[Ultra Grand Ranking will begin shortly!]
[This ranking does not include betting. All ranked individuals will receive rewards.]
[This ranking includes an interactive quiz mode. All viewers, please prepare.]
[A new legend… begins now!]
The glowing words on the screen slowly faded away.
And the footage officially began.
Ash, Misty, and the others were still watching the projection inside Professor Oak's laboratory—
But unlike yesterday, there was one more person present today.
Red.
This was Red's second time watching a Heavenly Ranking.
Last time, the protagonist had been himself.
And since everything shown had been events he personally experienced, aside from a sense of novelty, there had been little surprise.
To others, things like becoming Champion in two months, dismantling Team Rocket with a single sentence, or capturing the Legendary Birds were shocking feats.
To Red—
It was simply a replay of his own life.
But now…
This brand-new ranking—
What kind of perspective would it bring him?
The scene opened with a boy in black clothes, wildly pumping his fists in excitement.
On the computer in front of him, a Pokémon League match was playing.
When Red saw the person on screen, he froze.
"That's… Ash?"
Was it Ash's turn to be ranked?
[Audience Comments]
"Damn, it's Ash again!"
"At this point, aside from Red's ranking, Ash has appeared in every single one!"
"Don't slander—Red and Ash are counterparts. Red showing up counts as Ash too!"
"If you round it up, Ash has literally never missed a ranking!"
"Is Ash the protagonist of the world or something?"
"..."
Ash's reappearance instantly sparked a heated discussion.
So far, this was already Ash's tenth time appearing in the rankings.
There had only been eleven total rankings.
The only one he hadn't appeared in—
Had instead featured his parallel-world counterpart.
What kind of protagonist treatment was this?
[Cynthia]: Rainbow Hero? Does that mean… Ash met Ho-Oh?
[Wallace]: Come to think of it, didn't Ash previously receive one of Ho-Oh's true feathers as a reward? What kind of Pokémon is Ho-Oh exactly?
[Professor Oak]: Ho-Oh is a high-tier Legendary Pokémon of the Johto region. According to legend, it possesses the power to revive the dead. However, due to certain events, it has not appeared before humanity for many years.
Cynthia, well-versed in mythology, and Professor Oak, the leading Pokémon scholar, naturally knew about Ho-Oh.
But—
Ho-Oh hadn't appeared before humans in over a hundred years.
Aside from Ash receiving a feather due to ranking rewards, there had been virtually no information about it in the world.
And now—
"Rainbow Hero"?
Professor Oak fell silent after explaining.
Ash had once said, on the very first day of his journey, that he'd seen Ho-Oh.
Oak had laughed it off as a child's fantasy.
Who in their right mind meets a once-in-a-century Legendary on day one?
Now it seemed…
It might have been true.
The Footage Continues
After watching TV for a while, Delia walked in and scolded Ash.
Tomorrow was his tenth birthday—he was supposed to receive his Pokémon.
If he stayed up this late, he'd oversleep.
The audience quickly realized—
This was the very beginning of Ash's story.
Were they really going this far back for the Rainbow Hero?
Under Delia's scolding, Ash obediently went to bed.
And the trajectory unfolded just as everyone remembered.
Oversleeping.
Missing the starters.
Receiving Pikachu.
Setting out on his journey.
Then—
The familiar Spearow.
The familiar chase.
And that familiar title—
Super Pallet Rookie.
Watching Ash crash through forests, rivers, and chaos all over again, people couldn't help but sigh.
"Super Rookie" truly lived up to its name.
Then came the iconic moment—
"I'm going to become a Pokémon Master!"
Every time those words were spoken, blood still boiled.
Lightning erupted.
Pikachu's thunder obliterated everything.
The Spearow flock was wiped out in an instant.
At this point—
Red was already visibly moved.
Unlike everyone else, this was his first time seeing Ash's ranking.
And for the first time—
He truly began to understand Ash.
Before, Red's goodwill toward Ash had partly come from instinctive affinity—
And partly from the practical need to train Ash quickly, so they could battle and allow Red to return to his own world.
But now—
Even without those reasons—
Red would still be willing to nurture Ash seriously.
Because Ash was worthy of it.
Ash's love for Pokémon was so pure that even Red felt ashamed by comparison.
If Red himself had faced that situation on day one…
He might have run away.
(Of course, the current Red would never abandon his partners.)
And that Pikachu's potential—
It was even higher than Red had imagined.
Perhaps even exceeding his own round-faced Pikachu.
"Wait… why am I not in the footage?"
Misty frowned.
The first ranking clearly showed Ash stealing her bike.
Why wasn't it here?
And why hadn't Ash ridden a bike at all this time?
"I don't know… maybe they skipped it?"
Ash waved it off, then pointed excitedly.
"Look! This is when I met Ho-Oh!"
The Ho-Oh Encounter
Under Pikachu's thunder, the dark clouds dispersed.
The sky burned crimson like flames.
The sun began to set.
Ash suddenly felt something and looked up.
A massive bird bathed in rainbow light soared across the sky.
It resembled a peacock.
Golden and red feathers covered its body, yellow tail plumes trailing behind.
White feathers lined its underside.
A golden crest crowned its head.
Seven-colored light radiated brilliantly from its form.
Ash felt—
It looked at him.
Then, in a flash, it vanished beyond the horizon.
As Ash stood frozen, a single radiant feather drifted down.
He instinctively reached out.
The feather landed perfectly in his palm.
And the moment he grasped it—
The rainbow light intensified.
"What… is this?"
"Pika?"
Ash stared at the rainbow stretching across the sky.
"Pikachu… that Pokémon looked really strong."
"Pika~"
"One day… We'll go meet it again."
"Pikachu!!"
And just like that—
Ash's bond with Ho-Oh was forged.
The screen slowly darkened.
Veteran viewers knew—
This wasn't the end.
It was the beginning of something new.
Back in Professor Oak's Backyard
Ash scratched his head awkwardly as Delia scolded him.
This was already the second time she'd watched her son relive a near-death experience.
"You have no idea how scared I was when I saw you surrounded by Spearow! I thought I was going to lose you!"
"I know, Mom… but I'm fine, right?"
Ash replied weakly.
Professor Oak suddenly blurted out—
"Ash! Did you obtain Ho-Oh's rainbow feather at the very start?!"
Ash shook his head.
"No… the version of me in the footage seems different."
"I did see Ho-Oh—but it didn't give me a feather."
Oak froze.
Ash had no reason to lie.
He'd already handed over the World Tree branch—why lie about a feather?
Then—
What exactly was this footage?
As Ash continued his journey in the projection, something felt off.
He caught Pidgeotto and Caterpie in Viridian Forest.
Defeated Brock.
Beat Lt. Surge.
Then, challenged the Celadon Gym.
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