In battles out in the wild, Trainers often resort to underhanded tactics; directly attacking the opposing Trainer is a common, basic ploy. The League has issued warnings about this repeatedly: if a Trainer encounters a villainous organization or a hostile enemy in the wild, their first priority must be their own safety.
But for Ash, such concerns were irrelevant.
Among all his Pokémon, only Mewtwo could rival him in power—and even Mewtwo fell slightly short.
Indeed, after more than six months of journeying, Ash's Aura capabilities had reached a new level. He had attained the intermediate stage of the "Divine Realm" and was even faintly touching the threshold of the advanced stage.
Every Pokémon battle, every instance of Aura fusion, and every day of training didn't just benefit the Pokémon; Ash—the Trainer who trained and battled alongside them—was growing stronger right along with them!
So, the strongest member of Ash's lineup right now isn't Mewtwo—it's Ash himself!
Trying to attack him was a serious mistake.
The shockwave from his stomp sent Tyranitar flying several meters away; it crashed through multiple trees before finally coming to a halt.
That single blow was even more devastating than Pikachu's Thunderbolt from earlier—and that was merely the aftershock of Ash's attack.
"It's time to face reality: you're no match for me. I gave you plenty of chances, but I warned you—if you didn't leave, you'd be left lying right here in this forest." Ash glanced at Tyranitar; only after confirming the Pokémon wasn't in mortal danger did he turn his gaze toward Vicious, his eyes cold and stern.
He usually faced others with a smile, and thanks to the lessons learned from the "big shots" (other versions of Ash) in the group chat, he rarely lost his temper anymore.
He had grown not only in his knowledge of Pokémon and his skills as a Trainer but also in his own character.
While he remained passionate and kind-hearted, he was no longer the impulsive, hot-headed youth who acted without thinking.
But this time, Vicious's actions had truly enraged him. The man showed no respect for the lives of other Pokémon—or even for the lives of his own!
He was the absolute scum of the earth.
A guy like that needed to be beaten so badly he couldn't even take care of himself—beaten until he questioned his very existence and identity.
Vicious gulped. He finally sensed that something was terribly wrong; the guy standing before him—who could withstand a Gym-Leader-level Tyranitar's Earthquake with nothing but his own body—was simply not human.
He should have realized it from the start. Stopping a kick from his robot was a feat no ordinary human could achieve, yet he had foolishly dismissed it as mere brute strength.
Now, he was in serious trouble.
That Tyranitar wasn't actually his own Pokémon; he had stolen it from someone else using a Dark Ball.
The power of the Dark Ball had fully unleashed the "pseudo-legendary" potential of the Tyranitar, burning through its future growth to skyrocket it from the Elite level to the peak of the Gym Leader level.
However, this also meant that the Tyranitar would never again have room for improvement, nor did it have much time left to live; simply put—its days were numbered, and it had no future.
Moreover, the recent battle had likely further shortened the Tyranitar's lifespan; after all, the Thunderbolt used during that initial clash alone had been enough to knock it out.
Yet, the Tyranitar could still fight because the Dark Ball was forcibly controlling its consciousness, preventing it from even succumbing to defeat.
Fight or die—that was the fate of being controlled by the Dark Ball!
Even now, the Tyranitar still possessed the strength to battle, though doing so required draining the last of its life force. But for Vicious, this was meaningless; even if it could keep fighting, the Tyranitar was no match for Ash.
He had to find another way.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on that guy!" Ash ordered without hesitation, aiming the attack directly at Vicious.
He was perfectly capable of attacking the Trainer directly, too!
Besides, that guy deserved a shock!
"Tyranitar, Double-Edge!"
"Tyranitar is already unable to battle... What?!" Before Ash could even finish his sentence, the Tyranitar—which had been lying on the ground—actually stood up. Even with its arms hanging limp and its head bowed, something was forcing it to remain upright.
This clearly wasn't the result of a bond with its Trainer; it was being forcibly controlled by some external power.
In its current state, using Double-Edge could very well cost the Tyranitar its life!
And if Pikachu's Thunderbolt struck it, that would kill it too.
That guy... he was trying to use the Tyranitar's life to force Ash to stop attacking!
"Go ahead and attack the big guy if you dare! To me, he's nothing but a tool; if he breaks, I just get another one. I just wonder if a kind-hearted brat like you can bring yourself to do it," Vicious shouted arrogantly, a sinister grin spreading across his face.
"That's too much!" a young man behind Ash couldn't help but curse. This masked guy was more evil and repulsive than anyone he had ever met!
How could such an unethical Trainer exist? And what on earth was Team Rocket? He had never even heard of this organization!
"Pikachu, stop—let me handle this!" Ash waved his hand, signaling Pikachu to halt the Thunderbolt attack it was currently unleashing.
Pikachu, whose body was already crackling with golden electricity, suppressed the urge to fire off the blast and withdrew the surrounding lightning back into its body.
An ordinary Pokémon would likely have fired the Thunderbolt off immediately; while "controlling the flow of energy at will" sounds easy, executing it is anything but simple.
Ash cast a cold glance at Vicious, then vanished from his spot, reappearing the very next second right in front of the rampaging Tyranitar.
Bam!
Tyranitar's Double-Edge attack slammed squarely into Ash. The young boy nearby couldn't bear to watch; he squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away.
In his mind, no matter how sturdy Ash's body might be, it was impossible to emerge unscathed after being hit at full force by a behemoth like Tyranitar.
In reality, however, Tyranitar never actually made contact with Ash. Ash knew full well that even if he could withstand the blow, the impact would inflict irreversible damage on Tyranitar.
He chose to completely dissipate the force of the impact instead.
Ash braced his hands against Tyranitar's head, standing as immovable as a massive boulder.
The force—powerful enough to shatter solid rock—was neutralized layer by layer through a technique that seemed almost mystical; the energy traveled from his shoulders down to his waist and hips, then channeled entirely through his legs and into the earth beneath his feet.
Immediately after, he exerted a sudden, powerful burst of strength from his arms, hurling the massive Tyranitar high into the air!
When the young man opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a boy—barely 1.7 meters tall—flinging a nearly three-meter-tall Tyranitar straight up into the sky!
His mouth fell wide open, his jaw practically hitting the ground; he was so stunned that not a single sound could escape his throat.
Just who was this boy named Ash? Was he actually a Pokémon wearing a human disguise? How could a human being possibly pull off a feat like that?
Thud!
Tyranitar's massive body traced an arc through the air before Ash caught it steadily and lowered it gently to the ground. The heavy impact caused the earth to tremble slightly, yet not a single pebble was kicked up.
Immediately following this, the Aura surging within Ash flooded into Tyranitar like a tidal wave, completely severing the sinister force that had been binding it.
He had detected this malevolent energy while channeling his Aura earlier; severing the connection was no difficult task for him. It was precisely this force that had allowed Tyranitar to keep moving even after it had lost the ability to battle.
"You're free now." Ash stood up, wiped the sweat from his brow, and fixed a cold, steely gaze on Vicious. "You're next. I will never forgive you."
Yet, far from showing any fear, Vicious merely curled his lips into a triumphant smirk.
"Is that so? What a coincidence—I had no intention of letting you off the hook, either. If I let you walk away today, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep soundly ever again."
"Watch out!"
Just then, a clear, sharp voice rang out.
Ash turned toward the sound and saw that Misty and the others had arrived; it was Serena who had shouted the warning.
She wasn't calling out to Ash, however—she was shouting at that other young man.
The boy's name was Sam. He stood there, staring blankly in Serena's direction, completely failing to grasp what she was saying. In the next instant, a pitch-black Poké Ball struck Celebi—who was cradled in Sam's arms—with pinpoint accuracy.
Before Celebi could even struggle, it was swallowed by a beam of dark light and drawn into the ball.
This turn of events caught everyone off guard.
Only Vicious laughed with a manic, deranged glee: "Hahahaha! I've found Celebi! With the power of time and space amplified by the Dark Ball, the entire world will be mine to command from this day forth!"
"You bastard!" Sam snapped back to reality and lunged frantically at the Dark Ball, desperate to smash it and rescue Celebi.
But a dark figure moved faster than he did.
Sharp claws slashed through the air; Sam's hands were instantly drenched in blood as the Dark Ball was snatched away.
That figure was Weavile—the Pokémon Vicious had quietly deployed while commanding Tyranitar.
Unlike the Tyranitar he had seized by force, Weavile was a Pokémon he had raised himself; it was a high-level Gym-class Pokémon, second in strength only to the Dark Ball-enhanced Tyranitar.
Yet, if even Tyranitar was no match for Ash, Weavile stood no chance at all.
That was why Vicious never intended a direct confrontation from the start. It was a diversionary tactic: using Tyranitar's life to pin down Ash's attention while secretly deploying Weavile to snatch Celebi—whom Sam was shielding—amidst the chaos.
The plan had succeeded perfectly.
Now, with the Dark Ball in hand, he possessed the most powerful Pokémon in the world!
"Not a chance!"
Ash rushed toward Weavile the moment he realized what was happening, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.
But Weavile was prepared; it violently hurled the Dark Ball far into the distance!
Light gathered in Ash's palm, and a brilliant blue Aura Sphere shot through the air like a meteor, instantly catching up to the Dark Ball and blasting it to pieces!
BOOM!
A green light broke free from the shattered Dark Ball, and Celebi was finally liberated. Only then did the heart that had been pounding in Sam's throat settle back into his chest. That was a close call... just a moment more, and Celebi would have been snatched away by that villain.
"Come back, Celebi!" Sam shouted anxiously toward the sky.
However, Celebi did not fly back as he had hoped; instead, it charged straight toward Vicious!
Ash slowly lowered his hand, his expression dark enough to drip gloom. Damn it... was I too late?
"Hahahaha! Did you think destroying the Dark Ball would save Celebi? The power within the Dark Ball has already been infused into Celebi—along with the will inside it that is loyal only to me. Celebi is my Pokémon now; it will help me conquer the world!"
Vicious's laughter echoed through the forest. He had finally achieved his wish: capturing Celebi was the first step toward world domination—and the most difficult one!
Now that time and space were under his control, the choice to leave or stay was entirely his to make.
But with such immense power at his disposal, what reason did he have to run? The first thing on his agenda was to kill everyone present; he couldn't let word about Celebi get out.
Otherwise, the League would be alerted. Even with Celebi's power, ruling the world would become far more troublesome if they were on guard.
Eliminating that bunch from the League by surprise would save him a great deal of hassle.
"In your dreams! I choose you—Mewtwo!" Ash tossed a black-and-gold Poké Ball. With a flash of light, Mewtwo appeared, hovering in mid-air with arms crossed.
Having not emerged for a long time, Mewtwo looked rather displeased; generally, she stayed inside the Poké Ball unless it was time to eat.
That Poké Ball was a special model; meditating inside allowed her strength to grow much faster than outside. Plus, since she could observe the outside world even while inside, she rarely came out unless there was a special reason.
Today, however, was one of those special occasions. The opponent was a member of Team Rocket and was using a Dark Ball—two things Mewtwo detested. Furthermore, Celebi had been captured by him; naturally, Mewtwo had to intervene.
"That Dark Ball... it's different from the standard Team Rocket version. Did you modify it?" Mewtwo's cold voice resonated within Vicious's mind.
Startled, Vicious glanced around before locking his gaze on the nearby Mewtwo. "Are you the one speaking to me?"
Mewtwo tilted its head slightly, offering no confirmation or denial.
"Telepathy? A Pokémon I've never seen before... Wait, that appearance looks familiar... You're the ultimate weapon created by Giovanni—Mewtwo!" After a moment of thought, Vicious recalled Mewtwo's name and appearance.
Mewtwo's existence was a closely guarded secret within Team Rocket, but given that Vicious had managed to acquire a Dark Ball, it wasn't surprising that he possessed information about Mewtwo.
Upon recognizing Mewtwo, a look of greed flashed in Vicious's eyes.
"What an unexpected bonus! It seems today I'll not only capture Celebi but also reclaim Team Rocket's ultimate weapon!"
"Mewtwo, hold Celebi back—I'm going to beat that guy to a pulp!" Hearing the opponent repeatedly refer to Mewtwo as a "weapon" struck a nerve with Ash; he couldn't tolerate it for another second!
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