In the black world—
In the end, fate still repeated itself.
Mewtwo released the Dark Balls he had created long ago and began forcibly stealing everyone's Pokémon.
After all, Mewtwo had followed Giovanni for years.
He did have his own consciousness and will,
But most of his thoughts had inevitably been shaped by Giovanni and Team Rocket.
So Mewtwo also acted without restraint.
You could see that from the very beginning.
The only reason he'd spared Ash and Gary was out of a warped "dignity of the strong."
But now, with Ash's words of pity ringing in his ears, Mewtwo's anger flared.
He didn't need pity.
He was the strongest Pokémon in the world.
No one had the right to sympathize with him—and no one could surpass him.
Giovanni had treated him like a tool, subjected him to inhuman experiments.
So what was wrong with taking revenge on humanity?
He wasn't the one who was wrong.
Humanity was.
At first, when Ash saw the Dark Balls,
He had a bad feeling—
But he thought, at worst, that Mewtwo was just releasing an army of Pokémon to fight them.
However, when those Dark Balls started directly capturing Corey's, Neesha's, and even Fergus's Pokémon,
Ash finally understood.
This wasn't to send Pokémon into battle.
It was to steal them.
Mewtwo had perfectly inherited Team Rocket's worst trait:
Snatching other people's partners.
And yet…
Even as he stole other people's Pokémon,
Mewtwo still made all of the Dark Balls avoid Ash and Gary.
It showed that Mewtwo still had a certain… twisted sense of honor.
But that kind of "honor" was exactly what Ash didn't need.
"Stop, Mewtwo! Don't go further and further down the wrong path!"
Wrong? What is wrong? What is right? Who defines such things?
Right here, right now—I am the rule. If I say something is right, then it is right.
"…That doesn't make any sense anymore. Pikachu—Thunderbolt!"
Ash had originally hoped that after defeating Mewtwo's cloned Pokémon, he could sit down and talk to him properly.
But now, he realized that had been nothing more than wishful thinking.
Mewtwo wasn't going to calm down just because one of his Pokémon lost.
Unless…
Ash defeated him too.
So he didn't hesitate to let Pikachu fire a full-power Thunderbolt.
The golden electricity crashed into a transparent blue barrier and was completely blocked.
Give up. You cannot win against me. Once I have taken and copied all of their Pokémon… then you may leave.
Ash clenched his fists.
"Do you even hear yourself?"
"Like this… how are you any different from Team Rocket, the ones who play with life?"
"You say no one asked you if you wanted to be brought into this world—but have you ever considered how the Pokémon you created feel?"
Mewtwo fell silent.
"Your birth is a fact that already exists," Ash continued. "But their birth…"
"That's something you decide."
"I don't think cloned lives are 'fake.' As long as you're standing here, it means you have a reason to live in this world!"
"Not for revenge—but for your own goals!"
"And if you don't have one yet…"
"Then go find one, you big idiot!!"
"BOOM!!"
A terrifying surge of blue Aura exploded from Ash's body.
In an instant, all the Dark Balls froze in midair.
The Pokémon that had already been absorbed were forcibly released.
Mewtwo stared at Ash in shock.
What did you just do?
"It was just a little trick with Aura control," Ash said. "Nothing amazing."
"But this is what I really plan to do—"
"Beat some sense into you!"
He tore off his gloves and wrist guards and tossed them to the side.
They hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Misty and Brock were stunned.
"Ash, he… he didn't wear things like that when he was traveling with us, right?" Misty whispered.
"N–No way… those gloves and guards have to weigh at least ten kilos total!" Brock gulped. "He's been carrying that load around this whole time?"
Gary's mouth twitched.
This guy…
Whether as a kid or now, he was always this outrageous.
But he was also the one least surprised by Ash's weights.
Ash had been "grinding" like this since they were little. That part wasn't shocking.
What came next, though, was.
"I gotta ask, Ash… why are you taking off your weights?" Gary said, his expression turning odd. He had a bad feeling he already knew the answer.
"What else?" Ash grinned. "To punch Mewtwo in the face and wake him up!"
With that, Ash charged forward, Aura roaring off of him like blue fire.
Every Dark Ball in his path shattered into fragments.
In the blink of an eye, he was face-to-face with Mewtwo—
And drove his fist straight at him.
At that moment, the image paused.
...
[What will be the outcome of the battle between Black Ash and Mewtwo?]
[A: He shatters Mewtwo's barrier with a single punch, sends him flying with a kick, and wakes him from his delusion of being "invincible."]
[B: Even Black Ash, going all out, can't match Mewtwo and ultimately loses.]
[C: The battle is evenly matched until Mew intervenes and the two legendaries talk it out.]
[D: They attack each other so fiercely that New Island is almost destroyed before both choose to stop.]
[You have three minutes to answer. Timer starting now.]
Another quiz appeared.
This time, everyone was given a full three minutes—
Probably to give the emotionally-damaged viewers a chance to breathe.
[Bruno: Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Do I need to see an eye doctor?]
[Agatha: I'll go with you.]
[Siebold: Count me in.]
[Cynthia: Okay, you three, enough clowning around. I get that it's hard to accept, but this really is what it looks like… Ash is about to fight Mewtwo with his bare hands.]
[Ash: Wait, so the other me has been wearing weights this whole time?! He's not hiding anything else, is he?!]
[Gary: Can't help it. That's what you call "hardcore." Honestly, Ash, if you were as obsessive as he is, I'd just lay down and admit defeat. Is that even a level a human can reach?]
[Mewtwo: …Looking at these four options now, I'm starting to wonder if I should be glad the Ash in this world didn't train like that. Otherwise… I'd probably already be lying on the floor with my eyes rolled back.]
Even a being like Mewtwo felt a flicker of fear looking at the options.
Anyone with half a brain could tell—
Black Ash wouldn't rush in like that just to throw his life away.
The power of Aura could sense an opponent's approximate strength.
In other words, Black Ash believed—
He had a real chance to knock this version of Mewtwo down.
Only then would he charge in.
That idea alone was ridiculous.
Even if Mewtwo hadn't been at full strength during this "counterattack,"
He still could have crushed most of the Pokémon in the world.
And yet Black Ash actually felt he had a shot?
Then again…
White Ash—who hadn't done any special training—had already cracked his barrier in the movie with a single punch.
It wasn't that crazy to imagine a fully trained Black Ash completely shattering his shield.
…Right?
Mewtwo still didn't understand.
Whether it was Black Ash or White Ash, where did that terrifying physical power even come from?
Were they just the single insane outlier among billions of humans?
[Bea: So… which one do we pick? C or D?]
[Marshal: Why can't it be A?]
[Steven: A is way too ridiculous. Please, we're talking about Mewtwo here, not some random Rattata. Its power is at least on par with an average second-tier legendary—maybe even one with a divine role.]
[Steven: If Ash could just smack him around, wouldn't that mean Ash's level is close to a first-tier legendary? I'd sooner believe Arceus drowned himself.]
[Ash: Why is no one choosing B?]
[Gary: Because you're trying to bait us into picking B. Black Ash can use Aura to measure Mewtwo's combat power. Do you really think he'd charge in against an opponent he knows he can't beat?]
[Gary: Look at his expression and that posture. Does that look like someone heading to a hopeless fight?]
[Cynthia: So basically, the real choices are between C and D…]
As everyone debated, three minutes passed quickly.
[This round's respondents: Ash, Serena, Steven, Bruno.]
[Ash and Steven chose C, Bruno chose D, Serena chose A. Due to priority based on speed, Steven was reassigned to option B.]
[Steven: Ah, my hand speed was just a bit too slow.]
[Bruno: Heh, it's not that you're slow—it's that Ash is too fast. He's the guy who shattered Mewtwo's barrier with his bare hands, remember.]
[Steven: Fair point. Speed is power.]
[Ash: Serena, why did you choose A?]
[Serena: I just think… if it's Black Ash, he'd only rush in like that if he was completely sure.]
[Serena: Because on his side, his friends are at stake. Whether it's White Ash or Black Ash, he'd never let his partners stay in danger.]
[Serena: If there's danger, he'll always think about getting his friends to safety first. Before he saves anyone else… he has to protect what he already has, right?]
Ash fell quiet, thinking.
That… did sound like something he'd do.
How did Serena know him better than he did?
[Congratulations to Serena for answering correctly. Reward: World Cuisine.]
[World Cuisine: A very mysterious book containing all kinds of dishes and desserts from around the world. Most importantly, the holder only needs to read a recipe once to learn it perfectly. A peerless treasure for capturing a man's stomach!]
[Note: This book is bound to Serena. Everyone else must learn recipes the normal way and will not gain the "learn at a glance" effect.]
World Cuisine.
A book no one had ever heard of before.
Judging by its description, though, it was probably the ultimate dream of every chef.
It supposedly contained recipes for countless dishes from all over the world.
And the user could learn any recipe just by reading it once.
For any cook, that was practically a holy relic.
For Serena,
Being able to improve her cooking quickly already made her happy.
She'd always loved making food and sweets.
But what made her even happier was the last line:
A peerless treasure for "capturing a man's stomach."
Once she mastered those recipes and cooked for Ash…
Wouldn't that make it impossible for him to live without her?
Just thinking about it made the corners of her mouth curl up uncontrollably.
"Go on and laugh if you want, Serena," her mother said. "It's just the two of us here. You can show your winner's smile."
"W–What winner's smile?!"
Serena's face went red as she protested.
[Siebold: World Cuisine, huh… That thing is every chef's fantasy.]
[Diantha: Don't get your hopes up, Siebold. Did you read the last line? That book's clearly meant for a certain little girl to "capture someone's heart" with food.]
[Sabrina: I also… want one…]
[Brock: I want it too!! My dream is to be a good husband and father, but cooking is one of my biggest hobbies! Serena, let me borrow it after you cook for Ash, okay?]
[Ash: Huh? Why would Serena cook for me? Serena's in Kalos right now, isn't she? Why would she come all the way here just to cook for me?]
[Melody: Okay, okay, straight-boy Ash, don't overthink it. If someone wants to feed you, just say thank you.]
[Rudy: This kid Ash already has Misty's favor—that's already the heavens spoiling him! How come so many people like him?! Did he save the galaxy in a past life?]
[Ash: Are you… the Navel Island Gym Leader from the Orange League?]
[Rudy: That's right, that's me.]
[Ash: The one who confessed to Misty and got rejected.]
[Rudy: ...]
You little—
[Brock: Ruthless. Completely ruthless.]
[Cynthia: Anyway… none of you are going to talk about the main point? Serena picked A and got it right. That means Black Ash really did beat Mewtwo down with his bare hands. Steven? Mewtwo? Any comments?]
[Steven: …6]
[Mewtwo: …6]
Mewtwo was slowly assimilating into meme culture.
Steven hadn't expected Black Ash's combat ability to be this insane.
Had he really reached first-tier legendary level?
At that point, "broken" didn't even begin to cover it.
The only words left were:
Monster. Freak. Walking contradiction. Lore error.
As everyone buzzed in shock and disbelief,
The black world's footage began to move again.
...
In the black world—
Ash's punch shot forward.
Aura wrapped around his fist, blazing with brilliant blue light.
Mewtwo instinctively threw up a psychic barrier—
"BOOM!!"
Crack—!
In the blink of an eye, the barrier was covered in dense fractures.
Mewtwo's face twisted.
Before he could process what was happening,
A second surge of force erupted from Ash's fist.
The already-damaged barrier shattered like glass.
The next thing Mewtwo saw was that small fist filling his vision—
"BANG!"
The "invincible" Mewtwo, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, was sent flying like a shooting star.
He smashed into the far wall of the arena with an earth-shaking crash,Leaving a deep crater.
Misty, Brock, Corey, Neesha, Gary: "…"
Are you even human?!
This was the same Mewtwo who had toyed with them and all the Pokémon present,
A Pokémon on par with a god.
And yet, Ash had broken his shield with one punch,
Then hammered him straight into the wall like a knocked-out NPC.
"This… this is something a human can do…?" Brock muttered.
"Whew…"
That sudden explosion of power had taken a toll on Ash, too.
He let out a slow breath, reined in the Aura leaking from his body,
And looked at Mewtwo with a serious expression.
"Now…"
"Can you hear what I'm saying?"
"A Pokémon who can't even beat me—how can you call yourself the strongest in the world?"
Mewtwo floated out of the crater in the wall, staring at Ash solemnly.
This boy…
Was no ordinary human.
...
Author's Note:
If you think this is impossible, let me give you a comparison.
Everyone's watched Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, right?
Using his Aura, Sir Aaron once activated the power of the Tree of Beginning and stopped a war.
A thousand years later, when Lucario tried to repeat that—
He realized his own Aura wasn't enough.
Ash had to step in and provide the rest.
That same Lucario's Aura Sphere could casually blast the three Regi guardians inside the Tree of Beginning,
Which basically means that, in terms of Aura alone, Lucario was nearing legendary-tier power.
From that, we can infer:
Without any formal Aura training,
Ten-year-old Ash already wielded Aura, after putting on those gloves, on a level comparable to a legendary Pokémon.
So a trained Black Ash,
Using Aura to take down a Mewtwo who hasn't yet grown to his full second-tier legendary prime—
Really isn't that unreasonable, is it?
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