The image on the Black World screen slowly faded, bringing that chapter of Black Ash's story to a close.
In comparison, the experiences at Clear Cliff were completely different between the Black and White worlds. Yet, even without Mewtwo's appearance on Black Ash's side, his journey was just as thrilling. After all, Black Ash had disbanded the infamous Team Rocket!
[Lance: Phew~ It's over! But to be honest… my first appearance was kind of lame! Why did I look so inexperienced?]
[Bruno: Do you think… my appearance was any more impressive?]
[Lorelei: Haha, I think my cameo went pretty well~]
Bruno and Lance recalled Lorelei's appearance… She was the only Elite Four member who wasn't completely shocked by Black Ash from the get-go. Well, she was shocked during their battle! But at least she held her own!
But what about Lance and Bruno? They lost their cool shortly after meeting him…
[Lance: You can't blame me, can you? Anyone who hears a ten-year-old defeated a champion ace-level Pokémon would be shocked if they took it seriously!]
A champion ace! That wasn't a level every Champion could claim. Currently, only Leon, Steven, himself, and Cynthia had Pokémon of that caliber. Alder, Diantha, and even the Champion candidate Wallace didn't. Bruno, Agatha, and Lorelei certainly didn't.
Some might say, "Lance, you have a champion ace but lost to Lorelei?" Hit the brakes! The champion ace had a 4x type weakness! Did they really think a champion ace was invincible?! Hadn't Black Ash's less-than-champion-level Pikachu taken down that Beedrill? Sure, it was partly because Giovanni didn't know Black Ash's tricks, but a loss was a loss! Pikachu's bizarre custom moves were incredibly effective. Giovanni had no way of predicting the aerial "Thunder Kirin"!
[Bruno: Yeah… If you saw a ten-year-old catch an Onix's Headbutt barehanded, most people would think they were dreaming, right?]
[Professor Oak: Haha, don't worry about it so much~ Every time Ash returns a Legendary Pokémon, doesn't my face look utterly distorted?]
Everyone silently recalled Professor Oak's expressions… Well, compared to him, they were at least slightly better. Professor Oak was the complete comic relief~
[Cynthia: By the way, the final scene… Mewtwo is about to reach Legendary-tier, right?]
[Diantha: That's right… didn't Lugia mention it? It should have taken at least half a month, but the breakthrough started now. It must be related to what Black Ash finally told Mewtwo.]
The last thing told… was, of course, that the Pokémon on Clear Cliff were safe, healthy, and thriving. But the most important part was likely Black Ash's final words: "As their guardian, you've done well." This sentence untied Mewtwo's psychological knot, allowing it to take a massive step toward its rebirth!
[Mewtwo: The me in that other world… improved very quickly. Even now, I've only just reached Legendary-tier, and that's because I borrowed the spring water from Clear Cliff to be reborn when I was near death.]
[Mewtwo: After my rebirth, I essentially crossed that threshold directly. However, it wasn't until recently that my power truly stabilized at the Legendary-tier.]
Crossing the threshold meant Mewtwo had reached the realm, but the realm didn't equate to immediate power. It just meant there were no bottlenecks. Despite this, it still took Mewtwo until recently to achieve true Legendary-tier power… The amount of power a Legendary needed to accumulate was simply terrifying!
Amid the discussion, the image on the White World screen slowly unfolded…
...
In the White World —
After the Mewtwo incident, Ash and the others continued toward Cianwood City. Along the way, they encountered the Ice God known as Articuno! This Articuno was definitely not comparable to the one in the Orange Islands, but it was still a Legendary Bird!
Before Ash and the others could fully process the excitement of seeing Articuno, Team Rocket started causing trouble. Of course, Articuno wouldn't tolerate it and fired an Ice Beam! However… the beam was reflected back by a Mr. Mime! It didn't hit Articuno, but the mere fact it reflected the move showed this Mr. Mime was extraordinary!
As expected in the follow-up, Team Rocket was blasted off again. The photographer Todd, who was following Ash, took a beautiful picture of Articuno. The group bid farewell to Articuno…
Later, Ash participated in a sumo wrestling competition. With Snorlax's strength, he won the championship and received the prize: a King's Rock and a year's supply of Pokémon food! However, this "year's supply" seemed a bit watered down… Snorlax finished it in under ten minutes. So, in the end, Ash's only tangible reward was the King's Rock.
After that, the group experienced various events. During this time, Brock's Golbat evolved into a Crobat, Ash's Chikorita evolved into Bayleef, and they arrived at Mahogany Town to challenge the Ecruteak Gym!
However, Morty, the Ecruteak Gym Leader, said he couldn't accept challenges because his Ampharos was sick, and he needed to go to Cianwood City for medicine. Learning there was a Cianwood Gym there, Ash and the others readily accepted the task. Cal, a gym trainee, also joined them.
After getting the medicine, Ash suggested Cal return first while they challenged the Cianwood Gym before heading back. Ash then faced Chuck of the Cianwood Gym. With the help of his newly evolved Bayleef, Ash won without much danger!
However, when Ash was about to return to Ecruteak City, he was told Ampharos hadn't fully recovered; Morty needed to tend to it a while longer before accepting challenges. So, on Chuck's recommendation, Ash and the others went to the Whirl Islands, where a "Whirl Cup" was being held. The winner would earn the title "Hero of the Whirl Islands" and receive a prize: a "Mystery Water."
Upon learning this, Ash and Misty eagerly signed up. The result? One made the Top 32, the other the Top 16. Misty made Top 16… Ash made Top 32…
...
[Gary: Hahaha! You laugh at my Top 32 every day. And what's the result? In a small competition, you can only make Top 32, right? Ash, you're still far behind!]
[Ash: Pfft! If Kingler hadn't been fighting a Dewgong for the first time and ran over to clamp its head, I wouldn't have lost!]
[Ash: Basically, Misty's Dewgong is slow to start, but once its power is triggered, I don't think even an Elite Four member could beat it!]
[Gary: So what if it's strong? Dewgong's weakness is too glaring. Not only is it slow to start, it needs its head clamped to unleash power.]
[Gary: Once that weakness is known, no matter how strong it is, it can't exert its power! And Ash, you obviously knew this but still blamed the Pokémon for your own mistake. You still need to grow!]
[Ash: …] Ash couldn't refute Gary's last point. He knew full well Dewgong would unleash immense power when its head was clamped. Yet, when directing Kingler, he didn't have it pay attention to that. That was indeed negligence on his part as a trainer.
[Misty: What does it matter if you lose to me? We're partners—who wins or loses doesn't matter! If anything… I feel bad for Ash. After beating him, I lost to Miss Cissy…] Misty rarely used her sharp tongue. Watching the original match again, she still felt regret… Losing to Cissy alone was one thing, but losing right after beating Ash made her feel like she'd lost twice… including the match against Ash! The worst part was… Cissy didn't even win the championship.
[Ash: That's right! Misty and I are on the same level!]
[Gary: ???]
[Delia: Oh my? When can I expect grandchildren?]
[Professor Oak: Uh… isn't that a bit fast? They should at least be eighteen?]
[Caitlin: I think sixteen is fine.]
[Misty: What the—?! Why are we suddenly jumping to babies?!]
[Misty: Ash was clearly talking about being equal as partners!]
[Ash: Um… huh? Isn't that what it means?]
[Gary: As expected of you, Ash!]
[Delia: Ash… maybe Mom should sign you up for a romance class? You could learn a thing or two from Gary.]
[Ash: …] He's only ten! Ten years old! Why were these people pushing romance on him? Wasn't the main goal now to become a Pokémon Master? Wasn't it fine to think about marriage after becoming the world's greatest Pokémon Master? And… it wasn't like he felt nothing, right? At least toward Misty…
...
In the White World —
After the Whirl Cup, Ash and the others prepared to return to Ecruteak City. However, on the way back, they ran into Ash's old rival—Harrison! Along with Harrison was another unexpected presence… Lugia! A baby Lugia, to be precise.
After the Orange Islands incident, Ash met Lugia again, though this little Lugia was simply incomparable to the one from the Orange Islands. Later, the little Lugia's mother arrived. After explanations from the group and the little Lugia putting in a good word, Lugia's mother believed Ash and the others weren't there to capture her child.
But… while Ash and the others weren't captors, others were! That person was Team Rocket's scientist—Dr. Namba! Dr. Namba devised a plan to capture Lugia and her child. Could a machine that trapped the Sea Guardian really be called Team Rocket's work? Unfortunately, it ultimately failed. With help from the Team Rocket trio, Ash and Harrison rescued Lugia and her child, blasting Dr. Namba and his subordinate Ambert off into the sky! Finally, Lugia and her child bid farewell to Ash and the others and returned to the sea.
...
[Lance: The Johto region, the Whirl Islands… I see. So that's the heir mentioned by Lugia.]
[Lugia: Yes, those are my heir and my mate… But to think they were controlled by that device… It shouldn't have happened. Perhaps they've gone too long without a real fight.]
The power of Legendaries was immense. Even without a specific domain, Lugia itself was an extremely powerful Legendary. Yet, this powerful Legendary was controlled by a shoddy Team Rocket machine… How embarrassing!
[Cynthia: I feel if the adult Lugia went all out, it should have Champion-level combat power, but it was captured before it could fully exert itself…]
[Lugia: Ahem, I'll remind them to be more vigilant next time. Even when resting outside, they shouldn't neglect their training.]
Lugia felt if this continued, its children might fall behind. Should it let the little Lugia follow Ash like in the other world? While White Ash hadn't trained his Pokémon intensively, the Pokémon he caught grew healthily and had good combat sense. Plus, now that White Ash had watched Black Ash's broadcast, his own trainer skills should have improved, at least enough for independent training… So, Lugia contemplated whether to let its heir follow Ash…
...
In the White World — After the Lugia incident, Ash and the others finally returned to Ecruteak City and obtained the Fog Badge from Morty without issue, continuing their journey.
Then… more trouble found them on the road. This time, it was a brand-new Mythical Pokémon—Celebi!
On the way to Mahogany Town, Ash and the others met a boy named Sammy and an injured Celebi in his arms. Later, Ash and Sammy became friends and took Celebi to a place called the "Lake of Life" in a nearby forest for treatment. The treatment went smoothly, and Celebi recovered.
However… after the treatment, Team Rocket's top executive—Vicious—appeared! Known as Team Rocket's top cadre, he was theoretically the number two under Giovanni, but secretly, he constantly plotted to overthrow Giovanni and become Team Rocket's leader! To rule the world, he set his sights on Celebi, learning its location from hunters who had pursued Celebi forty years ago.
He then used a Team Rocket-created robot to search for Celebi and used the Dark Balls he developed to forcibly control Celebi! These were Poké Balls Vicious developed using his own resources! Not only could they snatch others' Pokémon, but any Pokémon caught would be 100% obedient, its power greatly enhanced! The cost? The Pokémon lost its sanity—but what did that matter to Vicious? If anything, losing its mind was better!
During the confrontation between Ash, Sammy, Celebi, and Vicious, Celebi was eventually caught by a Dark Ball. Using the forest's energy, it transformed into a giant plant monster to fight Ash and the others!
Fortunately, Suicune appeared! With Suicune's help, Ash and the others succeeded in restoring Celebi's consciousness. Celebi used its will to destroy the Dark Ball and break free from control. However, Celebi was dying… Breaking free had consumed its last strength. It became withered and yellow, no longer that spirited, cute form…
As everyone fell silent, countless Celebi flew out from various points in space. Ash didn't know where they came from, but he knew they were here to save the dying Celebi!
The ending was a happy one for everyone: Celebi recovered, Sammy returned to the past, Vicious was left to sleep eternally in the forest, and Ash and the others continued their journey.
Subsequently, Ash sadly told Professor Oak they had lost a friend, a friend who might have gone to another time. Professor Oak responded with a smile:
"Haha, true friendship can't be erased by time. Even if you and Sammy are in different times, you'll always be friends."
After Ash hung up, Professor Oak sat on the sofa at his lab, flipping through a photo album. Inside was a hand-drawn picture of Celebi and Pikachu sleeping together. The drawing was already a bit faded.
Professor Oak couldn't help but sigh. "It feels… like it was just yesterday!"
At this point, the image on the White World screen slowly faded, but the real world was in an uproar!
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