In a Black World —
Inside the Burned Tower, Ash met with Morty, the Ecruteak City Gym Leader. Moreover... Morty was still looking at Ash and the others with suspicion.
"Ho-Oh is a sacred and inviolable existence for the people of Ecruteak City. It is also the belief of our Gym! So, I'm sorry... I may have overreacted a moment ago." Morty explained to everyone why his reaction had been so strong.
Ash and the others said they could understand. After all, it was a matter of faith. Hearing that the deity he had always believed in had appeared before someone who just happened to visit the Burned Tower was naturally unacceptable to Morty.
"I can understand your feelings, Morty. But... we don't have any reason to lie to you about this. Misty and I really did meet Ho-Oh on the first day of our journey."
"Proof?"
"There isn't any. Believe it or not."
Ash had always believed in keeping a low profile. So, he didn't want to flaunt his identity as a Rainbow Hero. He wouldn't even tell Morty that he possessed the Rainbow Wing. One must not harbor intentions to harm others, but one must never be without vigilance. Even if Morty was the Ecruteak Gym Leader, even if he had believed in Ho-Oh since childhood, Ash wouldn't reveal his circumstances upon their first meeting. That would just be foolish!
...
[Lance]: Black Ash is truly cautious! Now that I think about it, aside from the people close to him, no one knows Black Ash has the Rainbow Wing, the Silver Wing, and even the feathers of the Legendary Birds.
[Professor Oak]: Normally, Black Ash always prioritizes caution. If it were the Ash from our side... it's very likely everyone would know he has the Rainbow Wing.
[Ash]: That's not fair, Professor! I wouldn't do that now! I understand the principle of keeping a low profile!
[Professor Oak]: You have indeed matured a lot since arriving in Johto. At least, progressing to your fourth Gym at this speed is very fast. But what about before?
[Professor Oak]: Back in Kanto, whenever you got a badge, you had to show it off. Telling everyone how many you had, constantly opening your inner pocket to show people your badges.
[Professor Oak]: In the Orange Islands too, if someone provoked you or you needed to prove your strength, you'd also show your badges. If you held the Rainbow Wing, dare I say you wouldn't take it out?
[Ash]: ...
He... couldn't argue with that! Actually, he had done similar things in Johto too, just a lot less. In other words, he still wasn't mature enough compared to Black Ash. But compared to his past self earlier this year, his changes could be called earth-shattering! However, there was no helping it. When compared, and compared to another version of himself at that, it made his own progress seem not so great...
Just you wait! I will definitely earn your recognition! Ash secretly swore in his heart. The 'you' he meant wasn't Professor Oak or the others, but... Ho-Oh and Lugia!
...
In a Black World —
After hearing Ash's weak rebuttal, Morty didn't bother to continue wrestling with him. In his mind, he had already branded Ash a liar. This kind of braggart coming to challenge the Ecruteak Gym... He had to teach him a lesson! Morty thought to himself.
And after Morty's disturbance, Ash and the others weren't in the mood to continue hanging around the Burned Tower. Ash also had a rather bad impression of Morty. Questioning them was one thing; more importantly... he'd driven away all the Ghost-type Pokémon! This ruined Ash's chance to catch one. What he wanted to do now... was to beat Morty soundly!
After leaving the Burned Tower, the four of them went to the Pokémon Center. On one hand, Ash needed to gather intelligence; on the other, he needed to have one of his Pokémon sent over from Professor Oak.
"...Ash, are you really going to challenge the Ecruteak Gym with this Pokémon?" During the video call, Professor Oak asked hesitantly, looking at the Poké Ball Ash was holding.
"No problem. It's him. Send him over, Professor."
"Alright. You've always had your own ideas since you were a boy. You must have your own reasons for challenging a Ghost-type Gym." Saying that, Professor Oak placed the Poké Ball in his hand on the transfer machine, exchanging it for Ash's Heracross.
"Ash, are you really going to use him for a Ghost-type Gym? That's a Ghost Gym~!" Brock said worriedly to Ash.
Ash smiled and nodded in response. "That's the one. I feel... he's one step away from evolution! And facing Ghost-type Pokémon, maybe that's the opportunity he needs to evolve!"
"Evolution? That can't be right! Infernape should be the final evolved form!" Brock exclaimed, naming the Pokémon inside the Poké Ball in Ash's hand.
That's right. Facing the Ghost-type Gym, Ash wanted to send out Infernape—a Fighting-type!
Hearing Brock's exclamation, Ash scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you guys. I happened to discover the possibility of Infernape evolving further before, so..."
The other three: ...
This guy! He was hiding something big from them! The next evolution for Infernape... This was an unprecedented discovery! It was like Charizard's next evolution!
Regarding Charizard's evolution, Mr. Fuji had promised Ash to keep it a secret. This allowed Ash to use Charizard's next evolution as a secret weapon for when he fought the Elite Four. Of course, Ash had naturally told Professor Oak about this. However, while Professor Oak was itching to research it, he lacked a physical specimen, so he could only itch with curiosity...
Back to the point. Brock and the others asked Ash if Infernape's next evolution used special stones like Charizard's. Ash shook his head in denial. In other words... this was a regular evolution for Infernape! However, even Ash hadn't fully figured out the method! He only knew that after completely mastering the "Ultimate Freedom Style" and adding specific power, there was a high possibility it could evolve! Therefore, this Gym battle was a test for Ash to see if Infernape could evolve!
After obtaining Infernape, Ash and his group went straight to the Ecruteak Gym. Morty, the Gym Leader, had been waiting for a while. Not only did Ash want to teach Morty a lesson, but Morty also wanted to teach a lesson to this braggart Ash! If it were about anything else, he might not be so angry. But the other party claimed to have seen Ho-Oh and told him to "believe it or not"! This made the anger in Morty's heart impossible to calm!
When Ash stood in the Gym arena, Morty spoke slowly. "If you take back your words about Ho-Oh now, I might go easy on you."
"I'm telling the truth. Why would I take it back?"
"Stubborn... Let me test your mettle! Let's see what skills you have that could make Ho-Oh, who hasn't appeared before humans for hundreds of years, appear before you!"
"What kind of villain monologue is this..."
Amidst Ash's complaint, Morty sent out his first Pokémon—Gastly! And Ash sent out the first Pokémon he had decided on long ago—Noctowl!
"Huh? A red Noctowl... A Shiny Pokémon?"
"Heh, he's not just Shiny! Noctowl, Foresight!!"
He opened with Foresight! This was the best skill to deal with Ghost-types. Ghost Pokémon were like, well, ghosts. Even if it wasn't a Normal- or Fighting-type move, sometimes it was hard to hit them, as they would use their Ghost-type traits to become intangible or hide in the air. And Foresight could not only allow Normal and Fighting moves to hit, but it could also make the opponent completely lose their Ghost-type traits—no more hiding!
"So that's it! This was Ash's strategy? That's why he brought out Infernape against a Ghost-type Gym!" Upon seeing Noctowl's Foresight and the panicked look on Gastly's face, Brock understood in an instant. No wonder Ash dared to use Infernape against Ghost-types. He was already prepared!
"Return, Noctowl!"
"You're up, Infernape!"
Boom!
An Infernape with iron rings on all four limbs appeared on the field! Don't get it wrong—these weren't weights; they were what Infernape itself wore.
Watching Ash send out Infernape, Morty frowned slightly. "You're sending out Infernape? Although that Foresight play was beautiful, replacing the Normal-type Noctowl with the Fighting-type Infernape is undoubtedly a wrong command."
After all, Normal-types couldn't hit Ghost-types, and vice versa. So after using Foresight, Noctowl had an absolute advantage over Gastly. Yet, Ash switched to Infernape...
"So, a Trainer like you could never be recognized by Ho-Oh... Gastly, use Mean Look!" To prevent Ash from recalling Infernape, Morty specifically used Mean Look.
"You can't switch out Infernape now, can you? I'll let you know what a mistake it was to send out Infernape!"
"Are you done?"
Ash's cold voice interrupted Morty's words. Unnoticed by anyone, Ash's eyes, which had been slightly closed, opened. Two dreamlike blue streams of light drifted from the corners of his eyes. And Infernape's spirit seemed to have been injected with a tranquilizer. The previously somewhat excited expression vanished, replaced by a face of calm. The black pupils of Infernape seemed coated with a silvery film, sparkling and awe-inspiring!
Morty's intuition told him that this Infernape before him... was like a completely different Pokémon from the one moments before! In just a few seconds... what in the world was going on?
...
[Morty]: Isn't this a bit much? I'm just a little Gym Leader. Do you have to go this big?
[Bruno]: Holy Arceus, Aura Fusion combined with the Ultimate Freedom Style... Black Ash is going all out!
[Sabrina]: Is Morty... that strong?
[Korrina]: No, it's just that White Ash won after a hard battle.
[Ash]: Hey! I feel like you're looking down on me!
[Morty]: Ah... In short, I'm just a mid-to-high-tier Gym Leader. The strongest Gengar I have is only close to the peak Gym Leader level... With Black Ash's set of buffs stacked together, even an Elite Four member would have to back off, right?
Although Morty's tone was self-deprecating, it also illustrated from the side: it wasn't that he was too weak, but that Black Ash was too strong! Aura Fusion, Ultimate Freedom Style—two combo skills down, and at the same level, it was an instant knockout!
[Professor Oak]: It's not that Black Ash is targeting Morty. He has to do this... Do you remember what Black Ash said when he first decided to challenge the Gym?
[Professor Sycamore]: For evolution!
Sycamore remembered this sentence clearly. He was even holding a video camera now, ready to record the evolution at any moment! Even if evolution might fail... it was better than missing it!
[Professor Oak]: That's right, for evolution! Black Ash said before that one of the first conditions for evolution is to completely master the Ultimate Freedom Style. Now, although I don't know if he's completely mastered it, at least they need to enter this state.
[Professor Oak]: Then there's the second condition... I think the second condition is probably related to Ghost-types. Otherwise, there's no need for Black Ash to bring out Infernape when fighting Morty.
[Cynthia]: I agree with Professor Oak. We'll know by watching. And by the way, we can also see how much Infernape has grown now.
Cynthia's silver-gray eyes were filled with curiosity. Infernape—the evolution of one of the most common Pokémon in the Kanto region. Theoretically, not to mention the Elite Four, even becoming a Gym Leader-level Pokémon was an extremely rare existence within its entire species! And Ash's Infernape obviously couldn't be viewed with common sense. If her guess was correct, the current Infernape... very likely already possessed strength around the high Elite Four level! The rate at which Black Ash and his Pokémon progressed... was terrifying! She just wondered if the Ash in their world would also have this frightening evolution speed after awakening.
...
In a Black World —
Ash waved dismissively at Morty. "Attack."
The indifferent voice seemed devoid of emotion. Morty looked at Ash, who had just judged the two of them, gritted his teeth, and shouted, "Gastly, Confuse Ray!"
He wanted to confuse the opponent first. However... facing the strange red light, Infernape didn't dodge or evade, staring directly at Gastly. After the Confuse Ray hit Infernape, Morty excitedly waved his hand, but... the scene he imagined—of Infernape hammering the ground in confusion—didn't appear. Infernape looked at Gastly with its silvery-luster eyes. There was no emotion in its gaze, calm as still water.
"That's it?"
"Huh?"
"How... How can it be? How could Confuse Ray not work?!"
"If you don't attack again, it'll be our turn." A flat voice sounded, further straining Morty's composure.
"No way! Gastly, Shadow Ball!"
The ink-black energy ball condensed in front of Gastly, then shot out like an arrow! Infernape didn't dodge, even opening its arms wide to take the Shadow Ball head-on!
"Hmph." Ash grunted, feeling a slight pain in his chest. He could also feel that Infernape was absorbing part of the Shadow Ball's energy at this moment. He really... had guessed correctly! The opportunity for evolution... was this Gym battle! "The force is too light. You'll have to switch to a stronger one..." Muttering to himself, Ash gave an order to Infernape. "Cross Chop."
Almost the moment his voice fell, Infernape appeared before Gastly. Immediately after, its crossed hands slashed down with terrifying force, making Gastly feel as if Giratina itself were waving to it!
Bang!!
The Cross Chop struck Gastly solidly, knocking it down from the air. The falling Gastly scraped a long skid mark on the ground, then closed its eyes, stuck out its red tongue, and directly lost the ability to battle.
Morty was dumbfounded. Just now... what happened? Why in the blink of an eye... did Gastly just faint?? Did Infernape attack? Why didn't he see anything!
"Next." Ash's cold voice echoed in the Gym, simultaneously bringing Morty back to his senses.
"R-Return, Gastly!" Morty recalled Gastly, looking at Ash as if he were a monster. "Your Infernape's speed... is probably too fast, right?"
"What if I said... this isn't even his full strength?"
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