Two days later, Ash and Sabrina arrived at Blackthorn City, the location of the final Gym. Not only was this the place where Ash would obtain his last Badge, it was also the beginning of a new round of trouble for him.
Two days earlier, after hearing about Zapdos, Nathan and Sam had become too excited to sleep. Even if Zapdos hadn't fully reached the level of the true divine Legendary Pokémon, its reputation alone was already astonishing, especially for rookie Trainers who had only recently begun their journeys.
The participants of this Indigo Plateau Conference were no weaker than the previous generation. Aside from Ash, nearly all the younger members of the Eight Great Families would participate, along with Ash's apprentice. It could be said that this conference had attracted an unprecedented amount of attention.
"Hm? Ash, look over there, it's a Dratini."
Just before entering the outskirts of Blackthorn City, Sabrina suddenly pointed toward the lakeside ahead of them. Hearing her words, Ash immediately looked over.
"How could there be a Dratini here?" Ash asked in surprise after confirming what he saw.
Dratini were extremely rare Pokémon. Encountering one in the wild was already difficult, let alone so close to Blackthorn City. If a Dratini truly lived here, someone would have likely captured it long ago.
What puzzled Ash even more was that this Dratini didn't seem afraid of humans at all. Judging by its behavior, it was clearly already accustomed to human contact.
"Roar!"
Just as Ash and Sabrina approached the lakeside, the water suddenly exploded upward. A massive Gyarados burst from the lake and immediately fired a Hydro Pump toward them.
"It's another Gyarados…"
Ash looked speechless at the sudden attack. It felt like every Gyarados he encountered loved jumping out of lakes to ambush people. Anyone with a weak heart might genuinely get scared to death, especially considering how terrifying Gyarados looked.
"Shinra Tensei."
Facing the incoming Hydro Pump, Ash stepped in front of Sabrina and raised his right hand. An invisible repulsive force erupted instantly, shattering the Hydro Pump before it could even reach them.
"Gyarados, stop!"
Just as the Gyarados prepared to continue attacking, a woman's voice suddenly rang out. Hearing the order, the Gyarados immediately stopped, though it still glared fiercely at Ash and Sabrina.
"Who are you two? Why were you approaching my Dratini?"
The owner of the voice soon appeared beside the Gyarados. The Dratini immediately wrapped itself affectionately around her neck after seeing her.
The newcomer was a woman around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, noticeably older than Ash, who was now almost seventeen. She had long lavender hair, a tight-fitting outfit that highlighted her slender figure, and an exquisite face filled with a fierce and valiant temperament. At first glance, it was obvious she was very powerful.
More importantly, Ash sensed Aura within her body.
Many people possessed Aura, but the Aura within this woman felt very similar to the Aura of the Draconis family.
"We should be the ones asking questions," Sabrina replied coldly. "Why did you order your Gyarados to attack us? Allowing Pokémon to attack people casually isn't a small matter."
"My name is Clair," the woman replied. "I'm the Gym Leader of Blackthorn Gym, and I'm also this Dratini's Trainer. I ordered Gyarados to guard it here."
As she spoke, the Gyarados beside her let out another roar in agreement.
"My name is Ash, from Pallet Town in Kanto, and this is Sabrina, my fiancée." Ash stepped forward before continuing, "What's with the Aura inside your body? Why does it carry a royal Dragon aura?"
At this moment, Ash became serious.
This was the Johto region, not Kanto. The headquarters of the Draconis family shouldn't be here. Although Clair's Aura resembled the Aura possessed by the Draconis family, it clearly wasn't exactly the same.
Ash himself had mutated because of the system. Under normal circumstances, members of the Draconis family who awakened Aura would enter the Dragon's Den and transform their Aura into true Dragon Aura.
Just like the Draconis family, Dragon Aura was simply an evolved form of ordinary Aura. However, after evolving into Dragon Aura, the original Aura abilities would weaken considerably.
"You're Ash?" Clair suddenly looked surprised after hearing Ash introduce himself. She circled around him a few times, carefully observing him with a strange look in her eyes.
"What? Is there a problem?" Ash frowned slightly at Clair's behavior. He disliked being stared at like some kind of rare animal, and it made him uncomfortable.
Realizing her actions were somewhat rude, Clair quickly stopped and reintroduced herself properly.
"My full name is Clair Stone. My mother comes from the Draconis family, while my father is the Head of the Stone family."
"The Stone family?" Ash raised an eyebrow in surprise. "The family famous for Steel-type Pokémon? I heard they already declined years ago."
Ash had indeed heard of the Stone family before.
While investigating the major families of the Johto region, Ash had used the influence of both the Draconis family and the Oak family to gather information. Back then, the Stone family had once been one of Johto's top-ranking clans.
However, around ten years ago, they were heavily suppressed by the Rowan family, causing their status to plummet. Now, they could only barely be considered a minor family, no longer possessing the glory they once had.
As for the exact reason the Rowan family targeted the Stone family, Ash didn't know. Even the intelligence reports he obtained didn't explain the matter in detail.