Cynthia was a Champion—and yet Ash was placing his hopes of defeating her on him!
Didn't that mean Ash acknowledged his strength?!
"Heh heh~"
This time, I win, Charizard!
At the thought of this, Infernape unconsciously lifted a hand to the back of its head and let out a hearty laugh.
Just then—
Gary and Blastoise came sprinting over from the distance, panting as they braced themselves against the rocks at the edge of the valley.
"How many times have I told you—can you stop being so reckless?! Would it kill you to wait for me?!"
"And you too! Infernape, how many times have I said it—if you want to challenge someone, just tell me! Don't sneak off into the wilderness every time and make everyone worry!"
A heavy pressure built up in Gary's chest, impossible to vent.
This time, the opponent was a Legendary Pokémon.
And not just any—Moltres, an exceptionally powerful one.
If you'd been burned by its flames…
How was I supposed to explain that to Big Brother Red?
To Aunt Delia?!
Of course, Gary wasn't about to say any of that out loud.
Being scolded like this,
Ash and Infernape both scratched their heads in unison.
The tone might've been harsh, but the concern behind it was clearly felt by both of them.
"I promise! This is the last time! I'll never be this reckless again!"
"Ha-ka!"
Ash hurriedly swore an oath, while Infernape nodded vigorously beside him.
The two of them looked exactly like kids who'd been caught doing something wrong.
[Caitlin: Wow… that's such enviable friendship. Even against Moltres, Gary came without hesitation to help Ash.]
[Brock: That's normal. It's like with my little brothers—sometimes we argue, but I still take care of them like this.]
[Ash: I'm not Gary's little brother! I'm more than half a month older than him!]
[Gary: You remembered wrong! Big Brother Red is a month older than Big Brother Blue! Between you and me, I'm the older one by a month!]
[Ash: Don't care! You still have to call me big brother!]
[Gary: Heh. I've been fulfilling my duties as the older one this whole time—otherwise who'd bother with you?!]
[Hop: So this is how friends get along… I've learned something!]
[Sonia: Hop, don't learn this, okay? You should express your feelings properly, or you'll end up tsundere like them!]
[Ash & Gary: We're not!]
Kanto — Delia's house.
At the dining table, Ash and Gary glanced at each other—then simultaneously turned their heads away.
Blue watched the scene with amusement, then raised an eyebrow at Red.
"Do you think we were like this when we were kids?"
"How could that be? I was always ahead of you."
Red casually averted his gaze, clearly guilty.
Before officially setting out on his journey,
Red's performance had been nowhere near Ash's.
Blue had been the famous prodigy of Pallet Town.
Who could've guessed that once traveling began, Red's talent as a Trainer would fully awaken—
Leaving the once-dominant Blue far behind?
Blue cared about that a lot.
Now that he'd finally caught an opportunity to lecture Red properly,
seeing Red's guilty expression made Blue feel like he could eat two extra bowls of Delia's cooking tonight!
Just then—
The front door opened.
A lively, youthful girl with long golden hair tied back skipped into the dining room.
"Oh, Yellow, you're here too!"
"Come, come—sit down quickly! Auntie made chicken soup today~"
Hearing the commotion, Delia peeked out from the kitchen.
When she saw Yellow, her eyes nearly curved into slits from smiling.
Originally, Delia had been worried about both her sons' marriages.
After all, based on her understanding of them,
their heads were filled with nothing but Pokémon.
But after receiving the system reward 'Ash's Girlfriend Index',
she finally felt reassured about Ash—
And promptly shifted her concern to the other child.
Red was far harder to deal with than Ash.
Ash was basically born with a charm aura—almost every girl (and Pokémon) unconsciously liked him.
Red, on the other hand…
That poker face, that "keep your distance" aura—
it was hard for any girl to develop feelings for him.
Yellow—
The girl Red had once saved during an adventure—
Was someone Delia strongly favored as Red's future wife.
Unfortunately, the two of them seemed to share nothing more than pure friendship.
Or rather—
Red unilaterally believed their relationship was just friendship.
Despite Yellow hinting again and again—
Red, the steel-reinforced straight man, was completely unaffected!
It gave Delia a terrible headache.
Today's meal had to be used to push things along between Red and Yellow.
If that still didn't work—
She might really have to post a matchmaking ad for Red in the comments!
Sigh.
Hands on her hips, Delia silently lamented—
She truly had sacrificed everything for this family.
(Yellow is really adorable though!)
…
On-screen—
Before deciding to become a traveling researcher,
most of the backyard's work had been handled by Gary.
His relationship with Ash's Pokémon was exceptionally good.
That was one reason Infernape didn't dare talk back.
After all—
Gary had fed it for three whole years.
Once he was done scolding Ash and Infernape,
the irritation from all that sprinting finally dissipated.
Gary rubbed his sore neck and looked up at the Moltres circling above.
"Since that's settled, let's work together for once."
"Come on—let's take a feather from Moltres."
Despite saying this, neither of them acted rashly.
Although Infernape's earlier attack had injured Moltres somewhat,
The fact that Moltres had repeatedly badly injured Infernape already proved one thing—
This Moltres was anything but ordinary.
Back when Ash caught Zapdos near Vermilion City,
Pikachu alone had been enough to defeat it.
But this Moltres—
It had tanked Infernape's Flare Blitz head-on
and didn't even look seriously hurt.
Which meant—
This Moltres far surpassed the average Legendary Bird.
There was even a chance it was second only to the Moltres of the Orange Islands that possessed the Divine Authority of Flame.
(The anime portrayal was honestly ridiculous—Ash and Gary practically used their trump cards and still couldn't defeat it, eventually letting Moltres escape. It was on a completely different level from Zapdos.)
And Moltres carried itself with the dignity such power deserved.
Even after being struck by Infernape,
it didn't resort to sneak attacks.
Instead, it calmly waited in the sky while the humans and Pokémon below reunited.
Moltres simply watched in silence.
OMO
(honest and well-behaved.jpg)
"Whumm—"
A low humming sound echoed beside Gary.
Blastoise was already fully prepared for battle.
At this moment—
Ash and Gary stood shoulder to shoulder.
Beside them stood Infernape and Blastoise.
They exchanged a glance—
Both unable to suppress the smiles tugging at their lips.
They might clash every time they met,
But the bond formed from growing up together could never be erased.
Just as Cynthia had said—
They were childhood friends, and also rivals.
Gary could pat his chest and swear—
No one understood Ash better than he did.
Just as no one understood Gary better than Ash.
With a single exchange of looks,
they both grasped the meaning in each other's eyes.
"Let's cooperate." ×2
They extended their hands—
Fists colliding together!
At the same time, two commands rang out:
"Blastoise—use Hydro Pump!"
"Infernape—use Flamethrower!"
Despite their usual bickering, their coordination was flawless!
[Brock: It's confirmed—they're definitely childhood friends!]
[Misty: Damn it! I can't believe I lost to Gary! This is unforgivable!]
[Professor Oak: Their relationship has always been good—they have great synergy. They're just both too competitive to admit it.]
[Cynthia: Sometimes, you need to express your feelings, Ash.]
[Ash: Got it.]
[Gary: Hmph! I'll wash away this humiliation and defeat you at the next tournament!]
[Ash: Defeated opponent.]
[Gary: You—!]
[Bruno: If it were something else, Gary might just be pretending to be anxious. But if you say that, he'll really lose it—he did genuinely lose to Ash.]
[Gary: Hmph! No need to wait until next time! I believe future me will defeat Ash in the World Coronation Series and become the strongest Champion!]
[Leon: Hahaha! Ambitious! But you'll have to beat me first if you want that title!]
Gary's face turned red instantly!
"It's all Big Brother Blue's fault! If my big brother were Big Brother Red, I wouldn't have lost to Ash!"
Blue whipped his head around, question marks everywhere.
What did I do?!
How is you losing to Ash my fault?!
And hey—
I'm your real big brother!
…
On-screen—
Both Trainers ordered their Pokémon to attack at the same time.
Flamethrower and Hydro Pump—
both powerful same-type moves—shot toward Moltres in midair.
Faced with such fierce attacks,
Moltres merely beat its wings lightly.
Countless blades shot forth between its wings—
Air Slash!
The cutting winds tore through flame and water alike,
even altering their trajectories and forcing them to collide.
In an instant—
Fire and water intertwined, erupting into vast clouds of steam!
The entire valley was engulfed in thick white mist.
Within the fog,
blades of wind flickered from time to time.
"Stop—now!"
Ash and Gary immediately ordered their Pokémon to halt their attacks.
Acting rashly in this situation could mean being shredded by the airborne Air Slashes.
Both of them now fully recognized Moltres's strength—
It was absurdly powerful.
"Gary, do you have a Pokémon that can clear the fog?"
Earlier in the backyard, Ash had released all his other Pokémon.
He didn't have any spare Poké Balls on him now.
Aside from Pikachu and Infernape,
he had no other Pokémon available.
And neither of them could learn a move like Defog.
"Watch and learn—this is where I shine."
Gary said confidently.
He patted Blastoise's shell and spoke casually:
"Blastoise—Rapid Spin!"
The moment the command fell—
Blastoise stepped forward, then erupted with agility completely at odds with its bulky frame!
In Ash's starry-eyed gaze,
Blastoise retracted all four limbs and its tail into its shell—
And began spinning at high speed like a top!
Air currents gathered!
Under Blastoise's rapid rotation, the thick fog condensed into a massive water tornado!
"Now—Whirlpool!"
With a sweeping gesture, Gary commanded—
The fog swirling around Blastoise condensed into a gigantic vortex!
Using its own body as a launch point,
Blastoise hurled the Whirlpool straight at Moltres in the sky!
"As expected of you, Gary!"
Ash, Pikachu, and Infernape all gave him a thumbs-up in unison.
[Elesa: Wow—Ash is basically the leader of the praise cult. I thought he really didn't get along with Gary, but this is such a different side of him.]
[Siebold: Incredible! Blastoise can be used like that?! Learned something new! Flint—battle me! Let's try my turtle charge!]
[Flint: I'm not stupid! Charging into type disadvantage? I'm not Ash with the 'Reverse-Type Master' buff!]
[Lucian: Oh ho—impressive. Flint actually used his brain.]
[Wallace: Such creativity! Gary is a natural Coordinator! Want to be my disciple? You'd be the next Wallace Cup Champion!]
[Gary: No thanks! What's the point of flashy stuff—it still can't beat Ash!]
[Steven: Haha, Wallace—you got looked down on. Don't underestimate him, Gary. Wallace is Hoenn's Champion.]
[Gary: I'll pass. I've got Big Brother Red and Big Brother Blue teaching me—I don't need another mentor.]
[Lance: Don't even think about it. The scariest place in all of Kanto is Mt. Silver—because there's a tyrant living there. That tyrant's name is Red. You get it now.]
[Blue: Hahahaha! Tyrant of Mt. Silver! Red, I didn't know you had such a title—this is killing me!]
[Red: You're dead. You won't get a single sip of chicken soup tonight.]
[Ash: Big Brother Red! Just give me one sip!]
Kanto — Delia's house.
"Blue, you're here too! Perfect timing—come eat with us!"
Delia cheerfully greeted the girl at the door.
Blue—another of Red's traveling companions.
Unlike Yellow, Blue was fiercely competitive,
and could even clash evenly with Red and Blue in battle.
Another potential daughter-in-law candidate.
At the dining table, the atmosphere was… strange.
Ash stared into his chicken soup.
Gary was stealing Ash's chicken leg.
Red glared unhappily at Blue.
Yellow gazed at Red with deep affection.
Blue looked around like a melon-eating ferret in a field.
Leaning against the kitchen doorway, Delia sighed quietly.
For her eldest son's marriage—
She had truly exhausted herself.
…
On-screen—
Feeling deeply satisfied inside, Gary merely nodded calmly.
"The battle's not over yet. Don't relax!"
"Right! Infernape, let's go too!"
"Ha-ka!"
The flames atop Infernape's head surged—
It was fired up!
"Flame Wheel!"
Ash gave the command at the same time.
Thanks to the fog, Blastoise's Whirlpool had grown unexpectedly massive.
In Moltres's eyes,
all that remained was an ocean-like expanse of blue!
That was why—
It hated Water-types the most!
"Krr!"
Moltres let out a low cry.
Its wings swept outward—
Transparent Air Slashes shot forth!
At the same time—
A spiraling serpent of flame poured from Moltres's beak, following closely behind the blades of wind!
The Air Slashes split the water—
And the fire snake pierced straight through the Whirlpool!
Flames wrapped around Blastoise, forming a massive vortex of fire!
The fiery spiral completely sealed off Blastoise's movement!
Meanwhile, the Air Slashes rained down like blades!
Restricted by the Fire Spin, Blastoise could only defend passively!
And at that very moment—
Infernape moved!
Flame Wheel surged forward—!
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