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Finally, Ash and the ancient Dragonite made a promise: within half a year, he would definitely return, help Dragonite return to its normal body size, and then battle it.
The condition was that Ash could not personally participate; there were no other rigid requirements.
After they settled the terms, Ash descended from the sky on Pidgeot and landed in front of Dr. Bill, who was still stunned and hadn't recovered.
Dr. Bill still hadn't gotten over what had just happened, not Ash's interaction with the giant Dragonite, but the way Ash released that blue Energy Ball and forcefully shattered the giant Dragonite's Hyper Beam!
Is that something a human can do?
If that Hyper Beam had hit, even with a hundred lives, he wouldn't have been able to withstand it, and the entire Bill's Lighthouse would surely have been annihilated!
In this situation, Ash didn't display his powerful Pokémon abilities but chose to stand at the very front, easily blocking that terrifying Hyper Beam, and he even seemed to have plenty of power left.
The giant Dragonite also calmed down because of Ash's strength and eventually negotiated with Ash properly.
"Dr. Bill, snap out of it!" Ash waved his hand in front of Dr. Bill, who suddenly startled awake and looked at Ash with a terrified expression.
"Are you a human or a Pokémon!?"
Ash: ???
Is that polite? To ask someone such a question the moment you recover?
"Hahahahaha!! *2" Misty and Brock burst into laughter, holding their stomachs in pain, after seeing Dr. Bill's reaction and his blurted-out words.
Ash, however, stopped Misty and the others' mocking with a face full of black lines, then patiently explained his special ability, Aura, to Dr. Bill.
However, even after knowing that Ash was a special ability user, Dr. Bill still couldn't fully grasp it. After all, what special ability user could easily block a Hyper Beam capable of destroying a mountain?
But in the end, Dr. Bill spent about ten minutes accepting this reality, then learned that Ash's communication with the giant Dragonite was very successful, and the giant Dragonite would stay at Bill's Lighthouse, waiting for his return.
But Ash very seriously warned Dr. Bill not to use that machine to Mimic the voice of the giant Dragonite's companion again.
"...The giant Dragonite is already desperate for a companion. If you use that machine to call the giant Dragonite out again, and she loses control, no one will be there to protect you then!"
Facing Ash's warning, Bill nodded repeatedly, stating that he would not make that mistake again. However, in return, he wanted to collect a scale or hair from the giant Dragonite for research.
Ash thought for a moment, then presented this request to the giant Dragonite, who agreed without hesitation.
It was just a single scale; compared to what Ash would do in the future, this was merely an insignificant condition.
And so, a colossal scale, almost the size of an adult, suddenly fell from the giant Dragonite's body, landing heavily in front of Dr. Bill and the others with a thunderous crash!
Dr. Bill's mouth twitched as he looked at the giant scale in front of him. How was he supposed to take this back?
"I'll help you take it back, Dr. Bill." Ash saw Dr. Bill's predicament, then grabbed the scale with both hands, using a gentle force. The scale, which looked like it weighed dozens or even hundreds of pounds, was thus pulled from the hard ground by Ash.
With Dr. Bill's stunned expression, Ash hoisted the scale onto one shoulder with one hand and waved to everyone with the other: "Let's go, back to the lab first."
It was already late, and after a brief entanglement and communication with the giant Dragonite, the entire sky had turned dark.
They would undoubtedly spend the night here. Fortunately, Ash had already asked Dr. Bill if there were enough beds...
The next morning, Ash and the others waved goodbye to Dr. Bill.
"If you have time, come visit again! I'll treat you with great hospitality!" Dr. Bill shouted, waving his hand with a beaming smile.
They had talked for a long time after returning last night. From Ash, Dr. Bill had felt and learned many imaginative ideas, which were very helpful for his research.
Ash's arrival not only helped him uncover the true identity of that giant Pokémon but also saved his life, plus he got a scale from the giant Dragonite, and the inspiration for his research last night... In Dr. Bill's eyes, Ash was simply a lucky star!
Although Ash seemed a bit too monstrous, upon closer contact, one would find that he had the mindset and thoughts of an ordinary teenager, perhaps a bit more mature, and hadn't become arrogant due to his abilities.
Pride and arrogance were certainly present to some extent, but compared to Trainers who became overly ambitious after a small achievement, Ash's bit of pride and arrogance was merely the size of a grain of rice.
Dr. Bill could say he had almost never encountered a Trainer with such terrifying power yet such a stable temperament.
So he gave Ash an evaluation: Champion within three years!
Currently, the youngest Champion in the world was Cynthia, who was only twenty-two to twenty-three years old, and she had already become a Champion Trainer at eighteen.
This record was unprecedented, not even Lance could compare.
Dr. Bill, however, believed that Ash had a chance to break this record. His abilities made it inevitable for him to become a powerful Trainer!
It just depended on whether he could surpass Cynthia in terms of time.
"We'll be back if we get the chance!" Ash also waved his hand, formally bidding farewell to Dr. Bill, and then continued his journey to the last Gym.
This trip to Bill's Lighthouse, catching a Krabby of good quality, plus settling terms with the giant Dragonite, was overall a good harvest.
As long as he returned to restore the giant Dragonite to its normal size and then defeated it, he would gain an ancient quasi-legendary Pokémon at the Elite peak!
However, by then, he might also be on a completely different level than he was now. The Elite peak would no longer be an unattainable level in front of him!
...On the third day after leaving Bill's Lighthouse, Ash and the others arrived in Misty's territory, Cerulean City.
Compared to when they left Cerulean City, there was almost no change, but the Cerulean Gym had become somewhat deserted, a far cry from the bustling scene of people watching performances when Ash first arrived.
"Strange, why isn't anyone here to watch the synchronized swimming? Isn't there a performance today?" Ash looked at the billboard hanging outside the Gym entrance and said, slightly puzzled.
The Cerulean Gym's gate was open, and from there, one could see that there were almost no people in the audience seats. This situation did not align with the usual practices of those old fans!
Misty shook her head and said, "I don't know either. When I called Sister Sakura yesterday, she also seemed a bit down. Anyway, let's just go in."
Led by Misty, the group entered the Cerulean Gym. On the stage, the Sakura Triplets were still performing their original routine. Although the movements had changed somewhat compared to a few months ago, overall, it was largely the same.
When Brock saw the sexy triplets in their swimsuits, his eyes immediately turned into two hearts: "Long time no see, sisters! They are still so beautiful and charming, with such graceful figures!!"
"Heh heh, they haven't changed much, but you've changed quite a bit. Before, when you saw my sisters, you still knew how to be reserved. What made you turn into such a pervert in just a few months?" Misty rolled her eyes and mercilessly retorted.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! What do you mean pervert? This is my undisguised appreciation for beauty, what do you know!" Brock retorted with a disgruntled look, then resumed his lecherous gaze at the performing triplets.
Ash, meanwhile, moved next to an audience member, poked their shoulder, and quietly asked, "Excuse me, I wanted to ask, why are there so few people today? Is it because there's some other event, so people didn't come to watch the synchronized swimming?"
The audience member was watching with great enthusiasm and was slightly annoyed by Ash's sudden interruption, but he still truthfully told Ash, "Because it's all the same. The Cerulean Triplets are well-known beauties in Cerulean City. Before, people came to watch the performances for their looks, and they had no shortage of admirers."
"However, many people repeatedly hit a wall with them, and due to their status as Gym Leaders, they couldn't resort to any underhanded methods. Over time, those admirers who knew they couldn't win them over gave up. Plus, their synchronized swimming is quite monotonous; after watching it a couple of times, you get tired of it no matter what. Those who are still here now are basically just here to feast their eyes."
In short, most of the fans who came for their looks had left, and there weren't many fans of synchronized swimming to begin with.
Even if the triplets' synchronized swimming skills were exquisite, they had been performing in Cerulean City all along, and most residents of Cerulean City had already seen their performances.
And the number of outside visitors was very limited, so over time, their monotonous performances attracted fewer and fewer viewers.
Even if the triplets tried to change their movements, the limits of what synchronized swimming could achieve remained the same.
Unless they changed their relatively conservative outfits to something more revealing, perhaps the synchronized swimming could regain its vitality.
But... they were the acting Gym Leaders of the Cerulean Gym. How could they do such a thing for money?
So, over time, fewer and fewer people came to watch the synchronized swimming.
"I see, thank you."
"Hey! Wait, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Just as Ash was about to leave, the audience member suddenly called out to Ash, carefully scrutinized Ash's appearance, and finally showed a surprised expression.
"Aren't you Ash, the alleged faker who's been all over the internet recently?"
Ash: ???
Seriously, buddy, I haven't checked the news for a few days, and now I'm a faker? Do those netizens even have brains?!
Initially, when he defeated Koga, they hailed him as a supernova, Kanto's future hope, showering him with praise.
Now, after just a short period of lying low, he's become an alleged faker? Is this even reasonable?!
"What faker! Ash genuinely defeated Koga, alright! It was a live broadcast, how could he have faked it?!" Misty, who had been listening nearby, walked up furiously and bluntly confronted the passerby audience member.
The passerby audience member also flinched, intimidated by Misty's Aura: "The... the internet all says so, it wasn't me who said it."
"What is the internet saying now?" Brock also walked up at this moment, asking with a serious expression.
Since it concerned his friend, he immediately put the ballet-performing triplets aside.
"Uh... The internet now says that Ash was able to defeat Koga because all of his Pokémon underwent special enhancements. In reality, he was no match for Koga at all. Those methods actually severely harm a Pokémon's body, and now Ash's Pokémon are probably mostly ruined..."
Ash and the others: ...Seriously, rumors spread with one mouth, but refuting them wears out your legs!
Just because Ash hadn't publicly competed for a while, they could spread such rumors? Don't be too ridiculous!
"Didn't the Kanto League issue a clarification?" Brock frowned slightly, asking coldly.
"They did clarify, but everyone outside believes the Kanto League and Ash are in cahoots. They worked so hard to create such a genius Trainer, which was originally the best opportunity to attract a large number of excellent Trainers. Now that he's been 'canceled,' even if they have to lie, they can't let the truth be fully exposed!"
"Otherwise, the Kanto League will completely fail to attract excellent Trainers, which would be a huge blow to the Kanto League's future. They are counting on Ash as a gimmick to attract Trainers to join the Kanto League."
The passerby audience member shrugged, saying indifferently.
He wasn't a Trainer, and Kanto's rise and fall had nothing to do with him, but he loved gossip!
This kind of uncertain gossip was the most interesting, and now he had even met the subject of the gossip, so his curiosity grew even stronger. Was the real situation as the internet said?
Was Ash faking it, or were those other people spreading rumors and slandering him?
"It seems your situation isn't very optimistic, is it? How about it, do you need a battle to prove yourselves?" Just as Ash and the others' faces were growing increasingly grim, a soft, cool voice came from behind them.
The three looked over, and their eyes met a mature woman of indescribable stature.
The woman had a slender, curvaceous figure, wearing a black sleeveless top paired with a purple slit mini-skirt, revealing her long legs. Her overall outfit was capable yet sexy. Her burgundy hair fell naturally, and half-rimmed glasses rested on her beautiful face, giving her an intellectual and elegant Aura.
The moment Ash saw her, he felt a strange sense of familiarity. This person... where had he seen her before?