"This is truly detestable..."
Facing the desperate situation meticulously constructed by Marshadow before his eyes, where no matter what he chose it seemed he would fall into the abyss... Ash felt an unprecedented headache.
His temples were throbbing wildly. His brain felt as if it had been stuffed into a labyrinth that was spinning at high speed but had no exit.
"Resolve the garbage dump first? Or save the city? Are these two choices? Why does it seem like there is only one answer?!"
This damn choice was like two massive mountains, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.
Ho-Oh's feather radiated a scorching temperature in his palm, its light incredibly dazzling within the perception of his Mind's Eye, as if interrogating his soul—what are you going to do?
Amidst this suffocating silence and pressure, several familiar presences firmly drew close.
Pikachu lightly leaped onto his shoulder, which was trembling slightly from tension, its tiny paws patting his cheek in a comforting manner.
"Pikapi!"
Its voice was not loud, but those bright black eyes clearly conveyed a message—no matter what decision you make, I will always stand by your side and face it together with you.
Pidgeotto spiraled down, landing on Gyarados's broad back. Its sharp gaze swept over the glaring giant beast and Marshadow opposite them, letting out a short and high-pitched cry.
Its relatively simple thinking could not fully comprehend the complex choice Ash was facing. But it could feel the heaviness in Ash's heart. It didn't understand, but it was willing to crush any enemy standing in front of them for Ash.
The Golden Gyarados lowered its massive head, its cold whiskers gently rubbing against Ash's back as it let out a low whimper. Its thoughts were even more direct—the enemy was right in front of them, so they just needed to fight.
It trusted Ash's judgment; wherever Ash pointed, it would strike.
Misdreavus floated in front of Ash, blinking its big, cute eyes and making an adorable "what am I going to do with you" expression on its face.
"Mai mai~"
Misdreavus's meaning carried a bit of lethargy and nonchalance. Misdreavus: Although it's very troublesome, who asked you to be my Trainer?
Miss Misdreavus's body erupted with purple flames. Will-O-Wisp burned away all the plastic bags shrouding its body.
...At a time like this, there was no need to be pretentious anymore. Anyway, Miss Misdreavus didn't need to breathe.
They might not understand that convoluted Trolley Problem. They might not understand the profound concepts of sacrifice and salvation. But without exception, they all handed over their power and trust to Ash without any reservations.
So the bond between Pokémon and Trainer was exactly this, right? This was also the theme of this world—humans and Pokémon coexisting with true sincerity.
Feeling the unreserved support of his partners, Ash took a deep breath. The respirator on his face had long since fallen off, and the air filled with filth and foul stench now seemed no longer unbearable. He closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing his chaotic thoughts.
When he opened his eyes again, the confusion and struggle in his eyes had receded like the tide, replaced by a calmness that was almost burning.
"The current me can do it!"
The light of Aura on Ash's body lit up with unprecedented intensity, no longer a faint, lustrous glow, but rising like blue flames. In a sense, the manifestation of Aura could also be said to be a form of life force.
So now was precisely the time to burn his life force. Using his life to stimulate an even stronger fluctuation.
This wondrous light proactively extended outward, connecting with Pikachu, Gyarados, Pidgeotto, and Misdreavus like a bridge. An unprecedented resonance was born.
Although he could previously transmit vague thoughts and commands through Aura, at this moment Ash felt his consciousness seemingly merge partially with the consciousnesses of his four Pokémon. This was something that could only be done after obtaining the Aura domain. It was not an Aura technique in the general sense.
Ash could more clearly perceive the transforming electrical currents within Pikachu's body, the surging water flow of Gyarados, the lightness with which Pidgeotto rode the air currents, and the eeriness of Misdreavus manipulating shadows and illusions.
And his own will, his firmness and resolve after making a decision, also flowed unhindered into his partners' hearts. The deep connection that could not be achieved before was accomplished under immense pressure and pure trust.
It was just a pity that Charmeleon couldn't fly right now; if it could evolve into Charizard, it would be even better.
Ash raised his head, his gaze piercing through the pervasive dust and ominous shadows, and saw Marshadow hovering above the Giant Garbodor, quietly waiting for his answer.
An indescribable surge of anger violently rushed to his heart. Although it was mainly anger towards Marshadow for treating lives and the city as chess pieces, it actually also carried a bit of personal grudge—anyone who poses the Trolley Problem deserves to die.
To hell with multiple-choice questions!
—Where are there two choices?
—There is clearly only one!
Ash faced Marshadow and cursed viciously: "Fuck!"
Normally, he would definitely want to chatter endlessly, spouting a bunch of nonsense Pokémon profanities. But today, Ash had no interest in talking too much nonsense for the first time. What time was it already? He really had no mood to say too much!
The sound of the national treasure echoed in the sky above the empty garbage dump. Simple and crude, filled with the most direct emotional catharsis.
Ash even forcefully raised his middle finger at that tiny gray Mythical Pokémon—凸. This gesture was universal across the multiverse; almost any living being could tell what it meant.
—Behind the distant clouds, Ho-Oh was feeling the emotions in Ash's heart, and this sudden action caused it to choke, letting out a sneeze laced with the breath of flames.
—In a sense, Marshadow was also taking the blame for Ho-Oh... Ho-Oh was fundamentally responsible for at least fifty percent.
Suicune: "...What is he doing?"
Entei: "...Very energetic!"
Ash, of course, did not know that Ho-Oh and its messengers had actually already arrived, and that someone was destined to back up this disaster. At this moment, he was bearing immense psychological pressure that exceeded the Trolley Problem.
So he forced himself to calm down, using rationality to analyze the situation before his eyes. However, the result of his calm thinking led to the same destination as a momentary impulse of emotional acting.
—Doing it even knowing it's impossible.
He had to defeat Marshadow and this Giant Garbodor enhanced by it without using Ho-Oh's feather. He clearly recognized that Marshadow was the core of all this. Without defeating it, even if he temporarily purified the Garbodor with the feather, it could still create other chaos, or drive the Garbodor to the city to merge with that Muk, causing an even greater disaster.
—The trial of the Rainbow Hero had no standards whatsoever.
—This was the biggest problem, because you didn't know how to pass.
—Even if Ash wanted to proactively fail and end the trial, he wouldn't know how to do it.
—It was truly infuriating to the extreme.
And Ho-Oh's feather, this only divine artifact of purification, had to be reserved for that super-giant Muk in the city that was devouring the factory district and posed an even greater potential threat. Only then could the city's losses be minimized before the disaster completely erupted.
Ho-Oh's feather was absolutely capable of dealing with the Muk without leaving any pollution in the city. This was something that neither Brock, Misty, nor Ash themselves could ever accomplish.
This was exactly what having specialized skills meant.
"Damn it, what I hate the most is this Trolley Problem bullshit!"
Ash cursed in a low voice, his tone carrying suppressed anger and a hint of helpless self-mockery.
"When encountering this kind of fucked-up problem, isn't the best solution to directly pull out the bastard demanding you to pull the lever at the fork in the tracks, or the bastard tying people to the tracks, and kill them? But now... the result is actually me holding the lever... I fucking really ran into it..."
Ash's gaze swept over every partner beside him, his voice deepening: "I... have never liked, and will never easily dictate the fates of others. But I can choose my own fate, choose the path we... are going to take."
"I'm sorry, partners... This time, I really have to ask you to risk your lives with me."
He said "I'm sorry" because this decision meant they would face a powerful Mythical Pokémon and a monster that had devoured an entire garbage dump. This operation carried an extremely high risk and would inevitably require overdrawing their strength... leading to injuries, or even death.
This conflicted somewhat with his usual philosophy of cherishing every single partner.
Although during his initial journey, Ash would filter and select outstanding individuals while capturing Pokémon. He was indeed very picky, and many Pokémon had been released by him.
But this did not mean he did not love Pokémon. Selecting suitable Pokémon to cultivate bonds with—this was his way of the Trainer. It wasn't about randomly picking a Pokémon and assuming a bond could be cultivated—that kind of emotion would be too cheap.
But similarly, once he made a choice, he would not give up. And so, once he made a decision, he would not regret it.
Therefore, in this life, Ash actually didn't plan to capture too many Pokémon. Human emotions are limited. But because of this, it was a two-way journey of emotions.
Therefore—
What responded to him was Pikachu's even more dazzling electrical light.
What responded to him was Gyarados's even more furious roar.
What responded to him was Pidgeotto's even sharper gaze.
What responded to him was Misdreavus's even more solidified shadow energy.
Even Charmeleon responded to him from within its Poké Ball.
It was just that the current Charmeleon couldn't evolve, and its body had suffered heavy damage in the previous battle. So it shouldn't come out to hold them back.
The Pokémon had not a trace of hesitation, not the slightest bit of complaint. Because they knew that Ash was not abandoning them, but inviting them to step onto this most difficult, yet most direct path with him.
With minds thinking as one, strength exerted as one, and souls resonating through Aura, even if a mountain of blades or a sea of fire lay ahead, what was there to fear?
"We have a 99% probability of death."
"But there is a 1% chance that we will attain glory and brilliance that others have never had."
"So then... let's go!"
Blue light burst from Ash's eyes, and the Aura domain connecting the five of them abruptly expanded, enveloping the massive Garbodor and the Marshadow on its shoulder.
—[Aura Domain: Eruption]
The attack had begun!
But this time, the attack did not originate from hatred. Rather, it came from Ash's simplest wish—to solve the problem!
"Thunderbolt!"
"Hydro Pump!"
"Air Cutter!"
"Shadow Ball!"
The commands were transmitted instantly in their hearts.
The golden serpents of lightning no longer surged haphazardly, but intertwined with the thick Hydro Pump under the guidance of Aura. The mixture of lightning and water generated a stronger paralyzing and penetrating effect.
Countless transparent Air Cutters precisely cut into the gaps where the lightning and water intertwined, further tearing apart the defenses on Garbodor's body surface.
Although Pidgeotto was more adept at Swift, it wasn't very suitable for a coordinated attack right now.
The eerie purple Shadow Ball, like a ghost, drilled in along the energy weak points perceived by Aura, triggering erosion and chaos from within.
Under the harmony and guidance of Ash's Aura, the energies of different types produced a wondrous synergistic effect, no longer a simple superposition, but an elevation akin to a qualitative change.
____
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