The massive Orange Islands incident finally came to an end today, concluding with the arrest of Charon and Mars.
Lugia finally returned to normal, having completely purged the remaining dark power from its body; now restored, Lugia expressed its gratitude to Ash and the others.
Even Lugia itself had not expected that it would be so easily controlled by humans; on one hand, it was indeed careless, but on the other, it had misjudged Yveltal's power. When facing that energy clearly imbued with malicious power, it had actually chosen to use Psychic to resist it, which was simply incredibly foolish.
At that time, it had clearly sensed that the power rushing toward it carried dark-type energy, yet it had subconsciously chosen to respond with Psychic. Perhaps it had been peaceful for too long, causing its combat instincts to dull.
Additionally, the capture of Charon and Mars was highly prioritized by the Alliance; these two were extremely dangerous individuals who not only set a trap to ensnare Cynthia but also targeted Lugia and the Legendary Birds, and they had ultimately succeeded.
This was something even Team Rockets had never managed to achieve.
If Ash and Mewtwo hadn't been there this time, the consequences would have been unimaginable. With both Lugia and the Legendary Birds controlled, losing four holders of a divine position all at once—to what extent would the entire world descend into chaos?
Among them, besides the three basic divine positions, there was also the divine position of ocean currents; the disruption of ocean currents would cause the seas to riot, and at that point, the entire world would face irreversible phenomena.
Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Ash saved the entire world this time. No one knew what Team Galactic wanted to do, and even with Charon and Mars arrested, the Alliance had no way of extracting any information from them for the time being.
The submarine created by Team Galactic did have a positive impact on the Alliance's scientific and technological development, but when Charon was initially caught by Mewtwo, he seemed to sense that there was no way to escape, so he deleted all the data recorded inside the submarine completely.
Information regarding other members of Team Galactic, their base locations, and their leader had all been deleted, and it was impossible to recover them.
One could only say that Charon had courage and was sufficiently loyal; even after being captured himself, he would absolutely never implicate his leader or anyone else in Team Galactic.
The Alliance had originally planned to use Psychic Pokémon to hypnotize Charon and Mars to extract intelligence on Team Galactic, but after hypnosis, they discovered that any memory regarding this part would automatically lock up whenever Psychic hypnosis was used.
The Alliance even brought in the strongest Psychic user in the Unova region and member of the Elite Four, Caitlin, to perform forced hypnosis on Charon and the others in conjunction with her Pokémon, but the final conclusion was that if they insisted on digging into their sealed memories, the failsafe they left behind would directly destroy their own minds!
Better to be a shattered jade than an intact tile; Team Galactic was ruthless to Pokémon, ruthless to others, and even more ruthless to themselves!
From this glimpse, one can see what kind of organization Team Galactic truly is. Their leader is perhaps an even more terrifying mastermind than Giovanni. Even after capturing an entire branch of Team Galactic members, they still couldn't manage to investigate the name of Team Galactic's leader; the level of secrecy was simply terrifying.
Team Galactic is a cancer in the Sinnoh region, with a status similar to Team Rockets in Kanto and Johto, and yet the Sinnoh region doesn't even know who the leader of Team Galactic is, making it impossible to even attempt any negotiations.
Now, Team Galactic has set its sights on Legendary Pokémon and has succeeded more than once. Even Lugia, at the Peak of the Divine Realm, fell victim to their schemes and ended up in their hands. As I said before, if Ash hadn't been there, everything would have been completely ruined this time.
However, the credit for Ash's part was hidden; after all, Mewtwo's existence could not be exposed. On the surface, it was still Lorelei and Cynthia who resolved this incident. As for whether Charon and the others would voluntarily speak about Mewtwo, there was no need to worry about that.
As the defeated party, would they really voluntarily disclose how they were beaten like dogs?
The clues regarding Team Galactic were cut off, but on Ash's side — — — —
"Ascender Ash: — — — — No sooner said than done, the Champion boss commanded Mewtwo, and in a flash, it shattered Lugia's Aeroblast, then restored Lugia to normal, and subsequently directly subdued Mars and the others. It was simply too cool! The Champion boss's Mewtwo is raised to be way too strong!"
Ash was currently vividly recounting the course of events to the many big shots in the group. Although they hadn't participated, they were quite gossipy, and the things experienced by Ash in each parallel world were a bit different.
It was possible that they had all encountered Lugia, but some encountered it directly, some encountered it in a city, and some even encountered a hostile Lugia summoned by Hoopa Unbound.
There were all sorts of varied ways of encountering it, and the incident Ash encountered this time was a unique event in their timeline.
In other timelines, Team Galactic had never participated in the events on the Orange Islands, let alone controlled the Legendary Birds, flipped their forms, or even controlled Lugia.
Under Ash's vivid and descriptive narration, the many big shots in the group also learned about what Ash had encountered this time.
"Breeder Ash: I really didn't expect that what happened in your timeline, newbie, would be so bizarre. Team Galactic actually ran all the way to the Orange Islands to station themselves there, and even used Yveltal's power to control Lugia. This is far more bizarre than what we encountered with Lugia in other timelines."
"Aura Hero Ash: It's more than just bizarre, it's practically grotesque! If this Chat Group hadn't appeared, I don't know how the newbie would have coped with this crisis. In most timelines, when we meet Lugia early on, it's basically as a helper by our side. With the newbie, not only does he have to face the corrupted Legendary Birds, but also the corrupted Lugia. Tsk tsk, is this a hell-difficulty dungeon?"
"Tactical Master Ash: Indeed, I remember when I met Lugia it was also on Shamouti Island, but at that time I was commanding Lugia to battle the Legendary Birds, and it took almost no effort to take down those three silly birds. But if it were reversed, and I had to command those three silly birds to battle against Lugia, the chance of winning would probably be hard to reach even ten percent."
"Evolutionist Ash: After all, the Legendary Birds and Lugia are simply not on the same level of existence. Generally speaking, the end point the Legendary Birds can reach is only the Initial God Domain Level; it's estimated that a Legendary Bird capable of advancing to the Intermediate God Domain Level might not even appear in a century. But for Lugia, the strongest among them are definitely at the Peak of the Divine Realm."
"Evolutionist Ash: The gap between the Initial God Domain Level and the Peak of the Divine Realm should be even greater than the distance between an Elite and the Divine Realm. With one breath from the latter, the former would have to crawl away. Once reaching the Divine Realm Level, it is not so easy to jump levels, let alone the Initial level trying to surpass the Peak; calling it a pipe dream is no exaggeration."
"Non-Chief Ash: Yeah, although your luck with draws and encountering Pokémon is usually good, newbie, you were truly unlucky to the extreme in this incident. If it weren't for the Champion's help, I reckon you would have all been wiped out. Even if you had luckily escaped, Lugia would have already become something in Team Galactic's pocket, and the danger to the entire world would naturally go without saying."
"Ascender Ash: Yeah, this time it was thanks to the Champion boss, otherwise I wouldn't have known what to do."
Fortunately, this time he drew the one-time reward of a God-tier Booster; otherwise, even he would be helpless when facing Lugia. The Divine Realm Level is already the top-tier level in the Pokémon world.
Pokémon that can reach this level can be said to be very few and far between, but should you say he is lucky or unlucky? Yet, among such rare Pokémon, he encountered four all at once in this Orange Islands incident!
It's fortunate they didn't come all four at once, otherwise Ash would have probably had to call for backup right from the start. Mewtwo's Mega Evolution might be able to handle two of the Legendary Birds, but wanting to handle three would still be somewhat difficult.
He encountered four Legendary Pokémon at once, which ordinary people would never see—how is this not a form of luck in itself?
"Champion Ash: Hehe, don't flatter me. Even without my help, I believe the newbie would have found a way to turn danger into safety. And after all, if it weren't for the appearance of the Chat Group, the newbie wouldn't have confronted Giovanni so early, nor would it have led to the dissolution of Team Rockets, ultimately allowing Team Galactic to come and take over the nest."
"Champion Ash: So this is actually a chain reaction. While the Chat Group gives the newbie the power for rapid growth, it also compresses the time for the newbie to grow."
Champion Ash's logic was very clear; although it was his intervention that resolved the crisis this time, in reality, if Ash hadn't obtained the Chat Group, he would never have encountered this crisis at all.
The Team Galactic in the world where Ash is currently located made Champion Ash feel very unfamiliar. In other worlds, including the one he is in, while Team Galactic's technology is formidable, it is not to this extent, nor have they ever laid hands on Yveltal's power.
Why Team Galactic in the world where the newbie Ash is located possesses Yveltal's power remains a mystery. Team Galactic's goal should have been the Time and Space Gods of the Sinnoh region, so how did it become Yveltal?
This might be related to the chain reaction caused by the newbie Ash. From now on, the journey on the newbie Ash's side has begun to develop in a direction different from any other parallel timeline, and Ash will also walk his own exclusive path.
"Non-Chief Ash: The Champion is right, this is also the butterfly effect caused by the Chat Group. In my timeline, or even in others' timelines, how could Team Galactic be this strong? By the way, you saved Lugia, did Lugia leave anything for you? According to the personality of Legendary Pokémon who repay kindness, it should have left something, right?"
"Ascender Ash: It did. Lugia... left Little Lugia with me, and it also gave me a silver feather. According to Lugia, that feather can not only serve as a ticket if I want to challenge it in the future, but when I encounter danger, or when I need it to take action, I just need to inject Aura into the feather, and it will sense it and come immediately."
"Ascender Ash: Besides that, if the feather is placed on Flying-type and Psychic Pokémon, it can also increase their speed of sensing attribute power, allowing them to learn new skills related to these two attributes faster. At the same time, the speed of their own strength improvement will also increase, and the power of these two attributes can also be boosted by about thirty to forty percent — — — —"
"Non-Chief Ash: — — — —"
"Breeder Ash: — — — —"
"Evolutionist Ash: — — — —"
" — — — —"
Following Ash's explanation, a series of ellipses appeared in the Chat Group. Except for Champion Ash, everyone else felt that Ash's gains this time were simply too outrageous.
Damn it, why does the effect of one feather feel like he went to the lair of a Legendary Pokémon to stock up on goods? It reduces the difficulty of learning skills and moves, increases the attack power of two attribute skills, and at the same time, provides one opportunity to challenge Lugia. If he can gain Lugia's recognition in the battle, Lugia will become Ash's Pokémon.
This kind of battle doesn't require defeating Lugia. If one wanted to defeat a Pokémon at the Peak of the Divine Realm, even if Ash had a Pokémon at the same Peak of the Divine Realm, it would take a day and a night of fighting, and they might not even be able to determine a winner.
Therefore, this kind of battle is just an opportunity for Lugia to recognize Ash. Even if he doesn't defeat it, it doesn't matter; as long as Ash can gain Lugia's recognition during that battle, then Lugia will become Ash's Pokémon.
And then there's the last function of the Silver Feather — — calling for backup!
Possessing the Silver Feather is equivalent to having a bodyguard at the Peak of the Divine Realm!
With Lugia's strength at the Peak of the Divine Realm, it wouldn't take much time even to cross half the globe. If Ash felt something was wrong and summoned Lugia directly, at most he would only need to hold out for three minutes, and Lugia should be able to arrive.
Although this thing is a bit weaker than the insurance brought by a God-tier Booster, the current Ash doesn't have the God-tier Booster skill. Furthermore, since Lugia has made this promise, it means that during the time it fights for Ash, it belongs to Ash as his Pokémon.
In other words, if Ash wants to battle Legendary Pokémon, then Lugia can participate in the battle as Ash's Pokémon, and this would not violate the rules.
And if Ash were to use the power of a God-tier Booster to capture Legendary Pokémon — — — — although it feels a bit awkward to say this, that is ultimately not Ash's own power. If it were used to deal with crises or battles that must be won, then using it freely wouldn't matter, but if it concerns the capture of Pokémon, using the God-tier Booster skill would be relying on it a bit too much.
Therefore, this move by Lugia can serve as a backup plan for the future when wanting to capture a Pokémon at the Peak of the Divine Realm, for example — — Rayquaza!
Chapter 144: Dumbledore's Advance
After the blinding radiance subsided, Laxus stared at Goku across the plaza, his entire body frozen in shock. His lips trembled as he muttered incoherently:
"Impossible... this can't be happening. Why? Why didn't Fairy Law work?"
"Did you attack just now?" Goku asked, scratching his head with a look of pure confusion. "I didn't feel anything at all."
Earlier, Goku hadn't been injured because he was using his powerful Ki to defend against Laxus's physical and elemental strikes. But when that massive Magic Seal appeared, the sheer scale of the energy made Goku brace himself, expecting a devastating blow.
Instead, there was zero impact. He felt nothing.
"Laxus... Fairy Law only works against those whom the caster truly perceives as an enemy in their heart."
Makarov walked slowly toward Laxus, his expression a complex mix of lingering anger and quiet relief. He was furious that Laxus had dared to use a legendary Super Magic against a guildmate, but he was relieved to find that, beneath the arrogant facade, Laxus still cared for everyone in the guild.
Even for Goku—a newcomer he had barely met—Laxus's heart refused to register him as a true foe. Otherwise, the Law would have reduced the boy to ash.
"Come with me," Makarov said softly.
"You've always wanted to know why I was so adamant about expelling your father from the guild. Perhaps now, it is time I told you the truth."
Years ago, Laxus's father, Ivan Dreyar, had been exiled for conspiring with Dark Guilds to steal the guild's greatest secret, Lumen Histoire.
At the time, Laxus was only a child. Makarov had feared that knowing his father was a traitor would shatter the boy's young heart, so he kept the truth hidden.
That silence had bred a decade of misunderstanding and resentment, leading to the confrontation today.
To keep Laxus from straying further into darkness, Makarov finally decided to lay everything bare.
Laxus's body stiffened for a moment. Then, wordlessly, he stood up and followed Makarov back toward the guild hall.
"That was insane! I can't believe even Laxus lost."
"And the crazy part? Goku didn't even use his Giant Magic."
"I guess the title of 'Strongest in the Guild' officially belongs to Goku now."
The spectacular battle had left the mages and the townsfolk in a state of high-octane excitement. Even though the duel was over, the crowd swarmed Goku, peppering him with questions.
Uncomfortable with the sudden spotlight, Goku seized a brief opening and used Apparition to vanish, reappearing in the East Forest where he usually trained.
He much preferred the quiet of the woods to the chaos of a cheering crowd. Besides, the battle had given him several new insights into his own power that he wanted to meditate on.
However, shortly after he arrived, a figure materialized before him.
"Goku, you've grown stronger once again."
"Grandpa Dumbledore!" Goku's face lit up with genuine joy.
It was indeed Albus Dumbledore, who had just finished a whirlwind tour of the continent. He had been among the spectators in the plaza, quietly observing the entire process of Goku suppressing Laxus.
"The first stage of the Animagus ritual is complete," Dumbledore said with a gentle smile.
"Next, we must return to Hogwarts."
"Great! Let me go tell Grandpa Makarov first," Goku nodded. With the decisive battle against Grimoire Heart looming, he couldn't just disappear for a few days without informing the Master.
"I'll go with you. I've quite been looking forward to meeting this Mr. Makarov myself," Dumbledore chuckled, and the two began walking back toward the guild.
During this past month of traveling across the land of Ishgar, Dumbledore had essentially mastered the common language and script of this world. He had also gained a preliminary understanding of its history, culture, and magic.
To be honest, he felt there was much the Wizarding World could learn from this dimension.
He was particularly struck by the harmonious coexistence between mages and "ordinary" people.
In this world, mages made up roughly 20% to 30% of the population. In a fishing port like Hargeon, it might be 10%, but in a commercial hub like Magnolia, it was over 30%.
Dumbledore reflected on the scale of those numbers. If applied to his own world of five billion people, that would mean over a billion wizards. In reality, the global wizarding population barely reached 300,000.
Despite such a high concentration of magic users, the people of this world lived in relative peace with mages.
In his world, a tiny fraction of wizards lived in constant friction and secrecy from Muggles.
The greatest takeaway from this trip, Dumbledore realized, wasn't a powerful new spell. It was observing how mages integrated into society.
Perhaps wizards shouldn't be so isolationist; perhaps they should actively engage with the non-magical government.
In this world, the Magic Council regulated the guilds, and the guilds helped ordinary people by completing "Requests" in exchange for rewards.
This allowed the kingdom to prosper peacefully.
If the Ministry of Magic cooperated with the Muggle government—if wizards integrated into society to solve crimes or handle disasters as a specialized department—it wasn't impossible to imagine a better future.
Muggle technology provided a standard of living far beyond wizarding society, while magic could solve problems technology couldn't touch. Mutual cooperation was the key to progress and ending centuries of animosity.
Thinking about it, Dumbledore felt a surge of youthful vigor return to his weary bones. Perhaps I can hold on a bit longer, he thought. Maybe I'll delay my retirement by a few more years.
"It's Mr. Dumbledore! Welcome to the guild!"
When Goku led Dumbledore into the hall, Gray, Lucy, and Natsu immediately rushed over to greet him. Gray, Lyon, and Ur were particularly vocal in their gratitude once again. The other members, knowing Dumbledore was Goku's teacher, treated the elderly wizard with the utmost respect.
"Let's not rush," Dumbledore said softly, gently stopping Goku as he started toward the stairs to find Makarov. "Mr. Makarov likely has some unfinished business to attend to. We should wait a moment."
With his vast life experience, Dumbledore had seen the rift between the grandfather and grandson at the plaza. He knew they needed this time for a heart-to-heart talk and that it would be improper to interrupt.
Sure enough, two hours later, Laxus descended from the second floor.
The Laxus who emerged was different.
Gone was the habitual arrogance and the look of disdain for his peers. His eyes were red, and there were faint traces of tears on his cheeks.
As he walked past Goku, he stopped for a split second and whispered a sincere "Thank you."
Goku then led Dumbledore up the stairs and knocked on the door of the Master's office.