Pikachu itself wasn't an especially powerful Pokémon species, but it seemed to become something entirely different in Ash's hands.
"Send out your last Pokémon now."
Ash's eyes were calm as he spoke softly.
After hearing his words, no one else had any other thoughts at this moment.
Everyone knew Harrison was destined to lose.
Harrison himself knew this too. Logically speaking, conceding at this point would be the best choice.
But he didn't.
Because he fully understood that he had already lost this battle. What kept him going now was simply the spirit of a Trainer.
He was a Trainer, so he couldn't give up before losing his last Pokémon.
So he had to fight this final match.
Understanding this belief, Harrison stared at the young boy opposite him with burning eyes.
"Don't worry. My last Pokémon won't disappoint you."
"Blaziken, come out!"
As his voice fell, Blaziken appeared before everyone.
The moment it appeared, Blaziken rushed toward the opposite side at incredible speed.
This Blaziken would not admit defeat. It would use its last strength to finish this battle.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
"Blaziken, use Double Kick!"
Both sides commanded simultaneously.
The next moment, they attacked at the same time.
A resounding bang echoed as both attacks collided, the sound momentarily deafening everyone.
But at this moment, everyone's eyes flickered with excitement.
For them, neither side would give up in this battle.
The two remaining Pokémon continuously used various moves against each other.
Gradually, Harrison noticed something wrong.
Why was his Blaziken able to compete with Pikachu?
Logically, Pikachu's previous performance should have been enough to crush Blaziken.
As he continued watching, he suddenly understood.
Pikachu's strength had slightly diminished because it had consumed so much electricity in previous battles.
And Ash on the opposite side obviously didn't intend to have Pikachu fight recklessly.
That's why the battle had become like this.
"Blaziken, we can't let them underestimate us! Use Fire Punch!"
As his words fell, Blaziken's left hand blazed with ferocious flames and smashed directly forward.
Seeing this scene, Ash on the other side smiled.
"Since you're being so serious, then I'll be serious too."
"Pikachu, use Thunder Punch!"
As Ash's voice fell, Pikachu ran forward.
At that moment, massive lightning crackled on its left hand.
The next instant, the two fists collided directly.
Flames and lightning spread outward, crackling loudly.
Everyone's eyes flickered slightly.
They all wanted to see a miracle—a true miracle of using one Pikachu to defeat six Pokémon in a Conference battle.
As the lightning slowly dissipated, the flames gradually extinguished.
When everyone saw the two Pokémon in the arena, they were surprised to find the result was no different from what they'd expected.
Blaziken had fallen to the ground, while Pikachu stood there proudly.
[Caitlin]: In the end, it was Black Ash who won.
[Cynthia]: A crushing victory. Truly powerful.
[Steven Stone]: If the Ash from both worlds fought, Black Ash would undoubtedly win, right?
[Flint]: It seems that way now. I wonder what Ash thinks.
[Ash]: …
[Ash]: I can hear you all talking about me. Could you be less obvious?
[Brock]: What they're saying is probably the truth. There's no comparison between you and Black Ash right now.
[Misty]: That's true. Right now, Black Ash has several Legendary Pokémon, but you don't have any.
No one spoke further.
Because they all knew this was the final truth.
White Ash was indeed powerful. He could fight strong opponents and even win to some extent.
But that was all.
Ash wasn't as powerful as some imagined—or rather, he hadn't yet transformed his talent into substantial power.
In the future, he would become a top Champion. But now, he was nothing more than that.
But Black Ash was different. He had gradually improved his strength step by step to a superhuman level.
He hadn't wasted any of his talent. He'd pushed every advantage to its absolute limit.
Everyone knew Ash's physical strength surpassed ordinary Pokémon.
But Ash hadn't trained that physical strength to make himself stronger.
He just let it develop naturally.
But Black Ash was different.
It could be said he trained every moment to turn his powerful talent into reality.
Not only did he do this for himself, but he also applied the same methods to his Pokémon.
This surprised many people—and among the surprise was envy and even fear.
No one said anything more as they looked back at the Black World screen.
In the Black World —
After Black Ash won his match against Harrison, he returned directly to the hotel.
The others naturally returned to their own rooms, planning to rest.
But in the darkness, three figures slowly crept in.
They were purple-haired Jessie, slightly disheveled-looking James,
and a Meowth that walked upright and spoke human words.
The Team Rocket trio had secretly sneaked into the hotel.
And their goal hadn't changed at all—Ash's Pikachu.
The three tiptoed across the ceiling.
Finally, James took off the cutting saw strapped to his back.
A grinding sound echoed as he used the saw to cut into the ceiling below.
"Hurry up, James! If we wait for him to wake up, we're doomed this time!"
Jessie said anxiously.
Beside her, Meowth also looked excited.
"We have to succeed! No matter what, we cannot fail!"
The two just watched James cutting the ceiling, doing nothing to help.
James was already used to this.
Even though one was a Pokémon and the other was a woman, he was the only one who could stand up as a man.
That's right—James was the one who did all the heavy lifting.
As time passed, they soon cut a hole in the ceiling large enough for a person to pass through.
"Now lower me down. As soon as we catch Pikachu, we retreat immediately!"
Meowth tied the rope around his waist and said excitedly.
As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped directly through the hole.
The next moment, a thud sounded as Meowth hit the ground hard.
And the rope behind him fell onto his back, striking him.
"Why didn't you hold his rope?!"
Jessie looked at James in surprise.
James stared back at Jessie with a confused expression.
"I thought you were holding it!"
…
[Lance]: So these two are here to be comedians?
[Lorelei]: Why do these so-called Team Rocket members always act like comedians?
[Steven Stone]: I feel like their structure isn't really villainous—they're more like comic relief characters.
[Jessie]: Hey, hey, don't talk nonsense! We are the proud Team Rocket!
[James]: That's right. Those guys on the screen are obviously not us—they're knockoffs!
[Meowth]: That's right, that's right!
After hearing their words, everyone didn't argue, but looked back at the image.
In the Black World —
At this moment, a figure on the ground woke up.
When its yellow eyes opened, streaks of lightning continuously flashed across its body.
That's right—Pikachu had woken up at this critical moment.
"Pika pika?"
Looking at Meowth in front of him, Pikachu showed a confused expression.
"While Ash is still asleep, Meowth, use Fury Swipes!"
Jessie gave the command directly.
In her opinion, no matter how powerful a Pokémon was, without its Trainer's commands, it would be quickly defeated.
However, the scene that appeared the next moment made her pupils shrink.
She suddenly understood that even without Ash's commands, Pikachu could still completely dominate them.
She watched as Pikachu's body flashed with lightning and released a small Thunderbolt, striking Meowth directly.
At that moment, Meowth let out a scream.
Jessie and James, still standing on the ceiling, subconsciously held their breath.
They didn't even dare move.
They were terrified of being shocked by Pikachu—after all, it wasn't the first time.
Just as they cautiously retreated, the next moment, James accidentally hit a piece of debris with a click.
Jessie glared at him angrily.
Then they saw Pikachu on the ground had already looked up at them.
A smile spread across Pikachu's face as it released a Thunderbolt instantly.
"James, I hate you!"
"Jessie, I didn't mean to!"
Amid their fierce screams, they were directly engulfed by lightning.
After the lightning finished with them, Pikachu looked around. After confirming no enemies remained, it lay back down and fell asleep again.
Early the next morning, Black Ash smelled something burnt in the air when he woke up.
He looked at Pikachu on the ground and smiled.
"Pikachu, did you have nightmares again tonight? Next time you have nightmares, wake me up. I'll take you on a ten-kilometer cross-country run with weighted training. By then, no matter what nightmare you had, it'll disappear."
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