[Blaine: This person is unreasonable! My Gym decides victory with three different types, but Sabrina in the Black World uses a pure Psychic-type team and forces me to fight her with only Psychic-types. Of course my Alakazam got crushed by her Alakazam!]
Blaine was a little indignant.
He wasn't a Psychic-type specialist at all.
The only Psychic-type he'd really trained was his Alakazam, and it was decent at best.
How was he supposed to beat Sabrina, who specialized in Psychic-types?
[Sabrina: To be fair, even without restricting types, the Blaine in the video still wouldn't be my Alakazam's opponent.]
[Brock: Yeah, and Blaine… you're really one to talk.]
[Brock: You say you fight challengers with Pokémon of the same type, but your Electabuzz is specially trained to absorb Electricity, your Grass-type battles rely on Psychic moves, and your Water-type Starmie even knows Thunderbolt!]
[Brock: If we're talking about fighting dirty, who could possibly outdo you?]
The Orange Islands journey in the Black World hadn't actually started yet,
so Brock was only now learning the full details of that original battle from the White World footage.
As Ash's backup tactician,
it only took him a moment to spot exactly how Blaine had been playing unfair.
He claimed to battle with the same type as the challenger…
…but all of his own Pokémon were prepped with moves that specifically countered that same type.
No wonder Ash (White World) had been at such a huge disadvantage.
If Misty hadn't cheered White World Ash back up at the end and thrown Blaine off his rhythm,
that match would have been almost impossible for Ash to win.
[Blaine: …]
For a moment, he was completely speechless.
[Ash: Huh?! Blaine, I didn't know you were that shameless!]
[Blaine: What's shameless about a Pokémon battle? I was just thoroughly prepared. Depending only on brainless recklessness like you do—isn't that what's really foolish?]
[Ash: What's wrong with charging straight in? Charging straight in still won, didn't it? Not only did I win, I crushed you!]
[Blaine: …]
He really had no way to refute that.
In the end, it's the winner who writes the story.
If he had won, it'd be called genius preparation.
Since he lost… he could only stand there and be called out.
[Leon: All right, that's enough bickering. The White World feed is up again. Ash should be heading for his fourth Gym next, right?]
[Ash: Yeah! But after I challenged the fourth Gym, we ended up facing a crisis that almost destroyed the whole world!]
[Professor Oak: Oh? So the legendary birds incident happened after you earned your fourth Orange League badge, Ash.]
[Misty: That's right. Ash was on his way to challenge the Champion of the Orange League, but a sudden storm blew us off course to Shamouti Island!]
[Melody: Oh what a coincidence! That just proves Ash was destined to be the savior. I definitely didn't kiss the wrong guy]
[Lance: Savior? Legendary birds? Don't talk like some riddling mastermind. Can you explain this clearly?]
[Misty: Stop talking about that kiss!!]
[Serena: I really don't want to see that scene again…]
Just the thought of Ash (Black World) being kissed was enough to push Serena into a minor emotional spiral—
let alone how White World Ash had felt at the time.
But the video in the White World continued to play.
In the White World —
After earning his third Orange League badge on Trovita Island,
Ash set off for his fourth Gym challenge on Kumquat Island.
On the way, they met a trainer sailing alone in his boat.
He had also already collected three Orange League badges,
and had heard from Rudy of the Trovita Gym that Ash was a very strong trainer.
So he challenged Ash to a battle.
They landed on a nearby island to fight.
In the first round, Pikachu faced his Poliwrath—
and even though Poliwrath was at a type disadvantage,
Pikachu was still knocked out cleanly.
After that, Ash sent out Charizard.
But Charizard refused to follow Ash's commands at all.
After just a short exchange, Charizard was struck by Poliwrath's Ice Beam and lost.
Not only that, the Ice Beam's secondary effect activated,
freezing Charizard solid and leaving him badly injured.
With no Pokémon Center nearby and Charizard in critical condition,
Ash was left with only one choice:
he pressed his frostbitten hands against Charizard's body and rubbed,
trying desperately to warm him back up with his own body heat.
Watching Ash ignore the pain in his own hands,
Charizard silently recalled everything that had happened between them.
"…I know, Charizard. I'm still not strong enough yet as a trainer,"
Ash whispered.
"But I've always dreamed of really fighting side by side with you.
Someday, we're going to be the best, strongest partners there are.
When that day comes, we'll win every battle—totally unstoppable!"
Hearing those words, Charizard quietly swung his tail closer,
letting the flame at its tip give Ash a little warmth in return.
Ash and the others didn't notice that small gesture.
They just kept working tirelessly to help Charizard recover.
[Lance: So that's how it was. After that incident, Charizard finally started obeying you, right?]
[Ash: Yeah! Once Charizard accepted me, we mostly won after that!]
"Won more than we lost" was underselling it.
Before going to Charizard Valley, Charizard was practically unstoppable.
Even Drake's Dragonite at the Orange League had taken heavy damage from Ash's Charizard.
Charizard also carried Ash through several key matches in the Johto League.
But after reaching Charizard Valley, Ash had to face reality:
Compared to the wild Charizard there, his own Charizard…
was actually on the weaker side.
Still, that didn't matter.
Being weaker now didn't mean being weak forever.
In his later battle against Liza (the Charizard trainer in Johto),
Charizard's growth was obvious—
its strength compared to before was on a completely different level.
[Cynthia: Even so, Charizard's earlier disobedience is hard to understand… White World Ash's skills as a trainer had improved a lot, even if his pride and recklessness were still the same.]
[Misty: Some things never change, Miss Cynthia. Even now Ash still has that annoying reckless streak… but that is Ash.]
[Brock: Maybe it was just like a rebellious phase after evolving—Pokémon get those too.]
[Paul: A disobedient Charizard like that? I'd release it early. What's the point of keeping it?]
[Ash: You again!! Don't you ever get tired of this?]
[Paul: Hmph. Your Charizard's level wasn't enough, your own level as a trainer was garbage, and you still thought you could beat that Poliwrath? Keep dreaming.]
[Ash: Zip it! I did beat him with Charizard in the end! I wasn't just charging in blindly!]
[Paul: …]
Paul frowned.
With the way Charizard had been acting and the way that guy commanded Poliwrath,
there was just no way Ash should have won against that trainer named Tad…
He decided to wait and see whether Ash was bluffing.
The next part of the video would make it clear.
In the White World —
By dawn, Charizard had finally fully recovered.
At that moment, Team Rocket appeared and, in their own roundabout way,
ended up helping Charizard master Dragon Rage.
From then on, Charizard began to obey Ash's commands.
Under Ash's precise direction, Charizard and Pikachu fought together
and defeated Tad and his Poliwrath.
That victory was their first true win fought in full cooperation—
and it marked the moment Ash finally secured Charizard as one of his strongest partners.
After that, Ash and his friends went through a series of other adventures,
and at last reached Kumquat Island to challenge the Kumquat Gym.
This time, there were no gimmicky skill tests—
just a straightforward official double battle.
Ash sent out Charizard and Pikachu.
At first, the two Pokémon clashed with one another and couldn't coordinate at all,
getting in each other's way.
But as the battle went on, they slowly fell into sync,
their teamwork growing more and more precise…
…and in the end, they won the Jade Star Badge from the Kumquat Gym.
With that, Ash had successfully collected all four Orange League badges,
and set course for Pummelo Island—
where the Orange League Winners' Cup Championship was held.
But fate is always unpredictable.
On their way to Pummelo Island by boat,
the weather suddenly turned: tides roared, waves towered, and the sea went wild.
Ash and his friends were swept off course and thrown onto an unfamiliar island.
This was Shamouti Island.
Their captain, Maren, was friends with a local girl named Carol,
whose younger sister Melody had just been chosen as the new festival maiden of the island.
As per Shamouti Island tradition, Melody greeted Ash with a "welcome kiss."
The moment Misty saw it, she practically exploded—
hair standing on end, every line on her face shouting anger and disbelief.
Melody caught that expression at once, and couldn't resist teasing her.
"Are you his sister?"
"Of course not!"
"Then… his girlfriend? That kind of relationship?"
"Who says that?!"
"Huh… So you're neither his sister nor his girlfriend,
yet you still follow him all the way out here~"
Melody slid her sunglasses into place, smiling with mischief in her eyes.
"You're really interested in him, aren't you~"
[Melody: Look at that! Misty's hair was standing on end!]
[Misty: My hair was not standing on end! I was perfectly calm!]
[Serena: She really kissed him… actually kissed him… ugh…]
[Ash: Why are you crying, Serena?]
[Grace: Don't mind this kid; she has episodes. Speaking of which, Ash—where are you heading on your next journey?]
[Ash: Huh? My next journey? I haven't decided yet…]
[Grace: Oh? If you haven't decided, how about coming to Kalos? There are plenty of Pokémon there you've never seen before.]
When a veteran makes a move, you can tell immediately.
Ginger really does get spicier with age—Grace saw straight through Ash.
She knew perfectly well: if you want to lure Ash to the Kalos region,
you don't talk scenery—you tempt him with new Pokémon.
Ash could be clueless in many things,
but when it came to Pokémon, he was incredibly sensitive.
[Ash: Really?! I'll think about it after the Silver Conference!]
[Melody: My, my, how nice—mother and daughter teaming up in love~]
[Misty: Serena is way too sneaky…]
[Lillie: Um, excuse me! I'm curious—why does your festival greeting involve kissing someone important? If the person who arrived hadn't been Ash, Miss Melody, would you still have kissed him?]
Curious Lillie was online again.
[Melody: That's a hard one… I don't really know why the ritual uses a kiss. But if the "Chosen One" hadn't been that clueless idiot Ash, I probably wouldn't have gone that far~]
[Melody: I just saw him standing there completely stunned and thought it would be fun to tease him. I didn't expect to set off a full-on jealousy bomb, though, hehe~]
[Ash: What jealousy bomb?]
[Melody: Ash, hush and keep watching. Once you're done, you'll understand exactly what role Misty played in all of this.]
[Ash: …]
So this had something to do with Misty again?
Thinking back to Melody's kiss in the footage,
Misty's reaction had been strange…
But Ash couldn't quite put his finger on what made it strange.
All he could do was keep watching.
In the White World —
After Melody's sudden kiss, Ash found himself increasingly curious about her.
Misty noticed everything.
Her expression just grew darker and more sour—
she was practically wearing the word "jealous" on her face.
Later, Melody appeared in full festival maiden attire,
danced, and performed the traditional ceremony,
then explained the legend behind the festival.
According to the old story, the world once stood on the brink of destruction.
At that time, a "Chosen One" appeared—
a conductor who could command the gods.
He courageously gathered three treasures belonging to the gods of Fire, Ice, and Lightning,
and by doing so, summoned the guardian of the sea to save the world.
Hearing this, Ash immediately declared that he would go to the three islands
and retrieve those treasures himself.
Impressed by his resolve, Maren and the others decided to help Ash land on the islands.
After many twists and turns, Ash obtained the treasure of the Fire Island—
but he and Zapdos were captured by a man named Lawrence III.
Lawrence was a collector.
Before this, he had already captured Moltres of Fire Island.
That was why Ash's group had been able to take the Fire Island treasure so easily—
its guardian was already gone.
With Moltres captured, Zapdos had moved into the now-empty Fire Island territory,
which was how both legendary birds ended up in the same place and were taken by Lawrence.
Next, Lawrence set out to capture the last of the trio, Articuno.
However, during this time, Ash and his friends managed to free both Moltres and Zapdos.
Once all three legendary birds escaped and destroyed Lawrence's airship,
they began to fight violently among themselves.
In an instant, the world's climate spun out of control.
Mountains crumbled, land split, storms howled, thunder roared, and seas boiled.
The entire world seemed on the verge of collapse.
[Lance: !!]
[Lance: So that's when it was! I always wondered why the weather was so chaotic back then!]
[Cynthia: Those same climate anomalies appeared even in the Sinnoh region… The power of the three legendary birds from Kanto actually reached that far?]
[Alder: We had disruptions in Unova as well… That must be connected to the divine offices they hold, right?]
[Professor Oak: Exactly. Many so‑called "second‑tier" legendary Pokémon hold a divine office—a sort of priesthood, a role given by the world itself. In terms of pure battle strength, they aren't necessarily unrivaled. Even first‑tier legendaries—and top human Champions—can fight them on more or less equal footing.]
[Professor Oak: But that divine office exists to maintain the balance of the world. Once that balance is upset, disasters like this happen. It's not just a question of combat power—their existence itself becomes a keystone of the world's stability.]
In other words:
If the three legendary birds that each carry such a divine office were to die, vanish, or go missing,
the balance of the entire world would be disrupted—
until new Pokémon inherited those same divine roles and restored order.
[Diantha: That's terrifying. It's the first time I've really felt how fragile the world is.]
[Steven Stone: If even second-tier legendaries with divine offices are that important, I don't dare imagine what would happen if something went wrong with a first-tier legendary holding such a role. Wouldn't the world be completely destroyed?]
[Professor Oak: Not necessarily. The three legendary birds are a special case among legendary Pokémon with divine offices. The domains they control are directly tied to the world's climate, so their conflict causes widespread disorder.]
[Professor Oak: Their presence keeps the climate in balance; they're like the weather-vanes—or perhaps the "sea‑god needles"—of this world. Other legendaries mostly hold divine offices more closely tied to their personal power.]
[Professor Oak: For example, Ho‑Oh, your domain should be life, correct?]
[Ho‑Oh: I govern life and rebirth. Even if humans managed to capture me, it wouldn't immediately affect the balance of the world… of course, that's assuming you humans could actually capture me.]
It wasn't bragging.
Even among first-tier legendary Pokémon, Ho‑Oh was top-class.
Subduing Ho‑Oh was easier said than done.
[Professor Oak: Ahem. In any case, that's the situation. The three legendary birds are truly exceptional. But I'll take this chance to warn everyone: don't meddle with legendaries lightly. If something happens, don't say I didn't warn you.]
He was speaking to people all over the world.
Look at Lawrence III—despite all his advanced equipment,
he still ended up swatted around like an insect by the three legendary birds.
If he hadn't taken them by surprise,
Moltres and Zapdos would never have been captured by him in the first place.
As for ordinary people who harbor thoughts of capturing legendary Pokémon—
there are only two words to describe it: seeking death.
PS (Author's Note):
When this movie first came out, the Hoenn region—and its weather legendaries—hadn't even been designed yet.
So having the three legendary birds alone throw the entire world's climate into chaos really does make you raise an eyebrow. Honestly, even Groudon and Kyogre together don't get portrayed as being that outrageous.
But for the sake of staying faithful to the original movie, I'm keeping it as-is and smoothing it into the story.
If everyone feels that's still too over the top, I can find a way to adjust it later.
"Round it off"—and it'll be fine.
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