[Lorelei:] Black Ash took Dragonite back directly!
[Lance:] After all, Black Ash and White Ash are different. They agreed from the start that once Dragonite matured, it would travel with Black Ash again and fight for the future.
[Cynthia:] Actually, I think… if White Ash just asked, Dragonite would definitely be willing to return to him.
[Ash:] Well… I feel the same, but I also respect Dragonite's wishes. If it wanted to come with me, it would naturally follow.
[Ash:] Haha, to be honest, I'm still a little unsure of myself…
[Ash:] I might instinctively feel that if Dragonite followed me, it might be better off staying with the flock.
[Ash:] That's the difference between me and my other self… He has the strength and confidence, but I don't.
Ash smiled self-deprecatingly. He actually understood… his own inner thoughts. In truth, he also hoped Dragonite would return to him, but he wasn't as confident as his other-world self. Would it really be good for Dragonite to come back to my side? He had this thought buried deep in his heart. Even though he hid it well, how could he possibly deceive himself… This was the difference between him and his other self.
[Serena:] Ash, you don't have to put yourself down. Reaching your level at your age is already incredibly strong!
Serena hasn't officially become a Trainer yet and doesn't understand the hierarchies among them. She only knows that in the videos, although White Ash is immature, he wins more than he loses, especially among his peers, and even when he loses, he quickly bounces back. Adding the Charizard after its return gives an extremely reassuring feeling, as if… he'll never lose, he simply can't lose! But feelings are just feelings. In reality, you have to try to know.
[Ash:] Thanks, Serena, but I'm really not that mature yet… But don't worry, I'll definitely become incredibly strong in the future, and even become a Pokémon Master!
[Serena:] 'Don't worry' or something…
I've always had faith in you…
Serena didn't voice that sentence; the young girl was still shy, at least when not in her determined performer mode.
...
In the Black World — After Dragonite returned to the team, Ash didn't recall it to its Poké Ball immediately. For now, Ash had no plans to leave the Oceanic Research Institute, so Dragonite could spend more time with its family. Additionally, Ash also had to consider… which Pokémon to send back to the lab.
His current team included Pikachu, Gyarados, Donphan, Quilava, Bayleef, and Noctowl. Gyarados and Donphan were both newly caught and needed to be taken along to build bonds and learn basic training methods. Bayleef… this one was still very clingy, making it hard for Ash to send it away. Every time he recalled Bayleef, it would give him a heavy tackle. That left Noctowl and Quilava… Noctowl was a Flying-type, useful in many situations, even if it couldn't carry people. So, only Quilava remained.
The reason Quilava hadn't been sent to Professor Oak's lab earlier was that there was no senior Fire-type there to teach it. But some time ago, Ash suddenly remembered something—he could directly teleport Quilava to Charizard Valley! Not only were there many Charizard in Charizard Valley, but most importantly, his own Charizard, who had mastered Sacred Fire, was there! Was there a better mentor in the world? There was! But Ash didn't have one. So, sending Quilava to Charizard Valley was indeed a good choice.
Having decided, Ash first contacted Liza. After hearing Ash wanted to send Quilava over and have Charizard guide it, Liza agreed after less than two seconds of thought. Although it was Charizard Valley, environmentally, it suited most Fire-type Pokémon, and Ash's Charizard had made outstanding contributions to the valley (referring to starting a harem). So, even if what Ash teleported wasn't a Charizard, Liza had no objections.
Seeing this, Ash directly teleported Quilava away. This left him with six… seven if counting Dark Lugia. But only counting his official team, he had five.
After teleporting Quilava, he gave Charizard a few training pointers and left with peace of mind. Ash had full confidence in Charizard. That guy had always been pretty reliable.
After settling that, Ash went inside the Oceanic Research Institute. Misty, Brock, Sabrina, and Cissy were all there, looking at a gray Pokémon Egg on the table.
"Is this the Egg Professor Elm entrusted to us?" Ash asked curiously.
"Yes… This child was stolen from the Mt. Silver Reserve by poachers, but for unknown reasons, the Egg ended up here…"
"Theoretically, the Pokémon inside should have hatched long ago."
"But it's been a while, and it still hasn't hatched, so I thought of sending it to Professor Elm for inspection."
Director Cissy explained the situation. After hearing it, Ash thought for a moment, then slowly placed his hand on the Egg. Aura power slowly flowed in.
For a moment—
"Life signs are fine… The Egg has even developed life inside, but this little one has a very resistant attitude toward the outside world."
Aura power was the power of heart-to-heart communication. As long as there was life and consciousness, Ash could use his Aura to communicate with them and even understand their hearts… provided they didn't have strong mental defenses. And an unborn Pokémon naturally had no defenses. So, Ash clearly sensed the emotion within this Egg—Resistance! It was resisting the outside world.
"Resistance? Ash, how did you know?" Cissy was stunned and asked, but before Ash could answer, she slowly shook her head. "Never mind, that's your secret, Ash. You don't need to tell me…"
"But even if we know why this child won't come out, we still have no way to solve it…"
This Egg resisted coming into the world, yet it was still in Egg form. They had no way to communicate with it. So… even if they knew the reason, they couldn't change its mind.
"Leave that to me! Don't worry, Director Cissy!"
Ash slowly picked up the Egg and cradled it in his arms. His hands glowed with a soft blue light. If it resists the outside world… then I'll just give it a wonderful experience of the outside world. He was an Aura Guardian! This kind of thing… he could naturally do!
Seeing Ash so confident, Cissy couldn't help but feel… if it was Ash, maybe he really could do it… Even though they'd known each other for less than a day, this boy gave her such a trustworthy feeling… It was incredible!
"Then I'll leave it to you… Anyway, take this Egg to Professor Elm first."
"Even if this child hatches, we still have to decide where it will go."
"Mm!"
And so, Ash received a Pokémon Egg.
Afterward, Ash and his friends had a great time surfing with the Dragonite flock. The Team Rocket trio showed up, but this time they weren't causing trouble. Instead, they reported to Ash on the current situation of Team Galactic and even Team Rocket. These three had truly taken after Ash.jpg!
Team Galactic was completely finished, though some remaining fugitives hadn't been caught yet. Team Rocket was also actively subduing Galactic members. The Rocket trio secretly destroyed many Dark Balls. They knew how evil those Poké Balls were. As cute and charming villains, they couldn't be bothered using such things. They had to steal things openly! So, they destroyed the Dark Balls.
After hearing their reason, Ash wasn't sure whether to praise them or tell them… stealing was still wrong. But regardless, Team Rocket had really done a lot of good this time, so Ash even invited the three of them to join the Dragonite surfing trip. The group of seven had a blast in the nearby sea.
Afterward, Team Rocket continued their undercover work, and after resting overnight at the research institute, Ash and his team set off for Rustboro Town the next day.
...
[Korrina:] Have the Team Rocket trio completely turned to the side of good, following Black Ash's example?
[Diantha:] Where did you learn such… spicy terminology, Korrina?
[Korrina:] Um… from the barrage chat. I thought this phrase fit the scene. Was I wrong?
[Diantha:] Well… I can't say you're wrong. It's just a bit suggestive.
[Steven Stone:] People with dirty minds see dirt everywhere.
[Diantha:] ? ? ?
[Lance:] Ahem, in short… Team Rocket in the Black World can be considered reformed now. Although they still arrogantly claim to be villains, their actions have nothing to do with villainy.
Working as undercover agents in Team Rocket, destroying Dark Balls… what kind of villain does that? Even in the past, Team Rocket was considered a relatively principled villain group. But in the Black World… on one hand, Black Ash's strength exerted a strong pressure on them; on the other, because Giovanni was captured, they had begun to trend toward reform, but their obsession with Pikachu kept them from giving up on chasing Ash. However… when the crisis of world destruction loomed, they completely abandoned their villainous obsession with Pikachu, or at least shelved it for now… At least until the Rainbow Rocket matter was resolved, they were still "good guys." What Team Rocket was doing now was the same as after the world-destroying incident on the Orange Islands.
To use their excuse… if the world was destroyed, what was the point of doing evil?
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