In a Black World —
Sabrina stepped up behind Ash, her expression icy as her voice cut through the air.
"Next challenger. Me."
Across from them, Falkner had only just recovered from his defeat. His frozen smile twitched.
What kind of situation was this? Another challenger—already?!
"Ash, Sabrina, my Pokémon haven't even recovered yet," Falkner said helplessly. "At least… wait until tomorrow?"
"Hm. Fine."
The moment she turned toward Ash, Sabrina's cold expression softened almost imperceptibly.
Falkner saw it clearly.
So that was what changing faces looked like.
It wasn't that Sabrina was deliberately cold.Her distant demeanor had been forged during her lonely childhood—it was a natural defense mechanism.
But around Ash, that armor faded without her even realizing it.
With Misty, she was slightly warmer.With Brock… it still took time.
And with Falkner, a Gym Leader she had only just met, she showed no warmth at all.
Not dislike—just instinct.
Because Falkner's Pokémon needed time to recover, Sabrina's challenge was postponed.
Ash and the others stayed the night in Violet City.
That evening, Ash and Falkner talked at length about training Flying-type Pokémon—especially Pidgeot.
To Ash's surprise, Falkner possessed remarkable insight when it came to raising aerial Pokémon.
If Ash hadn't relied on weight training combined with Aura perception to correct flawed movements—an extremely risky and inefficient approach—he would have been far behind Falkner in Flying-type mastery.
At the same time, Falkner had his own epiphany.
"So… weight training can be used like this?"
For someone obsessed with speed, it was practically a revelation.
The next day, Sabrina formally challenged Falkner.
The confident Gym Leader was crushed.
Against psychic power, the speed he prided himself on was meaningless.
Speed only mattered in two situations:
Either you moved fast enough to exceed psychic reaction time—waiting for the perfect opening like a cheetah—
Or you didn't.
And if you didn't, you were nothing more than prey dancing in the palm of the opponent's hand.
Unfortunately, Falkner belonged to the second category.
Aside from causing Sabrina mild inconvenience, his Pokémon stood no chance.
Defeated twice in two days, Falkner might have completely shut down if not for his strong mentality.
After earning the Zephyr Badge, Sabrina and the group said farewell and continued onward.
The Black World screen slowly faded to black.
Live Commentary
Lorelei sighed softly.
"Every Gym Leader in the Black World looks absolutely miserable…"
Lance nodded."Being defeated isn't the problem. It's being crushed by Black World Ash—then having to face Sabrina immediately afterward."
Falkner, watching from the real world, wiped cold sweat from his brow.
Even imagining himself in that situation made his heart race.
That wasn't a Gym challenge.That was psychological warfare.
White World —
After leaving Violet City, Ash and his friends continued toward Blackthorn City.
Along the way, they encountered several incidents, all resolved without major trouble.
Before reaching the city, they met a woman named Liza, the caretaker of Charicific Valley.
She invited Ash to visit.
However, space was limited—Ash's Charizard would have to carry him alone.
Charizard had barely ever carried a human.
The result?
He couldn't even take off.
Instead, he ran the entire way—awkwardly flapping his wings like a grounded chicken.
Charicific Valley
Reality was harsher than imagination.
Charizard was completely outmatched.
Whether facing strong Charizard or the weakest among them, he couldn't win a single fight.
Even the female Charizard that rarely battled defeated him easily.
One attack sent him crashing into the pond outside the valley.
Because of years of brutal storms and forced evolution, Charizard's fear of water was far worse than average.
Yet this time—
He didn't flee.
Standing in the pond, water up to his thighs, he trembled violently, lifting his tail high so the flame wouldn't touch the water.
His claws gripped the stone pillar beside him.
His eyes never left the closed gates of Charicific Valley.
Ash stood silently beside the pond.
Time passed.
Day turned to dusk.
The sun set.The moon rose.
Charizard never looked away.
He hadn't given up.
Finally, Ash spoke.
"Give it up, Charizard."
"They won't let you in."
Charizard froze—then shook his head violently.
He refused.
"No one wants to admit defeat," Ash continued softly."…I understand that."
"Do you really want to get stronger that badly?"
"Yes."
Charizard didn't answer—but his resolve screamed louder than words.
If he left now, this would become a lifelong shadow.
A wound that never healed.
That night, Ash fell asleep by the gate.
Charizard endured the freezing water until dawn—helped secretly by Team Rocket, of all people.
They intervened—not to steal Pikachu—but because they admired Charizard's determination.
After a brief clash, Charizard blasted them away.
His shattered confidence returned—just a little.
Moved by his resolve, Liza opened the gates.
Ash said goodbye.
Clumsily. Painfully.
Charizard stayed behind, vowing to become the strongest Charizard in the world.
Afterword (Black World Commentary)
Professor Oak spoke calmly.
"Black World Ash's bonds are built through daily effort—training, care, time."
"White World Ash's bonds are forged through hardship and struggle."
"Neither is false."
"They are simply… different paths."
And no one could refute that.
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