni was an ambitious man.
He had already accepted that behind this light screen was a force beyond common sense and imagination.
It had absolutely nothing to do with those people from the Pokémon League.
Once he confirmed that—
His first thought was simple.
What benefits could he gain through this light screen?
Giovanni's mind raced.
Very quickly, he analyzed one advantage after another from it.
He looked up at the flickering screen and muttered,
"Hurry up and start."
"I just hope the things you show me won't disappoint me."
…
Under the expectant gaze of countless viewers—
The screen lit up.
A tiny creature appeared before everyone's eyes. It looked like a small yellow-and-black mouse, with electric sacs on both cheeks.
Everyone: ???
Everyone: !!!
…
Ash tilted his head and looked at the small creature on the screen, which seemed oddly familiar, then turned to look at his own Pikachu.
Rubbing his chin, he said uncertainly,
"Hmm… Pikachu, that little guy on the screen kind of looks like you."
Pikachu's expression also carried a bit of confusion and uncertainty.
Kind of?
Of course it looked like it!
Because that was what it looked like when it was younger!
As a Pichu, before evolving into Pikachu, that was exactly what it looked like!
Before Pikachu could start imagining that it might actually be itself—
Ash continued,
"But I guess it doesn't really look like you either?"
"Pikachu, you're obviously way chubbier than that!"
"And there's no way you could ever be that cute!"
Ash scratched his head and burst into laughter as he spoke.
Pikachu: "…"
"Pika… Pikapi!"
An enraged Pikachu immediately unleashed a full-powered Thunderbolt.
The light flashed, then faded.
Ash collapsed on the spot. His entire body had turned pitch black, and his limbs twitched from time to time.
Brock and Misty, standing off to the side, could only shake their heads as they watched.
He was a perfectly fine young man.
So why did he have to have that mouth of his?
If he'd just said a little less, wouldn't none of this have happened?
The two of them clicked their tongues, shaking their heads in heartfelt exasperation.
"Let's keep watching the screen."
"Exactly. Let's keep watching. That little one should be Pikachu's pre-evolved form, right?"
"You know, the little guy is actually pretty cute."
"Yeah, totally."
With remarkable unity, Brock and Misty completely ignored Ash lying on the ground.
What?
Worry about Ash?
No need!
This level of electric shock was nothing to him.
For Ash, it was practically just a drizzle.