[Lance: Hmm... Although the process is different, the result is still the same. Black Ash also caught a Heracross!]
[Professor Oak: I see! The reason Heracross followed White Ash should also be because it saw the nectar on Venusaur!]
[Ash: Really... Is that true? By the way, how is Venusaur doing at your place, Professor Oak?]
[Professor Oak: Ah... How to put it? It does help me manage the backyard in an orderly fashion, but as I just mentioned... Heracross seems to really enjoy sucking the nectar from the flower on Venusaur's back.]
[Professor Oak: Even though it gets whipped with Vine Whip by Venusaur every day for this, it still relishes it.]
[Caitlin: Eww!! Is it a masochist?! That Heracross must be a masochist!]
[Sabrina: Masochist... what's that?]
[Lillie: Masochist? Does it mean a freeloader?]
[Cynthia: That... it's better if you don't know too much... Lusamine! Don't teach the kids bad things in the livestream!]
[Caitlin: Hehe Oops, my bad. Natsume understands too! Have you read similar books?]
[Cynthia: As if I'd read that kind of thing!!]
Cynthia would never admit it—that she'd read those "educational" books out of intellectual curiosity. Absolutely impossible to admit!!
...
In the Black World —
After catching Heracross, Ash encountered a very stubborn Bayleef. This Bayleef actively stood up to challenge them, seemingly looking for a strong opponent to battle. Seeing a willing challenger, Ash sent out his newly caught Heracross to fight, planning to defeat and catch it.
Unexpectedly, the other party's stubbornness was beyond expectation. Even when beaten all over and nearly at the point of being unable to fight, it persisted until finally fainting from its injuries and exhaustion.
Ash first used his Aura power to warm Bayleef's body, then took it to the Pokémon Center. Midway, the Team Rocket trio, disguised as doctors, tried to steal Bayleef but were promptly discovered and stopped by Ash. Immediately after, Sabrina expertly blasted them away with her psychic powers.
Without Team Rocket's interference, Bayleef successfully recovered at the Pokémon Center. As a result, it wanted to continue battling Ash. Seeing this, Ash smiled wryly.
"Little one, having a competitive spirit and refusing to admit defeat is good, but... you can't let your body get bruised and battered, even to the point of threatening your life, for such a thing! If you even lose your life, everything else becomes meaningless! If you don't mind... how about becoming my Pokémon? Look, I beat you with Heracross, didn't I?"
"Don't deny it! The truly strong learn to face their own defeats!"
Hearing this, Bayleef nodded a little unwillingly. It's because I lost that I want to win back...
Seeing this, Ash smiled and stroked the large leaf on Bayleef's head. "That's right... Losing isn't scary. What's scary is losing and never being able to win back. So... become my Pokémon! I'll definitely train you to become stronger! To be honest, your temperament suits my style quite well! Well, if you miss this chance, there won't be another!"
Despite Ash's calm appearance, he was actually very unsure whether Bayleef would agree. Until tens of seconds later, Bayleef pouted, then threw itself directly into his arms. The gentle smile on Ash's face instantly turned into one of relief.
"I've caught Bayleef!!"
"Bay!!"
...
[Bruno: I was still wondering how Black Ash would catch Bayleef without Team Rocket's interference, but I didn't expect him to convince it with reason!]
[Cynthia: Indeed. For a Pokémon like Bayleef that pursues strength, what Black Ash said offers a reason that's hard to refuse. Though I wonder if Bayleef would become so attached to Black Ash without experiencing the snow mountain incident.]
[Caitlin: I think it would~]
[Erika: Oh? Why?]
[Caitlin: Because... Black Ash, like White Ash, is someone with a delicate heart who cares deeply for Pokémon!]
[Caitlin: And Bayleef didn't start liking Ash because of dangerous, cold weather; she liked him because of Ash's heart—his love for Pokémon and his consideration for her!]
[Caitlin: So I think even if the butterfly effect changes the process, the final result won't change!]
To put it simply... Caitlin felt Bayleef was probably quite lacking in affection. So after receiving Ash's kindness, that's why she became so fond of him. And now, Black Ash has caught it. Even if it hasn't reached the level of attachment White World's Bayleef has for Ash, it will definitely get there in the future. After all... Black Ash's love for Pokémon is no less than White Ash's!
[Cynthia: Well Caitlin is quite reliable when analyzing seriously. If only she didn't think about those messy things every day]
[Caitlin: Who's thinking messy things!! Speaking of which, Ash's charm is really something, whether with Pokémon or people, whether Black Ash or White Ash~]
[Caitlin: Is this the legendary boy with peach-blossom luck?]
[Lillie: Wow... how amazing! I'd really like to meet him in person if I get the chance!]
[Lusamine: Not allowed!! Who knows what would happen if you met that walking hormone!]
[Lillie: I want to!! Outlines!! Mom is so stingy!!]
Lillie still has a bit of a rebellious streak~
[Ash: ???]
Walking hormone? Are you being polite?
...
In the Black World —
After catching Bayleef, Ash and the others continued their journey. After over ten days of travel and several incidents, the group of four finally arrived at Violet City! During these ten-plus days, Misty teleported back Horsea and Omanyte and teleported back Staryu, whose strength had been raised to Gym Leader level. The Pokémon Misty was currently training were: Horsea, Staryu, Omanyte, Poliwag, Psyduck (responsible for comic relief), and Togepi (responsible for atmosphere). These were the six Pokémon Misty had on hand.
As for Sabrina... she still only had five Pokémon, just like during the Orange League. After all, there are few Psychic-type Pokémon, and getting to five wasn't easy.
And the Pokémon Ash had on hand were: Heracross, Bayleef, Pidgeot, Blastoise, Pikachu, and Snorlax! The others were fine, but every time Snorlax was sent out, Ash had to use his Aura power to forcibly wake it up, then soothe its wounded heart with a bunch of delicious food. The reason for going through this trouble was that Ash didn't want to waste Snorlax's talent. Even looking at all his Pokémon, Snorlax's talent was definitely among the best! A Snorlax more agile than Charizard—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it one-of-a-kind in the world, right? Because of this, even though Snorlax could get stronger just by eating, sleeping, and eating, Ash still wanted it to get up and exercise. He just didn't want to waste its talent in this regard! The average Snorlax has high Attack and Defense, extremely low Speed, and zero agility. But his Snorlax... battling others was sure to surprise them!
But back to the present—after the group arrived in Violet City, they first rested briefly. Ash took the opportunity to gather information on Falkner, the Violet Gym Leader. It wasn't until the next day that they arrived at the Gym door to begin their challenge.
The Violet Gym Leader, Falkner, was a young man who looked only in his twenties. He took Ash's challenge very cheerfully. Not only that, he also recognized Ash's identity—the title of Indigo Plateau Conference Champion was still quite renowned in Johto and Kanto. In response, Falkner said he would use 200% of his strength to battle Ash!
Taking their positions on the battlefield—
"The match will use three Pokémon. The Gym Leader cannot switch Pokémon. When all three Pokémon lose the ability to battle, the match is over. The match begins now!"
With the referee's announcement, Falkner sent out his first Pokémon: Pidgey! In response, Ash didn't show the slightest carelessness. Many Trainers chose not to let their Pokémon evolve. While leveling up and gaining strength might be slower without evolution, there were corresponding benefits. Just like his Pikachu and Dragonair, who didn't want to evolve yet, even in their current forms, they were incredibly powerful Pokémon! So he wouldn't underestimate the opponent's Pidgey!
Thus, Ash initially sent out Charizard! For the Gym battle, Ash had swapped his team again—Charizard was teleported over specifically to deal with the Flying-type Gym! Facing Charizard, Falkner was also strictly on guard. However... the battle wasn't as fierce as expected. Ash was serious, Falkner was serious, but the Pokémon on both sides were clearly not on the same level. Not every Pokémon was called a "Pikachu"!
As it turned out, the unevolved Pidgey was the kind that got utterly crushed by Charizard! Air Slash, Flame Vortex to bind, then a direct Wing Attack to finish it! The first Pokémon was taken down effortlessly.
Falkner wasn't discouraged and instantly sent out his second Pokémon: Pidgeotto! Pidgeotto was a three-stage Pokémon. Although it had the Flying type... it couldn't fly! Wait, Pidgeotto can't fly because it doesn't have the Flying type? Those with the Flying type that can't fly... that's a very rare existence! Pidgeotto counted as one, and Dodrio also counted as one...
Facing Pidgeotto, Ash used his long-unused Aerodactyl! The appearance of Aerodactyl made Falkner's eyes light up.
"Aerodactyl... it really is an Aerodactyl!! Wow! I want one so much!!"
Aerodactyl, though its name suggests "fossil pterosaur," is actually Rock/Flying-type. As a Flying-type specialist, Falkner had always wanted a Pokémon like this. However... these ancient fossil Pokémon were extremely rare even looking at the whole world! Not to mention catching one; he hadn't even heard of where they lived. At most, he'd heard that someone got some fossil and revived some fossil Pokémon... Now seeing Aerodactyl with his own eyes could be considered a wish fulfilled for Falkner.
"Although I'm facing an Aerodactyl I like, I won't go easy!"
"That's what I said, right? The flightless Pidgeotto facing Aerodactyl is at an absolute disadvantage!"
Pidgeotto has the Flying type but can't fly, while Aerodactyl not only has the title of "Ancient Sky Overlord" but also possesses the super-effective Rock-type. In every aspect, Pidgeotto was in a state of absolute disadvantage!
"Who said my Pidgeotto can't fly? Watch this!"
Ash: !!
Could it be... Did this Flying-type Gym Leader really train a flightless Pokémon to fly? So Pidgeotto was saved? Ash was pondering .jpg at this moment.
"Fly, Pidgeotto! Use Tri Attack after flying!"
With that, Pidgeotto first started running, then suddenly jumped! Immediately after, its three mouths spat out red, yellow, and blue lights of three different colors.
Ash: ?
You call this flying? Isn't it just jumping a little higher?!
"Aerodactyl, knock it down with Rock Slide!"
"Roar!"
The Aerodactyl, which hadn't battled in a long time, was a bit excited, so it didn't control its power all at once. When the sharp stones condensed around Aerodactyl, Pidgeotto, launching Tri Attack mid-air, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
You call this Rock Slide? Are you sure it's not a meteor shower?!
"Roar!!"
"Whoosh!!"
The triangular Tri Attack shot out with electricity, fire, and ice. Aerodactyl's side fired a Rock Slide like flying feathers! Countless sharp rocks collided with the Tri Attack. The Tri Attack lasted less than a second before being directly breached. Immediately after the Tri Attack, the gradually falling Pidgeotto bore the brunt of the "meteor shower" from the sky! Without the slightest resistance, Pidgeotto crashed...
"Boom!!"
Having jumped quite stylishly, Pidgeotto, which fell back like a shooting star, made a loud noise on the field. Under Falkner's worried gaze, Pidgeotto did not emerge from that pile of rocks. It was only after Ash had Aerodactyl blow the rocks away that Pidgeotto, having fainted, was revealed.
"One-hit KO... The strength gap is even bigger than I imagined! Just now with Pidgey..."
Falkner said as he recalled Pidgeotto back into its Poké Ball. "I should say... As expected of the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion?"
Ash smiled and pressed his hat. "Not the 'Indigo Plateau Conference Champion,' but 'Ash from Pallet Town'!! You don't become a champion because you're great; you become great, so you can become a champion!"
Falkner was silent for a moment, then laughed along with Ash. "You're right... I placed too much importance on the title of 'Indigo Plateau Conference Champion'! I can guarantee that if it were someone else who won the Indigo Conference, I definitely wouldn't be beaten so helplessly. But... the battle isn't over yet! The next Pokémon is my ace! With it here, even defeating three of your Pokémon is no problem—go, Pidgeot!"
Falkner's final ace—Pidgeot! This one was much larger than the average Pidgeot. But... Ash's Pidgeot's size wasn't far behind.
"So it's Pidgeot. Return, Aerodactyl!"
Ash recalled Aerodactyl and took out a new Poké Ball. "To deal with Pidgeot, naturally, use Pidgeot! I choose you!"
"Pidgeot!!"
A Pidgeot no less impressive in size, even larger than Falkner's Pidgeot, appeared on the field! Falkner's mouth hung open in shock. His own Pidgeot was already extremely large among its kind. How was this opposing Pidgeot... even bigger than his?!
"This... How was this raised?! That's incredible!!"
Ash wiped his nose with a proud face. Being praised by a Flying-type specialist was enough proof that his training and raising methods were quite good. Of course, Pidgeot growing to such a huge size wasn't achieved by training and raising alone... The most important thing was the Silver Wing! Ever since the Silver Wing was given to Pidgeot, it seemed to have undergone a second growth spurt, becoming even larger! Originally outstanding among its peers, it directly became exceptional! Now, even a large Pidgeot like Falkner's couldn't compare! All that could be said is... Divine artifacts are so useful!
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