Black Ash's words caused a lot of discussion in the real world.
[Ash]: Huh? Who is this Red? I've never seen him! Why would I say 'long time no see' in another world?
[Professor Oak]: Watching the live broadcast, we have indeed never seen Ash meet this person named Red. I am talking about Ash in both Black and White Worlds.
Professor Oak was certain he had never seen Red in a livestream, nor even heard the name until today.
So… when had Black Ash met Red?
[Lance]: And… the trainer named Red seemed to be looking for Ash too. He didn't know Ash, only recognizing some clues from his Aura.
A bit of Red's internal monologue had been shown to everyone in reality, so they also knew what he was muttering in his heart.
To be honest… they still didn't fully understand Red's meaning.
A glimmer of hope for the world, the soul dissipates… They didn't get it at all!
Oh well~
[Cynthia]: It seems something huge happened in the Black World! This incident even involves the survival of two worlds!
[Bruno]: I thought our world was peaceful, but now it seems… the world is too dangerous!
There was no such thing as world peace—it was just that someone was carrying the burden and marching forward.jpg!
Bruno thought he was the one carrying the burden, but it turned out he was the one being protected!
…
In the Black World —
Hearing Ash call out "Brother Red" and say "long time no see," both Red and Sabrina were stunned.
Did Ash know this person? Long time no see?
Then why hadn't he remembered or recognized him before?
"You've met me before?" Red asked, doubtful.
"Ah~ I saw you once. When I was very young. It was precisely because I met you, Brother Red, that I worked hard to train myself and my Pokémon. But… I always feel like there are still some things I haven't remembered…"
Ash was actually a bit confused.
His memory wasn't eidetic, but it certainly wasn't that bad.
So why had he forgotten about Red until now?
Not only that, he felt there were still some unremembered things closely related to his changes. He wasn't born this strong…
A thoughtful look flashed in Red's eyes.
Could it be… Celebi's power was used like this?
"That Aura… you are the Chosen One of this world! Hahahaha! This is perfect! As long as we kill you, our Rainbow Rocket will become the masters of all universes!"
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
Vicious suddenly began laughing maniacally, drawing the attention of both Ash and Red.
Simultaneously, Ash was very confused. Chosen One… what the hell?
What was this guy basing that on?
He'd obviously looked down on Ash at first…
"Did the dark world power in his body react to the world's will within that boy?" Red murmured.
Things Ash didn't understand, Red comprehended clearly—as if he could feel the mysterious power contained within Ash's Aura.
A fallen world's dark power was condensed within Vicious. Those possessing a world's power would naturally react to Ash's Aura.
"Boy, what's your name?"
"Ash… By the way, Brother Red, don't you know me?"
"I don't know you yet… but it doesn't matter. I will soon. Now… let's deal with this guy first. After that, I'll tell you the whole story."
As he spoke, a strange flame began burning on Red's body.
The flame was multicolored, resembling… Sacred Fire!
"The truth about the world, and its impending crisis."
With those words, Red stepped forward and engaged Dark Lugia.
He deliberately drew Dark Lugia toward the sky. Fighting here would endanger Ash's friends. As for Vicious… he'd leave him to Ash.
Ash also looked at Vicious, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Judging by Red's words, the man before him was the culprit behind the so-called world crisis. If they captured him here… the crisis should be temporarily averted, right?
So, Ash focused his mind, drew the black feather from within himself, and the prepared Dark Lugia flew out, hovering beside him.
The moment Vicious saw Dark Lugia, the joy on his face froze, turning extremely ugly.
"I didn't expect… Dark Lugia was caught by you!"
"But I should have prepared for this… After all, the world's power within it was removed by you!"
"Dark Lugia, Dragon Rush!"
Vicious: ???
No, shouldn't they chat a bit first as usual, then he'd seize an advantage and run, finally waiting in the shadows to cause trouble? What did it mean to start with Dragon Rush?!
Upon Ash's command, the already impatient Dark Lugia was sheathed in bright blue light!
The light converged into a terrifying dragon, energy particles scattering across the forest, imposing immense pressure on Vicious.
The next instant, Dark Lugia shot forward like an arrow, reaching Vicious in the blink of an eye!
The shield before Vicious lit up again. However, facing Dark Lugia's Legendary-tier strength, his shield was truly insufficient.
In less than a second, the dark shield was covered in dense cracks!
Simultaneously, Ash behind Dark Lugia began gathering Aura Spheres. One reason he didn't waste words was worry about unforeseen changes—Vicious's cunning was evident. The other was… Red had failed to successfully pull Dark Lugia (Vicious's) to the sky.
Though Red had many abilities, he was still in soul form.
His current battle was like burning his life force, so he could only barely suppress the Legendary-tier Dark Lugia.
Trying to forcibly take it away… he couldn't.
Therefore, how could Ash, who cared about Sabrina and the others, waste time chatting with Vicious?
Capture the ringleader first!
In short, take down Vicious first!
His Dark Lugia was clearly irrational, controlled by Vicious through some ability. Once Vicious was captured, Dark Lugia's threat would vanish.
Another reason was… his Dark Lugia could no longer restrain itself.
How could it bear to see the rival who had torn it and its mate apart right before it?
BOOM!!
The Dragon Rush forcefully shattered the barrier before Vicious.
Because Ash had used Aura to order Dark Lugia to capture Vicious alive, after the barrier broke, Dark Lugia's strength suddenly eased, ready to knock Vicious unconscious.
Who would have thought Vicious would roll away like a donkey, dodging Dark Lugia's attack.
If not for Dark Lugia's sudden reduction in strength, Vicious definitely couldn't have dodged. But there were no what-ifs. Dodging this attack gave Vicious a chance to catch his breath…?
Just as Vicious was about to pull out his trump card, a blue Aura Sphere landed right before him!
BOOM!!
The explosion sounded, and Vicious was blasted away!
Ash had controlled his strength, not aiming directly at Vicious.
If that Aura Sphere had hit Vicious, he'd have died instantly!
On one hand, Ash had never killed, nor did he want to.
On the other, Vicious was more useful alive than dead.
He held much information.
What was Rainbow Rocket? What was the Chosen One?
Why did he have a Dark Lugia…
These questions all required Vicious's answers.
As for whether Vicious would talk, no need to worry.
After a Hypnosis, he'd spill everything.
Vicious, blown away, was caught by Sabrina's Psychic. After successive shocks, Vicious fainted.
Simultaneously, the ball he'd been holding as his trump card fell as he lost consciousness.
Sabrina also used her Psychic to catch the Dark Ball.
On the other side, Dark Lugia, fighting Red, stopped all movement instantly, like a robot without power.
Red, covered in multicolored flames, couldn't hold back in time and punched Dark Lugia, sending it flying a hundred meters, breaking trees along the way.
Fortunately, all nearby Pokémon had been dispersed by Suicune.
Speaking of Suicune…
It had originally wanted to join the battle but found… the battle ended before it could.
Capture the ringleader first!
Suicune looked at Red slowly descending from the sky, a hint of human-like doubt in its eyes.
If it felt correctly… the human named Red had used the power of its master, Ho-Oh.
Simultaneously, he also possessed power belonging to Suicune itself.
Not only that, but also the power of many other Mythical Pokémon.
Who… was this person?
…
[Lance]: Uh… is the fight over now? It's so different from the previous battle between the Sea Guardian and Dark Lugia!
[Cynthia]: That's because Red used the Sacred Fire belonging to Ho-Oh to suppress the evil aura in Dark Lugia, so the commotion was smaller.
[Cynthia]: But if Black Ash hadn't cleanly knocked out Vicious, this battle wouldn't have ended so easily.
Vicious seemed to be using something to control Dark Lugia.
Unlike the conscious Dark Lugia from the Black World, the one Vicious brought seemed completely controlled, its own will nonexistent.
Thus, Dark Lugia immediately stopped once Vicious fainted.
At first glance, Vicious seemed the biggest weakness, but he still had trump cards—the ball, and the barrier that even a Legendary took two seconds to break. If not for Black Ash's surprise attack, he might have escaped…
[Professor Oak]: Fortunately, Black Ash was decisive enough… It should be time for explanations next, right?
Professor Oak had already finished the book called The Ultimate Cave.
He understood the Ultimate Cave and parallel worlds more clearly. He wondered if Vicious and Red truly came to this world through the Ultimate Cave, and what this world-destroying crisis they spoke of was…
…
In the Black World —
Ash's Dark Lugia dragged Vicious's Dark Lugia back.
Vicious was casually thrown to the ground by Sabrina, and the small ball given to Ash.
Red also extinguished the flames on his body and slowly landed before Ash.
Ash keenly noticed Red's body seemed more transparent…
"Brother Red… why are you like this?"
"It's a long story. Before I tell you, I want to ask you…"
"His name is Ash."
Misty, seeing Red hesitate and realizing they hadn't introduced Ash, reminded loudly.
Red paused, then continued.
"Ash, when you first met me, was I… more transparent than now?"
Ash was silent a moment, then nodded.
When he met Red, Red's condition was actually worse than now.
At the time, he thought he'd met a ghost.
Later, for some unknown reason, he forgot about Red until now, seeing him again, he remembered.
Red's condition seemed much better than back then, but clearly, the physical problem remained unresolved—still on the verge of disappearing. So Ash wanted to know why Red became like this, secretly hoping this big brother wouldn't die…
Hearing Ash's affirmation, Red became more certain of his guess.
He also understood the meaning of his appearance here.
Is this… the way this world has found an outlet? Then I'll gamble with you!
After secretly resolving himself, Red wanted to smile at Ash but found even in soul form, controlling a smile was difficult.
He didn't force it, continuing with a neutral expression.
"Next… I'll tell you the cause and effect of this incident. Let me think… where to start…"
"Let's start with the origins of the two of us."
Red looked at the unconscious Vicious and began to unveil the shocking incident.
He, Red, was an ordinary trainer. He started at age ten and was beaten down by his powerful rival, Blue, in his first battle. In an ordinary year, he challenged eight Gyms and disbanded Team Rocket.
In an ordinary year, he defeated the Elite Four, beat Blue who had just become Champion, and became the youngest Champion in Kanto history.
This was Red's unremarkable first year as a trainer.
Everyone: …
Disbanded Team Rocket in one year, defeated the Elite Four and became Kanto Champion within a year—and he calls that ordinary???
But after Red's brief autobiography, everyone had a doubt.
They'd never heard the name Red in Kanto?
If, as Red said, he defeated eight Gyms and the Elite Four in a year, why wasn't his legend known in Kanto?
Also, he disbanded Team Rocket?
Wasn't it Ash Ketchum who disbanded Team Rocket?
Though not completely, at least he brought Team Rocket to the brink of collapse.
What was Red talking about disbanding Team Rocket?
"…You must be wondering why you've never heard my name, right?"
"It's natural you haven't, because I am not from your world. Including this guy named Vicious, he is also not from your world."
Everyone: !!!
A dif…different world?
"The world I live in should be called a parallel world. The so-called parallel world…"
Red briefly explained the concept of parallel worlds and parallel counterparts.
Hearing this, everyone looked at Ash…
PS 1: Hey readers! I hope you're enjoying this fic. I've launched a new Naruto fanfic titled
"Naruto: The Promotion Gambit." Give it a read ! If you enjoy it, drop some Power Stones, and add it to your library!
PS : I've fixed and polished every chapter on Patreon. I'd really appreciate your support so I can continue the story.
Read the complete fic (soon all chapters will be uploaded ), 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