[Bruno: As expected of Master Ash! My idol! Even his neck is Champion-tier! Absolutely incredible!]
[Steven Stone: Is there a chance that Ash is Champion-tier from head to toe? Just now he caught Pikachu's Iron Tail barehanded from a blind angle! That kind of combat awareness—if that's not Champion-level, I don't believe anything is!]
[Chairman Damaranch: Thankfully, I banned Trainers from directly participating in Pokémon battles long ago. Otherwise, whenever something goes wrong—send in Pikachu! And if Pikachu can't handle it, Ash himself would just jump in!]
[Lance: Chairman, you really thought this through! You've eliminated this problem at the root!]
[Flint: Well said! Otherwise Pokémon battles would turn into no-holds-barred MMA! Who could beat these fighters then?!]
[Bea: Oh? Champion Flint, do you have a problem with us Fighting-types?]
[Flint: N-no! It's just that after I once got tortured by Lucian's psychic powers in a match, I developed a deep hatred for that sort of thing!]
[Lance: How does psychic power even make sense?!]
[Sabrina: Hehe~ Sounds like you two have quite the opinion about psychic powers. Care to come to Saffron City and discuss it with me?]
The strongest psychic of this era, Sabrina, posed a question straight to the souls of two Champions.
Faced with that,
Lance shuddered all over as memories of Saffron City resurfaced.
Too terrifying!
...
On screen—
Under Pikachu's utterly unreasonable Thunderbolt,
both Dracovish and Pikachu were smoking all over.
As a fine Pokémon with Water and Dragon dual attributes,
Dracovish shook its head and dispersed the electricity covering its body.
At the same time,
Ash—who had been dangling from its mouth—was flung away.
"Gaba~"
In those unreadable eyes, Dracovish couldn't understand why lightning had suddenly appeared.
It might be dumb, but it wasn't completely ignorant.
That thing clearly wasn't "scientifically sound."
As it looked around in confusion,
Ash staggered to his feet from a pile of rubble.
Atop a stone pillar, Pikachu crossed his arms, clearly displeased.
"Pika pika pi!"
Do you have any idea how worrying that was?
Didn't you see those two fossil researchers nearly scared to death?
Pikachu lectured him like a strict, doting father scolding a disobedient child.
Unfortunately,
the lecture had little effect.
Ash dusted himself off, then stared intensely at the almost completely unharmed Dracovish.
"What an amazing Pokémon! It tanked Pikachu's Thunderbolt without a scratch! I've decided—I have to catch it!"
Ash boldly declared his intent,
to the point that Dracovish's drool dripped down onto his hair.
Feeling the sticky sensation on his forehead, Ash quickly shook his head violently.
Secret technique—Fang-to-Fang Spin!
A wild shake later,
his hair was instantly dry again.
The flying sand finally caught Dracovish's attention.
Next—
the fossil Pokémon famed for its terrifying leg strength charged straight at Ash.
Facing the headlong rush of Dracovish,
Ash felt neither fear nor hesitation.
All that showed on his face was excitement.
"Come on!"
With just those words,
Ash spread his arms wide and let Dracovish charge straight at him.
Dracovish didn't understand what this little human was trying to do.
Wasn't it supposed to be food?
Shouldn't food be running away?!
But food delivered straight to its mouth—why wouldn't it eat?
So its steps grew even faster,
the ground around them trembling!
"Is… is this an earthquake?!"
"This is worse than an earthquake! The ancient overlord of Galar is about to have its first meal!"
"That's terrifying!"
The scatterbrain and the grump clung to each other in fear.
Ash's earlier performance had already been absurd,
but they didn't believe a fully recovered Dracovish would let him off so easily.
After all—
this was a Pokémon that could swallow its prey in one bite!
Under their horrified gazes,
Ash raised his arms high, like a gladiator.
Completely unfazed.
"Now!"
At Ash's shout,
his arms locked firmly around Dracovish's massive head.
Then—
before everyone's disbelieving eyes—
Ash lifted Dracovish over his head
and hurled it far away!
"Since Dracovish is a fossil Pokémon, I'll use the most primal method to capture it!"
"Come on! Right now, I'm the hunter!"
For some reason,
Liss and Dure felt a crimson glint flash through Ash's eyes.
That was a hunter's gaze upon prey.
"This kid from Kanto is terrifying!"
"I heard he's from Pallet Town! We should never go there!"
"Way too scary!" ×2
[Wikstrom: Hahaha, Pallet Town's reputation has taken a hit! Who'd imagine a Pokémon getting lifted over someone's head and thrown?! Good thing it happened to Ash!]
[Wulfric: If anyone else did this, they'd be dragged away for experiments! This is beyond human capability—even for martial artists!]
[Mustard: That's right. Even in my prime, I could only spar with my Pokémon. I could never dominate like that! Dracovish charging just now was like a runaway heavy truck—yet Ash grabbed it cold!]
[Bea: So strong! I must challenge Ash someday!]
[Lance: Something's not right. Very not right!]
[Bruno: What's wrong? Catch another Flying-type pretending to be a Dragon-type again?]
[Lance: Go die! I mean—Dracovish's typing is off! Normally, aquatic Pokémon are Water-type. But it took a super-effective Thunderbolt with barely any damage!]
[Lorelei: Isn't that simple? Dracovish is a true Dragon. Water plus Dragon means it only takes neutral damage from Electric.]
[Wallace: Then I get what's bothering Champion Lance. This ugly little Dracovish is actually Dragon-type—while his Gyarados looks like a Dragon no matter how you see it, yet it's only Water/Flying.]
[Lance: ...]
Slander! This is slander!
I, Lance, am a dignified Dragon-type Champion!
How could I do something like that?!
I clearly caught a Salamence!
How could it possibly be just Flying-type?!
This is a genuine Dragon, damn it! You bunch of bastards!
[Leon: As far as I know, among the fossils currently discovered in Galar, there's no Pokémon called Dracovish. It might be a fossil identified in the future, so we can't be fully certain of its typing.]
[Professor Magnolia: I'm not a fossil specialist, but judging by its performance, Dragon-type is almost certain.]
[Lorelei: I recall someone once swearing Gyarados was a Dragon. And the result? Flying-type~]
[Lorelei: But now this ugly Dracovish? It is a Dragon~]
Lance: That hurts even more!
Why does someone like Lorelei even exist?!
[Lorelei: Speaking of which, I've already seen Ash with quite a few true Dragons. Even pseudo-legendaries. Garchomp, Flygon, Dragonite, Naganadel—and now Dracovish. His Dragon-types alone could form a complete competitive lineup.]
[Lance: So what! I'm still the Dragon-type Champion!]
Poor Lance kept stubbornly talking back.
[Lorelei: Really? Then let me remind you—Ash's Charizard can Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X. And if nothing goes wrong, Mega Charizard X is also Dragon-type.]
[Lance: Lorelei, you've committed every evil imaginable!]
[Caitlin: You know, I'm kind of shipping you two now. A tragic love-hate CP~]
[Lance & Lorelei: Who's CPs with him/her?!]
Lance was utterly miserable.
He'd never imagined someone could link him with Lorelei of all people!
That was Lorelei!
Someone even more terrifying to him than Sabrina!
That Ice Beam—
his natural nemesis!
...
On screen—
The sudden turn of events left Dracovish utterly baffled.
Who knew this tiny thing had so much strength?
But…
why didn't that fall hurt?
When it finally got up,
Dracovish realized it had landed squarely on the other revived fossil Pokémon—
Arctovish.
Arctovish had taken the hit head-on,
its small head perfectly pinned beneath Dracovish's rear.
The result was obvious.
Arctovish instantly lost the ability to battle.
Dracovish patted the gills on either side of its head, completely unable to figure out what just happened.
"Come on! I want to beat you head-on!"
Ash's voice came from afar.
Dracovish immediately tossed aside its confusion and charged again.
No surprises.
No surprises at all.
Dracovish was once again completely handled by Ash.
Even Pikachu, watching from atop the rocks, couldn't help but facepalm.
This was supposed to be an ancient overlord?
Why was it so much dumber than Aerodactyl?
Thinking of that, Pikachu shot a suspicious look at Liss and Dure again.
These two definitely had something fishy going on earlier!
In the contest of raw strength,
Ash emerged victorious.
After pinning Dracovish to the ground,
Ash swung his arms like a boxer celebrating a win.
"Gaba~"
But Dracovish—who had charged like a boar this whole time—suddenly changed.
Two lines of tears slid down from the corners of its eyes.
Guys, who understands this pain?!
I just wanted to eat a meal—who did I offend?!
Waaah~
Turns out Dracovish was glass-hearted.
This time, even Ash was stunned.
What was going on?
Why did everyone—humans and Pokémon alike—cry so easily lately?
Clearly, there was a communication gap between Ash and Dracovish.
No matter how Ash gestured with hands and feet,
the tears wouldn't stop.
Seeing this—
Pikachu was exhausted.
He jumped down and landed steadily on Ash's shoulder,
then released a very thin electric current through Ash's arm.
Only after the jolt did Ash snap to attention.
He looked down at the glove on his hand—the symbol of a Aura Guardian.
How could he forget this?!
Thus—
Aura power, activate!
Blue aura spread from Ash's hand,
slowly establishing a connection with Dracovish.
'Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!'
Hearing the word "hungry" echo in his mind,
Ash nearly forgot what the word even meant.
"Are you hungry? I've got food—want some?" (No, I'm Meituan delivery!)
At the mention of food,
Dracovish immediately stopped crying.
Its fishy eyes sparkled with the same starry look as Ash's.
Then—
"Don't bite my head. I'm not food!"
"Gaba?"
Hearing that Ash wasn't food, Dracovish sadly spat him out.
"Gengar!"
"Gah-geh!" Chef Gengar, at your service!
Sitting on the ground, Ash patted the shadow beside him.
Gengar emerged from it.
This time, it was Chef Gengar!
Gengar pulled pots, pans, and stoves out of Ash's shadow,
put on a tall chef's hat and tied an apron.
Clang clang clang!
With sparks flying from its movements,
a huge basin of Pokémon food—bigger than Gengar itself—was placed in front of Dracovish.
"Gah-geh~"
Gengar elegantly removed its hat and bowed like a gentleman.
Please enjoy.
Of course, as a professional chef,
Gengar didn't forget everyone else's meals.
And so, aside from the unconscious Arctovish,
everyone enjoyed Chef Gengar's cooking.
As the sun set,
Arctovish slowly woke up.
Before it stood a boy holding something up toward what seemed to be its companion.
"Dracovish, would you like to become my partner?"
"Gaba~"
Dracovish didn't really understand what that meant,
but this boy clearly provided food and lodging!
Why hesitate?
Dracovish gently tapped the red-and-white ball with its head.
A flash of red light—
it was captured.
Arctovish strained its not-so-bright brain, trying to understand what was happening.
Before it could figure it out,
it heard: "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
A metallic white flash swept past its eyes—
—and Arctovish lost consciousness.
[Steven Stone: As expected of you, Ash! The difference in treatment is way too obvious!]
[Sabrina: As expected—Gengar is the cutest! Haunter, I'm not saying you're not cute! If you don't want to evolve, that's fine too! I'll always love Haunter!]
[Lt. Surge: I never thought Sabrina would show this side of herself. She looks just like an ordinary girl.]
[Lance: Heh~]
You clearly haven't experienced how terrifying Sabrina really is!
[Steven Stone: Such a beautiful fossil, and I never paid attention to it! I've decided—I'm going to Galar to dig fossils! No one can stop me!]
[Wallace: As if anyone ever stopped you. The last person who tried was me—and now I'm miserably stuck in the Champion's seat!]
It was obvious Wallace still held deep resentment toward Steven's "hands-off Champion" act.
...
On screen—
By the time they returned to Vermilion City, it was already the third day.
After resting one night in Galar,
Ash decided to head back to the Cerise Institute.
Upon hearing Ash was returning,
Chloe waited early at the institute's entrance.
Seeing the familiar figure in the distance,
she rushed forward eagerly—
only to扑空.
"Professor Cerise, long time no see! I brought back some major discoveries this time!"
Ash excitedly shared his Galar experiences with the professor.
"Arctovish? Dracovish! What an incredible discovery!"
After looking through Ash's photos,
Professor Cerise marveled endlessly—Ash always brought him fresh surprises!
Watching Ash drift away from her once again,
Chloe stomped her foot in frustration.
But she quickly caught up to him.
"Ash, I heard Suicune has been spotted in a forest somewhere!
Want to go check it out together?"
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