In a Black World —
Sabrina controlled the airborne sand with one hand while holding the frightened and shrinking Togepi in her other arm.
Her cold, emotionless gaze pierced through the sand, fixing on the boy in long pants.
Meeting Sabrina's terrifying eyes,
the boy involuntarily took a few steps back.
Coupled with the sand strangely frozen mid-air,
he grew even more afraid.
Had he… encountered a ghost?
"Sa… Sabrina, don't go too hard!"
For this kind of person, Ash held little goodwill.
Competition was one thing, but attacking the Trainer directly?
So while Ash wasn't stopping Sabrina's anger, he still asked her to show some restraint,
not to seriously hurt the other.
"Understood."
With that, Sabrina directly returned the sand to the boy.
As the boy covered his eyes and shouted,
Sabrina used her psychic power to lift him up, then began moving him up, down, left, and right through the air!
Just as the boy was about to vomit and pass out from the motion, Sabrina set him down.
Ash also had Blastoise nearby spray some water on him,
helping wash the sand from his eyes.
If not rinsed clean, he could go blind…
"I… I'm sorry! I won't do it again!!"
After the boy regained his sight and recovered for five minutes, he loudly apologized to Ash,
quickly recalled his Dugtrio, and ran away like mad.
He felt like he'd glimpsed the afterlife just now!
If he stayed any longer… he'd die! He'd really die!
Watching the boy disappear from view, Sabrina withdrew her cold gaze.
Brock wiped the inexplicable sweat from his forehead and finally let out a relieved sigh.
Attacking Ash in front of the protective maniac…
If not for Ash's intervention, that guy might not have gotten off so easily.
Subsequently, Ash successfully found the Cyndaquil and caught it through a battle with his Bayleef.
...
[Lance: An angry Sabrina is truly terrifying!]
[Bruno: Definitely a bit of a protective maniac—'Whoever dares hurt Ash will pay with their life'.jpg!]
[Sabrina: Hmm… I feel I shouldn't be that violent, should I?]
Sabrina felt that since returning to normal,
her mindset was quite balanced.
She wouldn't use her psychic powers to do such excessive things to others on a whim.
[Melody: That's because you don't like Ash as much on our side yet~ If you fell in love like Sabrina in the video, maybe you'd do the same~]
[Sabrina: Is that so? Then I'll try.]
[Misty: Don't try that kind of thing!!]
Misty felt a headache coming on.
That Melody and her big mouth!
Didn't she know that saying more leads to mistakes?
Right now, Sabrina didn't have strong feelings for Ash.
But if she really did develop feelings… what if she became another rival?
You big idiot!!
...
In a Black World —
After sending back the Venusaur in his possession,
Ash successfully added the Cyndaquil to his team.
"This Cyndaquil seems a bit lacking in fighting spirit!"
"During its battle with Bayleef, its flames only ignited in the second half. It still needs a lot of training."
When Cyndaquil ignites its fighting spirit, its back erupts with hot flames.
Normally, Cyndaquil is like a harmless little pet,
cute and responsible like Pikachu~
But ordinary Cyndaquil will ignite blazing flames as soon as they have the will to fight,
whereas his Cyndaquil… whether it's too gentle or can't get into the battle mindset,
was suppressed until the very end in the battle with Bayleef,
only then did its flames emerge.
While a fired-up Cyndaquil is quite powerful,
this warm-up time is too long!
By the time it's ready, the opponent might have exhausted its stamina!
Just like in the earlier battle!
Facing a nearly exhausted Cyndaquil, even with a type disadvantage,
Bayleef spent no effort at all defeating it!
So in future training, Ash needed to find a way to make Cyndaquil show fighting spirit from the start!
Additionally, he decided
to send back the Pokémon that had become very powerful to the Oak Research Institute, letting them train independently.
Examples include Venusaur, Blastoise, Pidgeot, and even Dragonair.
They were all fully grown
and had their own training systems.
He just needed to tell Professor Oak each Pokémon's nutritional formula and let him manage their dietary balance.
As for the Pokémon remaining with him… those would be the newer faces, of course!
For example, the recently caught Heracross, as well as Bayleef and Cyndaquil.
Add Pikachu, Snorlax, and Infernape, and that was Ash's new team.
The reason Snorlax stayed has been mentioned: aside from Ash, basically no one could wake Snorlax to train.
But once training becomes a habit,
even without others waking it, Snorlax would automatically get up to train.
Then, Ash could send it back to the Oak Research Institute.
As for Infernape… honestly, studying peacefully at the Oak Research Institute might be more suitable!
However, after Charizard achieved Mega Evolution,
Ash gained a deeper understanding of the genes hidden within Pokémon.
For instance, he discovered that Venusaur, Blastoise, and even Pidgeot had higher evolution stages similar to Charizard!
And… including Infernape!
However, Infernape's evolution wasn't the same as Charizard's.
It wasn't an evolution requiring external force.
It was a normal evolution, like Charmeleon evolving into Charizard!
Honestly, that seemed nearly impossible!
If it were a special evolution accomplished with the help of a stone, Infernape might have that possibility,
but… a normal next-stage evolution? How could such a thing happen?
You must understand, the conclusion that Infernape is the final evolutionary stage has been established for hundreds of years or more!
Therefore, it was theoretically impossible for Infernape to evolve further under normal circumstances!
The problem was… Ash just discovered
the possibility of further evolution!
The bigger problem was… Ash didn't know *how* Infernape should evolve further!
Level? Foreign object? Or some special condition?
Ash knew nothing.
So he could only keep Infernape by his side, observing its condition daily during training with his Aura power.
The only useful information now was…
as Infernape's progress with the move "Blast Burn" deepened,
the higher genes hidden within its body were slowly being revealed…
Perhaps once it mastered Blast Burn, Infernape could complete its evolution!
Ash believed so.
...
[Bruno: What?! Can Infernape still evolve?!]
Watching Black Ash and Misty and the others analyze their Pokémon's specific conditions, Bruno couldn't help but exclaim.
Listening to what Ash said,
Infernape's evolution wasn't Mega Evolution!
It was a normal evolution!
But… shouldn't Infernape have reached the peak of its evolutionary line?
[Professor Oak: Infernape… This species is sparse yet common in the Kanto region. With such numbers, a Pokémon with three evolutionary stages should theoretically have been discovered long ago.]
Being sparse and lacking research, undiscovered forms are normal.
But Pokémon like Mankey
are as common as dirt in the Kanto region.
If it had three evolutionary stages, researchers couldn't possibly have missed it!
[Cynthia: Didn't Black Ash say? As Infernape gradually masters Blast Burn, its evolutionary possibility is slowly revealed… Perhaps Infernape's evolutionary requirements are very harsh.]
[Professor Sycamore: Anyway, at least Black Ash gave us a direction. Just like Mega Evolution, there are still many things in this world we haven't discovered!]
[Professor Oak: Indeed. Let's see if Black Ash's Infernape can evolve in the end. If it can… it's like an open-book exam for us!]
Just like Mega Evolution,
if not for Mega Evolution being exposed in the live stream,
they probably still wouldn't know that fully evolved Pokémon have a chance to reach a higher stage!
The same goes for Infernape's further evolution.
And the initiator of all this is Black Ash's Aura power!
All these discoveries are closely tied to Black Ash's Aura power!
This thing… it's truly versatile!
...
**In a Black World —**
After successfully catching Cyndaquil, everyone arrived at Hinobi Town.
However, Hinobi Town was suffering a severe, prolonged drought.
The scent of drought enveloped the entire land: grass and trees yellowed, rivers dried up, fields cracked with countless gaps.
Ash and the others met a man in a Slowpoke costume.
He sounded a bit old-fashioned.
He told Ash and the others about the local custom in Hinobi Town… worshiping Slowpoke as a deity!
Legend said that long ago, Hinobi Town suffered a similar drought.
A Slowpoke passed by,
yawned,
and rain poured from the sky!
Thus, Hinobi Town was saved.
From then on, the people of Hinobi Town worshiped Slowpoke as deities!
It sounded like a rather simplistic story,
but however simplistic, this was the town's tradition.
So…
The man in the Slowpoke costume warned Ash and the others not to provoke the Slowpoke here,
or they'd be besieged by the entire town!
Regarding this, Ash and the others looked around and indeed saw many Slowpoke,
but there was no instance of Slowpoke bringing rain.
"Placing hopes in Pokémon…"
Ash muttered, leading the three to the Pokémon Center, temporarily exchanging Snorlax and Blastoise.
Then they headed to the town center.
"While I don't oppose such ideas—I even think there's nothing wrong with entrusting things to Pokémon—"
"that doesn't mean people can do nothing, putting in no effort and counting on Slowpoke for everything!"
"Mom says there's no such thing as a free lunch. If you do nothing and want everything… that only exists in daydreams!"
"I choose you, Blastoise!"
***Whoosh!***
A Blastoise with two thick cannon barrels appeared in the town center.
Ash's actions attracted everyone nearby.
Releasing Blastoise in the town center… what was he trying to do?
"Blastoise, use Rain Dance!!"
***Whoosh!!***
Instantly, Ash and Blastoise entered a state of Aura Fusion.
This was the state they were most familiar with.
It was also in this state that Blastoise began to gain control over the substance of water,
rather than passively using it.
Moreover, Rain Dance used in this state had an even greater range! Lasted longer!
With the power of both,
in the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and rain began to fall.
The people around were stunned at first,
then overjoyed!
"Rain! It's rain!!"
"It's raining! Is this the deity Slowpoke's doing?"
"No, it shouldn't be. That should be that boy over there!"
Reminded by someone, everyone turned their eyes to Ash and his Blastoise.
Embarrassed, the turtle took out its sharp sunglasses and put them on.
This way, its shyness could be reduced a bit~
The residents of Hinobi Town, having found Ash and the others, rushed over,
thanking Ash profusely.
In response, Ash could only helplessly ask Sabrina to psychically hold everyone back a little from Hinobi Town,
while he shared his thoughts with them.
There was nothing wrong with relying on Pokémon, but you couldn't *depend entirely* on Pokémon!
So-called reliance is mutual!
While believing in Slowpoke, as residents here, they must also do something!
Not just pray like beggars for Slowpoke to perform miracles.
In response, the residents of Hinobi Town, who saw Ash's Blastoise as their savior, naturally nodded repeatedly in agreement!
...
[Lance: So cool…]
[Lance: No, no, wrong. I should say Black Ash is really powerful! Single-handedly solved a town's drought!]
[Steven: Your first sentence was your true feelings… no need to hide it. I also think Black Ash looked way too cool just then!]
[Lugia: Hmm, has a bit of my essence.]
[Ho-Oh: He's the chosen hero—shouldn't he have learned my elegant demeanor?]
[Lugia: Hey, I gave him a feather too!]
[Ash: Um… neither of you gave me one yet~]
After Ash said this, Ho-Oh and Lugia went silent.
Better to play dead at a time like this.
In response, Misty and Brock next to Ash couldn't help but chuckle.
How to put it… strength determines the degree of others' trust.
Though Ash, who reached the Silver Conference, had matured a lot,
there was still a gap compared to Black Ash!
[Kurt: I think Black Ash is right! This incident can also serve as a wake-up call for everyone in Hinobi Town.]
[Kurt: Humans and Pokémon rely on each other, not unilateral human dependence on Pokémon! You can't say that after Pokémon fail, people do nothing but pray on the sidelines. That's no different from resigning to fate…"]
[Professor Oak: Hehe, I believe everyone in Hinobi Town in our world should have started reflecting on this. By the way, I haven't seen Team Rocket blasted off in a long time! Where did Team Rocket go in Black Ash's world?]
Charizard Valley, the Cyndaquil incident—no scenes of Team Rocket.
Haven't seen Team Rocket say their motto in a while.
Professor Oak felt a bit unaccustomed to it…
[James: Are you being polite?]
[Jessie: We're being polite to you!]
...
**In a Black World —**
Where did Team Rocket go?
They had actually been following Ash,
but whether it was the powerful eruption of Charizard during the Charizard Valley incident
or Sabrina's terrifying aura during the Cyndaquil incident,
both made Team Rocket dare not approach for a while.
They had a premonition that jumping out then wouldn't end with just their usual blast-off…
They'd really die!!
Here in Hinobi Town, they followed as well,
capturing all the Slowpoke underground and planning to take them out to sell!
But as soon as they emerged, they found… the drought in Hinobi Town had been lifted!
A heavy rain fell on their robot!
Then, what appeared before them was… Ash!
"Yo, Team Rocket. Long time no see. Goodbye."
Team Rocket: ??
Then, a tail flashing with silver light sliced through their robot!
All the captured Slowpoke were freed, and Team Rocket blasted off into the sky and vanished!
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