"Ordinary Pokémon that can rival—or even defeat—Legendary Pokémon?!"
The moment those words appeared, it was like a bucket of ice water poured into a boiling vat of oil. The entire chatroom instantly exploded.
In the Pokémon world, what did the term Legendary Pokémon represent?
They were nameless terrors, walking natural disasters, the very cornerstones of the world itself. Some governed time, some tore space apart, some shifted continental plates, others drowned land beneath the seas.
To the vast majority of Trainers, Legendary Pokémon were gods—beings to be worshiped from afar, absolutely impossible to defeat. Forget winning; just being able to stand in front of one without wetting yourself already made you a top-tier expert.
And yet now, this light screen was claiming that "ordinary Pokémon"—that is, Pokémon that were not Legendary—could slay gods?
[Lance (Kanto Champion): Interesting. Pokémon worthy of the title "godslayer"… even I can only think of the signature partners of Champions when I hear that.]
[Steven Stone (Hoenn Champion): Indeed. If we're talking about pseudo-Legendaries raised to their limits—like Champion Lance's Dragonite, or… ahem, my Metagross—then under specific conditions, they might be able to contend with a minor Legendary. But outright victory? That sounds exaggerated.]
[Cynthia (Sinnoh Champion): In Sinnoh mythology, Legendary Pokémon possess the power to alter the laws of the world. As strong as my Garchomp is, if it faced Dialga or Palkia, who govern time and space… I'm afraid it would still fall short.]
[Alder (Unova Champion): Hahaha! My Volcarona may replace the sun itself, but going head-to-head with those legendary fellows would still be quite a stretch. That said—could it be Leon's Charizard?]
With that single remark, Alder instantly redirected the spotlight toward Galar's so-called "strongest Champion."
[Lance: Oh? I've heard that Leon of Galar has never tasted defeat. If it were him, perhaps he really has attempted to challenge a Legendary Pokémon?]
Galar region, Wyndon Stadium.
Surrounded by the deafening cheers of tens of thousands of fans, Leon had just struck a pose when he suddenly saw himself being @'d in the chatroom. He nearly tripped over his own cape in shock.
[Leon (Galar Champion): Eh?! N-no, no, no! Seniors, please don't joke like that! Galar is very peaceful! There are absolutely no rampaging Legendary Pokémon for me to fight! My Charizard is strong, but not to such an outrageous extent, right?!]
[Diantha (Kalos Champion): It seems everyone is being quite modest. Kalos is very peaceful as well—my Gardevoir has been busy filming movies lately. No time to save the world.]
[Wallace (Hoenn Gym Leader): Hoenn enjoys calm seas and gentle winds—a perfect paradise for Pokémon Contests. Isn't that right, Steven?]
[Steven Stone: …As long as you don't make me go mining, I'm fine with anything.]
Within the chatroom, Champions from various regions politely deflected responsibility, each one humble-bragging while firmly denying that their region had produced such a "defying-the-heavens" existence. After all, a non-Legendary Pokémon capable of defeating a god didn't just mean power—it implied that the region might have recently endured a world-level catastrophe.
Viridian Gym.
Giovanni leaned back in his executive chair, watching the world's top Trainers probe one another. A mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"A bunch of hypocrites."
His long fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest, his gaze turning razor-sharp.
"Still… an 'ordinary Pokémon capable of matching Legendary Pokémon'—what a tantalizing subject. If it's real, and Team Rocket were to capture it…"
Countless schemes for world domination flashed through Giovanni's mind.
"Play it already. Hurry up," he murmured, eyes brimming with ambition and greed. "Let me see which Pokémon possesses power that can make even gods tremble."
At last—under the collective gaze of the entire world, with everyone holding their breath—
The light screen changed.
At the center of the once-black display, a single spotlight slowly flickered on.
Under countless stares, a silhouette gradually came into focus.
It wasn't a massive pseudo-Legendary.
Nor was it a ferocious, monstrous beast.
Instead, it was a tiny creature with an extremely slender build and pale yellow fur. It had two large ears tipped in black, rosy electric sacs on its cheeks, and a ring of black markings around its neck.
It looked weak.
Harmless.
Almost pitiful.
[Episode One Protagonist: Pichu (Juvenile Form) and Its Evolutionary Line.]
As the world stared at the adorable little mouse munching on an apple, an eerie silence descended.
"…Huh?"
Elite Four Bruno froze mid–bench press.
Lance spat his coffee all over the table.
Steven dropped the rare stone he had been polishing.
This was the godslayer?
Even if it evolved, wouldn't it just become Pikachu or Raichu?
That super-common Electric mouse you could find practically anywhere?
Outside Pallet Town.
Ash and his friends had stopped dead in their tracks, staring blankly at the light screen.
"T-That's… Pichu, right?" Brock rubbed his eyes. "Pikachu's pre-evolution."
"So cute~!" Misty clasped her hands to her cheeks, her girlish heart melting. "Even if they call it a godslayer, it's really adorable like this!"
Only Ash—at this exact moment—demonstrated his uniquely lethal thought process.
He glanced up at the screen, at the skinny, nimble Pichu.
Then he looked down at the Pikachu lying by his feet—round, plump, and very much well-fed.
Ash stroked his chin thoughtfully. Then suddenly, he burst out laughing and pointed at Pikachu.
"Hahaha! Pikachu, look at that one—it looks just like you! But it's so skinny!"
Pikachu, who had been curiously watching the screen, twitched an ear and turned its head toward Ash.
Completely unaware of the impending danger, Ash pressed on, digging his own grave even deeper. He even reached out and poked Pikachu's soft, squishy belly.
"Look at you—so round and chubby! Your belly's all fat! Compared to it, you're basically a little porker! Hahaha! Not agile at all compared to them—"
"Pika…"
Sparks crackled violently from Pikachu's cheeks. The red electric sacs instantly filled with high-voltage energy. Its gaze sharpened, locking onto Ash with deadly precision.
"And you don't even look as cute as—WAAAH?!!"
BOOOOM!!!
A blinding golden bolt of lightning erupted right at Ash's feet, shooting straight into the sky!
The signature Thunderbolt, packed with Pikachu's righteous fury, struck Ash squarely from head to toe.
"PIKA—CHUUU!!!"
A few seconds later…
The lightning faded.
Ash lay flat on his back, pitch-black from head to toe, hair standing up like an explosion, a puff of black smoke drifting from his mouth as his body twitched every now and then.
"Pika. Hmph."
Pikachu crossed its arms, turned its head away, and refused to spare its Trainer even a glance.
Nearby, Misty and Brock exchanged a look, then sighed in perfect unison:
"A perfectly good Ash… So why did he have to grow a mouth?"