In the real world,
Gary's words made Ash freeze up sharply. Yes, he was different from Black Ash. Without the livestream room, he wouldn't know how to train Pokémon properly. While not completely clueless, his methods were at most basic exercises with his Pokémon—like running or finding sparring partners. As for other training methods... he was ignorant. Not to mention the period after the Indigo Plateau Conference; he was still a half-baked Trainer. Training a few Pidgeotto to the point of fighting Fearow was clearly impossible.
Thinking this, Ash couldn't help but feel a little fortunate. The fact that this inexplicable livestream room appeared in his world... was truly great!!
[Ash: Well, anyway, the result is good now!]
[Ash: The Pidgey flock in my world must have some Pokémon capable of standing on their own now, otherwise Pidgeot wouldn't have returned so willingly.]
[Paul: Hmph, a released Pokémon coming back. What a useless Trainer!]
[Ash: You son of a—!]
Ash rarely cursed, but he couldn't stand it. This guy named Paul... was definitely the most annoying person he'd ever met! Their characters and philosophies were completely opposite! If they ever met in the future... they'd be mortal enemies! Mortal enemies!!
...
In the Black World —
Through Aura communication and Pidgeot's guidance and teaching, after half a day's effort, the five Pidgeotto finally learned to unite and unleash significant power! They could also command the Pidgey flock in battle, so there was no need to worry about the Spearow flock returning.
Ash soothingly patted Pidgeot's large body, a bright smile on his face. "That's great, Pidgeot!"
"Pidgeot!"
Pidgeot also cried out gratefully to Ash.
The Viridian Forest incident ended here, and Ash's party set off again. But as they left the forest, Ash glanced back thoughtfully. When he used his Aura power earlier, he'd sensed a discordant feeling in Viridian Forest, but it vanished in an instant. That shouldn't have been his imagination, right? Well, never mind... time to hit the road.
Days passed swiftly. The group of four finally arrived at the woods outside New Bark Town. Just through these woods, they could reach the town. But a sudden fog rose within the forest. Although Ash had his Aura to guide the way and didn't need to worry about getting lost, he was still a bit puzzled. Why did fog suddenly appear here?
Whoosh—
At that moment, a light sound came. Ash was stunned, then suddenly turned his head. Over there... he felt an extremely powerful Aura! That Aura... could even compare to a Champion-level Pokémon's! Following the sound, Ash saw a strange Pokémon bathed in azure light! This Pokémon seemed to have ribbons floating around its body. It was on all fours and looked like a canine Pokémon. At that moment, it was looking meaningfully at Ash's group—more precisely, at Ash!
"This is... Suicune? Is it Suicune?!" Brock said excitedly upon seeing the azure figure. Suicune, a Legendary Pokémon of the Johto region, bore the title of the Beast of the North Wind! Also known as the embodiment of the north wind!
"Though it's hard to see clearly through the blue light, this is indeed Suicune!" Ash stated with certainty. "Legend says Suicune's appearance brings the north wind, so it's the embodiment of the north wind. It also has the power to purify polluted water, traveling the world like the north wind to cleanse filthy water sources. Not only that... it's also one of the Legendary Beasts under Ho-Oh's command!"
Ash probably knew more about Suicune than anyone present. Because of his connection as a Rainbow Hero, he had thoroughly investigated everything related to Ho-Oh to prepare for his future challenge. So, he naturally had Suicune's information memorized! He just hadn't expected to encounter the embodiment of the north wind upon first setting foot in Johto!
"Let's battle, Suicune!"
The Other Three: !!
There he goes again! Challenging without a second thought?!
"The Rainbow Hero chosen by Ho-Oh... now is not the time for a battle between us. Wait until you are certain you can challenge Lord Ho-Oh, then come find me." The flat, cold voice sounded not only in Ash's heart but in the hearts of the other three as well. After speaking, Suicune tapped its toes and vanished from Ash's sight in a few bounds.
...
[Ash: This is... too much... Suicune didn't even speak to me...]
[Gary: Hahaha, Ash is emo! Serves you right!]
[Ash: Emo, your head! What's 'emo'?]
[Gary: Idiot Ash, it means depressed~]
[Lillie: Um, that! I think Suicune not seeking out White Ash might be related to him not being officially chosen as the Rainbow Hero yet, right? After all, White Ash doesn't even have the Rainbow Wing.]
[Ash: Please... don't say that. Hearing that makes me feel even more useless!! Gary's right, I am depressed...]
[Lillie: Eh? Really?! Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to! Please don't mind!!]
[Professor Kukui: Oh, it's alright, Lillie. Ash isn't that negative a person... By the way, is challenging Ho-Oh even related to the Legendary Beasts?]
[Ho-Oh: To challenge me, one must first defeat all three of the Legendary Beasts under my command.]
[Ho-Oh: Of course, I refer to the three Beasts I resurrected long ago, not the descendants they later bred. The strength of their descendants is probably at most at the human Elite Four level.]
[Professor Oak: Descendants... Speaking of which, I always thought Legendaries couldn't reproduce! But Lugia had a child, which really surprised me at the time.]
[Lugia: It's not as exaggerated as being unable to reproduce, but... we, whom you call Legendaries, are born with great power. As we age, we can become immensely strong even without training.]
[Lugia: Because of this, reproduction is very difficult for us. In hundreds of years, I've only had one heir, and it was just born...]
[Ash: Great! In the future, I'll challenge the Legendary Beasts too! And then challenge Ho-Oh!]
[Gary: You challenge nothing! You haven't even finished the Silver Conference, and you're already bragging! Think about how you'll face your opponents at the Silver Conference first!]
[Ash: ...Okay, okay! I know!!]
...
In the Black World —
After Suicune left, everyone understood its words. They naturally knew Ash was the Rainbow Hero. Ash had always been vocal about his desire to challenge Ho-Oh in the future. But they hadn't expected... that to challenge Ho-Oh, he'd also have to face Suicune!
"By the way, when Suicune said to find it when you're ready to challenge Ho-Oh... how do we find it?"
"Um..."
Ash pondered, then spread open his palm. A blue scale had appeared there at some point!
"This... this is??"
"The scale Suicune left me. Its effect should be... similar to the feathers of the Legendary Birds. I should be able to find Suicune in the future using this scale."
All: ...
Are you a collector of Legendary items now? Counting this, Ash now had a full six Legendary artifacts in his possession!
"This thing is for Blastoise or Kingler. For them right now, it's still somewhat useful." Judging by the Aura, that Suicune's strength was on par with the Legendary Birds, not much different. But... it was still a sub-Legendary. The gap between a sub-Legendary and a true Legendary was like heaven and earth, not on the same level at all. Therefore, for Blastoise, which was approaching Elite Four level, and Kingler, which was at Gym Leader level, it was useful, but not overwhelmingly so. Compared to them...
"Misty, you can teleport a few Pokémon back from your sisters. When we train together, they can also share the benefits of this scale. It will definitely be a great help to their strength!"
"Huh? Rea—Really? Can a Legendary's blessing be used by multiple Pokémon?"
"Huh? Yes. I tested it with the Legendary Birds' feathers. As long as it's placed nearby and the distance isn't more than five meters, they can all enjoy the training boost."
Ash released Blastoise, explained the scale's function, tucked it into its shell, then said to Misty and the others, "Normally, carrying it on Blastoise or Kingler can gradually increase the power of their Water-type moves over time. It's also good to take it out and let everyone share the effect during training."
"Besides, Misty, isn't your dream to become a Water Pokémon Master? You can't stand still!"
Hearing this, Misty was stunned for a moment. An indescribable emotion welled up in her heart.
Water Pokémon Master... is that right?
This dream was one of the reasons she started traveling with Ash in the first place. But until now... she seemed to have gradually forgotten. She enjoyed her comfort zone now, enjoyed the feeling of relying on Ash. But... that wouldn't do! Ash's words reminded her. If she stayed where she was, the distance to her dream would never shorten! Moreover, Sabrina's performance against Drake was still fresh in her mind. Also a female Trainer, Sabrina was much stronger than her now! So... as Ash's girlfriend, she couldn't admit defeat here!
Thinking this, Misty showed Ash an unprecedentedly bright smile. "Yes! I'll keep moving forward! With Ash!!"
...
After meeting Suicune, the group of four finally passed through the fog and arrived at the Pokémon Center in New Bark Town. At the Center, Ash and Sabrina registered for the Johto League and said hello to Professor Elm, Professor Oak's student. Then they ran into the troublesome Team Rocket trio, whom Sabrina casually flung away with her psychic powers.
Back on the Orange Islands, she had gone from initial fright to surprise, then numbness. Now, she took such things for granted. What was going on? Of course, it was the matter of blasting off the Team Rocket trio. These three... were like unkillable cockroaches. No matter how many times they were blasted off, they never died and always came back later.
Not long after leaving New Bark Town, they met a rookie Trainer named Casey. She challenged Ash, but Ash really had no interest in bullying newcomers. The level of his Pokémon was too high. Sending them out against a rookie Trainer... even holding back would likely give the other side psychological scars, right? So, Ash gave this task to Misty! In response, Misty could only helplessly step up and battle, winning as expected.
...
[Misty: Huh So good. Black Ash still knows how to consider newcomers]
[Misty: Unlike someone who used a Charizard against a rookie Trainer!]
[Ash: Eh... this... that... I wasn't trying to make him quit...]
...
In the Black World —
Subsequently, the group set off for the first Gym: the Violet City Gym. Along the way, they encountered a flock of Heracross. However, this flock seemed to have been driven away by a swarm of Pinsir. Heracross's overall strength wasn't actually inferior to Pinsir's; it was just that the former was gentle by nature, and encountering murderous Pinsir could be considered meeting a semi-natural enemy... So, the Heracross didn't dare compete with the Pinsir for territory at all.
However, there were exceptions to everything. One Heracross was fearless, desperately guarding its territory. Even when attacked by Pinsir, it would never retreat! Feeling a stir in his heart, Ash sent out his Venusaur to help the Heracross, directly driving away all the Pinsir! Who would have thought... that after seeing Venusaur, the Heracross, as if inhaling soul incense, fiercely flew over and started violently sucking on the flower on Venusaur's back!
Venusaur fainted... So its earlier fearlessness wasn't about defending its home to the death; it just didn't want to let its food source go! This guy... maybe it had a rivalry with Snorlax when it came to eating? Subsequently, Heracross was naturally taught a lesson by the angry Venusaur, but it was a gentle one, very different from the Pinsir's attacks. The Heracross was still unwilling to stop sucking the flower and was finally stopped by Ash. If he hadn't stopped it, Venusaur would likely have hit it with a Frenzy Plant... Even with the type resistance, it would probably have been seriously injured!
Immediately after, Ash used his Aura to ask Heracross what happened. He learned that the Pinsir hadn't returned to their territory recently but had been encroaching on the Heracross tribe's land. This puzzled Ash and his party, so they went to the Pinsir's territory and discovered... the Team Rocket trio! Those three had built a giant Pinsir robot and were seriously sucking the sap from the trees there! While somewhat admiring their eccentric ideas, Ash ultimately had Venusaur blast those three away!
After recapturing the Pinsir territory, all the Pinsir returned, and the Heracross could live peacefully again. However... the Heracross saved by Ash seemed to have taken a liking to him and wanted to become his partner. Ash scratched his chin and asked suspiciously, "You... aren't just after Venusaur's nectar, are you?" Hearing this, Heracross scratched its head in embarrassment. "So that's it... But let me make this clear, you absolutely cannot suck Venusaur's nectar!"
"Heracross!"
And so, Ash successfully caught his first Pokémon in the Johto region—Heracross!
PS: About the reproduction of the Legendary Beasts... I know most Legendaries have no gender. But there's no helping it; there are clearly more than one of each Legendary Beast in the anime, but when Ho-Oh resurrected them, it revived three Pokémon, which are theoretically unique. If that's the case, then only those three have the option to reproduce! It can't be that Ho-Oh just happened to resurrect several more of the same species, right? It's probably two sets. And the Suicune that appeared on the journey... you said it was one of the Beasts under Ho-Oh? Ho-Oh probably wanted to sever ties immediately upon hearing that!
PS :
Suicune's Scale: A blue scale left by Suicune that functions similarly to the Legendary Birds' feathers. It can boost Water-type move training for Pokémon near it and allows Ash to locate Suicune in the future.
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