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Ash put the Dragon Fang he received into his backpack.
Before acquiring a Dragon-type Pokémon, this Dragon Fang was temporarily useless, but once he caught a Dragon-type Pokémon, cultivating it with this Dragon Fang would definitely be like adding wings to a tiger.
As for whether he could make it to Dragon Island... not to mention Champion, if he couldn't even get into the top three, he'd chop off his head on the spot and offer it to Mewtwo as a sacrifice!
It wasn't that he was arrogant, but his strength was evident; even those Trainers who had traveled for two years, how many of them could train a Pokémon to Gym Leader Level?
Although a Pokémon's level doesn't represent everything, he had a group of Champion-level Trainers teaching him every day, and those people were all his parallel-world selves, who understood him perfectly.
They knew how to make him listen, what tactics were most suitable for him... Even if a dozen Champions in the real world taught him, it probably wouldn't be as effective as one Champion-level him from the group.
Plus, he was either training or on his way to train every day, and his Pokémon were constantly improving.
With talent, resources, and more effort than others, why couldn't he proudly say he was stronger than others?
Afterward, the other Elite Four members also presented the gifts they had prepared for Ash, or more accurately, gifts exchanged for information with Ash.
No one would be naive enough to think that information like MEGA Evolution could be obtained for free, yet Ash was so unexpected; he actually told them the method of MEGA Evolution and the necessary items without any cost.
This made the Elite Four members feel incredible, and at the same time, they felt they had judged a gentleman with a villain's heart.
So, after giving the exchange items they were supposed to give, they even felt a little guilty.
To give something and then feel indebted to someone else was simply absurd, yet it was happening in the current scene.
After giving their gifts, the Elite Four also made an agreement with Ash: if in the future they collected any mega stones they didn't need but Ash did, they would unconditionally let Ash take one.
Looking at the Elite Four, who inexplicably agreed to a bunch of generous conditions, Ash felt like he was getting something for nothing.
This was possible?
Was this the legendary good deeds being rewarded? This reward came a little too quickly.
"If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving first; the Alliance still has a lot of things waiting for us to handle."
"Yes, the matters related to the Indigo Plateau Conference are truly too many, and Team Rockets has also been a nuisance recently, plus we still need to find mega stones and key stones; there are just so many things."
"Ash, if you need our help with anything, just say so.
Have Professor Oak contact us; as long as it's not something we're inextricably tied up with, we'll definitely come right away!"
"Yes, Ash, don't be shy with us."
The Elite Four members chatted with Ash, drawing closer to him.
They could feel that this young man seemed to possess that elusive destiny; everything he displayed was too miraculous, too illogical.
Even something like MEGA Evolution could be accidentally discovered by him, and his experiences over these past few months were more numerous than what ordinary people would encounter in several years.
One could say he was like a Child of Destiny.
Therefore, building a good relationship with Ash would definitely have no downsides, and might even bring many benefits.
Before parting, Lorelei even winked at Ash, her beautiful eyes conveying a message to stay in touch.
The relationship between the two of them was better than with the other Elite Four members.
If Ash encountered any danger or opportunity, he would likely seek her out first; this was the so-called getting a head start!
After Ash waved goodbye to the many Elite Four members, he finally had time to slowly examine the items they had left for him.
Agatha's gift was a talisman; that's right, it was a Spell Tag.
The Spell Tags on the market could increase Ghost-type Pokémon's Ghost-type damage by up to twenty percent, and the one Agatha gave was among the top tier.
Due to the rarity of Ghost-type Pokémon and Ghost-type items, such items were several times the price of ordinary items on the market.
However, unfortunately, Ash already had a more powerful Spell Tag, so this item actually wasn't as useful to him as the Dragon Fang, unless he had more than two Ghost-type Pokémon.
But no matter what, this item was considered a Ghost-type item that could reach its maximum value.
Outside, it might not be priceless, but it was worth a fortune, so whether it was useful or not, its value was there.
One could only say that Elite Four members were Elite Four members; their main characteristic was being rich and powerful.
For them, any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem at all.
Lorelei's gift was an ice-blue orb, like a block of ice.
Just holding this orb made one feel as if they were in the dead of winter.
This was an item specifically for Ice-type Pokémon, allowing them to use Ice-type moves more skillfully, increasing training speed, and boosting the power of Ice-type moves.
However, this Ice Orb Stone was not without its flaws; while it enhanced everything, it didn't specialize in anything.
This item increased skill power by about fifteen percent, and simultaneously boosted Ice-type Pokémon's training speed by about thirty percent, and it was only effective for Pokémon below the Elite level.
In addition to increased training speed and skill power, this Ice Orb Stone also increased move execution speed by about twenty percent, which indirectly boosted the Pokémon's speed.
This item improved a little bit of everything, but didn't specialize in anything.
However, this kind of all-around enhancement was a rare treasure for Ice-type Pokémon, and could bring a huge boost to any Ice-type Pokémon!
But Ash still had the same problem now: he didn't have any Ice-type Pokémon, so this item was of no use to him, at most it was just a very precious item.
Moreover, Ash didn't know where to catch Ice-type Pokémon, or which Ice-type Pokémon were good, and with him already struggling to train his current Pokémon, he was still hesitant about catching new ones.
To catch new Pokémon, he should at least cultivate his existing Pokémon to maturity first, right?
Otherwise, if he caught every Pokémon he saw, unless he could clone himself, how could he take care of and train so many Pokémon!
Therefore, this Ice Orb Stone should be temporarily useless.
Finally, there was Bruno's item, the 'Enhancement Ribbon.'
The Enhancement Ribbon looked like a black band, somewhat similar in appearance to the Fighting-type boosting item, the Black Belt, but its effect was different.
When a Fighting-type Pokémon wore the 'Enhancement Ribbon,' its entire body would feel suppressed, and its physique would be continuously tempered by the power within the ribbon.
It was an enhancement item specifically for the physical body.
Moreover, it could be used with market-available weighted items, and its practical utility could extend all the way to the Elite level.
Lucario was still wearing the forced training device given by Fan Dou; that item was very effective for tempering ability values, which is why Lucario was able to temper its ability values to S-rank in a short period of time.
The 'Enhancement Ribbon' given by Bruno had a similar effect to the forced training device, but Lucario didn't need double weights.
After all, the forced training device's effect was still sufficient for now, so Ash planned to give this item to Primeape.
Speaking of Primeape, according to Gengar, he had recently begun to subtly develop Ghost-type power, and his physical condition had changed.
His normally visible and tangible body would sometimes become visible but intangible.
This was a characteristic possessed by Ghost-type Pokémon.
In other words, Primeape was close to evolving, but it was unknown if he could complete his evolution before the Indigo Plateau Conference.
If this ribbon were given to Primeape, it might suppress his evolution speed, but it would cause a qualitative mutation after his evolution.
Overall, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.
All things considered, the item given by Bruno was actually the most useful one, as it could be immediately used by his Pokémon.
The other items would have to wait until he caught new Pokémon; he could see them but couldn't use them.
Misty, Brock, and Gary expressed great envy for the basket full of gifts Ash received.
Why didn't such good fortune, like pie falling from the sky, happen to them!
Of course, on the surface, they felt this way, but in reality, they knew that Ash was able to obtain these items because of his selfless contribution.
If he hadn't unreservedly shared the information about the MEGA Evolution system with the Elite Four, Ash would never have received these items.
In fact, besides MEGA Evolution, the Elite Four had many other questions they wanted to ask Ash.
For example, what exactly was going on with Ash's Lucario? How did Ash's own physical fitness reach God Domain Level? What was the process of Ash catching Mewtwo? Many questions lingered in their minds, but ultimately, they didn't ask them.
After all, as Elite Four members, it was already a loss of face for them to ask a junior about something as private as MEGA Evolution.
Now that Ash had unreservedly told them the information about MEGA Evolution, if they were to further pry into Ash's other private matters, that wouldn't just be losing face; that would be completely shameless!
Therefore, regarding Ash's many secrets, the Elite Four ultimately chose not to ask, and instead left a pile of items for Ash before departing.
Ash's secrets could be slowly explored and inquired about later; the immediate priority was to find mega stones and key stones first...
After the Elite Four left, Ash was about to recall Mewtwo into its Poké Ball when, at the entrance of Oak's Laboratory, the sound of something falling rang out.
Everyone's eyes turned in unison to the main entrance of Oak's Laboratory, only to find that the source of the sound was Blaine.
What fell to the ground was the Pokédex Blaine had prepared for Professor Oak to distribute to new Trainers, and Blaine was staring blankly at a figure inside Oak's Laboratory.
Mewtwo turned its head and, upon seeing Blaine, also showed a complex expression.
It recognized Blaine; not only did it recognize him, but he was perhaps the most familiar yet unfamiliar person to it, because its very existence was created by Blaine.
Other members of Team Rockets had contributed to its creation, but Blaine was the primary research lead.
One could say it was created by Blaine's sole effort; without Blaine, there would be no it today.
However, Blaine, the very person who had created it, harbored a deep fear of it.
Because of this, he even extracted the spiritual essence from its body, preventing its power from advancing.
In the past, Mewtwo felt nothing but hatred for Blaine.
It hated Blaine for creating it, it hated Blaine for extracting its spiritual essence, and it also hated Blaine for eventually leaving Team Rockets... But now, Mewtwo no longer hated Blaine so much.
It even felt some gratitude towards Blaine; if it weren't for Blaine, it wouldn't have its current connection with Ash.
Meeting Ash was the greatest fortune of its life, at least it felt that way now.
"Mewtwo... why are you here?" The silent scene lasted for an unknown duration before Blaine finally spoke, his voice trembling.
'I am Ash's Pokémon now.'
With one sentence, Mewtwo explained its current situation, and this one sentence contained many things.
Blaine understood the meaning conveyed in Mewtwo's words, and his mood became very complex.
Had the artificial Pokémon he once feared truly turned over a new leaf? No, it shouldn't be described as turning over a new leaf.
Perhaps, as Ash said, Mewtwo was not an evil Pokémon to begin with; it was just a blank slate, but it had been tainted black by Team Rockets.
But now, Ash's appearance had allowed Mewtwo to successfully break free from the dark colors and take on Ash's colors.
Ash was truly an amazing person, to be able to change even Mewtwo to such an extent.
It was hard to imagine that the once unruly Mewtwo could now stand before its former enemy and speak so calmly.
"Congratulations, Mewtwo, for breaking free from your shackles and finding your destined Trainer.
I apologize for what I did before and for my malicious thoughts towards you." Blaine bowed and apologized to Mewtwo, his voice filled with unparalleled sincerity.
He truly felt he was wrong, and terribly so.
If he had guided Mewtwo towards the right path when he created it, or taken Mewtwo with him when he left, would everything have been different?
'It doesn't matter anymore; I did hate you a lot in the past, but now I've let it go.
If it weren't for everything you did to me, perhaps I wouldn't have met such an excellent Trainer.'
Although Mewtwo hadn't completely let go, its hatred for Blaine was minimal, almost negligible.
All of this was brought about by Ash.
Blaine bent down to pick up the Pokédex on the ground, and with a slightly complex expression, he looked at Ash and said, "Thank you, Ash, thank you for pulling Mewtwo out of the abyss."
Ash grinned, revealing his white teeth: "Isn't that just natural? When you see a Pokémon in trouble, of course you have to lend a hand!"