In the Black World—
Watching Team Rocket blast off into the distance, Ash and Pikachu suddenly felt a strange sense of relief in their hearts.
It seemed… only these three from Team Rocket were part of their true daily life!
As for why Ash had sought out Team Rocket this time, it was because when he'd used his Aura power and Blastoise to summon Rain Dance, he'd happened to spot the Slowking below—and the trio trying to capture it.
So he and Pikachu had simply waited for them at the exit. The result of their arrival needed no explanation.
"You really do have to blast them off to feel satisfied!"
"Pikachu Pikachu~"
...
[James: That's excessive!! Way too much!!]
[Jessie: That black-hearted imp is abusing us! This is abuse!]
[Meowth: That's right!]
[Meowth: Huh? I can talk? Why, meow?!]
Meowth stared at the translucent screen before him, his words clearly displayed on it. At this moment, Meowth looked utterly bewildered.
He'd just thought about speaking in the live broadcast room as usual, never imagining he could actually send a message. But this time… it went through!
[The speech rules in the live broadcast room have been amended. Pokémon capable of human speech may now also speak here.]
The sudden new rule made Meowth grateful enough to drool! He finally… he could finally speak here too!!
[Professor Oak: Oh? This appears to be a rule specifically for Meowth!]
[Millennium Ghost: And me~]
[Lance: Ghost? You're the ghost from the Maiden's Peak, aren't you?!]
The ghost of Maiden's Peak was extremely unusual, and Lance remembered after a moment.
[Cynthia: Well, it doesn't seem to be Telepathy! Only those who can truly speak human words may speak in this live broadcast room.]
If Telepathy counted, nearly every Legendary Pokémon could basically speak here.
The update to the live broadcast room's rules was just a minor interlude. The images from the Black World continued—
...
In the Black World—
After blasting off Team Rocket, Ash arrived at Mr. Kurt's residence. Between challenging the Gym and returning the GS Ball, Ash chose to return the GS Ball first. After all, that was the task Professor Oak had assigned. The Gym Challenge could wait.
The result was unexpected. Mr. Kurt turned out to be the man in the Slowking costume they'd met that morning! Ash didn't recognize Mr. Kurt, but Mr. Kurt recognized them! After all, to Azalea Town, the Ash who had saved them from drought was nothing short of a heroic figure.
Ash handed the GS Ball to Mr. Kurt. Professor Oak had already relayed the relevant information to Kurt, so Ash had little to add.
Kurt then gave Ash and his friends some Fast Balls as a reward—one for each of them, from his existing stock. If they wanted other specialty Poké Balls, they'd need to go to the backyard and find the Apricorns themselves.
Ash thought it over and decided to gather Apricorns first to make Poké Balls. Again, the Gym Challenge wasn't urgent, but Kurt couldn't wait around forever for them to gather fruit.
Afterward, a series of events unfolded. Brock successfully caught a Pineco, and the group of four collected their respective Apricorns. After handing the Apricorns to Kurt, they set off for the Azalea Gym.
It was a fortunate coincidence. The Azalea Gym had actually been closed, but because the downpour had ended Azalea Town's drought crisis, it had just reopened. Generally speaking… Ash and his friends were lucky! Their trip wasn't wasted.
Before entering the Azalea Gym, Ash thoughtfully asked Misty if she wanted to go in. After all, this was a Bug-type Gym—home to the very Pokémon species Misty feared most!
To this, Misty declared— "It's fine! As long as Ash is here, they're just little bugs. I'm not scared at all!"
Upon entering— "D-don't let go of me, Ash!!"
Looking at Misty clutching his arm for dear life, her face pale with fear and trembling, Ash smiled wryly and helplessly.
So if you don't like it, why come in?!
"Sabrina, you're not afraid of bugs, are you?"
Ash glanced at his other arm, where Sabrina was also clinging tightly. A soft sensation pressed against both arms. Honestly… he was feeling a little weak.
Though one was larger and the other smaller… soft was still soft! Even steel would soften under this assault!
"I'm… also a girl, of course I'm afraid of bugs~"
A soft, charming voice flowed from Sabrina's lips. Brock, standing behind Ash holding Togepi and Jigglypuff, felt his knees go a little weak.
If the person saying this weren't Sabrina, he'd probably have fallen to his knees in adoration!
As the one in the middle, Ash said nothing, but his own legs were nearly giving out. This is… lethal?
If not for his iron will, he'd probably retire on the spot and go home with his two "wives"!
Misty, furious at Sabrina's act, trembled, goosebumps rising all over. For a moment, she even forgot her fear of bugs!
She looked at Sabrina, who was clinging to Ash's arm and sticking her tongue out, and understood completely—Sabrina wasn't afraid of bugs at all! This was just a ploy to get closer to Ash!
It was hard to imagine that Sabrina, once so cold and emotionless, had fallen to this point! Ah, no—maybe "fallen for Ash" is more accurate…
...
[Caitlin: Wow! Is this Sabrina at full power? Forget Ash, even a heart of iron would melt under that voice!]
[Lorelei: This really isn't like our Sabrina~]
[Sabrina: This is… unavoidably… a bit too much…]
Sabrina watched her Black World self on the screen, her face flushing red. Even if it was her from another world… that was still her face being used! Using that face to whisper such things… it was shameful!
[Cynthia: Is this the awakening after falling in love? Honestly, if she didn't still have that cold face for outsiders, I'd think this Sabrina had been replaced.]
[Wallace: This is undoubtedly a gorgeous love!]
[Wallace: To change so much for the one in her heart, Black Sabrina is truly amazing!]
[Elesa: I also think that at first, Black Ash might have accepted Sabrina out of sympathy, or some budding, or because they'd battled.]
[Elesa: But now… Black Ash must love Sabrina deeply!! Just as Sabrina loves Black Ash!]
Watching the somewhat flustered but visibly happier Black Ash on the screen, Ash fell silent. He instinctively glanced at Misty beside him and found her also gazing at the screen with complex eyes. Envy? Longing? Sadness? Her expression seemed to hold all those emotions.
Do I… need to be brave too? Ash asked himself.
...
In the Black World—
Ash led Misty, Sabrina, and Brock (who was fed up with the "dog food") into the Azalea Gym and met Bugsy.
Unexpectedly, the Gym Leader this time didn't look very old, but he called himself an expert in Bug-type Pokémon.
After calming Misty and Sabrina, Ash challenged Bugsy.
The first battle was Grass vs. Bug: Bayleef against Spinarak. This Pokémon was a pre-evolution of Ariados and didn't seem very high-level, making it good practice for Bayleef. Fighting at a type disadvantage, even with Ash's superb commands, he only barely won. Bayleef was left quite exhausted.
Bugsy's second Pokémon was a Metapod, and Ash sent out Heracross! This was Heracross's first Gym battle since being caught, and its performance didn't disappoint. Unlike Bayleef, Heracross wasn't an evolutionary stage—this was its strongest form from the start, giving it a high ceiling. Plus, it was the first Pokémon Ash had caught in Johto. As a result… Heracross beautifully defeated the opposing Metapod! The Metapod's String Shot swing tactics couldn't affect Heracross at all.
Bugsy's third was a Scyther. Ash sent out his third Johto capture, Quilava! Though the time since capture was short, Ash had already helped it overcome its initial weaknesses. Combined with Fire's advantage over Bug, this battle was won without much risk!
Winning all three battles, even though he'd expected it, Bugsy couldn't help feeling deeply impressed.
"You really are the 'god-sama' who saved Azalea Town from drought! You live up to your reputation."
Ash: ???
Seeing Ash's confusion, Bugsy grinned. "You still don't know? Your name is known to everyone in Azalea Town now."
"'The super trainer with a Blastoise'—that's what everyone calls you."
"Because the rain your Blastoise brought washed away Azalea's drought, everyone now worships you and Blastoise as gods, just like Slowking."
Hearing this, Ash shook his head with a wry smile. Weren't you the ones who started calling me that?
"Don't misunderstand. They don't worship you as a god just because you saved the town." Bugsy's expression turned serious as he bowed to Ash. "Another reason is—you woke everyone up!"
"'Humans and Pokémon depend on each other—not on any one being.' That's what you said, right, Ash?"
"That sentence made everyone understand the difference between respecting Slowking and relying on Slowking!"
"From now on, even if another drought comes, everyone will definitely find their own way to solve it, instead of just praying to the heavens!"
Ash looked out at Azalea Town beyond the Gym, his expression relieved. He… hadn't helped the wrong people.
And though Bugsy had lost, he remained deeply grateful to Ash.
Thus, Ash successfully earned the Insect Badge. When they returned to Mr. Kurt, they also received their custom Poké Balls!
Ash and Misty got Lure Balls—increased catch rate on Water-type Pokémon.
Brock got a Heavy Ball—increased catch rate on heavier Pokémon.
Sabrina got a Love Ball—greatly increased catch rate when used on a Pokémon of the opposite gender to the one she sent out.
These were their special Poké Balls.
As for the GS Ball… Kurt said it needed to stay for further study. He'd relay any findings to Professor Oak and Ash as soon as possible.
The group stayed in Azalea Town one more day, because the next day, Sabrina would challenge the Azalea Gym!
The following day—
Bugsy was ruthlessly swept again! And it was a three-KO sweep by Sabrina's Alakazam!
Facing Bugsy's Bug-types, Sabrina showed not a trace of fear. The entire time, she commanded Alakazam with a cold, detached expression. Three battles, over in under five minutes—fast, precise, and merciless.
When Sabrina turned and saw Ash's stunned expression, she instantly remembered her "persona" from yesterday. Timidly, she asked, "If I say I didn't think of the opponent's Pokémon as bugs during the battle… Ash, would you believe me?"
Ash: …
I'd believe pigs could fly.
...
[Lance: Hahaha! The persona's shattered!]
[Steven Stone: In battle, she's an icy beauty—cold, ruthless, and efficient. Reminds me of Cynthia!]
[Cynthia: What am I like in battle?]
[Flint: Heh, you're even more outrageous than that!]
Flint's mouth twitched as he recalled his battles against Cynthia. Did people really think the title of "Strongest and Youngest Champion in Sinnoh History" was just for show? That was Cynthia's reputation, earned step by step!
Flint was the strongest of Sinnoh's Elite Four. His Infernape could awe even ordinary Champions! But against Cynthia and her ace Garchomp… it was a complete one-sided beatdown! She crushed him on both trainer and Pokémon levels!
So… Cynthia really was even more outrageous than the Sabrina of the Black World!
...
In the Black World—
With her persona broken, Sabrina simply stopped pretending and blatantly held Ash's arm. Misty, too, rarely let go of Ash's other arm. And Brock… had become a Pokémon-carrying tool.
Bugsy smiled and handed over the second badge. He'd thought losing to Ash was bad enough, but to lose to a girl so soon after… and even more decisively! If Brock knew what Bugsy was thinking, he'd tell him: If Ash had sent out Pikachu, your three Pokémon together wouldn't have lasted three seconds!
With the Insect Badge secured, Ash's group bid farewell to Mr. Kurt and set off for their next destination: Goldenrod City!
A few days later, they came across a Pokémon Exchange Fair. They didn't trade any Pokémon here, but Team Rocket had a new face—Butch!
The sheer level gap was horrifying; even Pikachu's Thunderbolt was reflected back! But… it was just high level with strong passive defense. Pikachu used Agility to dizzy the opponent's eyes, then staggered its attacks with electric shocks and tackles, leaving Butch confused over whether to use Double Team or Light Screen.
In the end, Pikachu once again successfully blasted off Team Rocket—now a team of four!
Yes, this time there were four.
After the Exchange Fair, Ash stumbled upon another fire competition! It had to be said, all sorts of bizarre contests seemed drawn to him. This wasn't the first fire competition, and it wouldn't be the last.
Here, they met two teams of old acquaintances: the Squirtle Squad from the Orange Archipelago, and the Squirtle Squad from Kanto! That's right—the very little brothers whose Squirtle was now Ash's Blastoise.
To let Blastoise reunite with his brothers, Ash teleported Blastoise over. As for participating in the fire competition… Ash wasn't interested. Never mind the team requirement… Blastoise alone in such a contest was pure overkill. He was a one-Pokémon team. One Rain Dance move could extinguish any fire that wasn't from a Legendary like Moltres or Ho-Oh.
In a competition testing teamwork, using Blastoise was completely putting the cart before the horse!
PS : I've been consistently releasing chapters for many days now, and If you want to support my work and read the 70+ Extra ahead chapters, you can check out
my P@treon. -> patreon.com/Sagamaster789
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789