In the Black World — the Team Rocket trio looked at Ash, the word "robbery" practically written on their faces. However, they still tried their best to restrain themselves. After all, they were at sea! If they got knocked into a whirlpool, they'd probably be done for!
Ash briefly explained the Poké Ball situation to Misty and the others. In short... he had formed a bond with the young Lugia, and it did not count against his six-Pokémon carry limit. In response, Misty and the others were simply happy for Ash, without any envy or jealousy—because this was what Ash deserved! Back on the Orange Islands, Ash had single-handedly saved the world from destruction. This outcome was the result of seeds sown earlier. Therefore, Misty and the others felt no envy. Even Team Rocket felt it was only natural for Ash to obtain a Lugia.
Of course... natural didn't mean they wouldn't try to steal it. They still had to steal! Steal as soon as they got off the boat!
Because there were so many people around, Ash didn't release the young Lugia. Instead, he used telepathy to communicate with it in his heart, finally getting it to change his title from "father" to just "Ash."
At the same time, Ash remembered that Lugia had mentioned before that besides the young one, its mother should be here too. However, the whereabouts of the young Lugia's mother were currently unknown, and even asking the little one yielded no answers. Clearly, this little guy had snuck out... If its mother found out, wouldn't she give it a good scolding without question?
Soon, the ship arrived at the first island—Clear Cliff Island. The moment they disembarked, Team Rocket launched their operation. This time, they had no funds for robots, so they could only use their Pokémon for a direct fight. In response, Ash had Noctowl send them off with a single Gust, blasting them away effortlessly. Listening to the trio's fading cries of "We're blasting off again!", Ash couldn't help but wonder: Was the sky these three's final destination?
After dealing with Team Rocket, it was time to register for the Whirl Cup. Everyone went to the Pokémon Center on Clear Cliff Island to sign up. Since the Whirl Cup only allowed Water-type Pokémon to compete, Brock and Sabrina did not register. This time, it was Ash and Misty's arena.
The competition would begin in half a month (it started a month later in the White World...), and the venue would be on the third island, Fire Island. During this half-month period, they could not only train but also have some fun. After all, it was the beach—naturally, they were looking forward to swimsuits! But before returning to the swimsuit topic, Ash still needed to contact Professor Oak.
They found a relatively secluded phone and dialed the Professor. Sabrina even deployed a psychic barrier to prevent eavesdropping. Since she made the barrier transparent, no one noticed anything unusual. It could only be said... under Ash's influence, his companions were becoming more and more cautious.
...
"Hmm, you said you formed a bond with a Lugia? Okay, I understand completely."
On the video phone, Professor Oak looked calm, nodding with an "I completely understand" expression.
Ash frowned, sensing something was off, and quickly moved the receiver away from his ear.
Sure enough, as Ash expected, after nodding, Professor Oak suddenly lunged at the camera like a mad tiger. His slightly wrinkled face filled the entire screen, and a deafening roar came from the receiver—
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!!!"
"Lugia?! You really formed a bond with a Lugia?! That's the Sea God! The guardian of the seas, Lugia!!"
"Don't lie to me, Ash. If you've bonded with it, any plans to send it back here for me to raise?"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely help you raise it big and strong! Articuno is quite happy staying here! I even built an ice cavern just for it!"
"If you bring Lugia back, I'll definitely build a huge pool for it!!"
"So, so, will you send Lugia back?!"
Ash: ...
Sure enough, the calm earlier was just the lull before the storm. If he'd been a second slower moving the receiver, he'd be deaf by now.
Misty and Sabrina, watching Professor Oak's reaction, couldn't help but cover their mouths and snicker. Someone finally understood the shock they'd felt on the ship. Honestly... forming a bond with the Sea God, even a young one, was something hard to believe unless you saw it with your own eyes. But Professor Oak knew Ash, so even if it was difficult to believe, he still trusted Ash's word, even to the point of offering to build a pool for the young Lugia!
Ash hadn't expected that Professor Oak had actually built a special ice cavern for Articuno... That was Legendary-tier treatment! However, he had no intention of sending the young Lugia back this time. For one, he needed to formulate a training plan for the not-yet-fully-grown Lugia and prepare the most suitable Pokémon food based on its energy composition—Brock would have to help with the latter. Plus, he had just bonded with the young Lugia; their connection wasn't deep yet, and they hadn't even contacted its mother. How could he send it back now?
"...So, I can't transfer the young Lugia back to you for the time being, Professor Oak. I called mainly just to tell you about it. Sorry."
Ash explained to Professor Oak one by one the reasons for not sending Lugia back. The Professor was a little disappointed but more understanding. Although he was a research fanatic, he was also a principled person. Ash didn't want to, and he wouldn't force him.
After a brief chat, Ash was about to hang up when Professor Oak suddenly remembered something.
"Wait a minute, if I remember correctly... Dr. Kong seems to have gone to the Whirl Islands, and he took the GS Ball with him. If you see him, say hello and get the GS Ball back."
Ash: "?"
"Why is the GS Ball in Dr. Kong's hands?"
"Ah, it's a long story."
"Recommend the short version."
Professor Oak was amused by Ash's words.
"Hey, you kid, giving me no face, huh? In short... Mr. Kurt researched it for a while and found he still couldn't figure out the GS Ball."
"So he planned to send it back to me to see if I could find any clues. I thought of the Silver Wing and Rainbow Wing in your hands, so I wanted to take it back and see if combining them with the feathers might reveal something."
"In the end, Dr. Kong, who was passing by, helped me take the GS Ball. I originally wanted to ask him to make a trip and bring it to me. Since you happen to be there, just bring it back on your way."
"Huh? But I still have to participate in the Silver Conference..."
"It's fine, you can bring it back after participating. I'm not in a hurry."
Ash: ...
Not in a hurry? Why did he get the feeling the Professor just wanted him to get the GS Ball with the mindset of "I can't research it anyway"... But since Professor Oak said so, Ash didn't refuse. He agreed and hung up.
Then, they easily found Dr. Kong on Clear Cliff Island. After explaining their purpose, Dr. Kong handed the GS Ball over. Going around in circles... the GS Ball was back in Ash's hands. But Ash didn't expect to discover anything from it. Even when he had both the Rainbow Wing and Silver Wing before, the GS Ball hadn't necessarily reacted. In short... just put it in the backpack. It wasn't heavy.
...
[Lance: Hmm... the GS Ball is back again? Mr. Kurt still has the GS Ball in his hands in our world, right?]
[Mr. Kurt: Yes, the GS Ball is still with me. But as I said before, even knowing the GS Ball is composed of Ho-Oh and Lugia's feathers, I still can't figure out why.]
[Mr. Kurt: So I'm considering whether to return it to Professor Oak or find someone else to research it together.]
[Cynthia: In other words, there's a butterfly effect, right?]
[Diantha: Because Mr. Kurt learned the GS Ball's composition in advance, he thought of ending the research early, which led to the GS Ball circling back to Black Ash.]
[Lance: Ah, well, it's back. Black Ash held the GS Ball for so long without it being useful anyway. He'll just give it to Professor Oak after the Silver Conference.]
[Steven: True, it's just a different person delivering it. Could Black Ash possibly use this Poké Ball to catch a Mythical Pokémon? Hahaha~]
No one took the GS Ball seriously. After all, it was just a mysterious ball that had been researched for over half a year without any answers. Even if it returned to Black Ash due to the butterfly effect, that was that.
...
In the Black World —
After getting the GS Ball, Ash and the others found a hotel to stay at on Clear Cliff Island. There was still half a month before the competition; they didn't need to rush to Fire Island. As said before, they'd come to the beach—why not enjoy some swimsuit time?
After arriving at the hotel, Ash and the others changed into swimwear and headed straight for the beach! The seaside, the sand, the sun, the waves—this was youth!!
Misty changed into a cute yellow swimsuit that exposed her fair shoulders, slender waist, and long legs. The swimsuit wasn't revealing; there was even more fabric than her usual clothes, but that didn't hinder it from showing off Misty's cute figure. Though, due to her age, Misty's curves weren't particularly pronounced, among ten-year-old girls, she was considered well-developed~
Sabrina changed into a light purple one-piece swimsuit. A slender strap went around her back and tied at the neck. A large blue bow was tied at the waist, and a pair of long, smooth legs were exposed to the sun. Even in a one-piece, it couldn't conceal Sabrina's curvy figure. Her long purple hair cascaded down her back, blowing in the sea breeze. If not for the cold expression on Sabrina's face, there would probably be plenty of people trying to chat her up...
If Misty was a bud yet to bloom, Sabrina was like a blooming rose with thorns. The two beauties, one younger and one older, standing together truly attracted a lot of attention. Especially when everyone saw the ice-cold beauty smiling brightly at a boy who didn't look like an adult yet, they instantly felt competitive! The classic "I'm not as good as him" emotion flooded their hearts.
Ash and the other two weren't fully aware of this. He did feel the surrounding gazes on him, but Misty and Sabrina were so beautiful—it'd be weird if no one looked. Ash didn't particularly mind. He just grabbed his surfboard, ready to go surfing with Pikachu! Speaking of which, he'd met a surfing Pikachu with glowing blue eyes before. His Pikachu had also learned some moves from it, perfect to use here!
But then... before Ash could start surfing, he was blocked by several men with tattoos who looked like troublemakers. Three delinquents blocked Ash in front of the waves. Ash couldn't help but narrow his eyes. These newcomers... seemed rather malicious.
"Hey, kid, is that girl your sister?"
One of the delinquents pretended to be familiar, putting a hand on Ash's shoulder and pointing at Sabrina behind him, whose face had instantly turned cold.
"She's my girlfriend. Got a problem?"
Hearing Ash's answer, the three delinquents paused, then burst into laughter.
"Pfft—hahaha! Kid, are your feathers even fully grown yet?"
"Oh ho ho~ No, I can't take it. I'm dying of laughter. 'Girlfriend'? Do you even know what a girlfriend is?"
"Kid, you can eat whatever, but don't talk nonsense. Be careful your sister slaps you~"
The three kept teasing Ash, but their eyes were all on Sabrina. Clearly, their main target wasn't Ash, but Sabrina behind him.
Running into such people on a rare beach trip dampened Ash's mood. Moreover, these three were targeting his girlfriend. No man could stand that, even if he was just a boy now. A blue light quietly glowed on Ash's hand. Just as he was about to punch the delinquent who had hooked his shoulder, he suddenly found the delinquent's hand abruptly leaving him.
Ash was stunned for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and looked back. He saw Sabrina, her eyes glowing blue, her face cold as she stared down the three delinquents.
"Don't touch... my Ash."
A bone-chilling voice came from Sabrina's mouth. Immediately after, the three delinquents started riding a rollercoaster in the sky—spinning 1080 degrees, falling vertically, idling 360 degrees, the three fencing each other—postures manipulated one by one by Sabrina's psychic powers.
Ash wiped away nonexistent sweat from his forehead speechlessly.
"Hey, Pikachu... do you think Sabrina and I have reversed roles?"
"Pika... Pikapi~~"
Pikachu also made a helpless gesture, while Misty stuck her tongue out at the three delinquents in the sky who were yelling and on the verge of tears. These guys had completely ignored her! Served them right! Wasn't she cute? Though being targeted by delinquents wasn't good, being ignored made her feel like her feminine charm was being challenged!
...
[Lorelei: I thought we'd see a scene where delinquents target a beauty and the hero saves her, but now it's the beauty saving the hero!]
[Lance: The roles of Black Ash and Black Sabrina are reversed, huh?]
[Brock: A husband-protecting maniac, confirmed!]
[Misty: Hehe, hehe—I was ignored, ignored——]
[Ash: Whoa! Misty's face looks green, is she sick?]
[Caitlin: It's not sickness It's something worse than sickness Her feminine charm has been questioned~]
[Flint: Um... actually, being favored by delinquents isn't a good thing~]
[Sabrina: Yes.]
...
In the Black World —
The delinquent incident was just a small interlude. After Sabrina casually taught them a lesson, she tossed the three near a trash can for easy cleanup. The rest of the people who had any ideas about Sabrina immediately gave up all thoughts. Yikes... this is a fierce woman! Can't afford to offend, can't afford to offend at all!
After this incident, no one dared to come harass the trio—Ash and the two girls. Why were they a trio? Because this time, Brock was specially allowed to go to the beach with them. This was a day when Misty and Sabrina were chatting with Ash, also a day of freedom for Brock!
Brock: Long live freedom!!!
Time flew by. In the evening, Brock returned to Ash's group of three with a dejected expression...
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