The so-called six Regis wasn't Brandon bluffing. According to the intelligence he'd gathered, there were two other Regis in the Galar region: Regidrago and Regieleki.
These two Regis had an even older history than the original three. If all five Regis could be gathered together, one could track down the legendary Regigigas.
As long as he could catch Regigigas along with the rest, he would truly possess six Regis. By then, fighting Ash again would definitely create an incredible six-on-six showdown.
After coming out of the Battle Pyramid, Ash and the others found a Pokémon Center and handed Charizard, Gardevoir, and Pikachu over to Nurse Joy for treatment. Charizard and Gardevoir were fine. It was mainly stamina overdrawn, and they would recover after resting for a night. But Pikachu's situation was a bit more complicated.
"This Pikachu's body has no major issues, but its physical strength is exaggeratedly strong. This far exceeds the physical strength of Pokémon at the same level." Nurse Joy looked at the inspection report, her brows slightly furrowed.
"This is normal, Nurse Joy. Just like my heart is far more passionate than the love expressed by my appearance, we are naturally..." Brock hadn't even finished speaking before he was directly dragged away by Misty grabbing his ear.
"Nurse Joy is talking about serious matters! What are you interrupting for? Get back here!" Although she would usually pull Brock's ear, she was definitely never as violent as this time.
Right now, Nurse Joy was treating Ash's Pokémon, and this guy suddenly pulled this stunt, startling Joy. What if she forgot what she wanted to tell Ash?
"Uh. Ahem, Nurse Joy, please continue." Ash looked at Brock being violently pulled away, subconsciously touching his own cheek, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. After becoming boyfriend and girlfriend with Misty, she had always been relatively gentle in front of him, causing him to almost forget that this current version was Misty's true nature.
In the future, he must never get carried away in front of Misty. Otherwise, even if he were a humanoid Pokémon, he probably wouldn't be able to escape Misty's ear-pulling technique.
"Overall, Pikachu is fine, but I must inform you about this physical strength that far exceeds its power level. As its Trainer, you should know what happened, right?"
Ash nodded and was just about to say something when Nurse Joy spoke up first. "As long as you know. You don't need to tell me the specific reason. This is your secret. Anyway, as long as it doesn't cause any damage to the Pokémon's body, it's fine."
After speaking, Nurse Joy winked at Ash and walked into the treatment room inside the Pokémon Center. Leaving Ash and Pikachu staring at each other in blank dismay.
"Sorry, almost forgot about you." Nurse Joy, who had entered the treatment room, turned back, picked up Pikachu, and then jogged back inside.
Before leaving, helpless gazes appeared in both Pikachu's and Ash's eyes.
After the brief interlude, Ash's expression calmed down as he recalled the data sheet that had appeared in his mind when he'd brought Pikachu to the Pokémon Center earlier.
Species: Pikachu (Third Rebirth)
Gender: Male
Type: Electric
Level: Low Elite Four
Ability: Static
Held Item: Light Ball
Moves: Thunderbolt, Volt Tackle, Thunder, Electric Terrain... Stats: Physical Attack S+(S+), Special Attack S+(S+), Defense A+(A+), Special Defense A+(A+), Stamina S(S), Speed S+(S+)
Pikachu had somehow already reached the third evolution stage, and after the third evolution, its level had only dropped back to Elite Four Low.
Pikachu's level before the third rebirth had merely been Elite Four Peak. Relying on partner form to reach Champion level in a short time didn't mean Pikachu had truly reached Champion.
According to normal rebirth resets, Pikachu's strength would have dropped directly from Elite Four Peak to High level, and its overall stats would not have been raised to the limit of its current level. Furthermore, the dual attack stats were even less likely to exceed a Pokémon's limits.
S+ dual attacks. This was a stat value that would only appear in partner form, a stat value that had already exceeded the limit of a Pokémon's current level, a power that theoretically did not exist in the world.
That was something even tier-one Legendaries couldn't do. Whether it was Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, or Lugia, none of them managed to break through the limit of S-grade stats, but Pikachu did it.
As the evolution stages continued, Pikachu could even raise its stats to SS, SS+, and so on. Although this was something he had anticipated long ago, when Ash saw Pikachu truly exceeding the limit of its stats, he was still very shocked.
Moreover, what puzzled Ash the most right now was how Pikachu managed to reach the third rebirth stage. He hadn't set foot in other regions, nor had he drawn the power of evolution from the Chat Group.
Drawn?
Ash, sitting in the Pokémon Center seat, suddenly raised his head, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind. It seemed he knew something.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Serena asked with some concern upon seeing Ash's sudden movement.
"Nothing, it's just that I suddenly remembered I haven't had cola in a long time. Can you help me order a bottle?"
Hearing this, Serena didn't suspect anything. "Is there anything else you want to eat?"
"Let's have omu rice too. Sorry everyone, I'm still a bit tired. I'll rest for a bit first, wake me up when the food is served." Saying this, Ash yawned, leaned against the seat, closed his eyes, and tilted his head, looking as if he had fallen asleep instantly.
Misty and Serena exchanged helpless glances, then didn't disturb Ash and continued ordering food. There were quite a few types of food at the Pokémon Center, including free and paid options. The paid varieties were definitely much better than the free ones, but compared to the dishes made by Ash and Brock, they fell somewhat short.
Ash, with his eyes closed, wasn't resting. Instead, he was immersed in the Chat Group. He was going in to figure out the reason why Pikachu had undergone this change. He actually had a rough guess as to what had caused it, but he still chose to come to the group to confirm it.
Awakened Ash: Senors, today my Pikachu, he...
In the group, Ash detailed Pikachu's performance. He had a rough guess as to the cause, but he still wanted confirmation.
Awakened Ash: Could this situation on Pikachu be related to that S-rank reward I drew back then, the Light of Hope?
This time, no one replied instantly. But after Ash waited patiently for half a minute, Champion Ash appeared.
Champion Ash: What that Light of Hope actually is, none of us have ever drawn it. But the rewards inside the Chat Group are actually things that we in various parallel worlds all possess, such as S-rank Aura Power, S-rank encounters, and so on.
Champion Ash: It's just that the Chat Group can convert those abstract things into concrete rewards. The so-called Light of Hope is the miraculous power that appears when we are on the verge of desperation.
Champion Ash: And the Light of Hope that you drew infinitely amplified that miraculous power, thereby causing Pikachu to erupt with that almost-impossible power and achieve an incredible third evolution.
Ash's guess wasn't wrong. The reason Pikachu had been able to erupt with that level of power was precisely because of the Light of Hope's effect.
After all, as an S-rank ability, it obviously couldn't just be written for looks. Look at the S-rank abilities Ash had drawn before.
This time's S-rank ability not only directly made Pikachu erupt with the power to instantly defeat Regice, but also allowed Pikachu to successfully achieve the third rebirth. Without this eruption of the Light of Hope, who knew when Pikachu would have been able to reach the third rebirth.
On one hand, it had to reach Champion level. On the other hand, Ash still had to draw the S-rank Limit Breakthrough from the Chat Group. The conditions to achieve this were simply harsh.
Yet now, in just a single battle, all conditions were met. And this couldn't be separated from Ash and Pikachu's obsession with victory. It was precisely because of this obsession, as well as the bond between both parties, that this miraculous power was triggered.
Otherwise, even if Pikachu burst with potential, at most it would only barely defeat Regice. Wanting to beat Regice into that near-death state would have been impossible even with every ounce of strength it had.
Breeder Ash: Tsk tsk, I have to say, newbie, your Pikachu's evolution speed is really fast! It has already reached the third rebirth before even walking out of the Johto region. Could it reach the fourth rebirth before walking out of Johto?
Legendary Ash: If it really reaches the fourth rebirth, that would be incredible, right?
Unlucky Ash: So nice.
Aura Hero Ash: With the newbie's growth speed, it should be among the very top tier within the entire Chat Group.
Champion Ash: Not just the top tier, but unprecedented. The newbie should be the youngest Trainer in the Chat Group to own a full team of god-level Pokémon. We'll wait for the good news of you winning the Eight Greats championship.
Awakened Ash: Hehe, it's not that amazing. Thanks to the teachings of the seniors, and the assistance given by this Chat Group.
Ash wasn't being modest with these words. He genuinely believed this from the bottom of his heart. In fact, he should be the Ash with the lowest starting point in the entire Chat Group.
Inside the Chat Group, there probably wasn't any other Ash who didn't even memorize the type-effectiveness chart when setting out on a journey, and didn't even recognize Pikachu, which were as common as Pidgey by the roadside, right?
He had precisely that kind of starting point. If it weren't for the teachings of the seniors in the group and the help from the Chat Group's lottery rewards, let alone a Champion, he might not even be able to own a HIgh-level Pokémon right now.
Even if he really had High-level Pokémon, there would be at most one or two. How could it compare to now, where he could have a whole team of Elite Four level or higher Pokémon?
Champion Ash: Whether it's the Chat Group or our help, these are all part of your encounters. There's no need to mind such things. Just charge forward courageously. However, you must remember one thing: becoming the Eight Greats Champion is only a beginning.
Awakened Ash: Only a beginning?
Champion Ash: When you win the Eight Greats championship, you'll understand what I mean.
Awakened Ash: I got it. If nothing else, I'm heading out first!
In reality, Ash slowly opened his eyes. Just at this moment, the staff brought over the set meals they'd ordered.
"Ash, you really woke up at the right time. Don't tell me you smelled the aroma of the food?" Misty teased with a smile.
"Hehe, maybe so." Ash didn't deny it either. He straightened up, looked at the steaming rice in front of him, and his stomach immediately growled.
That big battle just now had consumed not only stamina and mental power, but even his energy reserves had been hollowed out.
"Let's dig in!"
After the meal, everyone returned to their respective rooms. Ash took a hot bath, feeling much more comfortable all over, and then lay on the bed, browsing the information about the Goldenrod Gym on his phone.
Goldenrod Gym. Gym Leader Whitney. Specialized in Normal-type Pokémon. Her main powerhouse was that notoriously troublesome Miltank.
Pikachu, Charizard, and the others all needed treatment until tomorrow to fully recover, but Ash didn't plan to let Charizard and the others take the field tomorrow either. That would really be somewhat bullying.
Although Whitney was powerful, compared to Brandon she definitely wasn't in the same class.
Speaking of which, it had been a long time since he'd sparred with a normal Gym Leader. The only relatively normal Gym battle had been against Korrina. After that, he'd also fought a match with her grandfather Gurkinn. And both matches had been one-on-one.
This battle against the Goldenrod Gym was a proper three-on-three. He needed to think about which Pokémon would be best to use.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the cracks in the curtains of the Pokémon Center. Ash was woken up by Pikachu's cry.
"Pika Pika!"
Ash opened his eyes and found that Pikachu had already come out of the treatment room at some point, crouching beside his pillow and gently brushing his face with its fluffy tail.
"Pikachu! You're alright?" Ash scrambled up, holding Pikachu in his hands and looking him up and down.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu spiritedly waved his small fist, his cheek electric sacs crackling with electricity, looking fully recovered.
"Great! Brock, let's head out to challenge the Goldenrod Gym!"
Brock, lying in bed with sleep-heavy eyes, glanced at the phone time. 8:05.
"The Gym doesn't open until nine o'clock. You were so tired yesterday, yet you can still wake up this early. Are you even human?" Brock's phone slipped onto the pillow, his head tilted, and he was about to continue sleeping.
But Ash had already gotten up to wash up. That clattering sound made it impossible for Brock to fall asleep, forcing him to sit up abruptly.
"I'd better let Ash room with Misty. Serena and I will get a single room, or else being woken up so early by Ash every day will drive me to a nervous breakdown sooner or later."