[Bruno: That shocked, petrified expression—yep, the Rocket trio probably only now realizes what kind of opponent they're facing.]
[Jessie: If the little twerp on our side were like this… I can't imagine it.]
[James: Would we even have a chance to survive?]
To be honest, if the Ash here were as sharp and powerful as Black Ash, they'd have to weigh whether grabbing Pikachu—and getting that promotion and raise—was worth their lives.
Of course, giving up was out of the question. Snatching Pikachu had become their life's ambition! Even if it cost them their lives!
[Misty: Don't worry. Just look at Black Ash in the stream. Even though you're annoying and always doing bad things, he's never actually killed you.]
[Brock: But that also has to do with your bodies being like iron walls… I'm actually quite curious—how do you train your bodies? Pikachu's blasted you off with Thunderbolt so many times, yet you never get electrocuted to death.]
It's called "Thunderbolt," but it's certainly not a full 100,000 volts. Still… the Rocket trio has been blasted off like meteors again and again! Falling from that height would kill the average person eight hundred times over! But Team Rocket has been blasted off eight hundred times and hasn't died! This physique… is probably stronger than most Pokémon, second only to Black Ash!
[James: You don't understand! We were electrocuted, every single time!]
[Jessie: That's right! You've seen the twerp get electrocuted by Pikachu too! When we were on Kumquat Island, we could withstand Pikachu's shock and keep moving—that was Pikachu training us!]
[Ash: So… you should thank my Pikachu?]
[Jessie: Bah! That Pikachu will be ours sooner or later! Once he's our Pikachu, why would we thank someone else for our own stuff?]
[Ash: …]
That's Jessie for you—full of robber's logic.
Among the trio, James is the kindest and most reasonable. Jessie… is truly the one most like Team Rocket. But you have to admit, even Jessie has shining qualities most ordinary people—even good people—don't possess. Of course, that's not a reason for them to keep doing bad things…
...
In a Black World —
With the massive explosion caused by the Aura Sphere, this farce officially came to an end. All the controlled Pokémon lost their ability to battle due to Hypno's defeat, so everything returned to normal. Among them, Meowth and the other Team Rocket Pokémon also returned to normal and to their Trainers' arms.
Watching Team Rocket tearfully reunited with their Pokémon, Ash couldn't help but sigh. These three… he really didn't know if they were good guys or bad guys! Clearly possessing a love for Pokémon that most people lacked, yet insisting on doing bad things… What idiots!
Thinking this, Ash looked at Cassidy and Butch, who were still petrified.
"Cassidy and… Butch, was it? Officer Jenny will be here soon, so you can just乖乖go back to jail!"
"Although I don't know who bailed you out last time, this time… I'll ask Professor Oak to tell Officer Jenny that your guards need special attention!"
The crime these two committed last time shouldn't have gotten them out so quickly. The moment they escaped, they started causing trouble again. Ash would ask Professor Oak to tell Officer Jenny to make sure these guys stayed locked up! Though since they didn't cause actual harm this time, they'd probably just be detained for a while before being released again.
Not long after, Officer Jenny arrived. By then, Ash had already freed the Rocket trio, while Cassidy and Butch were hauled away by Officer Jenny. A shame—the bounty on those two had been canceled, otherwise Ash could have made some money.
After an hour of dealing with that, it was already very dark. After Ash and his group of four rested at the Pokémon Center, they set out again the next day.
Another half-day passed, and they arrived at Pinkan Island—just one more island to Navel Island.
Pinkan Island was a small island rich in glass crafts, with many glass workshops. Seeing this, the craftsman's soul in Ash was delighted. He wanted to find a craftsman to make a glass sculpture of Pikachu, or even all his Pokémon. But after thinking it over, those things wouldn't be easy to carry, so it was better to just make one of Pikachu.
So Ash began looking for a more skilled glass artisan on the island.
He ended up finding a little girl being bullied. Ash, acting out of habit, chased away the guy bullying her. After asking the little girl, he learned her name was Masami. That person wasn't actually bullying Masami—it was just that Masami had a stall here but wasn't selling anything, so they wanted her to give up the spot to someone in need.
Then a man named Mr. Glass came out. He was the real owner of the stall and a glass artisan. Mr. Glass led everyone to his glass-making workshop and explained why the stall was empty.
It turned out Mr. Glass's grandfather was a top-tier glass artisan, but Mr. Glass hadn't inherited his grandfather's talent. He could make some glass crafts, but they all seemed like complete failures to him!
"According to my grandfather, the glass crafts he made at first weren't actually inspired. But… one day, he met a Crystal Onix!"
"That Onix was like a glass work of art! After seeing it, my grandfather's inspiration gushed out like a spring! One lifelike glass craft after another came from his hands!"
Saying this, Mr. Glass's eyes shone with hope. Now, the Crystal Onix was his only hope! As long as he could see the Crystal Onix with his own eyes, he would definitely be able to improve his glasscraft to a higher level!
Hearing this, Ash looked at Mr. Glass with bright eyes, extremely interested. Crystal Onix—it sounded so cool! It must be an extremely rare Pokémon! Now he had a reason to stay here!
So Ash and his party decided to stay and help Mr. Glass find the Crystal Onix. When Ash mentioned his wish to catch the Crystal Onix, Mr. Glass didn't mind.
"As long as I can see the Crystal Onix, that's enough for me! As for catching it… that's not important."
After all, he just needed the Crystal Onix for inspiration—no need to catch it.
So, with the help of Tracey's Marill and the Team Rocket trio, Ash and the others successfully found the location of the Crystal Onix!
Before entering the cave, Ash didn't forget to thank the Rocket team members, who were still propping up the trap. These three were as forgetful as ever. Even after he'd shown them the divine power of an Aura Sphere, they still hadn't gotten timid and decided to never bother him again.
To be honest, Ash felt that if Team Rocket suddenly stopped causing trouble for him, he might actually feel a little unaccustomed to it! After all, these three guys… were really helpful!
...
[Lance: "Really helpful to be helpful"… Seeing that sentence, I'm truly speechless.]
[Ash: Could it be that the Rocket trio are actually our lucky stars?]
[Misty: Well, it's not impossible.]
[Brock: If you think about it, many of the impossible things we've done, and the friendships we've forged, were achieved with the help of Team Rocket!]
Previously, as participants, the trio hadn't noticed this. But now, looking from a god's perspective… whether it was Black Ash or White Ash, Team Rocket played an indispensable role in every important event! If they weren't there… some things really would have been hard to manage! Whether it was catching Pokémon or helping Pokémon evolve…
At this point, the Rocket trio fell into a depressed silence.
Hearing Ash's group say it… it was true! Every time they tried to do something bad, they ended up helping Ash in the end! They'd noticed before, but thought it was accidental. Now, however… from Kanto to the Orange Islands, they hadn't successfully done a single bad thing to Ash and the others! The only time might have been burning down the Rainbow Badge Gym—but even then, they'd indirectly helped Ash earn the Rainbow Badge!
Speechless!
...
In a Black World —
After the group of six entered the cave, there was only one path. At the end was a crystal-clear lake, surrounded by many crystal-like ores! Actually… those were crystals!
Ash was slightly startled upon seeing the cave full of crystals, then his eyes turned into dollar signs! As the saying goes, children of poor families mature early. Though Ash wasn't from a poor family… he'd been really broke this whole journey!
Not to mention the Pokémon he usually carried that needed feeding, just the bunch of Pokémon at Professor Oak's ranch required a lot of money for food, clothes, and care. Professor Oak had taken good care of him, but letting the professor pay for his Pokémon's expenses was more than Ash could accept.
The long journey, plus the increasing number of Pokémon, had dwindled Ash's funds. If it weren't for the prize money from winning the Indigo Plateau Conference giving him some relief, he'd probably be in debt to Professor Oak by now!
Now, the crystals in this cave… would he be taking too much if he took just one-tenth? Even one-tenth would probably be enough to raise all the Pokémon he had, plus the ones at Oak's ranch, for a year!
...
[Delia: Ash, look at him! He's been considerate since he was a child and knows how to earn money to raise Pokémon! Look at you—even if you don't need to earn as much as Black Ash, you should at least have some concept of money, right?]
[Ash: Uh… I know, Mom. I'll pay more attention from now on…"]
Ash really had no concept of money. Whether it was Professor Oak or Delia, they were the ones paying for his travels and raising his Pokémon. If not for Black Ash's desire for money being mentioned several times, Ash still wouldn't realize the importance of money. In fact, during his journey, many of the things he encountered could have been sold for a lot, even just scraps. Like this crystal cave in the Orange Islands—the crystals inside were clear and pure, and even one piece wouldn't be cheap. But back then, Ash hadn't thought of that at all…
...
In a Black World —
As Ash stepped into the cave, a behemoth emerged from the pure blue water of the lake! This behemoth had a crystal-like body, segment after segment—it was the Crystal Onix Mr. Glass had been searching for!
The moment he saw the Crystal Onix, countless images instantly appeared in Mr. Glass's mind. As the Crystal Onix froze, Mr. Glass understood… what lifelike glasscraft was! This was the missing spirit in the glass he sculpted!
"Is this the Crystal Onix? It's really beautiful!"
Misty couldn't help but sigh. Onix was originally a dumb, rough, somewhat fierce-looking Pokémon. But when its stones turned into crystal, its entire aura was instantly different!
"Crystal Onix… battle me! If I win, become my Pokémon, okay?"
Ash took out a Poké Ball and shouted at the Crystal Onix.
The Crystal Onix narrowed its eyes. It felt a sense of pressure from this human—not from an aura or a Pokémon, but simply a pressure of strength! As if… this human could hang it up and beat it barehanded. But… how was that possible? A human hanging up a Pokémon barehanded? What a joke.
The Crystal Onix shook its head, dismissing the ridiculous thought, then roared at Ash twice in agreement. Since the other party had found its home and requested a capture battle, it naturally couldn't refuse!
With the Crystal Onix's consent, Ash smiled casually and threw the Poké Ball in his hand.
"It's up to you, Onix!"
"Roo—"
Light flashed, and a massive Onix, several times the size of the Crystal Onix, appeared on the field! This was one Ash had specially had teleported from Professor Oak after hearing about the Crystal Onix. After all… there might be some kinship between same species, right?
However… the Crystal Onix looked at the behemoth before it and felt only fear and absurdity. What kind of relative was this?! It was already large for its kind, but this one was a true heavyweight!
"Roar!!"
The Crystal Onix took the initiative, spewing an ice-blue cold beam from its mouth. Ash recognized it at a glance—Ice Beam!
Without thinking about why a Crystal Onix knew Ice Beam, Ash quickly commanded his Onix.
"Block it with Rock Slide!"
Several huge stones appeared before Onix, blocking the Ice Beam. The rocks in front turned into massive blocks of ice.
"Knock away the ice and attack!"
"Roar!"
The giant Onix began to counterattack. Its huge tail swept out, sending several ice blocks about to fall in front of it flying, smashing into the Crystal Onix's body!
Finally, Ash had Onix use Stone Edge, directly pounding the Crystal Onix until it was disoriented. Without the slightest hesitation, Ash threw a Poké Ball. The already-dizzy Crystal Onix was drawn in.
The Poké Ball landed on the giant Onix's tail. After three象征性shakes, there was a crisp click.
Crystal Onix, successfully caught!
"Yay! I caught the Crystal Onix!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
Ash picked up the Poké Ball handed over by the giant Onix and struck his signature pose.
Heaven knows, this was one of Ash's few normal Pokémon captures. The others were either picked up, caught through hand-to-hand combat, or given by other Pokémon or people…
After catching the Crystal Onix, Ash chose to teleport it back. This Crystal Onix could inhabit a lake—maybe its attributes were different. After all, Rock-types feared water the most! So Ash wanted Professor Oak to study it first, then transmit it for training… pills…
PS :
Pinkan Island: An island in the Orange Archipelago known for its pink berries and pink-colored Pokémon. Here, it's noted for its glass craftsmanship.
Mr. Glass : The glass artisan seeking inspiration from the Crystal Onix.
Masami: The young girl helping Mr. Glass, who was initially mistaken for being bullied.
Stone Edge: The Rock-type move used by Ash's Onix as a finisher.
Rock Slide: The Rock-type move used by Ash's Onix for defense.
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