What could it be?
Damian watched Ash with great interest.
As the protagonist of the anime, Ash's strength in the early and mid stages wasn't all that impressive, but his protagonist's luck was absolutely maxed out.
Specifically, when it came to Legendary Pokémon.
Whether by coincidence or destiny, every time Ash journeyed through a new region—be it in the TV series or in the movies—he would almost always encounter that region's Legendary and Mythical Pokémon one by one.
Whether they got along or not was another story—but he would meet them.
But for Ash, who had only just begun his journey, to already have an aura strong enough for even Armored Mewtwo to care about?
He did. Of course he did.
Damian immediately thought of one: the Kanto Region's Legendary Pokémon, Ho‑Oh.
That was the very first Legendary Pokémon Ash happened to encounter on the first day of his journey.
If it was Ho‑Oh… that wouldn't be strange at all.
But there was still a problem.
Ash had only seen Ho‑Oh.
He'd never actually interacted with it—so how would Ho‑Oh's aura be lingering on him?
The next second, Damian remembered something.
There was a way.
In "I Choose You!", that version of Ash had also set out on his journey with a reluctant Pikachu, had also been "hunted" by a flock of Spearow, had also triggered Pikachu's desperate outburst of power, and had also seen Ho‑Oh appear against a rainbow after the rain.
The difference was that in that parallel world, Ash received a Rainbow Wing that Ho‑Oh had deliberately left behind.
The Rainbow Wing—
A treasure only granted to those chosen by Ho‑Oh, marking them as a candidate to become a Rainbow Hero.
As long as they could pass the trials of the Legendary beasts Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, they could officially become the Rainbow Hero and meet Ho‑Oh at the rainbow's end.
"The movie Ash, huh?"
Damian's eyes took on a subtle look.
The Pokémon world did have parallel world theory—actual, concrete parallel worlds.
Strictly speaking, the Ash from the movie "I Choose You!" and the Ash from the TV series were very different.
The journey partners weren't even the same—
In the movie, Ash's partners weren't Misty and Brock at all.
And the biggest difference: movie Ash's talent as a Trainer was insanely good—he was basically using game‑version Red's prototype talent.
Before he'd even finished his first region's journey, Pikachu was already able to battle Ho‑Oh.
Sure, they probably lost in the end—but for a time, they were actually fighting on somewhat even footing.
Plus, in the movie there was none of that ridiculous "Charizard won't listen and even goes on strike mid‑battle" plotline.
If anything, it was Ash who thought Pikachu and Charmeleon were too weak.
Still, with Marshadow's help, Ash quickly regained his original resolve.
"It has to be the Rainbow Wing, no doubt. I just wonder…"
Damian mused to himself.
If this really was movie Ash's level of talent, then things were about to get very interesting.
"Damian!"
Before Damian could finish his train of thought, Ash called out to him in a voice full of fighting spirit.
"?"
Damian tilted his head, puzzled.
"Let's battle! I'm really strong too!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Ash challenged Damian to a battle.
Those clear eyes of his were blazing with roaring flames.
Pure fighting intent.
"Eh? Ash?"
Misty and Brock both froze.
Battle Damian? There was no way he could win, right?
Sure, Ash's strength was pretty insane for a rookie Trainer—but Damian was last year's Indigo Plateau Conference Champion.
The gap between them had to be massive.
Then again… it was Ash.
The two of them quickly resigned themselves to it.
"A battle, huh? I'd really like to battle you too, Ash—get a feel for your strength."
Damian couldn't help laughing softly.
A bright grin spread across Ash's face.
He loved hearing that—because it meant Damian recognized him, didn't it?
"But not today. I've got stuff I need to take care of.
How about we set our battle for next time?"
Damian smiled at Ash.
He really did have things to do, and he wasn't in any rush to battle Ash.
If this were TV‑series Ash, then right now he was still a total newbie—it wouldn't be fun to fight him.
If it was movie‑version talent Ash, that'd be slightly more interesting, but only slightly.
Might as well let him grow a bit more and then properly enjoy the results.
In the end, Damian had very little interest in the weak.
He wasn't that fond of beating up small fry.
"Eh? That's such a bummer…"
Ash's disappointment was obvious.
His shoulders slumped right down.
"There's nothing to be bummed about, Ash.
If fate's got more in store for us, we'll definitely meet again."
The corner of Damian's mouth curled upward.
"Before that happens, get stronger as fast as you can.
My strength is very high—I just hope that when we finally battle, you won't be like some random Youngster on the side of the road, getting steamrolled by my Pokémon in seconds."
Damian used a vivid metaphor that made both Misty and Brock break into a cold sweat.
That… sounded kind of… arrogant.
"Of course not! Damian, I'm the guy who's gonna be the Future Pokémon Master!"
Ash clenched his fist, blood boiling.
Get clobbered by Damian like some roadside nobody?
No way was he accepting that ending!
"We're not gonna lose to you! Right, Pikachu?"
Not only that—he was going to beat Damian, take down last year's Indigo Plateau Conference Champion!
"Pika… chu?"
"C'mon, Pikachu, say it louder! Gotta show some spirit!"
While his Trainer was on fire, Pikachu didn't seem to be sharing the vibe at all.
It gulped and snuck another wary glance at Armored Mewtwo.
"Oh? You've got plenty of energy. I'll be waiting for you then."
The curve of Damian's lips rose even higher.
As expected, Ash was a very interesting kid.
"See you, Ash.
If you've got time, you can hit that arcade over there.
If you win enough coins, you can trade them in for some pretty rare Pokémon."
"Let's go, Mewtwo."
Damian said his goodbyes to the trio, then called to Armored Mewtwo and turned to leave.
"An arcade, huh?"
Ash looked thoughtful—
He was trying to figure out if his wallet could handle it.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Damian led Armored Mewtwo into a residential house, slipped through a hidden door, and descended into an underground base.
But something immediately struck Damian as odd.
The underground base was blaring with a low, grating alarm.
"Gladion, what's going on?"
Damian quickly made his way into the control room.
Right now, Gladion was the only one inside, watching the monitors for every corner of the facility.
"Someone infiltrated the base. Ariana took a team to hunt them down."
"Oh? Pretty gutsy."
Damian raised a brow.
This Celadon City underground base was one of Team Rocket's major, high‑priority bases in Kanto.
Its concealment measures were top‑tier, and there were always Team Rocket members heavily guarding the entrances.
Sneaking in here was no easy feat.
"In that case, Mewtwo, let's go help find this little mouse."
He wondered if this "little mouse" was a man or a woman.
If it was a girl…
~~~
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