Ash had been kissed by another woman again.
For Serena, this was a very cruel fact.
To be honest, Serena originally only had a slight fondness for Ash—a boy who had left a deep impression on her during childhood.
But then…
In the videos, both Black and White Ash encountered romantic situations one after another!
It was one thing for Black Ash—after all, he wasn't the Ash of their world.
Even though his face looked like Ash's face…
Serena could still accept that. But White Ash kept meeting romantic interests, and was even kissed! Twice! Twice!!
This not only dealt a huge blow to Serena's young heart, but also made Serena understand her own feelings clearly.
Yes—she simply liked Ash!
This was what it felt like to like someone!
What happened in the image was already set in stone and couldn't be changed, but… right now, Ash had only just reached the stage shown in the image.
The bad news was that Ash had been kissed multiple times.
The good news was that Ash's first kiss was still intact!
Bad news: Ash's romantic luck was very good.
Good news: Ash was oblivious to it all, and still didn't have a girlfriend!
She, Serena, still had a chance!
As for whether the Ash of this world would try to "have it all" like the Ash of the Black World… that wasn't something she, as someone who wasn't yet Ash's girlfriend, should worry about.
Even if he did want it all… she had to find a way to become his girlfriend first!!
Serena—full attack!
Apart from Serena, the one who suffered the most was Misty.
Damn it! After traveling together for so long, let alone kissing, we've only held hands a handful of times!
And every time, I get shown up by other women!
Both times right in front of me!
Thank Arceus it wasn't a kiss, or I would have shattered on the spot!
Though I'm not completely shattered now, I'm not far from it!
Isn't this a kind of NTR?!
Serena had only watched it twice, but Misty had watched it four times!!
This made Misty, who had just reunited with Ash, not want to pay attention to him anymore.
Although she knew it was Latias disguised as Kanon, the fact remained—Latias had done it!
This was undoubtedly a heavyweight and famous scene for Kanon!
All she could say was… as expected of you, Latias!
You easily accomplished what other Pokémon couldn't!
[Steven Stone]: Hahaha! My Diancie is back! I'm alive again!!
[Wallace]: I'm going crazy again… You'd better answer a question wrong next time, so I can confiscate your Diancie again.
[Steven Stone]: NO NO NO, that's impossible! Next time, I will never answer a question unless I'm absolutely sure! This punishment is truly terrible!
Although Diancie had only been temporarily sealed this time,
Steven truly understood what it meant to lose his beloved! Utter devastation as far as the eye could see!
If he wasn't absolutely sure next time, he really wouldn't dare answer any questions!
[Flora]: Hey, Ash, which felt better—when I kissed you, or when Latias kissed you? Was Latias's mouth as soft as mine? Did you recognize it was Latias when she kissed you?
Flora started stirring up trouble.
Classic case of enjoying the drama without caring about consequences. Flora directly used an attack that dealt 1000 damage to the enemy but 500 to herself!
Serena, who had been about to launch her attack, fell silent for a moment!
[Serena]: …
[Misty]: …
[Brock]: Should this move be called… rubbing salt in the wound?
[Caitlin]: Tsk tsk, Misty and Serena just took critical hits!
[Lance]: Ah, young people's love lives really are complicated.
[Lorelei]: … Lance, you're only in your twenties. Why are you pretending to be an old man?
[Bruno]: Yeah, Lance, are you twenty-eight or twenty-nine now? You're not even thirty yet, are you? It's a bit much to call yourself elderly!
[Lance]: When did I ever call myself elderly?
[Agatha]: Doesn't your tone of sighing about "young people" mean you're calling yourself old?
[Flora]: Not important, not important! I'm more curious about Ash's feelings right now! So, which was more comfortable—mine or Latias's?
Flora asked the question once more.
This time, the male lead was forced to respond. He could either choose to ignore the topic change, or say both were good—a compromise answer.
But what did their Ash do?
[Ash]: Huh? The sensation of a human and a Pokémon are obviously completely different! Latias doesn't even have lips! How can you compare them?
[Ash]: What I should say is… Latias seemed to press close to my face. It felt as soft as my cheek—cool and comfortable. As for Flora's… it's been too long. I forgot.
[Flora]: ? ? ? ?
Say that again!!
That was my first kiss! And you just forgot when you say you forgot?!?
Even if it wasn't a real kiss, it still counted as a kiss!!
Flora took massive critical damage.
What could be worse than losing to Latias?
Being completely forgotten by Ash!!
No, she had to kiss him again next time!
She needed to find time to buy a ferry ticket to the Kanto region!
He actually forgot about her kiss!
This was intolerable!
[Karen]: I feel like… Ash accidentally chose the best answer among a bunch of fatal options!
[Diantha]: Is that even possible? Ash's answer only offended Flora, while comforting the other girls' emotions! Latias probably loves him even more now!
[Ash]: Huh? What other girls? Wasn't I just answering Flora's question?
[Misty]: Sometimes, Ash, I really don't know if you're pretending to be dumb or if you're genuinely that dense!
[Serena]: Hmph~ Seeing how perfect your answer was, I'll forgive your denseness for now~
[Lillie]: I think Ash really is dense~ Oh no, I shouldn't say that to someone—that's a bit rude. I'm sorry, Ash, I shouldn't have said that.
[Ash]: If you know it's rude to say it, then don't say it!! This is text, not voice!! Explaining it like this makes it even ruder!
Ash transformed into a complainer, directly complaining to Lillie!
The pleasant, joyful atmosphere dispelled the heavy topics from the Black World earlier.
Ash's romantic entanglement had successfully become entertainment for people worldwide.
It had to be said—watching a dense guy navigate romantic situations was quite entertaining.
While everyone was chatting, the Black World screen slowly began to light up. It was Black Ash's turn to appear again!
In the Black World —
Ash and his party said goodbye to Celebi and left the forest.
After learning that the world only had five years left, everyone felt somewhat heavy. Especially Ash, who carried the world's hope on his shoulders.
But… as everyone encountered various events along the way, thoughts of the world's destruction were eventually pushed to the backs of their minds. Life would continue.
If they worried about such things all day, they'd be crushed by psychological pressure before the battle even began.
A few days passed. Due to Vicious's death, a major earthquake occurred within Team Universe!
Their leader had disappeared without a trace in some forest.
No message was sent, no information about going elsewhere.
The Team Universe members in the forest not only failed to find Celebi, but had even lost their own leader!
After losing Vicious, Team Universe fell into chaos within just a few days!
It wasn't that Vicious was so respected within Team Universe, but… with the loss of both Vicious and Dr. Namba, Team Universe's biggest draw for recruits had also disappeared!
That was the Dark Ball!
Only Vicious knew how to make Dark Balls, and Dr. Namba was responsible for production.
Without these two, Dark Ball production had ceased.
It could be said that every Dark Ball used was one less available.
Without Dark Balls, Team Universe's appeal plummeted!
After all, Team Rocket was the orthodox name among underground organizations.
Logically, how could an organization like Team Universe, which had split from Team Rocket, compare to the original?
If not for the Dark Balls, most people would prefer to stay in Team Rocket or join them.
Although Team Rocket had a terrible reputation externally,
the benefits within the organization were actually quite good.
Otherwise, so many people wouldn't flock to join.
In short, Team Universe, having lost Vicious, transformed from a rising tiger into a fading horse. No… perhaps it was more appropriate to compare them to a dying Magikarp. They couldn't even use Splash anymore.
And this news was brought to Ash by the Team Rocket trio.
Internally, Team Rocket applauded the demise of that organization!
The Team Rocket trio were especially happy.
If not for the fact that they couldn't reveal information about Rainbow Rocket and the future invasion of this world, they would have been rewarded based on their merits!
Why couldn't they reveal it?
Because the Team Rocket trio had now joined Ash's side! To be precise… they had formed a temporary cooperation with Ash, to last until the Rainbow Rocket crisis was resolved!
In Meowth's words—The world's about to end, why would we bother catching Pikachu?
So now, the Team Rocket trio had become Ash's intelligence organization!
If not for these three knowing everything, Ash wouldn't have learned about Team Universe so quickly.
It had to be said, even though the trio got blasted off by him all day long, these three were still quite reliable when it came to gathering information… as long as they weren't doing bad things.
Now, Team Universe was shattered.
Team Rocket turned to the offensive, directly suppressing Team Universe and beginning to recruit members who had sadly left!
The League naturally noticed this situation, and they even secretly helped Team Rocket.
Only after experiencing both Team Rocket and Team Universe did they realize—two conflicting underground organizations were far more harmful than one!
If not for the League's own dignity, they would have wanted to release Giovanni and let him take charge again.
Of course, Giovanni might not still have the ambition to control the Rocket organization.
Setting aside Team Rocket and Team Universe matters for now, Ash and the others had arrived at a place called the Lake of Rage.
After crossing here, they could reach Mahogany Town. But the four of them stopped.
Crowds of people surrounded the Lake of Rage, all watching something.
Ash and Sabrina used their Psychic powers to push through with Brock and Misty in tow.
Sorry, people with Psychic powers were like that—crowds couldn't stop them.
Arriving at the front viewing area of the Lake of Rage, everyone finally understood what was happening.
It was a Red Gyarados fiercely battling a Dewgong!
Calling it a battle was generous—it was a one-sided beating of the Gyarados!
The Red Gyarados appeared to be a wild Pokémon. Its attacks were completely unorganized.
Moreover, the Red Gyarados seemed to be in a state of rage. Its attacks came like a stormy sea, one after another.
But the Dewgong on the opposite side effortlessly received the opponent's attacks, occasionally countering with Ice Beam and Blizzard!
The surrounding lake water was condensing into ice cubes layer by layer without Gyarados noticing.
Ash could tell that the moment the surrounding ice completely froze the lake surface, Gyarados would fall.
This tactic… there must be a trainer behind the Dewgong.
Ash looked around and immediately focused on a figure standing on a distant bridge.
The figure stood with hands behind his back, temples white, face cold, eyes devoid of emotion.
He commanded the Dewgong effortlessly, easily dodging all of Gyarados's attacks.
He also immediately judged which attacks would hit the shore and ordered Dewgong to create ice blocks to block them.
Both offensive and defensive—calm and composed… what a great trainer!
Ash sighed inwardly, also feeling that the figure seemed somewhat familiar…
"Ash… is that Gyarados berserk?"
Misty frowned slightly, asking Ash with some concern.
She had always held a special feeling for Water-type Pokémon.
Even the most ferocious Gyarados, which she feared most, she actually liked deep down. But due to childhood trauma, she had an instinctive fear of them.
Now seeing Gyarados being utterly dominated, her love and concern for it had been reawakened.
"It should be. I've been observing its Aura—it's very chaotic… Not like anger from something external, but more like involuntary rage from confusion and mental pain."
Ash had been using Aura sense since the beginning, and he was somewhat puzzled by Gyarados's current state.
But right now, the old man was about to command Dewgong to defeat Gyarados.
Once Gyarados was defeated, it should calm down.
Intervening in a battle between a trainer and a wild Pokémon could easily be misunderstood as trying to steal the opponent's Pokémon, so Ash had no intention of interfering.
"That's a product of our Team Rocket, meow!"
A familiar voice reached Ash and the others' ears.
They followed the sound and found Team Rocket's Meowth standing at Ash's feet, side by side with Pikachu.
There were too many people here,
and Ash's Aura sense had been focused on Gyarados, so he hadn't noticed Meowth approaching.
"Why are you here?"
"Never mind, not important. What do you mean, 'a product of Team Rocket'?"
Sabrina asked coldly, her tone doubtful.
After asking the first question, she felt it was somewhat redundant.
As long as Ash and Pikachu were around, these three would appear nearby.
She should have realized by now.
So she directly asked the next question.
Meowth licked its paw and replied slowly.
"Just what it sounds like, meow."
"That Gyarados evolved using the Evolutionary Wave that was being developed back when Boss Giovanni was still around."
"But after Boss Giovanni surrendered, the Evolutionary Wave project was shelved. The newly appointed Apollo and Vicious were too busy competing with each other to pay attention to it."
"Team Rocket even had a base here back then!"
"What's the principle behind the Evolutionary Wave?"
Ash's voice was completely flat, but it made Meowth's paw-licking suddenly freeze.
It had been following Ash for so long—
Ash's habits, tone, personality—all had been analyzed by Team Rocket.
This kind of emotionless tone was proof that Ash was about to explode!
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