Although Gary inwardly admitted that Ash was indeed worthy of being called the Rainbow Hero,
…there was no way he'd say it out loud!
After all, being at odds with Ash was second nature to him—and besides, he just couldn't stand that smug grin on Ash's face.
So naturally, before Ash could start bragging, Gary jumped right in to stir the pot!
[Ash: What did you just say, Gary?! You're just jealous of me, admit it!]
[Gary: Heh, jealous? Of you? Please. Just wait till I crush you at the Silver Conference!]
[Ash: Oh yeah? Remind me who only made it to the Top 32 at the Indigo League~]
[Gary: ???]
[Gary: You just had to bring that up, didn't you? You only got Top 16 yourself! What's there to brag about? And that was just because your Charizard refused to fight! That's even more embarrassing than losing early!]
The two eternal rivals began airing each other's dirty laundry right there in the live chat,
and the audience was loving it.
But soon enough, everyone's attention shifted elsewhere—
Because the black screen started playing again!
[Bruno: Honestly, that Black World Ash's choice to train his body from childhood was the right move. See? If your starter refuses to listen, the trainer himself has to be able to fight!]
[Cynthia: I'm curious whether Black World Ash will encounter the same events as the White World Ash. And if he does… how will he handle the Spearow swarm?]
A glint of intrigue flashed in Cynthia's silver-gray eyes.
She'd seen countless trainers in her time, but this was the first time she'd ever witnessed a rookie having such a turbulent start to his journey.
And she couldn't help but wonder—what would this version of Ash do?
Compared to the white-world Ash, this one gave off a more reliable, composed aura—
a boy who thought deeply and acted decisively, not just a hot-blooded kid charging forward.
The image gradually appeared—
A few slideshow-like stills flickered past:
Ash and Gary competing in training.
Ash closely observing wild Pokémon.
Ash consulting Professor Oak on Pokémon abilities, moves, and typing.
And even—Ash wrestling a Machoke!
Text began scrolling across the screen:
[In this world, after finishing summer camp, Ash devoted himself day and night to improving himself in Pallet Town.]
[He and Gary competed relentlessly, pushing each other to their limits.]
[He studied under Professor Oak—learning everything about Pokémon types, traits, and moves, determined to know every species before setting out.]
[To test his strength, he even sparred with a Machoke. At just eight years old, Ash fought it to a draw.]
[Now, at ten years old, Ash is finally about to embark on his journey as a new Pokémon Trainer.]
The audience: …
Everyone—human or otherwise—fell into stunned silence.
The images, the words, all painted a clear picture:
This Ash had trained relentlessly. He'd prepared for this journey with every ounce of determination and effort he had.
To be honest… compared to the Black World Ash, the White World Ash, while still passionate and brave,
clearly hadn't worked as hard.
Look at him—
training his body, studying Pokémon, mastering theory—
and wrestling a Machoke at eight years old?!
[Lance: Eight years old and already wrestling a Machoke… Bruno, could you have done that?]
[Bruno: Heh. Do you believe I wrestled a Machoke at eight, or that I once saved Arceus?]
[Lance: Between the two, I think wrestling Machoke sounds more believable.]
[Bruno: Fair enough… though honestly, I couldn't do either! At eight, I was still playing tag with neighborhood kids!]
[Lorelei: Oh~ so even Bruno played house as a kid. I thought that was just for girls.]
[Agatha: Hah! With Bruno's intellect, playing house sounds about right.]
Suddenly, all four Kanto Elite Four members chimed in at once!
Though they were teasing Bruno, in truth they were all blown away by Black World Ash's sheer dedication.
Because really—this was next-level intensity!
Most kids only began their journeys at ten, once they could think for themselves and live somewhat independently.
But Ash? He'd already started self-improvement at six or eight years old!
That was downright insane.
Inside the Black Screen—
Unlike his counterpart, this Ash didn't oversleep on the morning he was to receive his first Pokémon.
In fact, he arrived at Professor Oak's Lab earlier than anyone else.
The screen froze on the scene of Ash meeting Professor Oak—
Then a few lines of text appeared:
[What will be Black World Ash's first Pokémon?]
A: Charmander
B: Squirtle
C: Bulbasaur
D: Pikachu
Ten seconds to answer. Each option can only be chosen by one participant.
If multiple people choose the same answer, the first to answer keeps it;
the others will be reassigned to remaining options at random.]
By the time everyone finished reading the instructions,
the countdown had already hit three seconds!
[Participants: Jessie, Ash, Professor Oak, Bruno.]
[Jessie, Ash, and Professor Oak chose D; Bruno chose B. Since Ash answered first, Jessie and Professor Oak were automatically reassigned to other remaining options.]
Before most viewers could even react, the quiz was already over.
To everyone's surprise, three out of the four participants had chosen Pikachu!
One of them—Jessie—was a bit of a wild card.
But as for the other two, their choices were obvious:
one was the man who had personally given Pikachu to Ash,
and the other was the boy who had once risked his life for it.
So of course they picked Pikachu.
Bruno, on the other hand, reasoned that White World Ash only got Pikachu because he had no other options left—
so he went with B: Squirtle.
Author's Note:
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