In a Black World –
[Lance: I can understand Tabu looking shocked… but why does Black World Ash look shocked too?!]
[Cynthia: He's probably thinking… why are the Indigo League opponents so weak? Grass-types getting dropped by Hydro Pump, and even a Dragon-type getting flattened by Skull Bash… they're worse than some Gym Leaders.]
[Volkner: Black World Ash says you're worse than a Gym Leader.jpg!]
[Ash: Hehe… I'm not that good!]
[Misty: Ash's first battle was impressive, but a lot of the credit goes to Professor Oak. He helped you raise Krabby until it was big and strong!]
[Brock: True. That skinny Krabby had huge potential. We don't know how it developed in Black World, but on our side Professor Oak did most of the raising.]
[Brock: The Krabby you sent back to Oak's lab was a completely different Pokémon when you got it back!]
[Gary: Of course! My grandpa's training methods are unmatched! Even Black World Ash would have to consult him in plenty of areas!]
[Professor Oak: Hehe. Black World Ash is actually stronger than me at training, not knowledge—ability. And with Aura, he has a natural advantage.]
[Professor Oak: He can understand Pokémon, observe movement through Aura, correct mistakes instantly, and even sense natural energy. I won't list everything.]
After Professor Oak said that, everyone finally realized—
Aura isn't just strong in combat. It's also broken for training Pokémon.
No wonder Black World Ash's team grew so fast.
Talent, effort, and Aura… it was an absurd combo.
Even Blastoise—without "external buffs"—clearly showed high Gym Leader ace power.
And Ash had raised multiple Pokémon to that level within half a year.
[Lance: This is what they mean by "no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers."]
[Ash: Why isn't Tabu talking?]
[Drake: Is it possible Tabu wasn't even judged "Elite-level" by the system?]
Tabu: "…"
Drake was right.
Tabu wasn't judged Elite-level.
At first he thought it was normal—after all, the chat was full of monsters.
But then he noticed some Gym Leaders and even weird "comedy characters" still got to speak.
That made Tabu's heart unbalanced.
Why could they talk, but not him?!
Too bad the livestream didn't have a complaint button.
…
In a Black World –
Ash left the arena after defeating Tabu—
but the arena was still full of talk about him.
Blastoise's effortless 1v3. Instant KOs. No hesitation.
Ash had become the biggest dark horse of this Indigo League.
The crowd roared for him. Commentators screamed praise into the mic.
And the most ridiculous part?
Ash was only ten years old.
Most Indigo League participants were older.
Reaching the League at ten was already "talented."
But reaching the League at ten and deleting opponents like that?
That wasn't "talent."
That was "unfair."
And what nobody knew was—
what they'd seen… was still only the tip of the iceberg.
The preliminaries were one match per day, split into morning and afternoon.
Ash had no further match today.
So he, Misty, and Brock planned to go eat—
then return to the Pokémon Center and study the next opponent.
Tomorrow's field would be Rock Field.
Opponent: a twelve-year-old boy named Jiyuan(OC name—no canon name provided).
But just as they reached the venue entrance, they ran into someone unexpected—
or maybe not unexpected, because she'd already said she would come watch.
The Saffron Gym Leader, Sabrina.
"…Long time no see, Ash."
Sabrina stood at the entrance, waiting.
Her tone was a little stiff—like she didn't know where to place her hands.
They'd video-called since parting, but a call was a call.
Seeing someone in person hit different.
Ash, though, didn't act awkward at all.
To him, Sabrina was already a friend.
They'd fought seriously. It had been a real battle.
And in Ash's world, people who understand each other through battle?
That's friendship.
"Ha! Long time no see, Sabrina! It hasn't even been that long—we talked on video just the other day."
Then Ash looked around.
"By the way… are you here alone? Where are your parents?"
"My father is busy with Gym matters. My mother's handling things at home, so… it's just me."
"I see." Ash nodded, then smiled. "Also… you look great today. New outfit?"
This time Sabrina wasn't in her earlier, plain red dress.
She wore a black dress that fit her figure neatly, with a thin belt cinched at the waist.
Black sheer stockings framed long, well-proportioned legs.
If she didn't smile, she looked like a pure ice queen.
But when she did smile—
it didn't ruin the vibe.
It made her feel dangerous in a different way.
She even seemed to be wearing light makeup—subtle, but enough to sharpen her beauty.
Ash didn't consciously notice any of that.
But Misty and Brock definitely did.
Brock instinctively started to turn into his usual lovestruck idiot—
then remembered what Sabrina's psychic power felt like.
He swallowed his "brotherly instincts" in fear.
Misty's brows knitted.
This girl was… dangerous.
Dangerous in looks, and dangerous in intent.
Misty glanced at Sabrina… then glanced at herself.
Silence.
It's fine. I'm still young. I can still grow.
Misty comforted herself internally.
…
[Tracey: LMAO—Misty's self-comfort is killing me. But honestly… it's possible later.]
[Daisy: Yup yup yup~ Misty, don't give up!]
[Brock: Misty's sisters are… uh… impressive… heh heh—]
[Misty: Brock!! Stop being gross on livestream!!]
[Daisy: Then ask Ash—who's prettier? Us, or Misty?]
[Misty: I mean the FUTURE! The future, okay?! I'm still young!]
[Ash: Honestly… I think Misty's sisters are prettier right now.]
Misty: "…!"
Her heart instantly felt sour.
What kind of guy was he?!
They'd traveled together for almost a year!
And he was siding with her sisters?!
…
[Ash: But that's probably because Misty doesn't dress up on purpose!]
[Ash: Misty's usually kind of tomboyish, but when she wears a yukata, a swimsuit, or nice clothes, she's super cute.]
[Ash: Misty like that is not worse than anyone. Didn't the broadcast show it before? I'm being objective!]
[Misty: Don't you DARE pause mid-sentence, idiot!!]
[Ash: Hey! I'm complimenting you!]
[Misty: Hmph!]
She was scolding him—
but the happiness in her chest was basically overflowing.
At least he's not completely hopeless…
…
In a Black World –
Sabrina rejoined Ash's group.
When Sabrina smiled at Brock, Brock immediately and wisely retreated—
giving up the spot near Ash without a fight.
Misty shot Brock a murderous glare.
Brock pretended not to see it.
Getting glared at by Misty was one thing.
Getting turned into a psychic ragdoll by Sabrina was another.
Don't be fooled by Sabrina's "normal girl" vibe.
Brock's instincts screamed:
There's a knife hidden in that smile.
So it became:
Sabrina on Ash's left.
Misty on Ash's right.
Brock trailing behind, praying for survival.
They went to the market and ate a simple meal.
And even that meal was emotionally exhausting.
Sabrina casually put food from her bowl into Ash's.
Misty immediately followed.
Ash ended up eating three people's worth of food.
But… he could actually handle it.
Still, midway through, Ash finally started to feel something was off.
Why did it feel like Sabrina and Misty were… competing?
No way… is it because of me?
Ash shook his head hard and forced the ridiculous thought away.
Be reasonable.
He'd met Sabrina once. They were friends, at best.
Maybe he'd pulled her out of a cold lonely place—
but liking him?
That had to be one of life's three illusions:
"She likes me."
After eating, they returned to the Pokémon Center to research tomorrow's opponent.
Sabrina stayed with Ash the whole time—
talking about everything since they parted:
Gym challengers, her relationship easing with her parents…
and, slipped between sentences—
how much she'd missed him.
…
[Diantha: Good grief. That's proactive. Who can withstand that?]
[Cynthia: I didn't expect Sabrina, once "normal," would be this attached to Ash.]
[Ash: Wait… does Black World Sabrina actually like Black World Ash?]
[Sabrina: It's that obvious and you still can't tell?]
[Ash: HUH?! They met once! How does that turn into "like"?!]
[Sabrina: I'll admit it—Ash, emotionally you're an idiot.]
[Sabrina: Black World Ash is normal. You're… negative one hundred.]
[Misty: "Perfect score" is too kind!]
[Melody: Yep. Ash, your emotional intelligence broke through the negatives.]
Even Serena didn't defend Ash this time.
Black World Ash was confused even as the person involved.
And White World Ash still couldn't see it even with the viewer's perspective.
Hopeless.
…
In a Black World –
Time passed. The next day arrived.
Rock Field.
After the previous match, Ash decided to train this time—
but he still registered Pikachu, just in case something went wrong.
Round 1: Ash sent out Krabby.
Thanks to Ash's training and time at Professor Oak's lab,
Krabby had grown much stronger.
The opponent went simple: Graveler.
Graveler used Rollout, but Krabby stopped it with Water Gun—
then closed in with Metal Claw and finished it cleanly.
And then—
Krabby glowed.
Right in front of everyone, it evolved into Kingler.
Ash didn't recall Kingler.
He kept it on the field.
And Kingler proceeded to do it again—
another clean 1v3.
After the match, Ash recalled Kingler, shook hands with the opponent, and left the stage.
The crowd cheered, but Ash felt… bored.
Is this really the Indigo League?
It was almost funny.
Opponents were bringing fully evolved Pokémon, sure—
but they still felt like paper.
After Kingler evolved, it was basically one Crabhammer, one friend deleted.
So who exactly was showing up in these early rounds?
Sure, there were always power gaps in preliminaries.
But Ash's kind of gap?
A 1v3 where every opponent is basically a free point?
That was rare.
Across the venue, one other person was getting similar reactions:
Gary Oak.
Two kids from Pallet Town were stealing the show.
And both of them had the same thought:
These matches are kind of boring…
I'd rather fight Ash / Gary.
After the match, Ash made his decision.
He'd study the Round 3 bracket tonight.
By Round 3, opponents should be more serious.
Sabrina was waiting again at the venue entrance.
When she saw Ash, she smiled and congratulated him.
"Congratulations, Ash. Another clean win."
Ash sighed helplessly.
"What's there to congratulate? I want to win, sure—I want the championship. But these matches… they're not what I expected. The opponents are just…"
Ash almost said "too weak," but stopped himself.
Everyone here had worked hard to collect eight badges.
Calling them weak to their faces was disrespectful.
Sabrina finished the sentence for him, smiling:
"Too weak, right?"
Then, still smiling, she added lightly—
"If they're too weak… then next time, I'll collect eight badges myself and fight you."
Her eyes narrowed, playful.
"I'm strong enough."
…
End of Chapter
PS :
Tabu — Ash's previous opponent
Jiyuan — Ash's next-day Rock Field opponent
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