Charizard shattered Graveler's Rock Slide without even trying—
And before Graveler could react, a torrent of blazing crimson fire engulfed its entire body.
Seconds later, a scorched-black Graveler dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.
A single move.
A clean, instant kill.
That was Charizard's power now.
After receiving Ho-Oh's Rainbow Wing, Charizard's foundation had been steadily reforged, and his flames further strengthened.
He hadn't even begun training with the Charicific Valley techniques—and yet he was no weakling.
For a Graveler of this level?
Getting one-shot was only natural.
Ash's second-round match ended quickly.
He had sent out three Pokémon—
And all three steamrolled their opponents.
Two of those wins were even type-disadvantaged.
Might as well call it a triple sweep.
Ash waved proudly to the audience, yelling with youthful excitement.
Up in the stands, Gary snorted.
"Act smug while you can.
Once you run into ME, that'll be your defeat."
He muttered to himself, then swaggered away with his six cheerleaders/girlfriends.
What he meant was simple:
Before meeting him, Ash wasn't losing to ANYONE.
The language of a tsundere rival… never changes.
After the match, none of Ash's Pokémon even needed healing—they hadn't taken any real damage.
So Ash, Misty, and Brock headed back to Steven Stone's temporary residence as usual.
Watching matches beside champion-level trainers, listening to their real-time analysis—
That was priceless training for Ash.
…Even though half the champions spent their time "jinxing" outcomes instead.
Around 5 PM, the Quartz Conference matches for the day ended, and the Champions returned.
They had originally come to watch only Ash's matches…
But courtesy demanded they stay through the entire schedule.
So they endured the torment known as the Quartz Junior Cup.
After a full day of matches, the number of trainers considered "decent" could be counted on one hand.
And that was with Ash included.
The champions were mentally exhausted.
In the original history, Ash had made it to the Top 16.
Naturally, they had expected the Quartz Conference to be a battlefield of elites.
Instead… it was a chicken-pecking contest.
They were stunned.
"Lance, has Kanto fallen THIS low? No wonder people say your region's youth generation is collapsing."
Steven shrugged mercilessly.
He thought Hoenn's new trainers were weak…
But compared to Kanto's?
Hoenn suddenly looked amazing.
"Don't look at me. I'm just a special investigator—I fight crime.
Training young people is Chairman Damalanji's job."
Lance threw his chairman under the bus instantly.
"Hey… The Quartz League can't be that bad, right?"
Ash interrupted cautiously.
Before receiving Heavenly Tally rewards, he himself had only reached the Top 16.
If the conference was weak…
Didn't that imply he was weak?
"Hmm… excluding your boosted Pikachu and Charizard, Ash—
You're indeed among the strongest of the beginners." Cynthia explained gently.
"But a League Conference shouldn't consist only of beginners.
Many trainers who've traveled for years—like Professor Kukui—should be competing."
She sighed.
"But here? Almost none.
Many contestants are adults whose Pokémon are still extremely weak.
That's why we say Kanto's youth scene is barren."
Ash finally understood.
Then Brock added:
"My father, Flint—he challenged this League for twenty years straight."
"Never once became champion."
"TWENTY YEARS?!"
A chill ran down Ash's spine.
For a moment, he imagined himself… failing to win a single League for twenty years.
He shook the horrifying thought away immediately.
Before Lance could continue bragging—
DING—
Above the living room TV, a massive screen materialized.
The third consecutive day.
The Heavenly Tally had returned.
"The Seventh Heavenly Tally Begins!
Ranking Pokémon Who Stand Against Gods (Part 5)"
Across the world, screens lit up.
People grabbed popcorn and snacks, preparing for the show.
"Still the 'Against Gods' series, huh?
Who's fighting a divine Pokémon this time?" Agatha mused.
"It's rare to see Legendary Pokémon in our lifetime.
But this is already the fifth entry—six Legendaries have appeared so far." Lorelei sighed.
"Don't tell me… It's Ash again?" someone muttered.
"…Honestly? Could be."
The video began—
The screen opened to a barren desert.
Not Ash.
Not Pikachu.
But…
A majestic white dragon.
And opposite it—
a huge black dragon.
The White Dragon's body resembled a fusion of wolf, bird, and Western wyrm.
Its pristine fur glowed softly, metal rings banded its neck and tail,
and beneath those rings lay an engine-like structure pulsing with heat.
The Black Dragon resembled a muscular, two-legged reptile with multiple arms—
two forming massive wings, two ending in thick claws.
Its spiked, turbine-shaped tail glowed with electrical potential.
Alder's text appeared immediately:
[Alder: The Vast White Pokémon—Reshiram?!
And the Deep Black Pokémon—Zekrom!?]
His shock was palpable.
These were no ordinary Legendaries.
These were Unova's primal deities—
First-Rank God-Tier Pokémon, stronger than many lesser deities with official divine authority.
[Caitlin: Our Unova Dragons? But these two are first-rank gods!
What kind of Pokémon could fight against either of them?!]
Even thinking about it felt absurd.
The last time they saw a god-tier clash was Pikachu vs. Tapu Koko—
And even that was powered by Z-Energy.
But Reshiram and Zekrom?
These attacks were their baseline.
[Professor Oak: Alder, could you explain these two in detail?]
Alder obliged.
[Alder: Reshiram and Zekrom originate from the original strongest dragon, Kyurem.
In ancient times, one dragon split into these two embodiments:
Reshiram: Truth
Zekrom: Ideals
Only when all three unite does the "Original Dragon's" true power return.]
He continued:
[Alder: Reshiram is a Fire/Dragon deity who burns away falsehood and delusion.
Its signature attack, Blue Flare, can incinerate kingdoms.
When its tail engine ignites fully, it enters Overdrive Mode—its highest power state.]
[Alder: Zekrom, the Electric/Dragon deity, represents ideals.
Its thunder destroys those who abandon their convictions.
Its engine tail glows cyan when channeling its strongest moves like Bolt Strike,
also entering Overdrive Mode.]
Steven Stone added:
[Steven: So these two are equivalent to Hoenn's Primals—Groudon and Kyogre.]
Cynthia followed:
[Cynthia: And comparable to Dialga and Palkia from Sinnoh.]
Everyone's expressions turned solemn.
These weren't "regular gods."
These were top-class world-shaping dragons.
Below them, Moltres-tier Legendaries weren't even worthy of comparison.
Even Tapu Koko, with Z-Move amplification, could only barely "poke" at this tier.
As the audience absorbed this terrifying lore—
The dragons began to move.
Reshiram raised its head, flames condensing in its jaws—
a burning sphere wrapped in swirling cross-shaped fire patterns.
At the same time,
its tail engine erupted into a blazing orange inferno.
Reshiram's signature attack:
Fusion Flare.
"REIII—!!"
The fireball launched—
and instantly expanded into a colossal fiery beam.
The air vaporized.
Heatwaves rippled violently, bursting into cascading suns.
Zekrom roared, blue lightning coursing through its body.
Electric arcs intertwined in the air, vaporizing sandstorms on contact.
Its tail-engine glowed a blinding cyan.
Then Zekrom surged forward like a comet of pure thunder—
"BOOOOOOOOOM!!!"
The moment the two divine forces collided—
The screen shrank back from the shockwave.
Mountains disintegrated.
Earth ruptured.
Sky shattered.
Everything within the clash—
ceased to exist.
And the clip ended there.
Short, much shorter than previous previews.
But it had shown the world…
What REAL divine power looked like.
"Holy crap—THIS is Unova's twin dragons?! Their power's on par with Pikachu and Tapu Koko's Z-Move clash!"
"Are you blind?! Pikachu and Tapu Koko needed a Z-Move!
These two are using NORMAL signature attacks!"
"Yeah! This is baseline god-tier! What Pokémon could even confront THIS?!"
The world collectively exploded.
No one could imagine a normal Pokémon matching these titans.
Team Plasma Headquarters, Unova
Ghetsis watched the scene with feverish excitement.
"Yes… This is it.
The power worthy of ruling the world."
Reshiram…
Zekrom…
Both would belong to him.
Colress, beside him, adjusted his glasses, eyes shining.
His research into control machines had just received divine inspiration.
If they could harness such beings—
Team Plasma could rule the world effortlessly.
Both leaders stared at the screen with worshipful greed.
Back at Steven's residence—
"Your Unova dragons… aren't weak at ALL."
Lance swallowed hard.
He rarely saw god-tier battles.
Ho-Oh and Lugia only appeared once per century—
And almost no one had ever witnessed their full power.
Now, watching first-rank gods clash—
Even with all six of his Pokémon, he wasn't confident he could scratch them.
Leon rubbed his chin calmly.
"If it were just one of them…
My Charizard, in Gigantamax form, could probably take it."
Everyone: ?????????
Excuse us??
Your Charizard can fight THAT?!
Since when?!
No one had ever seen Leon's Charizard fight at full strength—
But even so, this was outrageous.
Even Cynthia, ranked second in the Masters Eight, admitted inwardly:
If she faced either dragon… she wouldn't last five minutes.
Was Leon really THAT much stronger?
The Masters Tournament couldn't come fast enough.
On screen—
The brief teaser ended.
A new scene appeared.
People gasped.
There he was again.
Red-and-white cap.
Blue-and-white jacket.
The Heavenly Tally's most frequent star—
Ash Ketchum.
But this time—
He wasn't standing victorious in an arena.
He was running.
Breathing hard, covered in dust—
escaping through a ruined wasteland.
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 30 Power Stones.